Gelsa commemorates Manuel Lorenzo Pardo with an event dedicated to his life and legacy

The municipality of Gelsa (Zaragoza) will host the Manuel Lorenzo Pardo – Gelsa 2026 Meeting next October 3, an event dedicated to commemorating the life, career and legacy of Manuel Lorenzo Pardo.

Manuel Lorenzo Pardo, a civil engineer, was a key figure in the origins of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro. His connection with Gelsa was reflected in the visit he made to the town in 1935, together with the then Minister of Public Works, Manuel Marraco.

That episode, precisely, will have a special prominence during the meeting. The event will offer an insight into that relationship through photography and film, with an exhibition that includes images taken by Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and the screening of previously unseen footage of his visit to Gelsa in 1935.

The event is being held in the context of the Centenary of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro. The meeting is organised by the Gelsa Town Council and the Espacio Pedro Avellaned, with the collaboration of the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro.

An event centred on Manuel Lorenzo Pardo

The programme will begin at 5:30 PM, at the Espacio Pedro Avellaned, with the opening of the photographic exhibition “Gelsa in Images”, featuring photographs taken by Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and images from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro Archive.

At 6:15 PM, at the Centro Cultural La Diezma, previously unseen footage of Manuel Lorenzo Pardo’s visit to Gelsa in 1935 will be screened.

The event will continue at 6:30 PM with the round table “Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and the Ebro”, with contributions from Juan Ignacio Fernández-Bugallal Lorenzo, Manuel Lorenzo Forniés, Aránzazu Márquez Molina and J. A. Falcón.

At 7:30 PM the round table “Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and Gelsa” will take place, with contributions from Alfonso Luján Díaz, Federico Estrada Lorenzo, Rogelio Galván Plaza and Luis Germán Zubero. The round table will be moderated by Antón Castro.

The event will conclude at 8:30 PM with the closing session led by Miriam Pardos, Water Commissioner at the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro.

The exhibition “Gelsa in Images” will remain open until November 1, on Saturdays from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM and on Sundays from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.

Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and Gelsa

The meeting will make it possible to commemorate Manuel Lorenzo Pardo through his relationship with Gelsa and through different testimonies linked to that 1935 visit.

The photographic exhibition and the previously unseen footage included in the programme will allow that episode to be recovered visually, while the two round tables will address, respectively, “Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and the Ebro” and “Manuel Lorenzo Pardo and Gelsa”.

The event thus links the memory of Manuel Lorenzo Pardo with Gelsa in a year of particular significance for the Confederación Hidrográfica del Ebro, which is celebrating its Centenary.