One of the Costa del Sol's most snapped pieces of street sculpture will be restored to original state after being vandalised 18 years ago

It was 2007 when Enrique Bodero, a multidisciplinary artist based in Benalmádena, was struck by a thought as he drank coffee in La Tribuna, a business that has since closed, near the square of the same name in Arroyo de la Miel. Watching Juan, the waiter, pacing back and forth with his tray in his hand, Enrique thought of the key role that waiters and all the workers in the hospitality sector had played in the development of the Costa del Sol. He reflected that "working flat out, one and a half shifts a day, those men and women" had built up the Costa, and yet "not even a plaque of recognition had been placed for them in any public space".

He thought that a solution had to be found to this problem and so he asked for an appointment with the then mayor of Benalmádena, Enrique Bolín. He put forward the idea of creating a sculpture as a tribute that could be displayed in a public place. Bolín agreed and Bodero got down to work. "I asked Juan, the waiter from La Tribuna, to come to my studio dressed as he was every day at work, and that's how I portrayed him, with his apron, his order pad and pen, and his tray with a bottle of wine and two glasses," said the artist.

The sculptural assembly was completed with a table, on which the following inscription can be read: "In tribute to the waiters, men and women, who through their work have contributed to the development of the Costa del Sol." Next to it were two chairs. Bodero's idea was to create an interactive sculpture, allowing people to sit at it and even have a coffee at that table, alongside the bronze Juan. And indeed, that is exactly what has happened.

The work, located in the Avenida de la Constitución, "has become the most photographed street sculpture on the Costa del Sol". "This image has reached half the world," says the artist, who added, "It is not located on a pedestal, but at street level, so anyone can sit there."

What few people know is that 18 years ago it was installed in that street and shortly afterwards it was vandalised. Originally, as has already been mentioned, the sculpture had two chairs, but for a long time now there has only been a table and one chair. Bodero explains that after a refurbishment of the pavement in that area, shortly after the sculpture was installed, it had to be moved, and when it was reinstalled, one of the chairs was not properly secured. Someone noticed this and decided to take it home.

So much time has passed with just one chair that few people remember what the original work looked like, but now Benalmádena town hall has decided to restore it to its original state. "It's a nice touch," the artist declared.

The council has now commissioned Antonio Quesada, an artist responsible for many of the works of art displayed on the streets of the municipality, to create an exact replica of the chair that still remains. For this, it has also had to request express permission from the artist, who must give written consent for the modification of his work.

As Quesada explained, his plan is to travel to Benalmádena, take measurements of the chair, and then create a copy in his workshop, which will be installed before February this year.