The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Government of the Community of Madrid, Marta Rivera de la Cruzsent a letter to the Minister of Culture, Miquel Iceta, in which he conveyed his concern about the lack of security guards in the different Spanish museums, which has forced him to close spaces on some days in recent times.
«I am contacting you to convey my concern about the lack of room guards in different state museums. I myself have been able to verify, in my visits to museums in Madrid, that due to the lack of control personnel in rooms, they have been forced to close certain rooms. In some cases, 50% of the space has been closed, as happened a few days ago at the National Archaeological Museum,” the letter begins.
Let us remember that since the pandemic there have been cuts in personnel that have led to total and partial closures in some cultural institutions, the most affected being the National Archaeological Museum (MAN), the Sorolla Museum and the Cerralbo Museum, all three located in Madrid. In fact, when we published this information on ABC in the past few days, the rooms of Egypt and Greece were closed in the MAN, the situation being particularly bloody because the centenary of Tutankhamun was celebrated yesterday.
Marta Rivera de la Cruz’s letter continues: «I understand that you share this concern with me, and that you are undoubtedly on the way to a solution, even more so because of the crucial moment we are experiencing. At a time when vandalism attacks have taken place in different European art galleries, a control problem in the rooms seems to me to be especially worrying».
This previous paragraph is particularly striking because just this Saturday the first “ecoterrorist” attack in our country took place in the Prado Museum, where two activists have stuck to the paintings of ‘Las Majas’ by Goya to protest against the change climate.
The text closes: «For this reason, I personally convey my concern to you, not only as Minister of Culture of the Community of Madrid, but also as Minister of Tourism, because I fear the negative impact that temporary closures may have on the image of our region as a preferred tourist destination.