Fernando Calvillo, Beloved Fixture of Oklahoma's Art Community, Dies in Train Crash in Spain
“He embraced people wholeheartedly, recognized what they needed, and connected them with opportunities and with one another,” said Calvillo’s colleague.
Fernando Calvillo, an esteemed artist and leader in Oklahoma City's arts community, died in a high-speed collision between two trains in the province of Toledo, Spain, on Wednesday, October 28. He was aboard with his husband, Lawrence Naff, who is expected to recover from serious injuries at a local hospital.
The crash, which Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente attributed to computational failure and human oversight, claimed the lives of at least 68 other people and comes just nine months after another crash in southern Andalusia in Spain, which claimed the lives of 46 people. Puente resigned today, November 3, after a congressional session regarding rail safety.
Calvillo was declared a missing person until the Mexican Foreign Ministry and the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC), where Calvillo worked as the director of community relations, confirmed his death in separate statements on Monday, November 1.
