Voces del Prado

I Joined on 9th May 1966

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

My name is Francisco Manso Guerrero. I joined the Museo del Prado on 9th May 1966. I had an uncle here, David Manso, who was Carlos Manso’s father, who had his laboratory in the building of El Casón del Buen Retiro. My uncle was a policeman and he worked here as commissioner. He told me, “Look, we need staff; they’ve said that new staff are coming and maybe you’re interested, if you already have a job in the afternoon”. Because in those days you only worked four hours in the morning. You started at ten and finished at two o’clock. You didn’t earn much, just three hundred or three hundred and fifty pesetas. Almost all of us who worked here were also working in another place at the same time. There were two who worked at the city bus company (EMT), three or four municipal policemen and another four or five who worked in the health sector. There were also a number of retired Civil Guards who were offered the opportunity to fill these positions.
So my uncle called me, I came and I was interviewed by Pilar Pérez, who was the management secretary, the one who ran everything. I remember that she spoke to my uncle. When somebody new came to work at the Museum, my uncle had the job of going to the neighbourhood where they lived in order find out what they were like, because you had to present a criminal record and another certificate from the Falange. There were some who wanted to work at the Museum, but because they’d had some incident, they weren’t allowed. I remember that Doña Pilar told my uncle, “I’m not going to ask you to keep an eye on this lad”. And my uncle replied, “I shall be answerable for him”. I don’t know whether it was a Tuesday. Felipe [Fernández] was the father of Sonsoles [Fernández Revilla] and he did all sorts. He was a caretaker, but he was also a tailor and he made the uniforms; and he was also in charge of the books. Although he was later made independent and he got out of there. So then they said to me, “come in so that Felipe can take your measurements and tomorrow you can come in to work”. And I asked, “look, could it be Monday?”. And they replied, “well Monday, then”. And I left the Museum in March 1991 due to incompatibility, given that I was also working somewhere else, at the bus company, EMT. Before that, I’d had to ask for permission from the Ministry of Culture to work at the Museum and they’d given it to me; but then, later on, they sent me a letter informing me that I had to choose one job or the other. So I left the Museum, because I earned less money there and I had a family to support.