Costa del Sol News
In February, Marbella will posthumously award Remedios Nieto an institutional recognition that the businesswoman and philanthropist from San Pedro received during her lifetime from many of the residents and social groups of the municipality. Founder of the charitable association Aspandem, which serves people with disabilities on the Costa del Sol; and of Fundatul, the foundation through which she facilitated their access to the labor market, she will receive posthumously on February 28, Andalusia Day, the City of Marbella Medal.
Born in Granada but a San Pedro resident by heart since she moved to the town in the 1960s, Nieto was ahead of her time. Throughout most of her 79 years of life, she broke social, business, and gender molds of her era and became a reference in areas where the presence of women was almost testimonial.
She was a councilwoman at the Marbella City Council at a time when politics and the management of public affairs were reserved for men; she achieved a university degree and a doctorate—thanks to research on synthetic penicillins—at a time when women barely had options to pursue higher education. She founded a chain of perfumeries that had 15 establishments between Sotogrande and Torremolinos and, in the 1970s, a pharmacy in the heart of San Pedro that, over time, has become a reference for most of the residents.
In the 1980s, she obtained the title of Real Estate Agent after passing the exams of the Ministry of Public Works and the Faculty of Civil Engineers.
"Feeling supported in the madness of Remedios that later becomes reality is very important," Nieto stated at the event where she was recognized as an Honorary Citizen of Marbella in 2021, a distinction she obtained thanks to her popularity among broad social sectors of the municipality.
"Remedios was a unique person for her vitality, her way of being, of fighting, of working. She will be irreplaceable in San Pedro," says OSP councilor Manuel Osorio, who frequented Nieto in the political and charitable spheres of the municipality.
For the mayor, Ángeles Muñoz (PP), Nieto "was an example and inspiration for many due to her social commitment, work, and tireless generosity." "Her memory will continue to live in each of the actions with which she helped those who needed it most," she adds.
Former PSOE councilwoman and former Equality delegate Ana Leschiera remembers "Nieto's closeness to others." "She was someone who, after meeting her, did not leave you indifferent," she points out.
A mother of four children, grandmother of eight grandchildren, and great-grandmother, Nieto spent her childhood and youth in the Granada municipality of Lanjarón, where her father, Emigdio Nieto, worked as a doctor and eradicated leprosy in Las Alpujarras.
"My father used to tell me 'if you are a fountain, you must give water'. You will have all my water," the philanthropist from San Pedro stated at the event where she received the title of Honorary Citizen.
Along with Nieto, journalist José Luis Yagüe, considered the dean reporter of the Costa del Sol, and Princess Beatriz of Orleans will also be recognized with the City of Marbella Medal in 2026.
