Rampa-Minero

The monumental sculpture was financed by a crowdfunding, following the example of the commemorative monuments traditionally dedicated to the great figures of industrialisation. However, in this case, it was not a tribute to a good patron, a dedicated guardian of his flock and his estates. Instead, in the powerful figure by Lombardía, the recognition and exaltation was focused on the workforce, the men and women of the mine and, in particular, the fourteen people who died on the 31^st August 1995 in the tragedy at the San Nicolás Mine, the last one of the mining works still in operation today.

An imposing torso made out of bronze, with a strong expressive vigour and without any anecdotal component, houses a mine ramp in its core. A solid sculpture, fixed to the ground, where the traditional pedestal is replaced by a Corten steel support and a concrete footing. The lit flame that it originally housed inside was intended to symbolically preserve the conservation of memory.

Rampa-Minero has to be contemplated within the framework of the prolific creative career of Miguel Ángel Lombardía. This is an artist who, by combining procedures, resources and several disciplines - painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration, graphic work - has charted new directions that have taken him from social realism to neo-expressionism, passing through the neo-figurative art. A dense and meditated work with a clear sense of identity has entered the world of the mine, reconciling social commitment, expressivism, symbolism and material reaffirmation.

The signs on the monument bear the following dedicatories: "To the miners all over the world who have died in work accidents. Mieres, 31^st August, 1995" and "This monument was inaugurated by crowdfunding on the 4^th November, 1996, the feast of Santa Bárbara, patron saint of miners".

Natalia Tielve García