Ugly Spain

I'm reading a book called España fea, or ugly Spain. Actually the full, and translated title is Ugly Spain: Urban chaos, democracy's greatest failure. Now this book is 506 pages long and I'm on page 98 so I'm being a bit previous here but it did set me thinking. One of the central themes in the book, so far, is that Spain followed the US model of delegating planning to local administrations which have been open to corruption and cronyism. The end result is a mish mash of badly designed, poorly built and inappropriately placed buildings.

Lots of Spain is chocker with palaces and churches and big, big stone buildings. Around here in Alicante and Murcia those sorts of "monumental" town centres are far less common than in other part of Spain. Orihuela leans a bit that way and there must be others but, in general, this area is, architecturally, less impressive than many others. Pinoso is a perfect example. It's a great place to live, it's safe and tidy and with lots of services and lots going on but architecturally it's a bit limited. The Torre del Reloj isn't really that jaw droppingly beautiful and the newer buildings (with the exception of the tanatorio) were unlikely to win any architectural prizes.

Unlike some other towns Pinoso didn't go too bonkers during the "brick explosion" in the first few years of the 21st century. The expansion of the town was low key and a couple of the vanity projects actually turned out rather well. Compare it with Fortuna with the Lamparillas development or Monóvar with its plans for the Ecociudad and Pinoso was the soul of discretion. Nonetheless, if you look around Pinoso there are any number of half completed houses and blocks of flats. Glance towards the town centre as you drive along Calederón de la Barca (the road the lorries use to bypass the town; the one that comes out at the junction near the Repsol garage) and you will see tens of unfinished private houses. And whilst we're by the garage there are those big blocks of flats, some lived in, some abandoned, alongside the Jumilla road. I wonder if they will just be left there forever to rot? Lots of the older houses in Pinoso town are still owned by members of a families that haven't set foot in Pinoso for years. Their houses get no maintenance and every now and again bits fall off them or, in extreme cases, they simply fall down. 

Look around the central parts of Pinoso and you will see that, among the older houses, there are lots of single, two and three storey buildings. The single storey houses generally have a central door and a matched single window to left and right. The two and three storey houses have vertically elongated windows and doors with the casements and door surrounds picked out by moulding. Often there is a symmetry to the front of the building and some sort of horizontal lines to demarcate the various floors. Many have little balconies and lots and lots have the fancy grill work on the balconies and windows. There isn't a model but there is a repeated style. So, even if Pinoso isn't particularly architecturally interesting it does have a certain uniformity of character.

You do not see that uniformity as you move away from the old town centre. Santa Catalina is a district with a particular and different character but, again, it looks like it belongs here, it looks Valenciano. I'm not so sure you can say that about the Franco regime houses, the group of buildings to the west of Paseo de la Constitución, or in those the streets named for nearby towns. The residential home for older people, the pensioner's club, the theatre, health centre, nursery school etc. would probably look just as at home in Barnsley or Bilbao as they do in Pinoso. And would you say that the Sports Centre blends nicely and looks local?

Now it's obvious that if we stopped all modern development we'd all be living in caves or half timbered houses or maybe, if we were all rich, in those "Modernista" houses which were so typical of wealthy Spaniards as the 19th became the 20th Century. It's because, over the years, that we have built new in among the old, that we get the variety that makes towns and cities so interesting. Tate Modern to the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's. But when something new is built surely there should be an attempt to make it fit with what's already there, with the weather, with the environment with where it is?

Walk along Calle Monóvar and Perfecto Miro or Calle Azorín and although the houses are from all sorts of times there is a sort of oneness. The newer blocks shoehorned into a vacant plot stick out like a sore thumb. Look at the Town Hall. Now I understand that the old building was a right mess and a new one was needed. But seriously could anyone, ever, have thought that fitted in or was even nice? And what do you think of the municipal market in Plaza Colón? Is that building in keeping with the style of the square? Where are its credentials as a Pinosero, Alicantino or Valenciano building?

