Estepona will name María Miralles Márquez, José Fernández Bazán, and Francisco Medina Infantes as Favorite Sons of the city.

This upcoming Saturday, February 28, the Estepona City Council will hold an official event to celebrate Andalusia Day, during which it will formally appoint new Honorary Citizens of the city and give special recognition to the local healthcare sector. The ceremony will take place at 12:30 PM at the Felipe VI Auditorium.

During the ceremony, the titles of Honorary Citizens of Estepona, approved in the last council session on February 19, will be awarded to María del Carmen Miralles Márquez, a socialist politician who pioneered women's policies in the municipality, flamenco guitarist José Fernández Bazán, and Francisco Medina Infantes, a teacher, mathematician, and historian.

María del Carmen Miralles Márquez served as a councilwoman for the PSOE for 16 years and was noted for advancing equality policies, promoting the creation of the Women's Information Center, and providing direct support to victims of gender violence in the early 1990s. She founded the first women's association in the province of Málaga, the Peñas Blancas Association, which is still active today, where she is vice-president and director of its theater group.

José Fernández Bazán has had an extensive career as a flamenco guitarist and educator, contributing to the international dissemination of flamenco and training new generations of performers.

Francisco Medina Infantes was the director of IES Monterroso, an Education Inspector, and a Mathematics teacher for decades. After his retirement, he has published works on local history, the proceeds of which go to self-help associations in Estepona, and he actively collaborates with the Parkinson Sol Association.

Tribute to Healthcare Workers

"The Municipality publicly acknowledges the work carried out by both public and private healthcare centers in promoting the health of the citizens," and among those receiving special mention that day are the Estepona High Resolution Hospital, Estepona West Health Center, and La Lobilla Health Center, as well as private centers Hospiten, Vithas Medical Center, Los Reales Medical Center, Estepona Medical Center, Mar Medical Center, and Hyperbaric Medical Center.

Furthermore, professionals in Medicine and Nursing "who have become benchmarks for several generations of Esteponians" will also be honored. The City Council will distinguish doctors Lorenzo Guerra and José Luis Carrasco, cardiologist Francisco Mena Arce, doctor María Trinidad Zurita López, pediatrician Antonio Sánchez, María Dolores Espinosa, Fabricio Marchoni, Concepción Chavarría, Manuel Quintas, José Robles, and José María Martín de la Hinojosa.

Special mentions will also be given to nursing professionals Isabel Cabezón, Mercedes San Alberto, Miguel Cintrano, Pergentino Lazo, Isabel Ortiz, Francisco Cintrano, and Miguel Cintrano.

The event will also include recognition of volunteer interpreters who have assisted foreign citizens in medical consultations for years. In this section, Sandra Mary Russell will be honored, and posthumously, David Milne Gordon.

Flag Raising

The institutional program will begin at 12:00 PM with the raising of the Andalusian flag at the roundabout located at the intersection of Libertad Avenue with Camino Vereda de los Frailes, in the Blas Infante neighborhood, as approved in the last council session at the proposal of the Socialist group.

With these events, the Estepona City Council commemorates February 28, focusing on the healthcare sector and prominent figures from the social, cultural, and educational life of Estepona.