San Juan del Puerto unveils a mural about its founder at the Teatro Municipal
The side of the Teatro Municipal Juan Alonso de Guzmán has displayed since this Wednesday a mural dedicated to the 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, promoter of the Carta Puebla of 1468. The work, by the Colombian artists José López «Joselo»
Since this Wednesday, October 21, the municipality has a new pictorial work on the side of the Teatro Municipal Juan Alonso de Guzmán. The mural depicts Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia and promoter of the Carta Puebla of 1468, the document linked to the founding of the town.
The intervention is the second major mural work dedicated to local history within the municipal project to recover and spread the history of San Juan through urban art.
A work with no reference portrait
The mural is the result of a research process on the duke and his relationship with the origins of the municipality. As there are no documented historical portraits of Juan Alonso de Guzmán, the artists have produced an approximate representation inspired by the era in which he lived.
The composition brings together several symbolic and historical elements: the Carta Puebla and one of its seals, the ducal ring with the arms of the Guzmán family, an astrolabe and ornamental motifs. It also incorporates references to the Teatro Municipal to link the figure with the building that bears his name.
The authors
The work is signed by the Colombian artists José López «Joselo» and Danilo Marín, who already took part in the project's first intervention. Their work is part of the twinning between San Juan del Puerto and San Carlos, in Antioquia (Colombia).
«For us it is a pride to be able to continue contributing to the reconstruction of the historical memory of San Juan,» said Joselo, who thanked the residents and collaborators for their participation in the collective construction of the work.
The Councillor for Culture, Juan Martínez Toro, highlighted the choice of location: «What better place than the Teatro Municipal that bears his name to value the person who gave us the Carta Puebla as founder of the municipality.» The councillor also stressed the good reception of the work among the neighbourhood.
Towards an open-air gallery
With this intervention, the Ayuntamiento continues to bring its heritage closer to the public and turning public space into a meeting place for art, culture and history. The mayor, Rocío Cárdenas, has backed the project, as the artists have thanked.
The mural can now be visited on the side of the Teatro Municipal Juan Alonso de Guzmán.
