People from Spain's cultural world gathered at Madrid's San Isidro funeral home to bid farewell to Gonzalo Suárez, a filmmaker and journalist who also wrote. He died in Madrid on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, aged 92. The Spanish Academy of Cinematography and RTVE confirmed his death.
The funeral chapel soon filled with people who had worked with Suárez at different points in his career. Those attending included the Minister of Culture, Fernando Trueba and Cristina Huete. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón came too, as did Maribel Verdú and Charo López. Many knew him personally.
Beyond the Goya awards, Suárez received Spain’s National Film Award in 1991 and the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts in 1990, Europa Press reported. He had been named Goya de Honor 2026. His filmography included La Regenta and Remando al viento, which won him the Goya for Best Director. The Spanish Academy and RTVE said the honorary award recognised his work across cinema and the written word, including journalism.
The awards tell only part of the story. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón arrived alone in black, visibly affected. She had worked with Suárez on Remando al viento and Oviedo express, and their professional relationship continued for years.
Charo López called him a wonderful director and remembered the trust he placed in her at the start of her career. Their work together began with Ditirambo in 1969. Too distressed to speak at length, López said her heart was broken.
Maribel Verdú also paid tribute on Instagram, sharing a playful image of herself riding on Suárez's back with the message "#gonzalosuarez D.E.P." Bibiana Fernández and Rossy de Palma came to the farewell. Producer and businessman Enrique Cerezo said Suárez would be greatly missed.
Television had planned to honour him with Remando al viento and show his final conversation after he received the Goya de Honor 2026 in Barcelona. An earlier Russpain report noted those plans. RTVE's coverage and retrospectives highlighted by El País have also renewed attention to Ditirambo and El detective y la muerte.
Those films helped shape Suárez's reputation as one of the most unusual and independent voices in Spanish cinema. RTVE has prepared remembrance materials and archival programming around his work, including his final public appearance as Goya de Honor 2026. The family and the Spanish Academy did not disclose the cause of death.
The Minister of Culture said the government would examine how to organise a major tribute. Suárez, the minister said, deserved recognition as one of the great figures of Spanish culture. No such event has yet been held, and the proposal gives the Madrid farewell an institutional dimension.
Those who came to Madrid remembered more than Suárez's film titles: they recalled the trust he gave actors and the friendships he kept, part of his place in Spain's cultural memory.
