Madrid to have its own Spanish "Walk of Fame"

Forget Hollywood, soon you will be able to visit the Spanish Walk of Fame in the capital city of Madrid where  Marilyn Monroe's name won't appear but Sarah Montiel's will.. and instead of Paul Newman you will find Antonio Banderas.

The project is in honor of the Spanish Film Academy's 25th anniversary and was sponsered by the State Lottery and Bets department. 25 famous Spaniards *one per year celebrated) will receive a star designed by Oscar Mariné made of granite, marble and steel.  The current idea is to later expand this by 1 or 2 stars every year.

The Spanish Walk of Fame will be located in the Argüelles neighborhood on Martín de los Heros Street, popular for its many film establishments.  The walk of fame will be inagurated as the "street of stars" on the 27th of June at 19:00 by the mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Álvaro Ballarín, a Moncloa district official, Aurelio Martínez, president of the State Lotteries, and various Spanish Film Academy officials.

Alberto Ruiz Gallardón; acompañado de Álvaro Ballarín, concejal del distrito de Moncloa e impulsor de este proyecto patrocinado por Loterías del Estado; Aurelio Martínez, presidente de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, y la terna presidencial de la Academia, Enrique González Macho, Marta Etura y Judith Colell.

The first 25 names were selected by the Academy Board in recognition of each person´s contribution to Spanish Film. Those receiving starts on June 27 are:

Filmmakers/Directors:

Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, Juan Antonio Bardem, Luis García Berlanga, Luis Buñuel, Jose Luis Garci, Pilar Miró, Carlos Saura and Fernando Trueba.

Actresses:

Imperio Argentina, Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Sara Montiel, Emma Penella, Amparo Rivelles, Carmen Sevilla and Concha Velasco

Actors:

Antonio Banderas, Javier Bardem, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Pepe Isbert, Alfredo Landa, Toni Leblanc, Paco Rabal and Fernando Rey.

Read more about Spanish Film History.