Support is being given to transport the mortal remains of Rafael Altamira and his wife Pilar Redondo back to El Campello. President Carlos Mazón has pledged financial backing to make the repatriation possible, with the Campello City Council promoting the initiative to bring the humanists home from Mexico.
Mazón has offered his personal and institutional support to Juanjo Berenguer, the mayor of El Campello, for the operation to recover the bodies of the lawyer and his wife, Pilar Redondo, who rests in Mexico City. The province has committed to backing the project with whatever resources are needed. The City Council stated that the transfer to the El Campello cemetery should proceed at the earliest opportunity.
The commitment was formalized in the past week after a meeting at the City Palace where Mazón, accompanied by Lourdes Llopis, first deputy mayor of Campellera, discussed the operation with Berenguer. The discussions included contacts with the Spanish embassy in Mexico, the Mexican embassy in Spain, a private funeral company, and the family of the lawyer who fully supported the return process. The aim is to ensure a smooth coordination across all parties involved in the repatriation.
The tomb of Rafael Altamira is in a fragile state of preservation, a reality highlighted as the project advances. With the new support, four levels of public administration have pledged involvement: local, provincial, regional, and national. Berenguer described a broadening of the initiative to include academic, legal, cultural, social, and scientific institutions, framing the effort as a public matter that needs sustained attention and resources over time.
Note: This is a forgotten tomb that does not reflect the universal legacy of Rafael Altamira, whose influence and contributions are widely recognized. The mayor and his family began the process in April, and in June the Spanish Ambassador to Mexico provided the death certificate to the El Campello City Council, marking the first procedural step. The undertaking is expected to be complex and will require cooperation from multiple authorities, including the Consulate General and national bodies. The Diputación has already signaled willingness to assist financially to ensure Altamira and his wife rest in Campello, their rightful community, where their family has roots.
The Embassy of Spain in Mexico took decisive action by appointing a Consul General and coordinating logistics for the repatriation effort. The consul located Rafael Altamira’s death certificate, registered in the Civil Status Registry on April 3, 1952, and identified the precise location of Altamira and his wife in the Spanish Pavilion of the cemetery in Mexico City. The next step involves confirming protection status and facilitating direct contact with Mexican authorities to move the couple’s request forward.
The mayor sent messages to the heads of Diputación, the Generalitat, and the central government, naming officials such as Ximo Puig, José Manuel Albares, Miquel Iceta, and the Spanish ambassadors to Mexico and Spain. The aim was to secure cooperation and share the transfer costs among the involved administrations, with Campello prepared to cover any remaining expenses. The total cost remains undetermined at this stage.
Altamira, born in Alicante in 1866, was a renowned lawyer who died in Mexico City in 1951. He lived in exile and his remains lie in a tomb within the Spanish Pavilion of the Federal District cemetery. His legacy includes being among the first Spaniards associated with the International Court at The Hague and being nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize. He held honorary doctorates from several universities, including Bordeaux, Paris, Mexico, Santiago de Chile, Lima, Columbia, and Cambridge. The repatriation effort seeks to restore Altamira to his homeland, where his family and supporters believe his final resting place belongs, in Campello, a municipality linked to his enduring legacy. [citation: Embassy of Spain in Mexico; Diputación; Generalitat]