Now it is a protected park and one of Madrid’s cultural landscapes, but in the 1960s it was home to flocks of sheep grazing among its pine trees. We are talking about the Dehesa de la Villa, a natural space located northwest of the capital that is the subject of a new photographic exhibition.
José Luis Berzal, the photographer of memories. The memory of the neighborhood and the Dehesa de la Villa is the exhibition that can be seen free of charge at the Dehesa de la Villa Environmental Information and Education Center until March 29.
The exhibition features 39 photographs taken by José Luis Berzal, an artist who dedicated his life to capturing the essence of the city. He passed away this summer, so the exhibition is a way of paying posthumous tribute to him and remembering his work.
A look at everyday life
Running adventures
Born in the heart of the Tetuán neighborhood in 1930, José Luiz Berzal was a self-taught photographer. He focused on customs and the use of public space, especially in the Dehesa de la Villa park , to which 26 of the photographs in the exhibition are dedicated. Later, in the 1970s, he also captured images of groups of kids roaming the open spaces.
In this way, he turned the undeveloped streets into an opportunity for imagination and play. He portrayed people and a city under construction, with images full of emotions and fond memories.
Thanks to his German camera, the Regula Sprinty, he captured the daily lives of children and young people in Madrid neighborhoods such as Tetuán, Valdezarza, Dehesa de la Villa, and Quinta de los Pinos.
From bellboy to artist
Working in good company with José Luis Berzal. | Editorial credit: Photographic Archive of the Community of Madrid
José Luis Berzal began his working life as an apprentice in a cabinetmaker’s workshop, but soon started working as a bellboy at the Banco Hispanoamericano, where he enjoyed a 47-year career that provided him with financial stability.
He discovered his passion for photography during his military service and used his knowledge of wood to make his own photographic enlarger and obtain copies of his negatives. In his spare time, he studied at various art and photography schools in Madrid, with great masters such as Pedro Marcos Bustamante, Eduardo Peña, and Ángel Aragonés.
He participated in competitions and contests, taking his works to exhibition spaces such as the Sala del Canal de Isabel II, the Eduardo Úrculo Cultural Center, and the Sala Juana Francés. He even taught painting classes and participated in exhibitions with drawings and works in Indian ink.
Now, his photographic memory is preserved in the Photographic Archive of the Community of Madrid, and the Dehesa de la Villa Environmental Information and Education Center remembers him through this exhibition.