The sculpture, installed in the morning, is made of corten steel, stands 6 meters tall with a 1-meter pedestal, and measures 4.7 meters in length
Toni Marí’s sculpture 'Los Atunes' now stands prominently on Benidorm’s Poniente Promenade
Benidorm has a new city icon, the "Los Atunes", a sculpture by artist Toni Marí, installed at the intersection of Armada Española and Rey Jaime I Avenues, on Paseo de Poniente.
This sculpture is made of Corten steel, with unique oxidation characteristics that allow it to display the tones typical of weathered iron, yet protected from atmospheric corrosion.
During the morning, municipal technicians and the Parks and Gardens and Street Cleaning concessionaires prepared this emblematic thoroughfare so that the artist was able to install his work. All this took place before the eyes of citizens and visitors, who watched as the figures of three six-meter-high tuna, a one-meter-high pedestal, and the largest of the pieces, 4.7 meters long, took shape and became, from today, an icon and landmark of the city.
The installation was attended from early morning by the Mayor, Toni Pérez, and the Councillors for Urban Scene, Francis Muñoz; Parks and Gardens, José Ramón González de Zárate; and the President, Juan Díaz. In front of them, Toni Marí and his team, with the help of a powerful crane, assembled the fish, welded the pieces, and finalised the details, while the place was decorated with planters and plants.
This afternoon, around a hundred people participated in the first visit that the City Council has made to the monument. Among them, in addition to those mentioned above, were the regional representative, José Manuel Pérez Fenoll, and members of the municipal council. The mayor reiterated the municipal government's commitment to "taking art to the streets," an initiative that, in recent years, "has brought many important works and prestigious artists" to Benidorm.
Regarding the artist, he noted that the "Water Drops," located on Avenida de Beniardà, are his work and that "he has works in many avenues and cities in Spain." "That is why we believe that a sculpture of these characteristics is appropriate for this avenue." "A firm and positive commitment," he stated, "to keep our past alive and project our future."
For his part, Toni Marí briefly thanked the City Council for its support and the positive impression he received from all the people who visited his "Atunes" this afternoon.
Benidorm, a la mar y sus gentes
Junto al grupo escultórico un mupi recoge un fragmento de “Historia marinera de Benidorm (1781-1950)”, con el lema “Benidorm, a la mar y sus gentes”, en castellano, valenciano e inglés que pone en valor la vinculación de Benidorm con la mar.
«Uno de los aspectos más sorprendentes de la historia de Benidorm -mejor dicho del tramo histórico de los últimos dos siglos-, es la enorme capacidad de acción de sus gentes. Una población que osciló entre los 2.000 y poco más de 3.000 habitantes entre fines del XVIII y principios del XX, consiguió una representación singularísima en los oficios de la mar. No es sólo su predominancia absoluta en el mayor tipo de pesca que existe, la almadraba, sino renombre en la marina velera, así como en el difícil corsarismo español y también, en la selectiva marina del vapor. Y más aún, de toda esa conjunción de viajes por el redondo planeta, vendría el nacimiento del turismo, pues no se puede olvidar que los primeros edificios hoteleros e inversiones procedían de marinos benidormenses que profetizaron lo que hoy es su resultado».
