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MARCH 12, a date which binds three extreme facets in Spanish history together: religious fervour and spectacular political corruption, as well as a devastating betrayal.
This day’s historical anchor dates back to 1622 when Ignatius was canonised.
Ignatius, a Spanish saint canonized on March 12, 1622 is a familiar name to anyone who loves Spain. He forms an important part of Spain’s collective DNA.
As a young man, Iñigo was a stereotypical Basque who was physically strong and aggressive by temperament.
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He was bedridden after he was injured by a cannonball in 1521 while fighting against the French.
He found religion, latinised his Basque name to ‘Ignatius’, and launched a new order of monks known as the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits.
His awakening to religion coincided with Protestantism’s rise, and the Vatican saw in him the perfect antidote against Martin Luther.
He added to the usual three monk vows: poverty, chastity, and obedience a fourth, which was absolute loyalty to Pope.
By the time of his death in 1556, he was seen as the ‘world master’ of the struggle against the Protestants, a movement which became known as the Counter-Reformation.
Centuries later, and we shift to a new ‘world master’.
The former mayor of Marbella, in the hot seat between 1991 and 2002, was a highly controversial character – though ‘outrageous’ would perhaps be a better word.
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Gregorio Jesus Gil y Gil, a Spanish actor, was born in El Burgo de Osma on March 12, 1934, a small town in northern Spain, halfway between Valladolid & Zaragoza.
‘Dodgy’ might be a good adjective to describe him, as he made a lot of money in the 1960s building gated communities with standards that were less than scrupulous.
A complex in Segovia collapsed tragically after 58 people died due to a lack of materials.
Gil’s construction was not only defective but he also did not hire an architect and had no plans.
After 18 months, the dictator Francisco Franco, a fan of rogues and gangsters, pardoned him.
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He showed up in Marbella in 1991, formed his own political party called ‘the gilistas‘, and got himself elected mayor.
He was a familiar face on the Costa del Sol. He appeared on TV constantly and was often spotted on the streets in Marbella, hurling abuse at the homeless.
Gil died in May 2004 and left behind three points that will remain.
By dying he had the last laugh, as he was about to be prosecuted for enormous corruption – but ultimately avoided it.
His funeral was attended by a staggering 20,000 attendees, despite his controversy.
His famous boast was also true. He found Marbella to be a simple village of fishermen and transformed it into a world class resort.
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The Costa del Sol is remembering a corrupt mayor while Almeria commemorates the tragic discovery of Gabriel Cruz on March 12.
In 2018, on this day, the body of an eight-year old boy was discovered in the boot compartment of Ana Julia Quezada’s car. This became one of most bizarre murder cases in modern Spanish History.
Gabriel vanished almost two weeks before, walking 100 yards between two families’ homes.
The child’s last sighting by anyone but the killer took place in the afternoon of the 27th of February, in the village Las Hortichuelas.
Gabriel had planned to play with his cousin that afternoon after he walked the short distance from his grandmother’s home to his cousin’s. But he never made it.
Almeria conducted its biggest search ever, with firefighters, Guardia Civil officers and volunteers searching dozens old mineshafts as well as farmers’ wells and ravines.
Quezada – Gabriel’s stepmother, and lover of Gabriel’s father – appeared on television to say how saddened she was by the disappearance of the child and even took part in searches.
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In 1995, she moved with her daughter to Spain from the Dominican Republic.
Her four-year old daughter fell from an apartment’s window, causing her death.
It was soon revealed that Quezada kidnapped Gabriel and took him to a village nearby, where he suffocated with a pillow and hid his body in an improvised grave made of planks and stones.
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She didn’t know that investigators were following her every move.
She became panicky as she neared Rodalquilar where she lived and had hidden the body.
She tried to flee the area by packing the body of the boy into the boot, but the police caught her red-handed.
It is widely believed now that, following the shocking betrayal of her daughter, she also killed her own daughter those many years ago.
A jury in Almeria convicted her of murder with premeditation on September 2019.
She was subsequently sentenced to ‘permanent reviewable prison’ (prisión permanente revisableIt is the Spanish equivalent to a prison sentence.
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