The emblematic figure of Curro, mascot of Expo 92, has been stolen from its location next to the Barqueta Bridge just a month after its installation. The City Council of Seville has announced that it will report the incident.
The statue of Curro, the iconic mascot of the 1992 Universal Exposition in Seville, has disappeared from its site in the Isla de la Cartuja, next to the Barqueta Bridge. The figure was installed just a month ago as part of the redevelopment of the area, and its theft has been confirmed by the City Council of Seville through its social media.
The mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, has described the incident as "intolerable" and has publicly condemned what happened. "I publicly condemn these unjustifiable acts that have no place in a city that is a model of coexistence," the mayor stated in a message that also framed this episode within a series of vandalistic acts recently recorded in the city, such as the destruction of one of the pinnacles of the restored benches on the Paseo de las Delicias.
A Tribute to the Legacy of Expo 92
The sculpture had been installed at the request of the Tourism Delegation and the Expo Legacy Association, as a tribute to one of the most remembered symbols of the Universal Exposition. The figure occupied one of the new benches set up in this renovated space of the Cartuja, which also includes the restoration of the two ornamental fountains built for Expo 92, which had been out of service for years.
For the residents of Seville, especially those who experienced the Expo, the disappearance of Curro represents a blow to collective memory. The mascot, designed by German illustrator Heinz Edelmann —known for his work on the film Yellow Submarine—, represents a long-beaked bird with a rainbow crest that became a generational icon.
Curro, a Symbol That Resists Disappearing
The Expo 92, held between April and October of that year in the Isla de la Cartuja, brought together more than a hundred countries and profoundly transformed the urban development of Seville, leaving as a legacy spaces like the Barqueta Bridge itself. Curro, whose name was chosen through a contest, was the friendly face of that global event and remains an icon for the people of Seville today.
The City Council has announced that it will file a complaint and that the case will be investigated. Meanwhile, the residents of Cartuja and the rest of the city are wondering who took the figure and why, as it represents, beyond its material value, the spirit of a Seville that looked to the future. The next time they pass by the Barqueta Bridge, they will find a gap that, at least for now, no one has managed to fill.
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