Career

José Manuel Almuzara Pérez — chartered architect (COAC, Barcelona) and Gaudí scholar. An architect trained at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), he has devoted more than three decades to studying and sharing the life, work and spiritual dimension of Antoni Gaudí. He is the author of the essay “Gaudí, the Architect of the Soul” (Roca Editorial, 2026) and one of the leading international voices on the architect and his beatification cause.

Positions and affiliations

• President of the Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaudí, since 1992 · beatificaciogaudi.org
• Ambassador of the Gaudí Project for Rancagua (Chile), since 2016 · gaudichile.cl
• Ambassador of the Sanctuary and Viewpoint of Our Lady of Vidawasi, Yanahuara-Urubamba (Cusco, Peru), and chair of the project’s architectural committee, since 2025 · vidawasiperu.org
• Patron of Amici di Gaudí Bellinzona (Switzerland), since 2025
• Collaborator of The Gaudí Research Institute (TGRI), based at the Colonia Güell, since 2014 · tgaudiri.org
• Honorary member of Centro Gaudí Madrid · centrogaudimadrid.com
• Secretary (2007-2013) and vice-president (2013-2015) of the Amigos de Gaudí Association, founded in Barcelona in May 1952, on the centenary of the architect’s birth · amicsdegaudi.com

Career

José Manuel Almuzara Pérez was born in Nador, Morocco, in 1952, on the shores of the Mediterranean, during the years of the Spanish protectorate. He completed his secondary education at the INEM Milá i Fontanals and studied architecture at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB). He has practised as an architect since March 1977, working independently and also teaching for a decade.

Professional experience

• 1992 – present: President, Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaudí. He leads the efforts towards the beatification of the architect Antoni Gaudí, focusing on sharing his spiritual and artistic dimensions through lectures, exhibitions and publications. Since December 2023 the petitioner of the cause has been the Antoni Gaudí Canonical Association, under the Archdiocese of Barcelona. He also takes part in gathering testimonies of favours received through Gaudí’s intercession.
• 2007 – 2013: Secretary, Amigos de Gaudí Association. Served during the centenary of Gaudí’s birth.
• 2013 – 2015: Vice-president, Amigos de Gaudí Association.
• Currently: Honorary member of Centro Gaudí Madrid; collaborator, The Gaudí Research Institute, Colonia Güell; since 2016, ambassador of the Gaudí Project for Rancagua, Chile.

Academic and cultural contributions

• He has curated and contributed to books and catalogues, and organised exhibitions in prestigious venues including the European Parliament in Brussels, Milan, Rome, Vedano Olona (Italy), Rio de Janeiro, Lima and Piura (Peru), Bogotá, Santiago de Chile, Pamplona, San Fernando, Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Barcelona and Madrid.
• He has lectured at professional associations, athenaeums, universities, schools, parishes, cultural centres, cloistered monasteries, retirement homes and prisons across Spain, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the USA (Puerto Rico and Nashville), Japan and China.
• He served as a member of the Scientific Committee of the World Congresses on Gaudí held in Barcelona and Astorga (province of León) in 2014, 2016 and 2018.