Voces del Prado

There Are Days When I Dream about the Museo del Prado

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

When I joined the Museum, I was the first to arrive. I’d get the key and go upstairs. I might be alone, so I’d start to sing. The next to arrive was nearly always Natividad Galindo and she’d say to me, “Manso, are you already singing?” And she’d start singing too. I worked with María Merino and Santiago for fourteen years, because when she arrived, I’d already been there for eleven years. And we had a great time together, as well as with the secretaries, like Chelo and Angelines. I found it hard not to cry when I had to leave. In those days we were just one big family. There are still days when I dream about the Museo del Prado. You wake up and you think, “Well what about that!”