Legacy of Artist Charo Valentí Revived Through Global Philanthropic Project

The artistic legacy of Charo Valentí (1954–2022) is being revived not just as a piece of Canary Islands film history, but as an ambitious global philanthropic project. As reported by Diario de Avisos, the artist’s nephew, Santiago Guitián Valentí, has created a plan to showcase the 134 large-format posters his aunt painted for the Cine Víctor in Santa Cruz de Tenerife between 1986 and 2003. Proceeds from these works will support medical research and environmental conservation.

Born in A Coruña and a resident of Tenerife since 1981, Valentí spent much of her life seeking personal independence from a restrictive family background. She was a self-taught artist, and her work as a poster painter allowed her to finally pursue a long-hidden passion. Her decision to move from paper to acrylics on muslin helped preserve these pieces, which now serve as a unique record of late 20th-century cinematic style.

Guitián Valentí has structured the collection’s management to focus on social impact. He plans to donate 22% of the proceeds from sales to collectors to research into neurodegenerative diseases—a cause deeply personal to the family, as Valentí passed away from Lewy body dementia. Additionally, 33% of the profits will go toward protecting Amazonian ecosystems, helping indigenous communities secure land and combat the effects of mining and deforestation.

Beyond these charitable efforts, the family is organizing traveling exhibitions across Tenerife, with stops planned for the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Santa Cruz, as well as Adeje and Puerto de la Cruz. These shows aim to bring the collection back to the public; while the posters were once a staple of the Cine Víctor’s facade, they were rarely displayed in galleries during the artist's lifetime. As a symbolic gesture, the project will also donate the original poster for the film Hook to the son of Robin Williams, who also suffered from the same disease as Valentí.