Torremolinos 'resets' tender to theme La Batería park with famous cartoonist's characters

José Rodríguez Cámara

Torremolinos

Saturday, 22 March 2025, 07:56 | Updated 08:15h.

The procedure opened by Torremolinos town hall for the manufacture in large format of three dimensional characters of Francisco Ibáñez, with the idea of placing them in the Parque de la Batería and creating a themed route dedicated to the protagonists of one of the most beloved comics by Spanish readers, is starting again.

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Although the tender, opened in November 2024, generated interest , with a company from Cuenca and another from Galicia submitting bids, in the end, no award was made. Municipal sources explained that it was decided to "reset" this phase of the project, in search of "higher quality, in accordance with the request of the artist's heirs".

The idea of turning Mortadelo - disguised as an 'espeto' (skewered sardine) - along with Filemón and Rompetechos into an additional attraction in Torremolinos' main green area was announced by the mayor, Margarita del Cid, at the 2024 edition of the Fitur travel trade fair in Madrid. This initiative is supported financially by the Junta de Andalucía, through a 60,000 euro grant from the regional ministry of tourism, which represents the bulk of the investment. The planned timeline aims for these figures to be installed in the park by August 2025. Despite only five months remaining, the local administration said that there will be no issue in meeting the deadline.

IU-Podemos, however, criticised the municipal management of this matter. Councillor David Tejeiro said that the fact that the previous attempt to contract the reproductions had to be repeated is a sign of "lack of foresight", considering that those in charge of the local government team have not bothered to "sound out the market". "If they do not meet the deadlines, they will have to return the money from the subsidy for the project," he said.

The use of the image of the well-known anti-heroes created by Ibáñez has meant that Torremolinos town hall has had to negotiate with the owners of the rights to use them, the publishing house Penguin Random House, as well as having to have the final design of the pieces approved before they are exhibited in the park.

Initially, the agreement reached for the use of the characters was 24,000 euros for six years. However, after an exchange between the company and Torremolinos council, the offer was improved, and an eight-year term was agreed upon.