-- In praise of my father

On 15 January, my dear father, Javier Casanueva Piñeiro, died suddenly at the age of 88.

A formal and dutiful man, he was always clear about his obligations and his devotions. Thus, he graduated in Law from the University of Santiago de Compostela and for 42 years he managed a cardboard company in La Albericia with which he provided for his family. But cardboard was an obligation because my father's devotion and vocation were always linked to the plastic arts. He often told me that he would have liked to be a painter, an idea that my grandfather Eduardo must have put out of his mind.

I believe that for this reason he was tolerant of each of his children's choices of vocation and profession. He left us the freedom he would have liked to have had.

For as long as I can remember, my father and I have made very simple plans: to go with my mother to La Concha beach, to walk along the Mataleñas path and the second beach of Sardinero; to share afternoons of reading; snacks, cinema sessions and to attend concerts. Music has been the common thread of our life together and from a very young age I remember going to La Plaza Porticada (with Capri ice cream during the break) and years later to the Palacio de Festivales. We have laughed, we have cried, we have been moved and we have fed on music; that invisible thread that unites all the Casanueva family.

I remember the summer of 2018 when, in front of an astonished nurse, he signed his voluntary discharge from Valdecilla because, when in doubt, he preferred to die while listening to Sir Simon Rattle by directing the London Symphony Orchestra.

During the last few summers we also shared il dolce far nienteWe were contemplating the bay and its changes of light and the movement of the boats, the pedreñeras and the trawlers. We spent the hours engrossed in the joy of admiring the beauty. Simple afternoons full of peaceful joy.

Over the last 45 years, I have not travelled with my father beyond the places near Santander, nor have I made any unusual plans. But the extraordinary thing about all this is that with him the routines became something magical, almost ritualistic. Listening to his teachings on the history of Santander, reciting sonnets, reading books and, in the last few years, listening to Stjepan Hauser (a must for everyone who visited our house) have given me many hours of happiness.

Now, in my orphanage, I think that these routines, this home that has always been my home in Santander and this stable and calm father, (we were so different in temperament and so united in soul) have allowed me to make my way far from home knowing that there was a refuge to which I could return. In "La Gaviota" time stopped many years ago.

As I mentioned earlier, my father had cultural concerns and so, encouraged by his neighbour and friend, Manolo Arce, he wrote and edited the book Old memories with La Gaviota in the background. In this book, displaying his prodigious memory, he portrays himself from his personal opinion of the work of Socrates, Plato and his dazzlement at Oscar Wilde to his intimate discovery of Gauguin, Van Gogh and the different trends in universal painting. My father was not only an admirer of fine art but also a discerning collector. This book of old memories also incorporates a series of articles published in El Diario Montañés dedicated to illustrious figures such as Voltaire, Thomas Mann, Stefan Zweig, Jorge Luis Borges and his friend the poet Gerardo Diego.

He was also devoted to the Santander Athenaeum and for years he chaired the Plastic Arts section. He organised an exhibition at the Palacete del Embarcadero with paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs owned by the Athenaeum to mark the golden jubilee of this institution. In all the activities he undertook, his delicacy and meticulousness were evident, as well as his deep love for Santander and La Montaña.

If my father has always been an important figure for me, destiny made our relationship in the period between 2013 and 2021, father and daughter, we became travelling companions in the face of adversity. His temperament changed a lot in recent years; he gained in tolerance and acceptance of life, he took it as it came.

I am left with the figure of a humanist and liberal Javier Casanueva living a solitude accompanied by books and music.

He was a curious and well-informed man until his last day, as well as a very good conversationalist. He had a beautiful voice, sang, played the guitar and spoke Spanish with admirable ease. Last Christmas we enjoyed entertaining talks about Spain and his concern for the future of our country.

God has given my father the grace to die in perfect mental condition, taking the helm of his life to the end.

Don Gregorio Marañón, by way of vital testimony, told his grandson Gregorio that one of the most important lessons he had learned throughout his life was the prevalence of goodness over intelligence, and my father, Javier Casanueva Piñeiro was, above all else, a good man.