Garrigues y Sotogrande, por Carlos Rodríguez Braun

Pocos nombres están tan asociados a Sotogrande como el de Antonio Garrigues Walker. Hace medio siglo, cuando no había aquí más que un puñado de familias españolas, la suya era una de ellas.

Muchas personas conocen a Garrigues como jurista, que lideró el despacho de su padre hasta convertirlo en la primera firma de abogados de España, con una importante proyección internacional. Contó para ello con un equipo de profesionales de gran valía, entre los que destacó Daniel García-Pita, otro veterano de Sotogrande.

En España y en varios países de Europa y del mundo se sabe quién es ese Antonio Garrigues Walker jurista y empresario. Pero en Sotogrande conocemos además otros aspectos de su persona y sus aficiones, que ha cultivado aquí durante décadas, como la pesca y el golf. Y el teatro, que no puede faltar en su vida.

En su casa de Sotogrande llegó a dirigir casi medio centenar de sus obras, siempre con el respaldo activo de su mujer, Fran Miranda, sus hijos y, con el paso del tiempo, también sus nietos. Ha convocado a actores aficionados pero entusiastas, entre los que me cuento.

Este agosto de 2019 hemos tenido doblete del Garrigues literario, como dramaturgo y como poeta, en ambos casos en el Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande.

El 22 representamos la tradicional “oda” de Garrigues, titulada: La farándula del saber, en la que despliega su habitual ironía, esta vez sobre la sabiduría humana, y la dificultad que tenemos de percibir sus considerables limitaciones.

Y, por fin, el 26, Antonio presentó su primer libro de poesía, Amores vivos, amores muertos (Editorial Huerga & Fierro), y algunos de sus actores, jóvenes y no tan jóvenes, recitamos sus poemas en un escenario que Lula Marroquín, imprescindible siempre en la troupe, imaginó como una reunión de poetas en el Café Gijón, que leen sus textos.

Recuerda Antonio en el prólogo que en todas sus obras de teatro siempre incorpora un poema. Y así ha sido también este verano en Sotogrande. Dice asimismo que su poemario le suscita vértigo e inseguridad, y que ignora si será un éxito o un fracaso, concluyendo con humor: “Es lo que tiene ser, a mi edad, un primerizo”.

Garrigues and Sotogrande

Carlos Rodríguez Braun

Few names are as closely associated with Sotogrande as that of Antonio Garrigues Walker. Half a century ago, when there was only a handful of Spanish families here, his was one of them.

Many people know of Garrigues as a jurist who ran his father’s office before it became the first law firm in Spain and became known internationally. That was achieved thanks to an excellent team of professionals, including Daniel García-Pita, another Sotogrande veteran.

People in Spain, and several other countries in Europe and around the world, know who the jurist and businessman Antonio Garrigues Walker is, but in Sotogrande we also know more about his personality and his hobbies, which he has cultivated here for decades, such as fishing and golf. And theatre, which is an essential part of his life.

He has even directed nearly 50 of his own works at his house in Sotogrande, with active support from his wife, Fran Miranda, his children and, over time, his grandchildren too. He has brought together actors who are amateur but also enthusiastic, of whom I am one.

During this August of 2019 we have had a double helping of the literary Garrigues, as a playwright and also as a poet, at the Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande on both occasions.

On 22nd there was the traditional ‘ode’ by Garrigues, titled La farándula del saber, in which he displays his habitual irony, this time about human wisdom and the difficulty we have in perceiving its considerable limitations.

And on 26 August, Antonio finally presented his first book of poetry, Amores vivos, amores muertos (published by Huerga & Fierro) and some of his actors, young and not so young, recited his poems on a stage which Lula Marroquín, always an essential member of the troupe, imagined as a meeting of poets in the Café Gijón, who read out his texts.

In the prologue to the book Antonio recalls that every one of his theatrical works includes a poem, and that has also been the case in Sotogrande this summer. He also says that his poetry causes him vertigo and insecurity, but he ignores whether it will be a success or failure, concluding with humour “It’ll be whatever it has to be, when you start as a beginner at my age”.