Childhood Poverty as Lifelong Fuel

“"One afternoon, after school, I went with my mother to a store to buy food. I was the youngest of my siblings and she liked to come and pick me up to take me home, and many times I accompanied her for a walk while she did her errands. The store we walked into was one of those old-time grocery stores, with a high counter, so high that I couldn't see who my mother was talking to, but I heard something that, despite the time that has passed, I have never forgotten: “Mrs. Josefa, I'm very sorry, but I can't lend you any more money”. That left me shattered. I was only twelve”. Amancio made clear to us that he was very sensitive, with a very strong sense of pride inside, and that after reacting with shock to the words he had just heard, he made an irrevocable decision: “This will never happen to my mother again. I saw it very clearly: from that day onwards, I would start working to earn money and help at home. I quit school, left my books and got a job as an assistant in a shirt store”. This business is still in La Coruña, on the corner of Juan Flórez Street.”

“He is moved by an idea that explains a very important nuance of his biography: "There is something deeper that drives me to work, that moved me since that day as a child. It is not money, which is undoubtedly necessary for living; there are other different reasons that I discovered, all of them justified, that led me to do things tirelessly. It doesn't matter that I started working at 13, as I spent almost a year without being registered because I was not old enough. I treasure the first contract they made me at Gala".”