Voces del Prado

There Are New Paths Everywhere

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

I’m really fond of the Museo del Prado. But I think I’ve been really lucky in my life, in all aspects, even with my children. I went to school until I was fourteen and I have a lot of stories to tell. There were seven children in my family, and I was the oldest, which meant that when I left school I was put in charge of the sheep. When I was sixteen, I was assigned to ploughing with the mules. Then my father bought a tractor and I drove the tractor. I got married, and since there were seven of us, I had to come to Madrid with my wife and two children. That was all we had. I came in a truck that came to pick me up, because they were going to introduce a new one, and I was with that for a year. The following year I joined the bus company, EMT, and it was while I was there that I joined the Museo del Prado. When it came to saying goodbye, I said, “well, don Alfonso [Pérez Sánchez], I’m going”. And he replied, “yes, I know”, because he had to sign the release. And he added: “Don’t worry, because there are new paths everywhere”. He said something like that, although I didn’t really understand him at the time, because I was a bit upset and crestfallen. When I came here, it really felt like home.