Over in el Faldar this weekend they burned their hoguera - the bonfire to celebrate San Juan. The villagers had built a replica of the water tower, called el Pouet (which I think means well in Valenciano) which is just off Calle Valencia on the western edge of Santa Catalina. All the blurb from the local Medios de Comunicación, the Town Hall's communication arm, was about how emblemático, symbolic, el Pouet is of Pinoso. If you know it you will know that for some reason, a few years ago, permission was given to build a block of flats next to it which were in a completely different style and which completely overshadow the little water tower. That block of flats was never finished. Presumably some property speculator went bust with the 2008 crisis and just walked away from the car wreck result. 

It happens in the countryside too. Look at the old houses and the way they sort of blend in to the land, maybe in a stand of trees, just in the hollow there, same sort of colouration. They do that estate agent thing of nestling. Then look at the newer houses. It's true that they haver better shaped rooms, insulation (maybe) and that their pools and barbecue areas make them nicer to live in than the more traditional houses. The trouble is that so many of them look completely out of place; almost as though they just landed there from some far away place. I'm sure it's perfectly possible to build something with modern features that would blend in just a tad better and maybe that idea should be intrinsic to the local planning regulations. 

Anyway, I have another 408 pages to go so maybe I'll have a more detailed, less simplistic, analysis to offer soon.

Down on the coast

Tell someone that you live in Alicante and most people think coast, they think we live by the side of the sparkling Mediterranean. It may, in reality, be one of the most polluted stretches of water in the world, full of plastic, sewage, lead and agricultural chemicals to rival the dead patch in the Gulf of Mexico, but there's no denying that the Med can look lovely.

Actually we live inland, about 60 km from the coast. We also live up a hill so we are at about 600 metres which means, other climatic factors being equal, we are 5.8ºC cooler than at sea level. That difference is notable at this time of year. Very noticeable. As I type, Bohème like, my little hands are frozen.

So, one of the conversations between immigrant Britons is based on the major division between those who live on the coast and those who live inland. There are all sorts of perceptions about the Spanishness, or not, of the two locations. The probable truth is that the influence of immigrants is a product of population percentage. The 500 Britons in Pinoso make up 6 or 7% of the population so we make a significant difference to how the town looks and feels. In Abarán the 14 Britons pass unnoticed. I have no idea how many Britons live in Alicante City but even if it were a couple of thousand they would be under half a percent of the population lost amongst the tourists. There are other towns where the influence of Germans, Moroccans, Norwegians or whatever is pronounced. There are also perceptions of that influence which may or may not be true. When I think of Torrevieja, for instance, I think of Iceland and other English speaking shops but I remember that, for Spaniards in Santa Pola one of their initial comments in any conversation about the town would be the presence of the Russian Mafia.

Several people we know have chosen to move from Pinoso to the coast. Reasons vary from looking for more variety of food and entertainment to the weather and the ease of being able to do so many more things in English. A couple of pals moved from Pinoso to a spot between Torrevieja and San Miguel de Salinas a couple of months ago and we popped down to see them. They chose to downsize altogether and they moved onto a campsite but bought a sort of small wooden chalet. I have to say that I thought the site was remarkable. There is a huge variety of caravans, park homes and  motorhomes on numbered pitches and most of them have a variety of more or less permanent structures, awnings, sheds and adapted carports, to increase the living space. There is artificial grass and there are mountains of pot plants, sculptures and ornaments of every shape and size from wind chimes and mobiles to gnomes and fountains. The space was very organised and nicely landscaped with lots of greenery, with numbered pitches along streets, shower and toilet blocks on each street and a big communal pool. I'm told there is a restaurant and bar too. All of it with security and various systems for Wi-Fi, televisión etc. I saw vehicles with Belgian, British, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, French, German and Spanish plates and I wasn't really looking. The nodding and "good afternoon" language was definitely English and the sun was shining.

I looked at the for sale sign on one of the plots - 8,950€ I think. Hmm? Warm and only 10 minutes to the beach.

There are snaps at the tail end of this December 2018 album