Ayuso highlights her recovery «for the people of Madrid» with Leguina and as a «symbol of reconciliation» in the Transition
The Royal Post Office has been vindicated this Friday as a witness to the history, art, and sport of Spain in the institutional event with which the regional government has celebrated that the building will celebrate 40 years as the seat of the regional Presidency in 2025.
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has closed this event framed in full institutional clash with the Government of Spain following the Democratic Memory Law. The regional Executive has taken to court the intention of the Ministry to put a plaque that recalls its past as the General Directorate of Security (DGS) in the Franco regime and has accused it of wanting to link the regional Presidency with the dictatorship.
Ayuso has acknowledged how throughout its centuries of history it has been a participant in many milestones, pointing out that, among others, it was the destination of political opponents of all stripes, «from monarchists and liberals, to communists and socialists.» Highlighting also, the «frequent episodes of mistreatment and torture of many of the detainees» during Francoism.
While she has claimed that Joaquín Leguina was the one who decided to recover this building «for the people of Madrid, as it had always been.» «The Royal Post Office was, during the Transition, a symbol of harmony and reconciliation (…) We became family, friends, and neighbors again. No sides. Never again,» she expressed.
At this moment, she addressed those who «have inhabited» this headquarters, her predecessors in office Joaquín Leguina, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Esperanza Aguirre, Tomás Gómez, Cristina Cifuentes, Ángel Garrido, and Pedro Rollán.
In the courtyard of the Casa de Correos, Leguina, Ruiz Gallardón, and Aguirre were accompanied by members of the current regional Executive, the President of the Madrid Assembly, Enrique Ossorio, deputies from the Vallecas Chamber, and the spokesperson of the PSOE in the Madrid Chamber, Mar Espinar.
The event began with the performance of Los Refrescos who sang their iconic song ‘Aquí no hay playa’ urging those present to «join in» with this song that «has filled stadiums,» as the lead singer of the band, Bernardo Vázquez, recalled.
Following this, a video recounted how the Royal Post Office is linked to the history of Spain, highlighting that this building in the «heart of Madrid» has witnessed 200 years of history since Fernando VI promoted its construction by Ventura Rodríguez, who would be succeeded by Carlos III with Jaime Marquet.
In addition to history, the Royal Post Office and its Puerta del Sol have been vindicated as muses and settings for filmmakers, painters, photographers, and writers. They recalled how Antonio López portrayed it under the Madrid skies, how it served as a backdrop for ‘Valentine’s Day’, ‘The Witches of Zugarramurdi’, or ‘May God Forgive Us’, while the building turned into ink with the pen of Galdós in ‘La Fontana de Oro’ and ‘Fortunata y Jacinta’ or that of Fernando Fernán Gómez in his novel ‘La Puerta del Sol’. From art, they moved on to sports, affirming that the achievements and feats of «the best athletes» in Spain have also passed through the Royal Post Office, which has welcomed them «with open arms.» The clock also had its moment, the protagonist of each New Year’s Eve in Spain, with a segment in which a family explains how it has withstood the test of time, how an excess of grapes led to the tradition of eating twelve, and how this year, for the first time in 30 years, it stopped for a tune-up. The event concluded with the performance of the Malinche Symphonica orchestra and the Run Xin choir along with Nacho Cano, who has been present throughout the ceremony by providing the chords of his song ‘Un año más’ as the thread of the event. Nacho Cano has claimed the «Madrid of Ayuso,» in both «economic and human terms.»
One of the people who intervened was the writer Fernando Savater, who stated that the clock of the Royal Post Office — apart from the Canary Islands — is a symbol every December 31 of «reconciliation, not seeking grievances, but proposing shared futures.» «Sharing the future and making it stronger, more prosperous, cleaner as well, cleaner of corruption and cleaner of perversions of democracy. That is what this building represents,» the writer declared. Journalist Marta Robles also recalled how this headquarters witnessed Madrid changing and the Movida giving Spain icons like Pedro Almodóvar, Fabio McNamara, or Alaska while the chords of Nacha Pop resonated in Sala Sol or Loquillo roamed the capital «with sunglasses on at night.» She took the opportunity to praise Isabel Díaz Ayuso, stating that in some speeches she has used a «chulapo accent» with «complexes» and has shown off «claiming Madrid as her hometown,» which, she assured, was «frowned upon.» Following her, the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation, Elisa Aguilar, and motorcycle racer Beatriz Neila took the stage. They celebrated the regional government’s support for the world of sports, with Neila highlighting the arrival of Formula 1 to the Community of Madrid. On the other hand, cellist Alejandro Gómez Pareja claimed the power of music as a unifying element, how it is «capable of reaching the heart of all who listen to it.»
Several politicians have congratulated the Royal Post Office on its forty years as the seat of the Presidency. This was the case with former Madrid President Esperanza Aguirre, who claimed it is «a wonderful place» where different regional leaders have worked to «enhance the freedoms of the people of Madrid and improve their quality of life.» On the other hand, the spokesperson for the PSOE in the Madrid Assembly, Mar Espinar, congratulated the Royal Post Office on its 40 years and added that she hopes that soon it can be celebrated that «in addition to being the seat of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, it will be a place of memory for all Madrileños.» Neither the spokesperson for Vox, Isabel Pérez Moñino, nor that of Más Madrid, Manuela Bergerot, attended. The former was in the Assembly with Professor Elena Ramallo before her appearance in the Women’s Committee, while from Más Madrid they informed Europa Press that they were not going to participate in «an event that erases the history of one of the largest centers of Francoist torture and that the Ayuso Government systematically refuses to recognize.»
SAVATER: «RECONCILIATION, NOT SEEKING GRIEVANCES»
LA MOVIDA, SPORT, AND MUSIC
POLITICIANS CONGRATULATE THE REAL CASA DE CORREOS
