Farewell, Sebastián

Sebastián Moyano passed away today, and with him goes a fundamental part of the history of retail in Almería.

It hurts to write this. Because Sebastián was not only the heart and soul of Cealsa, the TodoBa shops and ElectroDirecto. For many of us, he was family. He was a man of his word, the kind you no longer find. A tireless worker, a salesman like few others, a gentleman with overwhelming charisma. He could sell ice to an Eskimo and make him feel lucky to take it home. That class, that confidence, that energy… cannot be learnt. You either have them or you don't. And Sebastián had them all.

In my business, when I joined the company 25 years ago, we bought our household appliances only from his warehouse. He was the benchmark, and he taught us how to sell them. I clearly remember how every week my father paid a million pesetas towards what we owed. Because we knew that with Sebastián, nothing ever went wrong. If a problem ever came up, all you had to do was pick up the phone. He answered it himself. He listened. And he sorted it out, even if it cost him money. That was the kind of man he was.

He loved his work with overflowing intensity. He never stopped being at the coalface. He founded ElectroDirecto after several people he had trusted within the trade let him down in the worst possible way. He was stabbed in the back many times, and even so he kept fighting, with more strength and more resolve. He gave everything for his company. He worked because he was passionate about it. Because he did not know any other way.

He was vice-president of UD Almería, and his love of football was as great as his ability to speak his mind. I remember once asking him whether that rumour was true that Almería had bought a match from Madrid. And he told me he had counted the notes himself and taken them to the Ciudad Deportiva in the early hours. Just like that, without beating about the bush. Because Sebastián was genuine. For better and for worse. And that is why we loved him so much.

Years ago, when wholesalers organised luxury trips, Sebastián took my parents to Brazil. Those were different times. I clearly remember that the people who flattered him most back then were the ones who later betrayed him, leaving him with debts of more than one or two million euros. And yet he carried on. With his company. With his people. On the phone. Closing deals. Sometimes he answered the calls to ElectroDirecto's landline himself.

In his final years, he took on David, a sales representative who had been his friend for more than 30 years, and with whom he liked to go out visiting his long-standing customers. Customers who had by then become friends. People like me, who received the news today with a lump in our throats. It was David who rang me, in tears, to tell me that the boss had gone.

I knew Sebastián would never deceive me. He had his faults, like everyone, and perhaps the biggest was trusting people so much. But that also said a great deal about him. Sebastián was a man of integrity. Loyal. The sort who rolls up his sleeves when there is work to be done. He was president of SEGESA, one of the most important buying groups in this country. At one point he had a business conglomerate that sold as far afield as the Canary Islands.

On Friday I was talking to him about some air conditioning units. And, as always, he offered to bring them over himself if need be. At his age. With his energy. With his drive to keep pushing on. That was Sebastián.

Today I am sad. Terribly sad. But I needed to write this. Because a giant has left us.

Thank you for everything, Sebastián.

Rest in peace.