Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (EFE) in 1958 and which he wore until the 1970s.
Originally, as Pepe Dámaso himself explained to journalists this Wednesday, he painted it with Titanlux and the action of time soon ended what was one of the first murals to be done in Spain, the artist recalled, who He has been excited that this work can finally be recovered for the city.
The Councilor for Tourism of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pedro Quevedo, together with the Councilor for Finance of the Cabildo, Pedro Justo Brito, and the gallery owner Manuel Ojeda, who has been commissioned by Dámaso to carry out the project, have announced at the gates of the Market this action, which will initially be carried out with a budget of 64,200 euros and is expected to be completed this year.
Both the Councilor for Tourism and the Councilor for the Cabildo have stated that they got to know the old façade decorated by Dámaso, which disappeared in the 1970s.
The Cabildo will be in charge of financing the work with which the City Council, according to Quevedo, settles two debts: one with Dámaso and the other with the city’s assets, despite the fact that it has not been easy, since it has taken years to carry out the restoration project.
Pepe Dámaso has recalled that he devised this mural when he was 25 years old and that he did it at the request of the mayor José Ramírez Bethencourt and following the guidelines of Joan Margarit, for which he has been “very excited” that it is recovered because it will revalue the building, but, above all, because a “work of art” is rescued and that should serve as a “universal example”.
The artist born in Agaete also wanted to pay tribute to the journalist Luis Jorge Ramírez, who then wrote an article about his work in the Diario de Las Palmas, as well as the photographer Félix Urquijo, who photographed the mural when it was finished.
When remembering the latter, he was grateful that his daughter Elvira Urquijo, who has followed her father’s profession, has realized with her camera this long-awaited moment to recover what was her first public work.
Dámaso has considered his mural almost like graffiti, an art that he has said he admires and that he has celebrated as it is now recognized and has reached museums.
The gallerist Manuel Ojeda has reported that there have been several budgets that have been presented to the City Council for five years to recover this innovative work in its time, since it was one of the first murals that were created in Spain, and he has been excited with which you can move forward.
Ojeda has indicated that the ceramic company Peláez Castillo will be in charge of obtaining the tiles, which due to their small size, are difficult to make. EFE