Until January 25 Yecla artist Lidó Rico pays homage to the city of Murcia 

A celebration of 1200 years of history at the Palacio Almudí in Murcia

In a year in which the city of Murcia is celebrating 1,200 years since its foundation a significant exhibition has opened at the Palacio Almudí on the northern bank of the River Segura, containing a giant mural created by Yecla-born artist Lidó Rico.

The 3-doimensional mural measures a whopping 7 metres by 3 metres, close to the size of Picasso’s masterpiece “Guernica”, and is intended as a symbolic representation of the last 12 centuries of history in Murcia. In an attempt to show the history, identity and collective memory of the city he has included references to key figures and elements of local culture such as Alfonso X El Sabio, the Virgen de la Arrixaca, the façade of the Cathedral and the fiesta of the Entierro de la Sardina, and contributing to the end product are contemporary figures like artist Pedro Cano, singer Ruth Lorenzo, Eva Libertad, Pablo González-Conejero, business empresario Tomás Fuertes, tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, Mayor jose´Ballesta and charity associations including Jesús Abandonado, Assido, Afacmur and the food bank.

At the centre of the mural the Mayor is shown cradling the heart of Alfonso X El Sabio alongside a time capsule reading “2025–2125”, containing messages and reflections to be opened in 100 years’ time.

Born in Yecla in 1968, Lido Rico studied Fine Art at the University of Valencia and then in Paris before his career began to win awards in the early 1990s. In 1992 his design was selected for the Murcia stand at the universal exhibition in Sevilla and since then he has been honoured in Colombia, Hungary and Egypt as well as Spain. He is now regarded as one of the leading artists in the Region of Murcia, if not the whole of Spain, and his latest work can be visited at the Palacio Almudí until 25^th January.

More visiting information is available from the tourist office of Yecla or, for more local events, news and visiting information in English, go to the home page of Yecla Today.