Carlos Gil passed away on the ninth of May in Malaga after suffering a long illness and today he has been cremated in the cemetery of that same city. Carlos was a friend of ours and that is the way we wish to remember him. From Sanfermin.com and Kukuxumusu we sent our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Cathy, and to his children, Cristian, Cler and Nadia as well as to his brother, José Luis and to his two grandchildren. Carlos was always a person who preferred to laugh rather than to cry and for that reason we prefer to remember him with a wide smile on his face and a personal vitality that was out of the ordinary. In July, 2011, Carlos could not make it to Pamplona because of his worsening ailments and we sent him a bottle of Pacharan to Malaga as well as some Sanfermin neckties and some special firecrackers with which he probably gave his neighbors a good jolting on the sixth of July at exactly 12.00, when he would have set off his own private Chupinazo scene to open the Sanfermin fiestas.
There are many memorable anecdotes about the same man because Carlos Gil managed to get into everything, both on a personal level as well as on a professional level. Carlos Gil was the manager of the Tourist Board on the Costa Del Sol, and he helped put Marbella and Malaga on the tourist map as popular spots. He was a participant in the New York Marathon, a runner in the Pamplona running of the bulls, a hell-raiser, a leader, a friend… Carlos always tried to keep July free so as to be able to come to Pamplona for the Sanfermin fiestas and he generally started off the party scene with some good food and drink set up in Zapatería Street. Jim Hollander immortalized the moment with this image that accompanies this text. We shall miss you and this year we will have you on our minds over the fiesta days, my friend. The family has organized a celebration of the life of Carlos for all his friends on this coming 18th of May.
