Bilbao’s city center has become an open-air gallery with the arrival of the 'Momentos' exhibition. The display brings together 55 photographs from EL PAÍS, tracing fifty years of Spanish and Basque history. It marks the newspaper’s anniversary and invites the public to confront the region’s difficult past and continuing changes.
One of the exhibition’s most recognizable faces is José Ángel Iribar, the former Athletic Club goalkeeper, now 83. In Bilbao, Iribar is more than a football legend: his portrait recalls the Basque Country’s ability to recover and the risks public figures faced during the years of ETA violence. Curator Marisa Flórez chose each image to capture moments that shaped the city and the country. The selection spans the fall of the Berlin Wall, the return of exiled leaders and Bizkaia’s industrial revival.
Marisa Flórez is credited as the author and curator of a retrospective photographic project covering the period from 1970 to 2020, reflecting her experience with this kind of exhibition.
At the opening, Bilbao’s mayor, Juan Mari Aburto, called the photographs "collective memory" and spoke about the dangers journalists faced in the Basque Country, where signing an article could put your life at risk. The exhibition confronts that history. It references the 2000 attack on journalists Juan Francisco Palomo and Aurora Intxausti. As Aburto pointed out, "there is no photo" of the attack, but it remains vivid in the city’s memory.
This Bilbao edition of 'Momentos' stands out for its local focus. Five photographs were added specifically for this stop. They revisit Bizkaia’s industrial era, when smoke rose from Altos Hornos, and the return of lehendakari Leizaola from exile. Iribar’s lasting influence also features, alongside the Athletic Club’s river parade on the gabarra and the Aste Nagusia festival. For many residents, these images are part of daily life and identity as well as history.
The exhibition is open to the public on Ercilla street until September 24. Each photo includes a QR code linking to audio commentary from Cadena Ser, where visitors can hear Marisa Flórez explain the context behind each shot. Telefónica and local institutions support the project, which has already traveled from Madrid to Vigo and Gijón before reaching Santander. Organizers say Bilbao was a necessary stop, given the city’s distinctive story over the past fifty years.
The opening drew a crowd that included Iribar, Mayor Aburto, regional officials, former EL PAÍS directors and figures from Basque football. The international milestones and local events link the Basque Country’s story to Spain’s broader history of change and renewal.
Since its founding in 1976, EL PAÍS has covered Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy, reporting on terrorism and the evolution of its regions. The 'Momentos' exhibition distills this history into a direct, accessible visual journey. For Bilbao, the display is more than a look back: it reminds visitors that memory and history live in newspapers and in the streets where events unfolded.
