Date Published: 08/03/2024

Mar Menor ready to get new life-size statue of a boy fishing, courtesy of San Javier

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San Javier will pay tribute to fishermen in the municipality with a sculpture to be placed in front of the Mar Menor

Mar Menor ready to get new life-size statue of a boy fishing, courtesy of San Javier

The Mar Menor coastline of San Javier will soon have a new statue when the Town Hall installs its sculpture ‘El Niño Pescador’ (‘The fishing boy’) in a few months’ time.

San Javier Town Hall commissioned by the statue from the Calasparra artist Manuel Páez to pay tribute to the men and women of the municipality who have dedicated their lives to the sea.

The sculpture, made to scale in bronze, will eventually be placed on a breakwater on the beach of El Pescador, facing the sea, although it will first sit temporarily in the foyer of the Town Hall building for the next three months and then on a pedestal on the Paseo Colón.

The Mayor of San Javier, José Miguel Luengo, along with the Councillor for Culture, David Martínez, and the sculptor, Manuel Páez, presented the sculpture yesterday in a ceremony attended by the President of the Fishermen’s Guild, José Blaya.

Artist Páez admitted his predilection for this commission and shared with the audience the long process of creation of the work, from the first sketches in clay, which are also exhibited next to the final sculpture.

The work, which weighs around 80kg, has been made in the traditional way with various moulds until the bronze was poured and finally polished before the final patina was applied.

Councillor for Culture, David Martínez, recalled the professional ties of the artist Manuel Páez with San Javier, where he also has his sculpture ‘The Cadet’, installed in the Paseo Colón in Santiago de la Ribera.

Mayor José Miguel Luengo highlighted the historical and economic importance of fishing in San Javier, saying that it is the livelihood of many families “to whom we want to pay tribute with this work”.

On behalf of all of them, the president of the Fishermen’s Guild, José Blaya, thanked the City Council of San Javier for the gesture and congratulated the artist for the sculpture of the child fisherman with whom he said he identified.