Old Blue Eyes is in Torremolinos town

IT may be 55 years since Frank Sinatra stayed in Torremolinos, but the town hall is still trying to cash in. 

To commemorate the stay of the iconic singer at the Hotel Pez Espada in la Carihuela a large mural paying tribute to Old Blue Eyes has been unveiled. 

It is the first in a series that will also include legendary actress Brigitte Bardot, said town mayor, José Ortiz (PSOE), after presiding over the inaugural ceremony. 

“We are going to have more surprises in the coming months, because this city has a series of stories to tell and that are of interest,” he said. 

“This initiative fits very well with what we want to do in certain areas of the city, which is to recover the history and heritage of Torremolinos and also showcase the buildings that can tell the stories they have seen.” 
Sinatra stayed in Torremolinos for the 1964 shooting of the film Von Ryan’s Express. His stay could not be described as too happy. Not only did he have a series of ‘misunderstandings’ with director Mark Robson, he was also arrested after an altercation with an ‘actress’ and a reporter in the hotel itself. 

The mural is seen as the first step to creating ‘urban art’ in the town similar to the works seen in Estepona and Malaga city. The idea is to regenerate urban spaces in the tourist areas by creating an open-air art gallery. 

Sinatra and Brigitte Bardot will be followed by a mural of Ava Gardner as a reminder of past famous guests. 

The mural was created by artists Pablo Sánchez and Sergio Jiménez and is almost nine metres high and four metres wide.