The Casa de la Cultura will host an exhibition featuring black-and-white images from the 1960s from September 4 to October 9. The Town Hall has received 1,132 negatives donated by the priest's heirs.
The Town Hall of Fuengirola received this Thursday the 1,132 original negatives from the photographic archive of Father Luis Ramírez Benéytez, a priest who captured the everyday life of the municipality during his pastoral period in the 1960s. The donation, made by his heirs, will be used to organise an exhibition featuring 25 of his snapshots at the Casa de la Cultura.
The mayor, Ana Mula, and the Councillor for Culture, Rodrigo Romero, participated in the symbolic handover of this private collection. The black-and-white images reflect local customs, as well as sports, religious, and bullfighting events from that era.
“The transformation of Fuengirola is evident. A primary documentary ally, in this case, is photography and the people who with their cameras have left a record of what was happening at a given time,” the mayor highlighted during the event.
The exhibition, titled with the photographs of Father Ramírez, will be open for viewing in the exhibition hall of the Casa de la Cultura ‘Manuel Delgado Perea’ from September 4 to October 9, with free entry. Attendees will be able to witness the urban and social evolution of Fuengirola through these images.
Luis Ramírez Benéytez was born in 1927 in Mora (Toledo) and passed away on June 10, 2016, in Alhaurín de la Torre. After his ordination in 1960, he served in various parishes, including Fuengirola, where he developed an intense photographic activity as an amateur.
In addition to his religious role, Ramírez was an economist and writer. In 1987, he won the First Andalucía Novel Prize with the work 'The Blind and Dark Leap of Francisco Vicaría', inspired by General Torrijos's uprising against Fernando VII. He also collaborated for years with opinion articles in Diario Sur.
“We are very grateful to his heirs, who have preserved these wonderful graphic documents until today, for donating them to us and enhancing our photographic heritage,” Ana Mula noted, inviting all residents of Fuengirola to visit the exhibition for “this beautiful look into the past.”
The donation makes the Town Hall the owner of these negatives, which will be added to the municipal archive. The exhibition presents an opportunity for locals and visitors to recognise corners and scenes of the city from over half a century ago.
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