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Manuela Mena has been extremely important for my life at the Museum as well as personally. She’s a friend but at the same time we embarked on a professional phase together and ended it together. When she was deputy director I was by her side at all times. That came to an end in 1996 and professionally we went our separate ways. In that sense I sometimes say that we grew up together, she much more than me of course, but it was an honour to accompany her as she’s someone I admire. I don’t think the Museum will ever sufficiently recognise everything she’s contributed. I think that ought to be acknowledged.
She threw herself with all her energy into the role of deputy director and always with the Prado first and foremost. That was her first and only priority, nothing else but the Prado and its collections. And as the person responsible for the restoration studio – a role that used to be the deputy director’s – she ensured that it became the place it is today. Although mostly now retired, the people who worked there started when she was deputy director. The guidelines that she defined and all the measures she took led to the magnificent restoration studio that exists today. Clearly, much of that is due to her.
She joined the Museum as typist and secretary to the directors, then going on to the Documentation and Archives Area in 1973, where she is responsible for the systematic filing of reports from the Restoration workshop, among other duties.
Interview recorded on May 03, 2018
