Ave María del Quemadero school celebrates its 120 years with an exhibition

Ave María del Quemadero school has turned 120 years old. The centre held its anniversary institutional event this Tuesday, with musical performances and poetry recitals by the students dedicated to the history of the school and its ties to the Quemadero neighbourhood. The celebration includes a collective visual arts exhibition, organised with Indal-Ágora, bringing together works by 27 artists with painting, sculpture, engraving and carving. The exhibition can be visited until November 23 at the school's facilities.

Ave María del Quemadero was founded in 1906, inspired by the pedagogical principles of Father Andrés Manjón. It was born with an educational and social vocation, facilitating access to education for boys and girls from humble neighbourhoods such as El Quemadero, La Fuentecica and the Cerro de San Cristóbal. Its first classrooms, some carved into the rock, hosted a model based on practical learning, play and outdoor teaching. The event was attended by the vice-president of the Diputación Provincial de Almería, Eugenio Jesús Gonzálvez García; the councillor for Culture, Education, Museums and Traditions of the Almería City Council, Joaquín Pérez de la Blanca Pradas; the president of the Audiencia Provincial, Luis Miguel Columna Herrera, a former student of the school; the colonel subdelegate of Defence in Almería, José Manuel Lupiani Castellanos; and the vicar general of the Diocese of Almería, Ignacio López Román, among other authorities. The director of the centre, Antonio L. Acosta García, was also present along with the educational community. The territorial delegate for Education has stated that «celebrating the 120 years of Ave María del Quemadero is to recognise much more than the trajectory of a school». The councillor for Culture, Education, Museums and Traditions congratulated the educational community and recalled that «behind that figure there are 120 years of learning, of coexistence, of vocation and of commitment to Almería».