2023-05-23 15:43:31
100 years following the birth of the doctor René Favaloro, an immense hyper-realistic mural 22 meters high was presented today in the heart of Buenos Aires that pays tribute to the creator of the aortocoronary bypass, who continues to be an example of dedication and is remembered by his relatives as “the last great Argentine hero”.
On one of the side walls of the Favaloro Foundation, at the intersection of Entre Ríos and Belgrano avenues, you can already see the impressive giant portrait of the doctor with a white apron and hair neatly combed back.
Made by the artist Maximiliano Bagnasco, the 12 meter wide by 22 meter high mural was painted with aerosols in just one week.
“People are surprised by the speed, but we are used to it. We start very early and finish when the sun goes down. Obviously it’s not me alone, but my entire team,” Bagnasco said in dialogue with Télam during the presentation of the work.
The image of Favaloro immortalized as an example of dedication appears on the side of the hospital foundation, on Belgrano avenue, and offers a grandiose view in the direction of 9 de Julio avenue.
Next July 12 will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famous surgeon who developed the aortocoronary bypass, a technique considered one of the 400 most important inventions of humanity.
“Today there are millions of hearts that continue to beat because second by second this surgery that is part of his legacy is being performed,” the doctor’s great-niece, Laura Favaloro, told Télam with pride.
Among the values that the new hyperrealist work invites to remember, Laura highlighted “honesty, solidarity, working with passion and that nothing is achieved without effort”.
«He was a wonderful being, very honest, very good. And also a very dear family member”, remarked Laura, who is a cardiologist and the executive director at the Favaloro Foundation University Hospital.
Asked regarding what she misses the most regarding the renowned doctor, she assured: “Absolutely everything. He was the last great Argentine hero. I believe that by claiming his values we can lead to a more just and supportive society ».
The initiative to create the mural arose when Bagnasco began to paint a portrait of the surgeon in Wynwood (a neighborhood that functions as an open-air museum in Miami) and journalist Connie Ansaldi put him in contact with Laura Favaloro.
“I was known for painting Maradona and many footballers a lot,” Bagnasco told Télam, and recalled: “in the middle of the World Cup I read people’s comments when I painted Diego (Maradona) who told me ‘Paint Favaloro ‘».
Regarding the creative process, the artist assured that every time he paints he takes it as “something more technical” and he makes sure that “mathematically the features, the colors are correct.”
However, he recounted that when he went down the street for the first time to see how the work was progressing, he had a complete notion of where he was making that “immense image that when you look up you see René immense, just like he was.”
In downtown Buenos Aires, at its Foundation, Favaloro’s portrait emerges among the buildings to remember the legacy of a man who instilled the importance of work, Bagnasco said.
“Hopefully he will take care of himself for many years so we have the figure there,” he concluded.
“There should be a more important recognition from the State to the figure of René Favaloro,” said Carlos Rojo, president of the Association of Municipal Doctors.
In dialogue with Télam, Rojo stated that in current medicine the appearance of René Favaloro was a “before and following” in Argentina and internationally, despite the fact that our country has many outstanding medicine figures, and that in the last time “was a pioneer in cardiovascular surgery.”
«There is no other figure like Favaloro. It’s like Messi and Maradona. Not only in assistance, but also academically. He was an honorary professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires, it is not a small thing to achieve that, “he assured.
And he added that not only in front of the patient “he was great”, but he was also great in the academic field when it came to transmitting his knowledge.
Regarding what stands out regarding the figure of the heart surgeon, Rojo pointed out his knowledge and defined him as “a scientist.”
«As a doctor, he was an honest man who wanted to work. He transformed the Güemes Hospital and later he made the Favaloro Foundation and his clinic, which is difficult, but the man proposed it to him and he did it. His tenacity is remarkable,” he asserted.
Regarding the debts that surrounded the Favaloro Foundation in the 1990s, Rojo pointed out that, personally, “I would have tried to harmonize and pay that difference” since “the Foundation deserved that. He deserved it.”
«The Favaloro Foundation continues to be, to this day, an excellent clinic. He was not only great but he left a great school”, he concluded.
Telam Agency
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