Do you remember the panic over a panther prowling around Ventas de Huelma in the west of Granada? They never found it; just a large black cat.

Well, there might not have been a black panther stalking the good folk of Ventas de Huelma but it was too good a story for the Mayor to let pass… so they have just unveiled a sculpture of a panther at the entrance to the village.

It’s a sort of Lochness Monster idea – it doesn’t exist but it attracts tourists.

Anyway, Mayor Luis Miguel Ortiz commissioned the statue using a company called Anacus. Three artists were involved Amanda Navarro, Michel Caballero and Julio F. Ortiz, who got the beastie ready for the inauguration where they, the Mayor and a TV presenter for Canal Sur unveiled it.

It’s just a tad bigger than life-sized; 60cm long and 52cm high. It only weighs 30 kilos because it is hollow. Hmmm… There might be a bit of unintentional symbolism behind it being hollow – just saying!

The inaugurations was completed with a bit of live music, drawings made by kids from the local junior school and a bouncy castle, plus refreshment and snacks provided for free by the local supermarket and restaurants.

Editorial comment: Salobreña should take note because a local lad, Juan José Guarnido, who now lives in the States, , is famous for a comic character, Blacksad… a semi-human,  black panther, detective sleuth, along the lines of Philip Marlowe.

Many salobreñeros would have liked to have seen a statue of the fictional character on the roundabout next to the bus station, but it was not to be.

(News: Ventas de Huelmas, Poniente de Granada, Andalucia)