At seven o'clock on Tuesday evening, the Virgen María roundabout in Boadilla del Monte was transformed. In front of the GILMAR office stood a large, well-lit glass case, covered by a black cloth long before the first guest arrived. Inside, something mysterious awaited. Nobody knew exactly what it was. Everyone glanced at it curiously.
This was precisely the intention.
Shortly after seven twenty, with over 200 people gathered outside the office, wine in hand, José Ramón de la Morena took the microphone. Yes, the renowned host of El Larguero, the voice of Spanish sport for decades. But this time, he wasn't speaking about football; he was there as a local resident.
“Tonight, Boadilla welcomes something that brings together three things I truly love: art, talented young people, and solidarity,” he began, gesturing towards the glass case at his side. “All of that is inside, waiting.” Pause. “But before you see it—and you will, I promise—there are some people who have important things to share.”
The cow remained covered. The audience waited in anticipation.
From the streets of Madrid to Boadilla
The event being inaugurated that evening had a story worth telling. In late 2024, 42 cow sculptures, each uniquely decorated by artists, travelled through Madrid as part of the Madrid Cow Gallery, an initiative by Provacuno—the Spanish beef sector organisation—to bring unexpected street art with a purpose. Between September and December, the cows adorned the capital's streets. In January 2025, they were auctioned in Retiro, raising over €162,000 for victims of the DANA floods in Valencia.
One of these cows was created by Lorenzo Marquina, a Fine Arts student at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, selected from over three hundred entries. GILMAR acquired the sculpture at the charity auction and decided to donate it to the people of Boadilla. Lorenzo then went off-script: he reworked the piece, giving it—his words—“a GILMAR heart”, so the artwork would feel at home in its new street. “When I started working on this piece, I didn’t know where it would end up. That’s the beauty of the creative process: it begins without a destination and ends where it’s meant to,” Marquina explained.
The speeches
Before the big reveal, the microphone was passed to Provacuno director Javier López, UFV Fine Arts director Pablo López Raso, Boadilla's mayor Javier Úbeda—who also welcomed his counterparts from Villanueva de la Cañada, Brunete, Ajalvir and Valdetorres del Jarama—and GILMAR co-CEOs Manuel Marrón (CEO of GILMAR) and Jesús Gil Marín (CEO of GILMAR).
Úbeda perhaps best captured the spirit of the evening: “Today we are not just here to receive this artwork. We are also showing that art not only beautifies public spaces, but also helps forge connections between people, especially when, as in this case, it becomes art with a cause.”
Manuel Marrón (CEO of GILMAR) put it in neighbourhood terms: “We’ve been in Boadilla for years. We know the families, we’ve supported many through some of the most important moments of their lives. In some cases, we’ve worked with parents, children and grandchildren—we’re that kind of estate agency. This artwork is our way of giving something back to the community that has given us so much.” His partner, Jesús Gil Marín (CEO of GILMAR), closed the speeches by explaining GILMAR’s connection with art: “We’ve worked with renowned artists, today with a Fine Arts student, but always sharing culture with the communities where we are present.”
José Ramón de la Morena resumed with the ease of a seasoned broadcaster, announcing that the moment had arrived. He called Lorenzo, the mayor and the two CEOs. The five gathered around the glass case.
The cloth was removed. Applause.
The cow
The sculpture is colourful, detailed, unmistakably GILMAR in palette and energy, but with something more: the touch of a young artist who understood that painting a cow for an estate agency could, if done well, mean something. And it does.
Photos were taken. First, the five protagonists of the reveal. Then, representatives of Provacuno and UFV joined. Then, almost spontaneously, the rest of the attendees approached the cow, examining it closely, touching it with curiosity. Some photographed it. Others simply paused in front of it, as we do with things that deserve a moment.
The inauguration also attracted significant media presence, local content creators and influencers, supporting an initiative that combines art, solidarity and community engagement.
Among them were young reporters from Radio Lorca, the school station at CEIP Federico García Lorca, who covered the event like true professionals. With recorders in hand, they interviewed the evening’s key figures, bringing a fresh and enthusiastic perspective to a memorable night in Boadilla.
The reception lasted until ten o’clock. The cow, acquired by GILMAR at the DANA charity auction and donated to the residents of Boadilla, will remain there permanently.
