The City Council is promoting this initiative with two events in Retiro Park.
The first tribute was dedicated to eight people who passed away in 2025: Manolo Zarzo, José María Guelbenzu, Verónica Echegui, Eusebio Poncela, Manuel de la Calva, Felipe Campuzano, Gustavo Torner, and Alfonso Ussía.
The second paid tribute to ten other personalities, also recently deceased: Mayra Gómez Kemp, Marisa Paredes, Julia Uceda, Helga de Alvear, Francisco Rico, Mariano Ozores, La Chunga, Jaime de Armiñán, Antonio Fernández Alba, and Victoria Prego.
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Rivera de la Cruz with the family of Manuel de la Calva at the unveiling of his commemorative plaque
09/02/2026. The Delegate for Culture, Tourism, and Sport, Marta Rivera de la Cruz, unveiled the commemorative plaques installed by the Madrid City Council in the Parque del Retiro, honoring eight prominent figures from the world of culture and media who passed away in 2025. This initiative seeks to recognize their legacy and keep their memory alive in one of the city’s most emblematic public spaces.
During the ceremony, which was attended by family members of those honored, Rivera de la Cruz stated that “the individuals to whom we dedicate these benches today represent the richness and diversity of Spanish culture” and emphasized that this recognition in El Retiro is “a small gesture of collective gratitude towards creators who have left a profound mark on Madrid, integrating their memory into one of the city’s most beloved places.”
The figures honored today are actor Manolo Zarzo, writer and literary critic José María Guelbenzu, actors Verónica Echegui and Eusebio Poncela, singer-songwriter Manuel de la Calva, pianist Felipe Campuzano, painter and sculptor Gustavo Torner, and writer Alfonso Ussía.
The second tribute consists of new plaques along the Paseo de Colombia in Parque del Retiro, dedicated to journalist Mayra Gómez Kemp, actress Marisa Paredes, poet Julia Uceda, gallery owner Helga de Alvear, philologist Francisco Rico, actor and director Mariano Ozores, artist La Chunga, novelist Jaime de Armiñán, architect Antonio Fernández Alba, and journalist Victoria Prego.
The plaques, measuring 20 x 10 centimeters, are made of brass with a leather patina finish and have been integrated into the benches by means of a recess cut into the wood, so that they are perfectly inset into their surface. /
