Stunning mosaic artwork in Almuñécar, Spain

In the small town called Almuñécar, I discovered some stunning mosaic work. This rather small town is located on the Spanish Costa del Sol, and home to aprox. 26.000 inhabitants (2021). Today a tourist destination because of the beach and pleasant climate. But as many of the small towns along the coast, it was once a fishing village. Almuñécar is only an hours drive from Malaga and easy to reach by bus. One of the characteristics of the area is mosaic works and ceramics. I was staying only a ten minutes walk from the city center. When walking into town, I had to walk along Paseo Puerta del Mar. Along this street you will find these stunning mosaic works on benches. I think I counted 38! And a giant octopus in the roundabout.

The mosaic benches:

I started my walk at one end and walked towards the last bench in the opposite end. I have chosen to post photos of 30 benches. All are done in white and blue. Notice the motifs. The themes range from life in the sea to everyday life in town. Some of the benches have images of known buildings and a bridge ( I crossed each day when I walked into town). On the first bench we see that the work was done / completed in 2018.

The artist:

José Cabrera Alaminos is the local artist behind the benches. Before he started working on them, they were just some ordinary, grey benches made of cement. After what I have managed to find out, he is holding art exhibitions as well. He is both a talented painter and a mosaic artist. The benches are not the only work he has done in mosaic. There are several other mosaic art done by him. Since these work are spread all over town, I haven't seen all his work.

He spend 2-4 weeks working on one bench. How long it would take, depended on the bench. Some are flat and a few in between has a raised back in the middle. You can be seated on both sides. But, he did not only do the mosaics. He was the man behind the idea of decorated the benches and he also did the designs himself.

As I walked, I took time to study all the details on the benches. Then I reached the roundabout. This octopus is just as amazing as the benches. I crossed the street so that I could look at him from different angles. On the sculpture, there is a plate that tells the name of the artist and the year 2017. Impressive work!

Then I continued my walk to the last 16 benches. Most of the images has to do with life in the sea. Also the landscape which shows the beach and rocks in the sea. You see the sea and the rocks from where the bench is situated. The motifs show very well what kind of town this is, and once were.

The last bench shows waves. The sea is only a few meters away. A long stretch of beach, where you also will see small fishing boats. All of this is amazing work. I am quite sure this is one of the local attractions now. A must see, if you happen to be in town.

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All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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