A very special date that once again featured journalist, Cristina Zumaquero and Sebastián Fernández 'Basti', the soul of the MCF Foundation's Social Department, as hosts of an event that is in its sixth year.
As is tradition, the gala was attended by representatives of the three main institutions; City Hall, Diputación Provincial and Junta de Andalucía, as well as a broad representation of Málaga CF's male, female and Genuine teams, members of the MCF Academy and the Club’s various departments. Judicial administrator and president of the Board of Trustees of the MCF Foundation, José María Muñoz, and Kike Pérez, the Club’s general manager, headed up the Malaguista delegation.
Museo Picasso Málaga, Fundación El Pimpi, Cervezas San Miguel and Grupo LIMSAMA were the 'four legs of the chair' structuring an event that kicked off full of Malagueño rhythm with Dry Martina and her song “Ahora.”
At the gala, broadcast on the Club's official channels via the 101TV signal, the unmistakable voice of Jorge Ramos was greatly missed. Basti remembered it with joy and sent a beautiful applause to heaven. He also made the same gesture to the father of José María Muñoz, who recently passed away.
Special mention was given to the sporting milestones achieved by Unicaja de Málaga, Copa del Rey basketball champion; BeSoccer CD UMA Antequera, futsal cup champion; and Costa del Sol Málaga, Copa de la Reina handball champion. And, of course, Rubén Castro's individual record and his 285 goals scored in professional football, as the top Spanish scorer in history in goals scored between the First and Second Division, obtained in the ranks of Málaga CF.
The “believing is achieving” and “difficult doesn’t mean impossible” slogans can be applied to, as Basti would say, one of Málaga CF's invisibles. Alberto, a maintenance employee, starred in the ‘Siempre Fuerte Applause' this year, filling the auditorium with emotion.
And, speaking of emotion, the MCF Foundation's Supercapacitad@s School is a specialist in touching the heart. ‘A la Grupa’, the group that created the hymn “Somos Genuinos”, performed in the company of several Genuines dressed in their Malaguista kits.
The gala progressed and it was time to show the work of artist, Andrés Mérida, who captured through a digital, expressionist process and inspired by Pablo Picasso, an absolutely original and non-transferable recreation of Pablo Ráez. Amazing.
Then, of course, it was time for the awards. Three for the social entities; Teléfono de la Esperanza de Málaga, Asociación Española contra el Cáncer en Málaga and Asociación Superhéroes: un Niño, una Sonrisa. The Abdallah Ben Barek Prize, which was presented by the Moroccan legend himself, went to CD Flamencos Amputados Sur. And the Siempre Fuerte Special Award, the first in history to be awarded posthumously, went to Javier Imbroda. His brother Blas collected it. “Javier was always strong until the last minute and he continues to be so from heaven,” he said, accompanied by Rosa, Pablo Ráez's mother who came with her daughter Esther, and remembered her brother with some lovely words.
The catchy, Malagueño song 'Al son de la buena vida' by Dry Martina put the musical finishing touch to an event full of life and strength, perfectly exemplified in the final group photo on stage. How right Pablo was… If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. Until next year! Siempre Fuerte!
