Manuel Larrañaga Viadero “Mamel” – Town Crier of the Santoña Carnival 2026

A life devoted to Carnival, among murgas, parades, and the Trial at the Bottom of the Sea.

Who doesn’t know Mamel?
Close to turning 60, and throughout his life, Manuel Larrañaga has never left anyone indifferent. Whether as a DJ, a hospitality worker, a fishmonger, or a street sweeper, his life has always been a Carnival—until he earned a position at the Santoña Town Hall as a radio announcer, a job he carried out (among other duties) until taking early retirement.

His passion for the Santoña Carnival has been spread across many roles: the Trial at the Bottom of the Sea (as director, driving force, and creator of the set design and the music that did not exist until then, 1997–1999), coordinator of the Carnival parade for several years, official municipal Carnival photographer, and perhaps the achievement he is most proud of: founder of a groundbreaking murga that broke with all the established rules at the time, later known as “Los Últimos del Peralvillo”—a group that has also served as a “breeding ground” for some of today’s most prominent murguistas. His motto has always been: “You have to enjoy yourself first in order to make others enjoy themselves.”

With all this, he certainly has the credentials to say that, just as our Constitution reflects that “power emanates from the people,” so does Carnival. And it is up to us, the people of Santoña, to ensure that our Carnival keeps growing in every way. A town that cooperates is a town that prospers.

We leave you the video of his presentation as Town Crier, as well as the ceremony in which the Town Crier capes were bestowed upon former Town Criers José Ángel Fuente Valle (2009), José Carlos Juncal (2010), and José Ángel Lagarma (2011), who did not receive them at the time during their own year as Town Crier.

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