“Águilas is a town of artists!” The phrase, popular in this town in the southern part of the Region of Murcia and already near the border with Almería, was often uttered by the greatest artist ever born in these parts: Francisco Rabal. Or Paco Rabal, as everyone knew him. He would become one of the most notable actors in Spanish cinema, theatre, and audiovisual culture of the 20th century, and he also enjoyed significant international reach, working with some of the finest directors from France, Italy, Mexico or Argentina.
But here, in Águilas, the beautiful enclave on the Murcian coast from which he came, the unforgettable actor was also ‘cousin Paco’ to many locals. From a large and humble family, everyone loved him. And he loved everyone back, whether kin or not.
This year, Águilas marks the centenary of his birth by dedicating most of its cultural activity to an artist as exceptional as the performer of unforgettable films such as Nazarín (1959) and Viridiana (1961), both by Luis Buñuel, The Holy Innocents (Los Santos Inocentes) (1984) by Mario Camus, Tie Me Up! (1989), by Pedro Almodóvar, or successful series such as Juncal (1989), directed by Jaime de Armiñán.
Francisco Rabal: 100 Years of a Distinguished Neighbor
Born on March 8, 1926 in La Cuesta de Gos, a small hamlet in the Águilas countryside, the actor, poet and troubadour always kept a close bond with his homeland. He would return here whenever he could, and here, facing Calabardina Beach — about 8 km from Águilas —, he had his family residence, the legendary Milana Bonita, named in memory of the magpie he cared for and loved Azarías, his memorable character in The Holy Innocents.
In this house, which preserves its iconic painted-tile sign even though it no longer belongs to the Rabal family, both Paco and his wife, the equally remarkable actress Asunción Balaguer, welcomed for decades countless artists, writers, relatives and friends with immense affection. Fronting the sea, and with views of two of Águilas’s natural landmarks — Cabo Cope to the left and the Fraile Island to the right, in the distance — this home was also a meeting point for that intense, joyful and spontaneous life that the Rabal-Balaguer couple and those around them enjoyed so much.
