The Card Museum exhibits at the Saragozza Comic Fair

Immerse yourself in the magic of the Playing Card Museum at the Saragossa Comic Fair! Discover a fascinating exhibition that will leave you speechless!

These days, one of the most interesting fairs of the season is being held in Saragossa, the Comic Fair. The main publishers, specialized stores and authors visit us year after year in an exhibition that is a leader in the sector. As in every edition, at the Hotel Sauce we received some old friends who are always one of the great attractions of the fair.

In the tourist town of Oropesa del Mar you will find one of the most curious and interesting museums that you can imagine. The Playing Card Museum houses all kinds of decks, from the most fun and curious, hard-to-find rarities and authentic works of art printed on playing cards. We highly recommend a visit to the museum or its stand in this Comic Show. In this edition of Interviews we have the pleasure of introducing you to Juan Carlos from the Oropesa Playing Card Museum.

How did the idea of a Playing Card museum come about, and why in Oropesa?

After working for 40 years in a Playing Cards company and having enjoyed every day of my work, I could not find a happier ending than setting up a Museum to somehow transmit this exciting “little world” to others.

I enjoyed my summer holidays in Oropesa del Mar, a beautiful town on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and we decided that it was the appropriate place to live and undertake this adventure.

We have been captivated by the anecdote of the prisoners and the ban on playing cards. Could you tell it to our readers?

4 years ago we had a “somewhat” special visit, around 40 people entered the Museum and the person in charge of them told me that they were 35 prisoners from the Castellón prison, who were studying and every 45 days they left the Prison to make cultural visits. and by majority they decided to come to the Museum. To start a conversation I asked them if they liked magic, they all said yes, I asked if anyone did magic, one of them raised his hand and said yes, what do you know how to do? I told him, the response was surprising; I make anything disappear, a car, a wallet, etc. I think the laughter could be heard for several kilometers.

After working for 40 years in a Playing Cards company and having enjoyed every day of my work, I found no happier ending than setting up a Museum to somehow transmit this exciting “little world” to others.

I asked them if they played cards in the prison, they exclaimed no, that they could play all the games except cards, the manager stressed to me that it was true. As soon as the visit ended, I sat in front of my PC and began to write a letter to send to the Senate. Once finished and before sending it, I met with a senator from Castellón who had been related to the Spanish prisons. He read the letter and told me. He commented that he was going to look at it and get back to me shortly.

His response was forceful, there was no law prohibiting playing cards in prisons, but in most Spanish prisons it was prohibited because the Director of each place ruled it that way. In order not to close the matter, he said that he was going to carry out some action, a few days later they called me from the Castellón prison to give a talk about cards, as soon as I arrived they told me that they had just lifted the ban on playing cards and that The prisoners wanted to give me the deck they had made to play secretly, with the plastic cards to call from the telephone booths, they scratched off the instructions side and with a permanent ink marker they had drawn all the cards in the Spanish deck .

What is the rarest piece in your collection? And which one are you most fond of?

The rarest letters, due to their age, are 6 letters found in the works of a house in a small town in central Spain, in one of the letters you can read “Done in the city of Toledo, year 1556”.

The deck that I keep most fondly is one that I acquired at an auction in Madrid, it was made by the writer Max Aub when he was exiled in Mexico, the news of the sale was provided to me by Alejandro Finisterre, this man was the editor of the work of Max Aub. I met him in 2000 and I must say that this very folksy man was the inventor of Foosball.

Every collection begins with a first piece. Do you still have your first deck?

I can’t remember what was the first deck of cards that I had and that I logically acquired at Heraclio Fournier, in the company I worked for, it’s been 52 years, but what I do remember is the first deck that I acquired at a market in the street, it was in Paris and I found a small deck of cards that the ladies carried to play solitaire, in the figures of the lady there is Queen Marie Antoinette and the edges of the cards are gilded.

I suppose you usually play cards, what is your favorite game?

I really have 3 games that I’m excited about; the Guiñote due to the possibilities and discards that you have if it is your partner’s trick, the Mus is a game that you can win by having worse cards than the opponents and the Butifarra because it is a game for smart people.

Nowadays the online card game is spreading. You can play almost any game with people from all over the world. Do you think this trend will end the physical playing card?
Our whole way of living and having fun is changing, children and young people have less and less time, after school they have a series of activities that take up most of their free time, but what happens when this changes and they are on vacation, what What they want is to be with their friends and enjoy, in Oropesa del Mar and in all vacation places people play cards almost every day, at the edge of the sea, in swimming pools, hotels, etc. Furthermore, there is nothing as pleasant as being together with your friends or family at a table and with a deck of cards on it.

Travelling the world looking for curiosities and new pieces for the museum, I’m sure everything has happened to you. What is the strangest thing that has happened to you in a hotel?

I requested a room at a hotel in Bangkok online, the photographs on the website were beautiful, full marks to the photographer. We paid and when we went up to the room we found 2 bunk beds and a toilet squeezed into about 6 square meters, I went to reception and said that we were not staying there. They told us that they had a hotel next door with better features, we went to see it and decided to change it, but when I asked for my money at the hotel they only wanted to give me half of what I paid, to receive the Baths they owed me was epic and laborious, After 2 hours with the money in our pockets we changed hotels.

What absurd object cannot be missing in your suitcase?

I always carry something that I never use; a harmonica

What do you think of our comic room?

It is a place where no one feels strange, both the organizers, the exhibitors and also the visitors are from a “different background”. The first year we exhibited, we realized something that does not happen in other cities, when a family with their children approaches the Stand, the first thing the parents do is warn their little ones not to touch any items, that is education and respect for others. The Hall is full of great artists who you see in situ drawing and transmitting their work to others, I hope this event lasts for a long time.

What do you find in Saragossa, and in the Hotel Sauce, that is not found anywhere else?

We find something that does not exist in many places in the world, something that perhaps due to the social situation, due to the loss of values, the family will also have some blame, what we find in the people of Saragossa and at the Hotel Sauce is Kindness, Caring and respect.

Delighted to welcome visitors to the Comic Fair in Saragossa

At the Hotel Sauce, we are not only delighted to welcome visitors to the Comic Hall in Saragossa, but we are also witnesses of the Fascinating stories that intertwine around the Playing Card Museum in Oropesa del Mar. From the curious anecdote of the prisoners and the prohibition of playing cards, to the collection of old cards and unique decks that captivate us. Our passion for playing cards and the genuine hospitality of Saragossa make our experience something special and unique. Come and discover the kindness, affection and respect that distinguish us at Hotel Sauce