Juanjo Guarnido; the artist who spotlights the name of Salobreña around the world.

Soon, visitors to Salobreña will be greeted by a very special character, John Blacksad; a comic book character created by Juanjo Guarnido.

So who is Juanjo Guarnido? You could say that currently this artist, born in Salobreña, is the most internationally known Salobreñero. Juanjo Guarnido is the artist creator of Blacksad, along with Juan Diaz Canales, who writes the scripts.

Blacksad is a comic series that enjoys great international success with over a million copies sold worldwide. The Adventures of John Blacksad have been translated into 14 languages; some as exotic as Japanese, Taiwanese or Flemish.

All episodes of the series have been awarded important international awards, including two Eisner Awards (considered the Oscars of comics) as Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, among many others.

In this series, a cast of anthropomorphic animal moves through the streets of the United States in the 50’s. The first volume, Un lugar entre las sombras (A Place Among the Shadows) (2000), served as the presentation of the leading-roll detective, John Blacksad; a sort of feline Bogart investigating the murder of a former lover.

Racism, espionage and witch hunts, the underworld of New Orleans and a tribute to the world of the circus and the legendary Route 66 visit the other titles in the series.

Coming soon, a sculpture of this catlike detective will crown the roundabout placed at the main entrance to Salobreña to welcome all visitors coming into town. Salobreña finally honours its most international man, a little known artist until now in this land but it will make the name Salobreña walk around the world hand by hand with art and culture.

(News: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)