Rafael Moneo. Arquitecto. Tudela, Navarra, 1937

Belligerent Oscar. Belligerent with everyone but most importantly, belligerent with himself.  Belligerent with everything and everyone.  Belligerent with everything so that he doesn’t settle for the commonplace, so that he doesn’t assume second hand opinions, so that he is never a slave to novelty or fashion.  If the emperor wears no clothes, it must be proclaimed without concern for the consequences.  I have seen Oscar pay dearly on occasion for voicing an opposing point of view, one which leads him to reject the conventional. Belligerent with all, so as to demand of those close to him their very best.  It is an exhausting task that brings more than a few conflicts yet, without doubt, it is best for us to have someone in our midst who doesn’t allow us to lapse into condescension.  Belligerent with himself, I’ve always admired the fight that Oscar waged in order to be himself, to identify what truly attracted him and  what interested him.  This loyalty towards his own nature, this will to express his true self has brought him into conflict with different things and different people, but it has also given us, those who appreciate such uncompromising conduct and such absolute authenticity, the pleasure of his friendship.