The passage of time is an implacable phenomenon that, inevitably, tends to blur collective memory and relegate to oblivion numerous characters who, at the time, were relevant in various areas of society. However, although people may fade from memory, something of their work, their legacy or their influence persists, waiting to be rediscovered and valued by future generations.
Today we dedicate its space to one of those individuals, someone who, through an artistic activity, carried out a work that, regardless of its value, we should not leave in oblivion since they are also part of the collective memory of this city and region, since we are Cartagena.
Juan Peñalver Salgado is a multifaceted figure who has left an indelible mark on the world of amateur cinema in Cartagena. As Alfonso Santos tells us in his book 'Cinemas and theaters of Cartagena', his love for cinema dates back to his childhood, when he visited his uncle Diego Peñalver at the old Teatro Circo. There, his passion for the seventh art manifested itself in his desire to become a film director, a dream he achieved by joining the staff of the Mariola cinema in 1960 and then the Principal cinema in 1961. From then on, his career in the Amateur cinema took off with the acquisition of a projector and a film camera, creating a wide variety of documentaries and reports that earned him recognition at numerous national and international amateur film festivals.
Making a report with his camera, in a photo from AS.
However, Peñalver was not limited to the world of cinema, he was also a painter and model maker. In his role as a painter, he is the author of several works in watercolor, such as 'On the High Summits', 'Sunset in Egypt', 'Along the River', 'Molino de Cartagena', 'Fantasy in Ocher', 'The Sea'. , always the sea'… As a model maker he made models of several emblematic buildings of our city, making exact reproductions in cardboard and wood of the façade of the Casa Cervantes, Casa Dorda, Gran Hotel, Palacio de Aguirre and an extraordinary painting of the Town Hall made with straw holding an ear of grass.
But let's return to his role as a film director. Peñalver, in his extensive career, is the author of more than a hundred films, documentaries and reports. Significant titles have been: 'Marine Symphony', 'Across the Jordan', 'Reverend', 'Romulus and Remus', 'In Your Memory', 'Lost World', 'Phaedra', 'Oedipus, King of Thebes' , 'That old mill', 'Sparrows without a nest', 'Little Robin', 'The color of my town', 'Green and Gold', 'The Valley of the Dead', 'Minera was my cradle'…
In almost all of his films he made free versions, in essay mode on classics from ancient writings, very peculiar in terms of their outdoor production and where his self-taught style in directing actors did not leave anyone indifferent.
On Calblanque beach he filmed his first science fiction film, 'Mission on Earth'. In it he narrates how beings from another planet take over the mind of an Earthling, thus establishing a peaceful contact, with which they will be able to achieve their goal.
Juan Bautista, Luis Aranda and Juan Carlos Sanz Duboy made their debut as actors in this film, who, with Antonio Oliver, Manuel Montes, Isabel Bernal and Juan Lidón led this cast. The filming lasted a month.
In February 1980, at the Valladolid Amateur Film Festival, Peñalver was awarded a plaque from the Ministry of Culture for his film 'The Dawn of an Empire', whose central theme was based on the life of Rómulo and Remus.
Above: Juan Peñalver Salgado, in a photo from AS. Below, scene from 'The Argonauts' and actor in 'The Passion According to Saint John'.
'The Argonauts' is a free version of the story of Jason, king of Thessaly, performed by Ángel Pérez, Katire, Isabel Bernal, Juan Carlos Sanz, Isa Otón and Fernando Segura. This film is a continuation of the previous ones 'Oedipus, Phaedra and Parsifal', for Peñalver in amateur cinema it was possible to carry out important essays outside the large film industry.
It took him two years to prepare 'The Passion According to Saint John', his most ambitious project, with a duration of thirty minutes and with many actors. The exteriors were filmed in Totana and Mazarrón and it premiered at a film festival in Córdoba.
Then he made a new film, 'A Man, a Legend', a fantastic film, where special effects were of great importance: monsters, palaces, volcanoes, the plot is based on a story of a princess imprisoned by the enchantment of a goddess. evil, from whom only a brave warrior could snatch the talisman that would give him life.
Other films in the documentary format are: 'The color of a town' collecting aspects of the town of Mula; 'Primavera 70' of great exhibition clarity with curious landscapes of insects and flowers and 'Unpublished Cartagena' in which one does not know what to admire more, the clarity of its prints, or the discovery of things that are there, but that are not we notice them.
In 1971 in the newspaper 'El Noticiero' they spoke of Peñalver in the following terms: «A complete artist, who has known how to create and collect in a comprehensive teaching the beauties that show us the Spanish environment at every step. And that artist is Juan Peñalver.
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