The mayor of a small municipality in the northern Spanish province of León has written a letter to the Francisco Franco Foundation suggesting her village as a possible final resting place for the remains of Franco, Spain's most infamous 20th century dictator. The mayor, Agustina Álvarez Llamazares, of the Popular Party, has offered the "well kept" cemetery in her village of Cubillar de Rueda to accommodate the remains of the dictator, currently subject to controversy due to the Spanish government's plans to exhume them from the Valle de los Caídos near Madrid.
"This is one more offer of many that we have received from many parts of Spain. From the Spain that is grateful for what the Caudillo meant for our country," says the Francisco Franco Foundation.
The wistful tone of the civic leader would probably be unthinkable in any other European country: "We have an attractive, new and very well-kept municipal cemetery in a quiet area of the province of León, an ideal resting place in which to leave one's ossuary."
"This area was well known by Francisco Franco when he was alive, as he came to fish for salmon in the Esla and he passed through here on the way to go hunting in Riaño and the Picos de Europa, which would make it a familiar and welcoming place for his person."
"We would be delighted to be the final place for the remains of General Franco and to be able to offer him a suitable place of rest and respect," writes the mayor.