Linares, mecca of ‘Raphaelism’

Raphael never gets old. The artist, born in Linares in 1943, remains fully present at his 78 years and after six decades above the stage. Now even more thanks to the documentary series' Raphaelismo 'produced by Movistar +, and to the exhibition with the same name, opened in the Gran Via de Madrid by the Telefónica Foundation.

Raphael's fans are congratulating on these milestones. In that sense, Linares is the reference nerve center for his followers. Its hometown offers a wide cast of elements linked to the figure of the most international Linaran artist.

Raphael Museum, a nerve center for its fans.
Without a doubt, the most emblematic place is the Raphael Museum, located in The Posite of Linares, an 18th century building in the middle of the mining city. Opened in 2011, the museum has more than 400 original pieces and documents about the singer's career.

The tour through its different rooms is carried out by an audio guide that immerses the visitor in the sounds and images, some unpublished, which have marked Raphael's inexhaustible trajectory.

The visit allows move to different moments in Raphael's personal life and career. Since its childhood and adolescence, the years of its explosion and boom in the 1960s, its settlement at the international peak of the 70's, as well as its artistic evolution in the 80's, 90's and already in the 21st century. All of this with a unique collection that brings together posters, stage suits, its complete discography in Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, English or French and an endless number of memories. Special mention for the room that keeps the most important awards received by the artist. Among them, the uranium disc, granted in 1982 for the cumulative sale of more than 50 million copies.

A statue, a 'Belin' and a street dedicated to his figure.
Next to the Museum, the itinerary of the 'Raphaelis' has recently increased with the statue in its honor, located in the City Hall square, in front of the Museum. It is a large sculpture, with a height of 2.80 meters and 200 kilos of weight, composed of plastic resin and recycled glass. It is the first that has been made with this material and dedicated to a national artist. It was opened by Raphael himself in October 2021, thanks to the collaboration of the City Council and Ecoglass.

The next stop on this hilvanated road for Raphael fans is located on the façade of the I.E.S. Huarte de San Juan, on Rector Muñoz Fernández Street, corner with Senda de la Moza. There, tourists can enjoy the spectacular mural 'El Niño de Linares'. One work of the prestigious Portuguese plastic artist 'Belin' which reflects "a Raphael that is reinvented and, at the same time, remains in force in time," according to the author himself.

Finally, the street of the city It also has in mind the figure of the "Nightingale" of Linares. Since 1996, the central Orrilla Street was renamed Raphael Street, to leave its seal also on the city's tracks.

For all this, Linares is not only known to be the cradle of Raphael, the Predilect Son of the city since 2018, but can also be considered the mecca of 'Raphaelism', an essential place of pilgrimage for all Raphaelists.