Hundreds of dresses, furniture, her piano or her Mercedes are part of the collection of the artist's museum that has opened its doors 16 years after her death. Myths are ethereal, they do not take place and they transcend time. It is not easy to condense them, to anchor them to a physical space, but if it is achieved, the result may be the closest thing to a temple for those who profess that kind of mythomaniac faith. The Rocío Jurado Museum in Chipiona is, since last Saturday, July 2, one of those places. Entangled in bureaucratic obstacles and family disputes, the facility has taken 14 years to open, but in its first hours it has already revealed itself as a must-see for anyone who wants to review the life and work of what is perhaps the most important folklore of the century XX and one of the most internationally renowned Spanish artists. All this valuable display was revealed last Saturday night at an opening ceremony that had some 500 attendees, including the singer's daughter and universal heiress to her legacy, Rocío Carrasco, dressed in fuchsia pink, and in which Miguel Poveda acted, but in which the graphic media were banned from recording images of the interior. “The blood of an artist ran through the veins of Rocío Jurado, as well as those of Camarón, Lola, Paco de Lucía… Andalusian blood ran. And that cannot be a coincidence. Andalusia and art always go hand in hand, and this museum that we are inaugurating today is a tribute to music, power, cante and this land”, read Rocío Carrasco in her speech at the opening ceremony. "My mother loved to sing, she was happy when they listened to her and she dreamed of having a museum here in Chipiona, but what she really dreamed of was growing old in this land," the daughter of the folklore added excitedly. The museum takes a complete look at the life and professional process that María del Rocío Mohedano Jurado (Chipiona, 1944- Alcobendas, Madrid, 2006) went through to go from being La Niña de los Premios, as she was known at the beginning of her career, to La Más Grande, nickname with which she died of pancreatic cancer when she was already a myth of Spanish song in life. Those origins give a good account of the 200 pesetas and the bottle of La Casera that she won in one of her first awards or the recreation of the dress with which she performed in one of her first concerts. The endless sequins, taffeta and silks that give shape to the excessive wardrobe that Jurado wore in each public appearance give a good account of the aura that he enjoyed at the end of his days. Thanks to these more than 400 designs —only a part of which are on display—, the visitor connects with key moments in the artist's career, such as the bullfighter-inspired dress that he wore at the opening gala of Expo 92 in Seville or elements of the costumes for the musical Azabache, also held within that international event. Although the viewer can also peek into more intimate moments, such as her ID and her passport, the artist's dressing table or the office of her personal secretary, Juan de la Rosa. The museum's funds, already bulky in themselves, have grown ostensibly after Carrasco has decided to donate even more pieces after the recent unpacking – narrated by Mediaset – that he made of his mother's personal belongings that he had guarded in a furniture repository. “The collection has multiplied, we have had to make a new inventory. We have so much that we will do thematic exhibitions”, assures Aparcero. After the inauguration, the hours are from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00, every day of the week. The ticket price will be 9 euros —with reductions for groups or certain age groups— and it can be purchased online through https://www.rociojurado.es/, where an email and some phones -info@rociojurado.es and 685 93 51 79/ 685 93 51 88. As a backdrop to the negotiations for the cultural facility —which will be provisionally located in the city's congress space, until it goes to a theater and museum that is to be built in the municipality—, the family war has made more headlines than the exhibition space itself. News obtained from: https://elpais.com/gente/2022-07-03/rocio-jurado-ya-tiene-su-templo-en-chipiona.html
