In Madrid on 12 October 2025, two activists from the environmental group Futuro Vegetal were arrested for throwing biodegradable red paint over José Garnelo’s 1892 painting First Tribute to Christopher Columbus, displayed at the Naval Museum.

 

 

The damage affected the left side of the canvas, and museum officials initially held the women before handing them over to the National Police. They face charges related to crimes against cultural heritage. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The activists rolled out a banner that read: “October 12, nothing to celebrate. Ecosocial justice.” They said their action was a protest against what they call ongoing “extractive neocolonialism” that exploits Indigenous territories and natural resources. Futuro Vegetal’s statements singled out Spain’s National Day—celebrated on 12 October—as honouring a legacy built on colonial oppression. 

 

Spain’s National Day marks Christopher Columbus’s 1492 arrival in the Americas under Spanish patronage. Officially it underscores Spain’s historical links to the Hispanic world. But many see it differently: as beginning centuries of colonialism, dispossession, and suffering for Indigenous populations. Several Latin American nations and Indigenous groups now call it Día de la Resistencia Indígena or Day of Indigenous Resistance. 

 

Meanwhile, another protest unfolded at Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum. Around 20 activists from Marea Palestina staged a sit-in in front of Picasso’s Guernica, demanding an end to what they called “the genocide against the Palestinian people.” Visitors were briefly evacuated before normal operations resumed. 

 

 

 

Key Takeaways:

 

Two members of Futuro Vegetal used red paint to protest Columbus’s legacy at Madrid’s Naval Museum, targeting a Garnelo painting.

 

They framed the protest as opposition to ongoing neocolonialism and colonial commemoration tied to Spain’s National Day.

 

Charges include damage to cultural heritage; protests also took place at Reina Sofía Museum involving Marea Palestina.

 

 

Adapted From 

 

https://euroweeklynews.com/2025/10/12/red-paint-attack-on-columbus-canvas-by-futuro-vegetal-activists/

 

Spain's minister of culture is in a left wing communist coalition that is part of Spain's government. Expect the vandals to get a medal and a financial reward.