GOODBYE DALI Part 8: Have You Ever Been to Spain/Met Meli? (#91H): I first met Meliton Casals at the February 2, 1987 opening of his “Meli’s Dali…Dali’s Meli A photographic Documentary 1949-1986. The exhibit was my favorite, and Meli, as he liked to be called, signed the exhibit poster for me.
Meli was an immense talent and a kind, sweet, and unassuming man. As Albert Field was Dalí’s (Dali) archivists, Meli was Salvador Dali’s official photographer and friend. He took the official photo of Gala and Dali when they finally married in the Catholic Church, and so many, many other wonderful photos.
I loved that Pascual included Meli in everything we did. I wish Meli has brought his camera, I would have loved to see how he captured the day.
We ended our day at Melli’s Gallery in Figueres, with Meli pointing out his favorite photographs of Dali and telling the stories behind them. How I wish I had my iPhone 11Pro back then!
When I got my photos of the trip developed, I was disappointed to see that in the photo I had taken of Meli at “The Great Masturbator”, half of his face was covered in shadow as he waved to me. The photo was taken on October 8th. Meli died on November 3rd. Now, whenever I look at the photo, I think that he was waving goodbye!
