Heart was the word that kept coming out. Any tribute to someone you love needs one, but if it’s the case Manuel Conchathe cardiovascular surgeon who performed pioneering operations at the Reina Sofía Hospital in Córdoba, the word was more justified than ever.
And it was this Tuesday, in the tribute that his profession, medicine, but also the world of culture and Cordovan society, paid to the famous professional. It was in the Congress Palace during an event hosted by writer and editor Manuel Pimentel.
It was Pimentel himself who praised the “Excellency” of Manuel Concha in his work as a doctor, which lasted in several centers and also responded to the vocation of teacher of the University of Cordoba for years. “It has been a bright light for Cordoba,” he said.
The event ended with a conference entitled “An Open Heart”, a summary of the book in which he talks about 25 great surgeons and cardiac doctors, whose contribution he considers fundamental. Manuel Concha is pleased to have found “many grateful hearts and many friends.
Manuel Concha is 82 years old and retired, but the question was obligatory: “Do you miss work?” The answer is “not too much”, because his working life was very demanding and he is happy to be able to devote himself to other things now that he no longer has to work.
“It started at 8 in the morning and ended at 9 p.m., between the Reina Sofía, the Red Cross and the University,” he recalls about his commitment to professional life. And now you can dedicate yourself to others passionswhich he maintained during his career as a surgeon and to which he can now devote more time.
Gatherings
His passion for flamenco, wine and bullfighting is well known, but he also spoke about the gatheringsof groups of friends who get together to talk about things. He remembered the one he had with the painter A.Antonio Povedano (1918-2008), and which will remain so until the artist’s death.
It was one of the cultural beacons of Cordoba in its time and today it is located in Saint Nicholasfounded by lawyer Rafael Mir Jordano. “It’s something that relieves me a lot,” confessed the professional, who also spoke of his passion for writing as something he dedicates time to these years.
The world of culture immediately surrounded him and there was the painter Juan Hidalgowith the former director of the municipal museums, Mercedes Valverde, as well as the bullfighter Rafael González ‘Chiquilín’ or, already in the institutional world, the former mayor of Córdoba Rosa Aguilar and the current councilor, Jose Maria Bellido.
Dr. Concha said he doesn’t miss the exciting hours of his busiest work.
His companions were not lacking, such as José Suárez de Lezo; the current director of the Reina Sofía Hospital, Francisco Triviño, and the director of the Andalusian Health Service, Garcia Valley.
The tribute goes to a professional so identified with the city and the Reina Sofía Hospital that it is difficult to believe that he is not originally from Córdoba and that he arrived there when he was already over thirty years old.
This is true, because Manuel Concha Ruiz was born in Nules, in the province of Castellón, although Andalusian parentsin June 1942. At the age of five, his family moved to Cadiz and there he obtained his medical degree and then trained as a specialist in Madrid.
Before arriving in Córdoba, at the young Reina Sofía Hospital, he had already worked in Valencia. It was in 1977 and in the city he achieved great achievements, such as the first heart transplant from Andalusia.
