Spain continues its slow, tortuous and misunderstood path, both by its inhabitants and especially by its leaders, to become the country with the greatest cultural, scientific and educational tourism resources in the world. Now it has been Almadén (Ciudad Real); it has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO World Heritage committee , at its 36th session meeting in St. Petersburg. The town of Ciudad Real thus becomes the third city Spanish-manchega to be awarded with this degree scroll, joining Toledo and Cuenca. In Spain there are now 42 World Heritage Sites, behind Italy with 44 and ahead of China with 37.

The mayor of the town, Carlos Rivas, stressed that "there have been no objections from any of the members of committee, which has unanimously accepted the candidacy", after two attempts in 2009 and 2010.

The specific geological characteristics of the Almadén mercury deposits make it an exceptional example of a closure and the beginning of an appropriate and potentially continuous transformation to generate wealth, it is the end of an industrial economic resource , but it is the beginning of a cultural and scientific heritage resource . The Spanish site, UNESCO points out, includes several sites related to its mining history, such as the Retamar castle, religious buildings and traditional wells.

Culture is the winner, and if we are astute as our neighbors to the North, everything that generated important material and cultural exchanges between Europe and America for centuries, such as mercury, its people, its culture, its techniques, will become again a source of cultural and economic wealth if we know how to promote our natural, anthropic and cultural landscape, because it is true, although many of our leaders ignore it: we are the second world power, without taking care of it or considering it, what we would not be if we invested in its promotion and care.

Rich material heritage

It is not in vain that UNESCO has pointed out that these mines preserve a rich material heritage, which reflects the different stages of the scientific development applied for the extraction of this mineral. The Almadén mines were active for 2000 years. One third of all the mercury used by mankind was extracted here. Its toxicity led the European Union to ban the continued use of mercury, which led to its definitive closure, in spite of the enormous reserves still preserved in its subsoil.

At the end of last year, the University of Castilla la Mancha inaugurated a new Research Building, teaching and innovation in Almadén, undoubtedly they have received a scientific and cultural accolade which should not be wasted.

It is a time in which culture is perceived as an ornament of society, but there are still gestures which show that the real investment, the one which bears fruits in the long term deadline, the one which is not bound by four-year electoral intervals, is culture. But of course, as in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, you have to be minimally intelligent to see it, and those in charge were set up on a loom pretending to work; there was nothing in the machine, only the intelligent could see it. In spite of this, they had themselves supplied with the finest silks and the best quality gold they pocketed, meanwhile, they continued to pretend to work on the looms. In the end, the emperor's invisible suit was seen by all.

Today, it is easier than ever to raise Spain to Degree as the world's greatest cultural power and it is so easy that some countries that exploit it better, such as France, are still astonished by our uselessness, why don't we entrust this task to all those wise men who are unemployed? Of course, we have to pay the politicians and we are also the best at soccer, that consoles us.