We are Morte. José Antonio Alfaro Pérez.
Head of Welding
That Good Friday of 1976 José Antonio was in the bar with some friends, when a hand touched his back.
He turned and found Santos Morte who, looking directly into his eyes, said:
“Next Monday you come to work” … And there he appeared on April 21, 1976, with 16 years. He went to work at the company where he has spent over 40 years … and those that remain to him.
José Antonio has gone through all kinds of jobs, as lowering the rods by hand, squaring the cores, using the filing machines, the hand drill, the band saw and even the forge…. He has worked in four workshops and he has lived a multitude of situations throughout his relationship with MORTE.
He is proud to be the first fixed-term worker at MORTE. He still remembers how one day he arrived at the workshop and nobody was there, … So he began to do the planned work until, mid-morning, Santos called to tell him that the family had increased, as Raúl, his second child, was born.
And as he says, this was a workshop before, but now it is a Company … In the early years they did everything, Santos was in charge of the design and assembly, and José Antonio was responsible of the pieces that were grinded by hand … Everything produced in an artisan way. Today everything is mechanized but the family atmosphere that Santos gave to the company, the soul, is maintained, as though we were family.
Jose Antonio is the head of Welding, he learned alone, with Santos, and you can see that he enjoys his work. When he is welding nothing else matters. Through his protective mask he sees how the metal melts. It is not the same to weld iron than steel, weld with wire or with electrode…. Everything has its technique and its complexity, but the Die manufactured by MORTE must always be the most resistant, and this is a responsibility that belongs to him and that he assumes naturally. It is his job!
In his free time he plays frontenis and, as he is left-handed, he plays with advantage (and he knows it) so he accumulates in the showcases of his house about thirty trophies of the tournaments in which he has participated in La Rioja … But if there is something what he really likes is walking in the mountain, and if it is with his friends and they are going to look for mushrooms, there is nothing better…
The love for gathering mushrooms was transmitted by his brother when he was a kid and he only takes those species that he knows, although as he says “all the mushrooms can be eaten at least once” … When he goes to collect, he especially enjoys lunch, laughter and good friends … In the mountains you forget the world, you breathe …
Lately he has been told about retirement … it has to be raised because he already accumulates 57 springs … Surely he will continue to play frontenis, walking through the mountains and picking mushrooms … Suddenly he gazes into the horizon, as discovering something and says to himself : “Maybe if I tell Santos, they let me come to weld from time to time …”