San Miguel Historical Cemetery
FELIX SAENZ CALVO
Félix Sáenz Calvo was born in San Román de Cameros in 1859 and, like other Cameranos, he was forced to emigrate. First to Úbeda, where he got a job at a relative’s business, and then to Málaga in 1877. He started a textile business in calle Nueva at first, and then, in calle Sagasta, together with his relatives. During his time there, he kept a close eye on the city’s market landscape and consumer habits. The surprising demise of the property he owned forced him to move to its final location; an 1886 property that had previously been extended onto the magnificent, modernist building that still stands tall today in the square named after him.
From 1902, he managed the business alone and applied a commercial philosophy that would be key to his success: “Buy more, to sell more and sell for cheaper”. He used to buy whole batches from Catalonian factories with which he would get more competitive prices, that would favour the final consumer, and retailers, too. This is how he got a stronghold of the working-class market as he distributed all across Spain and Morocco.
Having established a social and economic foundation, he expanded and entered the luxury real estate sector, advocating the building of Las Casas de Félix Saénz on Paseo de Reding. Félix Saénz presided over the Board of Directors of the society that built the Caleta Palace hotel.
He had a great public image; he was a counselor for the conservative party, member of parliament in the Spanish Government, and later down the line, a senator. During the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, he became affiliated with his political party, la Unión Patriótica (the Patriotic Union).
He belonged to various Málaga institutions, like the Chamber of Commerce, the Málaga Mercantile Circle and the Port Authority Board. He was President of the Buena Muerte (Mena) Confraternity that, in 1925, got Primo de Rivera and Spanish Legion Tercio in Morocco to march in the Mena procession. He was named the adopted son by the City Council and the Provincial Government, and awarded many honours. He was one of the advocates for Jesús and María’s nursing home and the founding of some Industrial Schools that would foster artisanal teachings, a project that would never see its potential due to his death in 1926. The funeral procession meandered through the city’s main streets followed by a large crowd of people.
His mausoleum holds great architectural value. It was built between 1926 and 1933 in Art Deco style by Antonio Palacios, an architect, making its white, marble entrance stand out; one that the sculptor Francisco Palma García contributed to. It shows an exquisitely balanced version between columns and carrying angels, aligning the flutes of the shafts with the pleats of the tunics. They support a round tondo clearly depicting Christ’s face in eucharistic symbology. In the interior, a beautiful stain-glassed window appears with a very stylised cross. It was made by the company Maumejean with prevailing ocher and honeydew tonalities.
Texts: Francisco J. Rodriguez Marin · English Translation: Francisco Pineda Castillo and Sonny Arthur Tuke · English Narration: Sonny Arthur Tuke · Production: Photo Video Digital