Bricklaying foreman Javier Vargas and assistant Manuel Fuentes, a duo from Malaga, have won the national masonry competition organized by Peña El Palustre for the third time. Representing the Maqueda neighborhood in Campanillas, they earned the 6,000-euro first prize after building a complex, double-curved brick panel in hot conditions in El Palo.
The contest brought 28 teams to Padre Ciganda square along the El Palo seafront promenade, with crews traveling from across Andalusia and Extremadura, including Caceres, Badajoz, Jaen, Cordoba, and Seville. A pair from Riolobos in Caceres province took second place and 2,500 euros. A team from La Nava de Santiago in Badajoz finished third and received 1,500 euros.
Vargas said the deciding factor this year was layout, the work of transferring shapes and measurements from a plan into three-dimensional space. That focus showed up in the task itself, designed by jury chairman and architect Demófilo Peláez. Teams had to build a warped, cantilevered brick panel supported on three vertices across a single horizontal plane, all under strict time limits.
For mason contractors, competitions like El Palustre put a spotlight on jobsite fundamentals that never go out of style, accurate layout, reading blueprints, and controlling plumb and level with simple hand tools. Teams started work at 8 a.m., using spirit levels, set squares, and other manual tools, then waited for a verdict announced shortly after 2 p.m.
Founded in 1967 as an informal neighborhood challenge, El Palustre has grown into Spain’s leading national masonry contest. The event marks its 60th anniversary next year.
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