The Department of Archives of the City of Totana publicly acknowledges the donation made by the heirs of José María Munuera and Abadía (1838-1909) of an original document of some Ordinances of Good Government of the Council, from 1724, to the Municipal Archive, as informed its owner, Inmaculada Blázquez.
The Municipal Archive received at the end of last week, by certified mail, this document of a great-granddaughter of Munuera and Abadía, on behalf of the whole family.
The councilor stressed that this donation highlights, again and as it happened in December 2015, the generosity and human quality of this family and that Totana receives from gratitude and recognition.
The family of Munuera and Abadía already delivered two years ago and means to the City of Totana an eloquent donation from the heirs of the historian and Adoptive Son of Totana José María Munuera and Abadía.
Although Munuera y Abadía was born in Mazarrón, from the 1860s he was linked to Totana as a teacher of primary education, initially and, later, as court procurator.
In addition to these main occupations his research led him to propose rigorous works, with consultation of archival sources, on the history of Totana.
Fruit of that work and its love to this city, to its traditions and identity was the publication of interesting articles in the local, regional and national press, as well as works as valuable as the historical-descriptive reviews, in 1894, of the hermitages of San José and San Roque;
without forgetting the special relevance that in 1900 was his monograph "Notes for the History of the Sanctuary of Santa Eulalia de Mérida, patron saint of Totana".
In 1916, after his death, he saw the light "Notes for the History of Totana and Aledo", a broad and unfinished work that had been published by installments in the weekly El Campo and that in 2000 was reissued by the Alfonso X Academy El Sabio, with preliminary study by Professor María Martínez.
In that year the City Council of Totana named him Adoptive Son of the town and proceeded to the edition of a work in tribute to his delivery, which includes his biographical review, as well as different studies on the history of the town.
A few years ago, its name was assigned to the existing library and study room in the El Parral urbanization.
The valuable heritage contributed by José María Munuera and Abadía makes him a fundamental reference to know and get into the history of Totana.
Together with the fecundity of his work, the worth of his descendants has survived, as his children carried out a cultural work of special magnitude, transcending the work of José María Munuera Villar, military musician and notable composer.
Thanks to the generosity of his descendants, Isabel Munuera Bassols, great-granddaughter of Munuera and Abadía, in the name of this lineage, has returned to donate part of the legacy that both authors conserved the family.
In this way it will be possible to continue deepening the investigations of José María Munuera and Abadía, opening channels of study and deepening in the compositions of his son, José María Munuera Villar, whose biographical data came to light in 2010 on the occasion of the publication of a study on the Municipal Band of Music of Totana.
