Elisa Laderas |
Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real) (EFE).- Ten years after her death, Sara Montiel is still very present in her hometown, Campo de Criptana (Ciudad Real), which does not forget its “universal Manchega”, the artist for whom living was a pleasure.
In the memory of her countrymen and those who consider her a myth, her image “of a diva, of a universal giant” remains alive, as she says at the entrance to the Culebro Mill, converted into a museum that she herself inaugurated on April 13, 1991. , dressed in the typical Manchega costume. It is located in the Sierra de los Molinos, the same ones that Don Quixote faced.
Sara Montiel always wanted to have a museum in one of the windmills in her town, a humble building like its origin and as solid as the fortress that characterized the actress and singer born in this Manchego municipality on March 10, 1928 and the that they baptized with the name of María Antonia Alejandra Vicenta Elpidia Isidora Abad Fernández.
Died in Madrid on April 8, 2013, Sara Montiel lives on in the memory of the people of Crypto, proud of their “most universal La Mancha” to which they pay homage with a permanent exhibition, spread over three levels, made up of photographs, posters of films, dresses and the piano that was used in the filming of the movie “El último cuplé”, among other objects, which extol her figure as an artist, myth, woman and mother, mostly donated by her.
The exhibition has been reopened twice, the last one in 2021, with a more visual, newer approach, although the content is basically the same, the Councilor for Tourism, Rosa Ana Fernández, has stressed to EFE.
On the ground floor, the most notable element is a white piano that Sara acquired at auction and which, apparently, belonged to La Fornarina, a Madrid cuppletista: on this fetish object there is a cigar like the ones she liked to smoke and which she also smoked. collected in one of the large images that attracts a lot of attention and that is a corner in which “everyone wants to take a picture”.
The first floor is dedicated to Sara as a myth and in it there are dresses and a biographical part in which she is treated as an influential character in certain cultural sectors such as cinema, while in the highest part, what is the grinder in a mill traditional. she highlights the most personal side of her and as her mother.
A timeline covers his professional career from the 40s, when he shot his first film, until 2011, with his latest works, Fernández has pointed out.
This past year 2022, the Culebro mill was visited by 13,738 people, which are 70 percent of the total tickets sold to see the main tourist attraction of the municipality: the historic mills, which are also promoted as a tourist product on the Train of Los Mills, marketed by Renfe.
Young people are curious about the character
The profile of both national and international tourists who pass through the museum responds mostly to people aged in that age group in which Sara was the reference actress; in fact, it is a “must see” on retiree outings.
But there are also many young people who are curious about the character and come to meet her because Sara still sparks interest.
On the other hand, the Campo de Criptana City Council has organized several activities to remember its “star” on the tenth anniversary of his death: a theatrical show with a modern vision of the cuplé, which will be held on April 14 at the Teatro Cervantes , and a round table the following day, at the Pósito Real, with the participation of the co-author of the artist’s memoir ‘Vivir es un pleasure’, Pedro Víllora.
Other speakers will be Lidia García, a researcher on camp aesthetics and popular culture and author of the ¡Ay campaneras! podcast; Patxi Zapiraín, graphic designer and artist, and Julia de Castro, multidisciplinary artist.
