The origin of Seville’s blue zone, Antonio Fernández

Index:

1. Introduction: Origin of the blue zone
2. Beginnings and the origin of the blue zone: How did the idea of the blue zone come about?
3. Evolution and recognitions: What did the blue zone mean in Seville?
4. Anecdote about Saint Christopher: Patron saint of drivers
5. Antonio Fernández: His fight for Seville’s El Arenal neighbourhood

Introduction

At the Plenary Session of 5 September 1964, an official edict was issued detailing the areas of the blue zone, which would correspond to places close to official centres and commercial districts of the city, in 15 sections. And who gave the idea to Mayor José Hernández Díaz? The man who had been his driver during his previous term as Rector of the Universidad Hispalense, Antonio Fernández. This is how the beginnings of the blue zone are presented. However, although it was approved in that Plenary Session, it did not come into effect until many years later.

Antonio Fernández has a degree in Fine Arts, is a qualified Nursing Assistant (A.T.S.), holds a degree in Public Law, and has a Diploma of Advanced Studies with the grade of Notable — the latter achieved at the age of 93.

Antonio Fernández’s A.T.S. certificate

Antonio Fernández’s doctoral diploma in Public Law

Beginnings and the origin of the blue zone

“A tough childhood and difficult to remember,” he tells us, recalling that he had to start working at the early age of eleven, cleaning parts from military vehicles. Later, he became a driver for the Ministerial Motor Pool, where he served, among others, the then Rector of the Universidad Hispalense, Don José Hernández Díaz. He says he used to attend his lectures at the now-defunct Universidad Laboral, where he learned a great deal, and even gave some lectures himself at the Ateneo, the Archbishop’s Palace, and the University of Seville.

Hernández Díaz was appointed Mayor of Seville in 1963 and was invited to Frankfurt, Germany, and Antonio accompanied him as his personal driver. It was in that city that Antonio picked up the idea of the blue zone and, thanks to his closeness to the mayor, proposed it — and it was approved in 1964. But José Hernández Díaz was appointed by the Minister of Education and Science as Director General of University Education, so the implementation of the blue zone was postponed until many years later.

Recognition of Antonio Fernández for his contribution to mobility.

Recognition of Antonio Martínez for his contribution to mobility

Evolution and recognitions

“After 18 years as a driver, in 1966 I was invited to visit West Germany by the President of the Berlin Parliament, touring the main cities of West Germany. On 11 January 1967, the newspaper Madrid and the newspaper Informaciones described me as the Demosthenes of Traffic. In June 1968, at the request of the Rectorate of the Universidad Hispalense, I was awarded the Medal of Merit in Work. On 1 May, Labour Day, and already exercising freedom of expression, I criticised the poor functioning of the Ministerial Motor Pool. I was forcibly exiled to the Ministerial Motor Pool in Barcelona. In 1992, during the Expo, the Socialist government of Felipe González awarded me, at the Government Delegation, the Medal of Merit in Road Safety with Blue Distinction, and I hold the Medal of Seville dated 25/9/2014. Earlier, in 1989, the Dean of the Judiciary and President of the Labour Chamber and of the Judicial Power granted me the motto, ‘Ultra et Recte’, recognised by the Intellectual Property Registry.”

Headline where Antonio Fernández is referred to as the Demosthenes of traffic

Recognition by Juan Espadas of Antonio Fernández for his contribution to mobility

Anecdote about Saint Christopher

“Those were very fun years, from 1950 to 1976,” he adds as he tells the following story. In the Colegial del Salvador in Seville, there is an image of Saint Christopher attributed to Martínez Montañés dating from 1597. Saint Christopher is the patron saint of drivers and his feast day is 10 July. From the 1950s until 1976, employees of the Ministerial Motor Pool (including Antonio Fernández) would set off in a “Jeep” to El Salvador. Once there, they would take Saint Christopher out in procession on a wheeled platform pulled by the vehicle. They would parade him through the streets of Seville — with the authorities, of course, also in cars — and the procession would end in front of Seville City Hall, where the parish priest would bless all the cars, buses, and horse-drawn carriages that passed before the image.

Saint Christopher, patron saint of drivers, Iglesia del Salvador

Procession of Saint Christopher pulled by a car - Photograph taken by Martín Cartaya

Passion for the El Arenal neighbourhood

Antonio Fernández is known for his commitment to this neighbourhood — specifically for putting an end to the late-night disturbance after taking the City Council to court “after a long war”. He highlights the 1996 protest, when much of the neighbourhood took to the streets and threw the rubbish piled up on the ground in the area at the City Hall under the slogan “Madam Mayor, we want clean streets and no noise”. They achieved the first final ruling against the City Council and this troublesome behaviour was eradicated. Thanks to his contribution in this case, Antonio received recognitions and tributes. He is co-founder of the Torre del Oro neighbourhood association, founded in 1978, and has been its president since 1997. Recently he stepped down from the effective presidency and was named honorary president of the association.

Photograph of the protests through the streets of El Arenal in 1996

Article covering the protest through the streets of El Arenal in 1996