MADRID, Spain -- Spain celebrated Pablo Picasso's 100th birthday Sunday by opening the first public exhibiton of the late artist's controversial painting 'Guernica,' banned for 40 years in his homeland.
More than 5,000 people, many waiting for hours, saw the black and white depiction of the agony of the Civil War on display behind bulletproof glass in the Cason del Buen Retiro annex to the famous Prado Museum.
Official ceremonies presided over by government ministers sharply contrasted with the half-secret gatherings held when Picasso turned 90 in his French exile 10 years ago.
Representing the Republican side that lost the 1936-39 Civil War, Picasso was a banned name during the 40 years Generalissimo Francisco Franco ruled Spain.
'Guernica' was inspired by the terror bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Franco forces. Picasso deposited the painting in New York's Museum of Modern Art after the civil war and gave orders it could not be brought to Spain until democracy was restored.
It was returned Sept. 10, after drawn-out talks between the Spanish state, Picasso's heirs and the museum.
But in Madrid, 'Guernica' was locked in a bullet-proof glass case. Submachine gun-toting civil guards eye visitors who pass a metal detector before entering the showing room.
'It is a paradox,' said a first-day visitor. 'This painting symbolizes suffering and the craving for freedom, and it's a captive itself.'
In Guernica, Mayor Dionisio Abatuia Sunday named a street after Picasso. Bitter over what he called 'the central government's arbitrary claim' of the painting, Abaitua said he would keep insisting the painting be brought to his town.
In Malaga, Picasso's birthplace, a solemn ceremony headed by the culture minister marked the official beginning of the Picasso centenary year.
In Barcelona, city center streets were livened up by a street theater with actors costumed as Picasso figures. 'This is for the man in the street, who won't visit museums,' said Juan Guillon, who staged the show.
The Catalan capital added a wing to its Picasso museum for the 100th birthday.
Children in several small towns gave their own touching tribute with months of toil to reproduce Picasso works on house walls.
