FCC congratulates the employees who built the altar in Cuatro Vientos
FCC participated in the construction of the altar at Cuatro Vientos as part of last week's World Youth Day, in which over 1.5 million pilgrims visited Madrid.
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The highlight of the event was the Mass on Sunday, 21 August at the Cuatro Vientos aerodrome.
Esther Koplowitz, FCC's core shareholder and first vice-chairwoman, attended the event along with many of Spain's top politicians and business figures. The mass was officiated by Pope Benedict XVI before a congregation of more than 1.5 million people from all over the world. Ms Koplowitz called World Youth Day "an explosion of spirituality and a message of solidarity to those who yearn for values, principles and ideals."
We would like to acknowledge the people responsible for building the giant stage on which Pope Benedict XVI held the Vigil on Saturday, 20 August, and the Mass on Sunday, 21 August: Leticia Ontillera García, Site Assistant; Francisco J Pelluz Cuesta, Head of the Madrid Building III; Manuel Martinez Nebreda, Department Head; José Page Racionero, Site Manager; Fernando Oreja Igartua, Head of Engineering; Beatriz Hernández Castanedo, Site Technician, and Miguel Ángel Lanchas Jiménez, Foreman.
They participated, along with other workers, on the construction of the altar, which measured 190 metres long, 36 metres wide and measured 4,000 square metres in area. The structure was like a wave or mountain consisting of 9,000 square metres of textured white material. A tree-like structure was installed in the centre of the platform to provide shade for His Holiness and the Royal Family.
For six weeks, FCC employees worked tirelessly to complete the altar, designed by architect Ignacio Vicens.
The usual activity at the aerodrome changed in recent weeks. The planes were replaced by cranes and trucks, and many people—who brought to the table their experience and technical and social skills—worked to prepare everything for the big day.
They were in charge of around 40 people each day who worked together to complete the project in record time, while ensuring the safety of the people involved and of the project.
For Francisco Pelluz, who supervised the construction of the altar, the experience allowed him "to participate in a global event that brought worldwide renown to Madrid and Spain and which, in our opinion, made an important contribution to youth and society."
Leticia Ontillera was in charge of coordination, evaluation and oversight together with her site manager, José Page. Their goal was to complete the project successfully and on time despite notable time constraints and setbacks. According to Ms Ontillera: "Working on a project of this magnitude and importance, the stress, the number of people involved, the coordination, and the camaraderie is very rewarding on a personal level because you feel that you are part of a historical event. I will always be grateful that FCC gave me an opportunity to be involved in the construction of the stage and I will always be proud to have participated."
José Page has always liked a good challenge. "We completed this great architectural project, with its very powerful and attractive visual effect, on a tight deadline." There were setbacks, but, according to Mr Page: "We all worked together to create a very beautiful platform for His Holiness Benedict XVI."
Fernando Oreja was also very proud to form part of the team: "For me, the experience of building the altar at Cuatro Vientos was hugely satisfying, as I'm sure the experience also was for the hundreds of thousands of young people who came from all over the globe, many of them with problems, to be with His Holiness and to proclaim 'We are the Pope's youth.'"
Beatriz Hernández is proud "to have worked on a project for such an important event and for which so many people devoted hard work and enthusiasm. I am thrilled to have collaborated on this project and that the whole world can see what we are capable of doing in a short period."
All of the participants are proud to have been a part of this project. Following a happy ending to the event, today the altar will be dismantled with the same passion as the day its construction began. Congratulations to everyone involved.