Abonad con Nitrato de Chile.

 Fertilize with Chilean nitrate.

We are looking at one of the great icons of 20th-century rural advertising in Spain: the famous "Nitrato de Chile" (Chilean Nitrate) ceramic sign.

Designed in the 1930s by Adolfo López-Duran Loriga, then an architecture student, this panel, made of ceramic tiles from Manises (Valencia), features the black silhouette of a horseman wearing a "Cordobés" hat against a vibrant yellow background. Installed at village entrances and on strategic building facades to promote this natural fertilizer, it evolved over the decades into a genuine fixture of the Spanish rural landscape and a gem of advertising heritage and Art Deco aesthetics applied to the countryside. The image also highlights the sign's excellent state of preservation against the intense red background of the facade in the Plaza 20 de Julio* (July 20th Square, Fuente Álamo, Region of Murcia).

By the mid-20th century, Chilean Nitrate had shifted from being an absolute global monopoly to a product fighting for economic survival, facing stiff competition from synthetic fertilizers developed through scientific advances following the World Wars. Despite losing its immense global dominance, the mineral retained a key role thanks to massive rural advertising campaigns that established it as a symbol of agricultural fertility in Europe. It competed in the market against ammonium sulfate and new artificial nitrates through well-known brands. The artificial chemical industry gradually replaced the reliance on natural saltpeter from the Atacama Desert (Chile). The Great Depression of the 1930s and declining sales marked the end of its golden age as the primary engine of Chile's economy.

*On July 20th, Fuente Álamo celebrates "Día de la Villa" (Town Day), a local festival commemorating the granting of town status and its independence from Murcia, Cartagena, and Lorca by King Charles II in 1700.