The Lady of Elche, identity of a people far from the territory
Almost 130 years since its discovery, the people of Elche claim its return to the Valencian Country
ValenciaManuel Campello, an 18-year-old who in 1897 worked in the fields, would not expect to find in L'Alcúdia one of the most important images of Iberian art and sculpture in the Valencian Community. Since then, the Lady of Elche went through Paris, where she was exhibited at the Louvre, and finally ended up in Madrid, where she has been for 85 years, having returned to Elche on two occasions, but not for more than six months.
Many are the anniversaries of the discovery on which the people of Elche have claimed the presence of the Lady of Elche in the city. In 2015, the then mayor, Carlos González, announced as an objective to achieve "a temporary cession" of the statue and, subsequently, "the definitive return".
Eleven years after that demand and 129 since the discovery of the Lady, organizations, political parties and neighbors of Elche continue to pursue this objective that is still present.
"A joint demand for a definitive return"
Esther Díez, spokesperson for Compromís in Elche City Council, has defended that "the Lady of Elche is a heritage and identity symbol for all the people of Elche, as well as being a key and dynamic factor for the tourist and cultural development of our municipality". Political organizations have also been present at other anniversaries, such as in 2022, when Ximo Puig, then president of the Generalitat, claimed that "the Lady of Elche is a symbol, as is our fight for her. The symbol of a people proud of their origins who do not resign themselves. We will not stop in our determination to bring her home".
On the part of El Tempir, an entity for the defense of Valencian and Valencian culture, keeping the statue in Madrid "reinforces a centralism that appropriates our heritage to legitimize a national narrative". In the same way, on social networks, profiles have been created dedicated to denouncing the statue's continued presence in the capital.
The years pass and August 4th has been marked on the calendar not only as a day of celebration, but also as a day of reflection on the identity of a people and of a demand, increasingly present.