Monument to Muza ibn Muza (1996)

Author: Antonio Loperena Eseverri (Arguedas, 1922-Tudela, 2010).
Promoter/financier: Rotary Club of Tudela.
Inauguration/installation: September 28, 1996.
Location: place of the Old Marketplace Vieja).

On September 28, 1996, the mayor of Tudela, Luis Campoy, officially received the bronze bust of the Moor Muza ibn Muza, also known as "the Great", who died in Tudela in 862 as a result of wounds inflicted by the troops of the Umayyad governor of Guadalajara. He was an outstanding Muladi chief of the Banu Qasi family who controlled a large part of the Upper Mark of al-Andalus during the 9th century and contributed to the creation of the Kingdom of Navarre, becoming known as the third king of Spain, as opposed to the king of Asturias and the emir of Cordoba, with whom he formed the three great powers of the time. The sculpture is part of a triptych together with those of Benjamin of Tudela (1994, Ricardo Varela) and Charles III the Noble (1999, Pedro Jordán), promoted by the Rotary Club of the capital of the Ribera del Duero with the purpose of making visible the coexistence of the three cultures in the medieval city. In this way, the three busts not only commemorate other historical figures, but also function as an urban narrative about the cultural diversity that shaped the local identity, incorporating in the case of Muza the Islamic heritage into the urban imaginary.

The bronze bust, sixty cm. high and weighing about fifty kg., was installed on a pedestal in a small place near the Old Market Street, where, according to history, the fifth of the eight access gates that the medina had in the ninth century stood. It was made by Antonio Loperena following the description of Muza provided by the Tudela writer Victoriano Bordonaba in his book Muza, King of the Ebro (Tudela, Castel Ruiz, 1991). The sculptor opts for a portrait in which he emphasizes the frontality and facial expressiveness, concentrating in a few features the strength of the character. He represents Muza with a turban with the average moon, thick beard and marked features, features that transmit authority and energy, while the slightly elevated gaze and the concentrated gesture suggest vigilance, in accordance with the political and military function of the character. Below the bust is the registration: "Muza king of the Ebro", while the lower pedestal reads: "From the Rotary Club of Tudela to his city 1996". The casting of the piece was carried out in Fundiciones Villaguz of Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza), a business that produced numerous sculptures of urban art in Zaragoza and other Aragonese towns.