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Statue of José María Acuña in Santiago

José María Acuña: the sculptor of the pilgrim

José María Acuña was born in the parish of Salcedo in Pontevedra on 4 April 1903. He was a renowned sculptor that left an important artistic legacy. It is said that he has tried to convey a message with each of his works.

Acuña was born into a humble family of eight siblings. He was the son of a blacksmith and was deaf from birth, as were three of his brothers. He showed artistic talent from an early age and studied at the Regional School for the Deaf and the Blind in Santiago de Compostela.

In the city of the Apostle, he met the sculptor Francisco Asorey, and they established a bond that would accompany them throughout their lives. In 1923, he received a scholarship from the Diputación de Pontevedra, which allowed him to study at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid.

After developing his knowledge in the capital, he returned to Santiago to work as a teacher of drawing and modelling at the first institution where he studied. Soon after, he held his first individual exhibition in Pontevedra and began to make himself known.

José María Acuña

José María Acuña.

He never stopped producing. However, during the war, he decided to take some time away from art and concentrate on his teaching. In the 1970s, his work began to be recognised. His maturity allowed him to turn his workaround, and he held numerous exhibitions all over Spain.

In 1973, he retired as a teacher and was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit for his work. Years later, in 1990, he received the Castelao Medal from the Xunta de Galicia for his artistic activity. José María Acuña did not stop working until he died at the age of 88 in Vigo.

Monument to the pilgrim

After passing through O Cebreiro, on the route to Triacastela, the pilgrim ascends to the Alto de San Roque. At the top, there is a bronze sculpture that has become a hallmark of the French Way: the monument to the pilgrim.

The work was placed on the top in 1993 and is one of José María Acuña’s most emblematic works. The piece represents a pilgrim with a hat and walking stick advancing and fighting against the wind.

Monument to the pilgrim on the Alto de San Roque.

Monument to the pilgrim on the Alto de San Roque.

The sculpture is one of the most photographed on the Way of Saint James. Although it is impressive at any time of the year, when the weather conditions are adverse, it blends in perfectly with the environment.

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