My grandfather worked till I was 12, I think. Until 1950. Then the family split up as my grandparents went to live in a small house they had managed to get in the San Fermín Colony and my parents, my brother and I went to Ciudad Lineal, which is where I still live.
For some years when I visited the Museum I used to say to people working on the door, “You know, I lived here, my grandfather was Head Porter.” As soon as I got inside: “You know, I’ve got a very indirect connection with you which is that in the 1940s my grandfather stood where you’re standing now.”
It was a very family-based childhood with grandparents who spoiled me. We used to call my grandfather Pepe and my grandmother, who was called Juana, we called Mamá Tana.
We were very happy children. Very poor but happy.
Grandson of José Prieto, Lead Concierge of the Museo Nacional del Prado during the 1940s, when he was a child he lived with his family in one of the homes belonging to the Museum.
Interview recorded on February 20, 2018