The local government of Calpe has expressed its indignation at the delay on the part of the Directorate General of Coasts, Ports and Airports in authorising the installation of the sculpture of the Mare de Dèu del Carmen in the port area.
This sculpture designed by the artist Arturo Serra Gómez is intended as a tribute from Calpe to the seafaring family during the celebration of the centenary of the Brotherhood, but with three months to go before the end of the year and the end of the celebrations, there has still been no response from the Directorate General for Coasts, Ports and Airports regarding the authorisation to install the sculpture in the port area.
In 2022, permission was already requested from the Directorate General of Ports of the Department of Public Works for the installation of the sculpture of the Mare de Déu del Carme in the area of the port where a group of containers are now located.
In January and March 2024, authorisation was requested again to install the sculpture in the year of the centenary of the Confraternity. In April the response from the Directorate General was that it was not possible to cede land but it was possible to authorise its occupation, so in June the City Council again sent the definitive project and the awarded sculpture, requesting authorisation again for the installation of a sculpture of the Virgen del Carmen at the access to the port area.
Since then, the City Council has not received any communication on the matter despite continuous calls requesting information on the status of the file. In August it was unofficially communicated by the assigned technician that his opinion was favourable in the absence of the director's signature.
The sculpture was created by the sculptor Arturo Serra at a cost of 155,000€. The work represents the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of sailors, according to the traditional iconography, that is, with the child in her arms and the scapular in one hand, on the base of the offering of flowers, and accompanied by three costaleros/carriers (anonymous) and a child, representing three generations (grandfather, father, young man and child).
The mayoress said that ‘we regret to inform that the installation of the sculpture in commemoration of the centenary of the Fishermen's Guild of Calpe cannot be installed during the centenary year as we have not obtained authorisation from the Directorate General of Coasts. And this was initiated just after the declaration by the plenary session of 2024 as the commemorative year of the centenary. We understand that there have been different situations that may have delayed the concession of the installation, but this time, these delays lead us to an irreparable situation’.