Just thirteen hours ago María Manzanera (1946-2024) wrote a 'post' on Facebook about the Murcia orchard without knowing that, in reality, it was going to be her farewell to this world. «The orange blossom ended up in the warmest places in the region and the fruits are beginning to form. This year the weather has been a little crazy and they started preparing ahead of time but turned back with the miserable days that followed. Likewise, we retraced our steps, saving our winter clothes to take them out again with the approach of spring. Small annoyances to defend ourselves from the weather, but what about the orchards? How do farmers defend themselves from adverse weather? What will happen to the days, months dedicated to the land? From here we thank you for that dedication. Let's do what we can to make their situation fairer. “Let's do what we can so that the garden is in harmony and the bees can continue their work.” María Manzanera died of natural causes just a few hours later, at her home. She was 78 years old. Her body is being laid to rest at the Centro de Atalayas funeral home. She leaves behind two children, Antonio, a psychologist and art historian, and the artist and professor Silvia Viñao, who were undoubtedly nourished by the love of beauty and art.
Niece of the painter Molina Sánchez, María Manzanera has been the Murcian photographer who has gone the furthest in her profession, a complete professional, dedicated to teaching at the University of Murcia, a pioneer in her research work, protesting against the deterioration of the signs of Murcian identity and against the destruction of the orchard landscape. A look and a voice not always taken into account, perhaps because of the value and truth they contained. A doctoral thesis by Laura Cano at the University of Murcia on her work and her legacy came to do justice to her importance and significance. In her desire to vindicate, she went hand in hand with her neighbor, Francisco Sánchez Bautista, one of the clearest voices against the inaction and devastation of that Murcia that we no longer recognize except in her books and in her photographs. . Today is, without a doubt, a sad day for photography in Murcia, but also for all those who learned from it and were touched by its wisdom.
An anthological exhibition about her work and legacy, 'María Manzanera. Through the camera', can be seen until April 21 at the Archaeological Museum of Murcia
María Manzanera inaugurated just a few months ago, at the Archaeological Museum of Murcia, an anthological exhibition, 'María Manzanera. Through the camera', organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports and the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, through the Museums and Exhibitions Service, which can be seen until April 21. Manzanera became a photographer by vocation, and, almost out of moral obligation, she ended up becoming a collector of historical photographs of the Region of Murcia. She has a doctorate in Art History, with a specialty in photography, she was a researcher in the history of Photography in the Region of Murcia from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century and author of the first doctoral thesis on Photography in Murcia. She was responsible for the Photography Section of the Audiovisual Resources Center of the University of Murcia and a professor of photography and cinematography at different universities. As a curator of various exhibitions, she created Univerfoto, the city's first photography festival. Since 1980 she has held numerous exhibitions and publications that she continues to carry out to this day. She was very proud of her series dedicated to Paris, the city she would always return to, and New York. Photos of still lifes and landscapes of Murcia can be seen in this anthological exhibition at the MAM which is, without a doubt, a must-see.
The search for beauty in its different forms has always been María Manzanera's main objective, insists Laura Cano, in the doctoral thesis based on the Murcian woman's work. In addition to her, with her way of looking, generous, thoughtful, true, she stirred the viewer, she caressed her conscience to refresh dormant emotions. She was preparing a reissue of one of her books, 'Murcia huertana', in Diego Marín, for which she was going to include an unpublished interview with the poet Sánchez Bautista. She was the author, together with Laura Cano, of 'They called them Mar Menor', a book, which was previously an exhibition in the Glorieta Uno Room, about the Mar Menor that she knew in the 19th century Luis Federico Guirao. In her last interview with LA VERDAD, at the end of last January, Manzanera delved into her work on 'Murcia and its garden', a plea in defense of a territory where she appreciates that “beauty and destruction coexist side by side.” every step”.
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