Places

Retrospectiva Recalls the Brands and Businesses of the Past

A cultural initiative creates signs laced with nostalgia to adorn the walls of Quinto in Spain.

Better Letters

Aug 8, 2024 • 5 min read

Work in progress on the recreation of a 1930s biscuit advertisement for Quinto's 'Retrospectiva'.

Quinto is a small Spanish town of around 2000, and seems an unlikely place to find an open-air museum of vintage advertising. However, a wander through its narrow streets quickly reveals freshly painted walls adorned yesteryear's brands, mascots, and slogans. Custom murals also pay homage to businesses from the town's past.

View of a large house with a large side wall painted in grey, but now with with the addition colourful mural of a vintage advertisement for Chiquilin Artiach with a pictorial of a book running with two boxes of biscuits under his arms. — One of the walls in Quinto transformed in the 2024 edition of Retrospectiva.

These mural and sign installations are part of the town hall's cultural regenaration strategy, with sign painters, designers, illustrators, and muralists from across Spain invited to contribute. There are echoes of the Walldogs, albeit with the painters working alone on their respective pieces.

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Pedro González Baeza, aka Contiza, producing the showcard used to publicise the first Retrospectiva event in 2023.

The 'Retrospectiva' initiative is now in its second year, and the council is invested in it for the long term. Back in May, the 2024 edition added five new pieces to those from 2023, and there are more planned for 2025.

Each installation is accompanied by a wall-mounted plaque, crediting the creator and giving some historical context. A QR code then links to further information on the Quinto town hall website. (I've included these links for each of the projects highlighted below.)

Simple plaque with Quinto Retrospectiva branding, a single sentence/paragraph about the installation, the artist's name and date of production (May 2024) and a QR code. — The wall-mounted plaque below Miguel Maestro's contribution to Retrospectiva 2024 (see below).

Retrospectiva 2024

Here are the five additions from the latest edition of Retrospectiva, including the original advertising artwork for reference, where applicable.

Alfa

After five years manufacturing weapons in the early 1920s, the Spanish Alfa cooperative shifted its focus to sewing machines, and was once a rival of the American Singer brand. This 5 m (15 ft) high recreation of one of their advertisements was painted with acrylics and spray paints by Huesca muralist Edd Bhurton.

Chiquilín Artiach

Emili Ferrer i Espelt designed the original poster for this biscuit brand in 1935. The mascot was modelled on the character played by Jackie Coogan in Charlie Chaplin's first feature-length film, The Kid. This installation was painted in acrylics by Madrid-based illustrator and designer Helena Pérez García.

The original poster artwork and its recreation by Helena Pérez García's in May 2024.

Regaliz Zan

New for the 2024 edition was a protruding sign installation, created by the Valencia designer and TiposQueImportan founder, Miguel Maestro. The spinning sign was inspired by old tin boxes from the local licorice brand.

Packaging for the Zan licorice brand which was manufactured in Quinto, and the final installation of Miguel Maestro's spinning sign.

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Testing the spinning mechanism in the workshop ahead of the installation.

Renfe

Renfe is Spain's national railway company, and its history of over 80 years can be told through its iconic advertising. This poster was designed by Manolo Prieto (of Osborne Bull fame) and recreated for Retrospectiva by Zaragoza's Jesana Motilva.

Manolo Prieto's original poster, and Jesana Motilva's reproduction for Retrospective 2024.

Fábricas (Factories)

Following a similar project from the 2023 edition (see below), these small mural advertisements honour businesses from Quinto's industrial past: a brick maker, a cement factory, and an animal feed manufacturer.

The designs, by returning Retrospectiva contributor Pedro González Baeza, aka Contiza, were inspired by archival materials, including photographs, company documents, and press clippings.

Pedro González Baeza created this series of mini mural advertisements to honour former businesses from Quinto.

The Tour

The culmination of the event was a walking tour, accompanied by a brass band, with stops for the contributors to introduce their work to members of the public.