"I'm not attracted by money, I'm attracted by projects".

Documentary "El Legado", by Pablo Atchugarry

With an instrumental interpretation of "Cinema Paradiso", one of Ennio Morricone's great classics, Ignacio González welcomed artist Pablo Atchugarry in the last broadcast of the second season of The Legacy. "This music leads me to dream that I am in Italy, which is the bridge of my life with Uruguay," said the honoree at the beginning of the program that is broadcast on the El País website and on its Facebook and YouTube profiles. "But my heart is here," he clarified from his seat, located on the stage of the Main Hall of the Solis Theater.

After that comment, the host invited the 67-year-old sculptor to review his life under the now classic premise that defines the format that, in addition to the El País website, could be seen every Friday on Channel 10. "Shakespeare said that life is like a great theater and that as the years go by, we all play roles", he commented before presenting him with a small album that gathers some of the photographs that defined his path. As he was reunited with images of his life in Italy, some family portraits and a few postcards of his work, Atchugarry said, visibly moved: "They are like scenes from a movie".

After flipping through the photographs with his arms crossed and a warm and admiring smile, he stopped at one that triggered an anecdote that summed up his artistic vocation very well. It was an image that recorded one of his many visits to Carrara, the town in Tuscany, Italy, that hides the marble most prized by sculptors. "It is a material of great purity and luminosity," he explained.

He then recounted a scene from his childhood that, as he assured, was a kind of premonition. "Marble is part of my history, and my relationship goes back to the José de San Martín School, when it was my turn to talk about Italy and I mentioned Lake Como, which is where I live, and Carrara marble, which is the material I work with. It was unlikely that a 12-year-old boy from Montevideo would make that story come true, but it did," he said in a celebratory tone.

Gonzalez then invited him to step into "The Mirror," the first act of The Legacy. "I was making small steps and the staircase was made of little," he commented before facing his reflection. "I keep dreaming about the museum of the (Atchugarry ) Foundation because I want to leave Uruguay a cultural landmark for new generations," he said about the project that will open on January 8, 2022 in the space located in Manantiales (Maldonado).

As he sat in front of the mirror, Gonzalez asked him to talk about his childhood. "I was very shy, and I had a lot of pets: rabbits, ducks, chickens and sheep. Every time they died it was a bucket of tears, but that's how I began to understand the cycle of life. That's why I live with death and look for my loved ones who are no longer in the stars. It's a way of connecting with them," she said.

After that instance, which included a reflection on the conception of destiny - "I feel that there are pages that are already written, but others we write without being aware of it," he said-, the interviewer took him to the Solís presidential box to see a representation of a key moment in his life. From the stage, two actors recreated the scene that led to the famous photograph Ferruccio "Fuccio" Musitelli took of the sculptor as he loaded a piece of marble into a baby carriage. "This photo will go down in history," said the actor who played the photographer, "I've never seen a piece of marble riding in a baby carriage." 

With tears in his eyes and his voice breaking, he recalled that day in Italy and said: "I was always looking for a challenge. First leaving the country and then looking for the biggest blocks to work on. I get emotional watching this performance because it takes me back to the past, and Mustelli was important because he was the hand that always gave me confidence."

The next act of The Legacy took place in the Zavala Muniz hall, where the honoree faced a series of projections inspired by his life. He reviewed his relationship with death, recalled how he accompanied his father in the last stage of terminal cancer and spoke of his conception of time. "It is the relationship between our past and future, and what marks us the possibility of making our dreams come true," he assured.

Finally, Atchugarry returned to the stage of the main hall of the Solís to take stock of the road he has traveled. Asked about the works he has sold for millions of dollars, he replied: "Money is a means to do things, but I'm not attracted to money; I'm attracted to projects like building a museum or making a foundation.

Regarding how he would like to be remembered, he commented: "I would like to leave two legacies, one is the work and the other is the foundation, which is something I dreamed of 15 years ago. I would like to be remembered as someone who worked very hard. The result will be judged later.

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