Voces del Prado

From the Halls to Management Messenger

Francisco Manso Guerrero, Gallery attendant and Clerical Support, 1966-1991

I don’t know whether someone was off work or fell ill. But the caretaker came to me one day and said, “Manso”, because everyone calls me Manso everywhere, “Manso, you’re going up to Management to help the assistant, because someone is ill”. And the next day he says to me, “Off you go!”. And I said, “But I don’t know anyone; they’ll probably ask me to get someone I don’t know, and I’ll have to ask”. “You just go up!”, he insisted. But in the end, there were two of us, because there was someone else as well, Emilio Criado. I think a daughter-in-law of his now works at the Museum. Later, the man died, but there was someone else. There always had to be someone available in case they sent us to deliver a message to the Ministry of Culture; someone always had to go. Every day you arrived, and they sent you there. At that time the Ministry was located in the Paseo de la Castellana. And we took the bus to get there. At that time, there always had be someone available, in case they had to go to the Ministry at any moment. When the person who was off work came back, I said, “well, tomorrow I won’t come any more”. And they said, “look, they’ve said you have to stay here for ever”. “But how can I stay?” “You have to stay, because they need you”. And I was there up until 1991, when I left.