Salvador Dalí said of Maruja Mallo that she was "half angel, half shellfish." Ramón Gómez de la Serna defined her as a "little witch" and an "artist with fourteen souls." And Federico García Lorca affirmed that her paintings were the ones he had ever seen painted "with the greatest imagination and sensuality." Maruja Mallo (Viveiro, 1902 - Madrid, 1995) is remembered as an unclassifiable figure: she was cultured, cosmopolitan, talkative, and entertaining, and, at the same time, a humble, meticulous, and rigorous artist. Throughout her career, Mallo – whose real name was Ana María Gómez González – was an unattainable talent, as can be seen in the major exhibition that the Botín Center in Santander dedicated to it until September 14, entitled Maruja Mallo. Mask and Compass. Paintings and drawings from 1924 to 1982.

It is inevitable that photographs do not do justice to the life of buildings. Images reflect how the building relates to the fabric around it, capture details and atmospheres, and suggest paths. But until one visits a building, one cannot grasp its full magnitude. Likewise, it is perhaps a degree of excellence that a building is not exhausted in its image. The Botín Center in Santander is one such building. The first building by Italian architect Renzo Piano, winner of the Pritzker Prize in 1998, has two lives. The metal stairs and terraces that surround it on the outside, known as the pachinko, make it a privileged viewing point over the bay and the city. One of the attractions is a 23-metre long diving board over the sea. And, inside, it houses uses such as an auditorium, educational spaces, two large exhibition halls, a restaurant and a shop. "A million people pass through the building every year, some 250,000 of whom come in to see the exhibitions. It's a good number, but we have put up signs to call visitors, so that if they have reached the door, they should come in to see the exhibitions," say sources from the centre.