A group of comedians got together on the 27th of June, for a benefit gig in Molvízar, in aid of the comedian Manolo de Vega, who has been suffering with chronic illness, which has resulted in him having to have both legs amputated, and left one of his hands partially paralysed.
The comedians appearing were Los Chichos, Chiquetete, Bigote Arrocet and Blanca Villa… all of whom may not ring a lot of bells with our readers, but are extremely well known around Spain and get plenty of TV time between them, and all offered their talent completely free in support of their old friend, who had a long career with many years appearing regularly on TV shows, but since his illness has fallen on hard times.
Unfortunately, despite half-page coverage in the Ideal[mappress][mappress] newspaper, the event fell victim to the economic crisis… we made enquiries with the venue, La Cumbre in Molvízar, and Vicente, the owner, informed us that despite a huge poster campaign and media coverage, the event was poorly attended. “This area has been hard hit during the recession, and farmers are getting as little as 10 cents a kilo from the bean harvest, for example, and our other main employer, the construction industry, is on its knees… despite plenty of verbal support, and some of Spain’s finest comedians giving their time for free, people just don’t have the money.” He explained. We asked him if he would try again, “No, I don’t think so. Everybody loves Manolo and realises it is a worthy cause… but people in such a poor area are just not able to give the support they would like.”