Strange Times in Alicante

My favourite local project here is the Tranvia, which will be the new subway system in Alicante that will also extend up the coast, at least half way to Valencia. I even put a link on my blog with a detailed map of the future system for reference, so I could show people what I am talking about. Well, I don't know how to say this, but the map has vanished from the internet, with no explanation.

Does this mean it's not going to happen? I don't know, but it certainly puts the doubt out there.

So then I was reading today about a new auditorium the city is building a couple of blocks from my pad, and I understood something about it being underground and including opportunities for street artists. It was to be built in conjunction with the tranvia, which would indicate that the expansion plans were still underway. Hmm. My girlfriend read it and explained to me that no, this is another auditorium that would seat 500, and would be connected, underground, to the station that is being built for the central market. The one I was thinking about, closer to home, will seat 1,500 people and will be above ground for the most part. The expansion map of the tranvia seemed to indicate a connection, but the plans were also done separately, so whos to say how it will be in the end? Reminds me of that "Far Side" cartoon where the transcontinental railway is being completed, connecting somewhere in the middle, but the wrong tracks join and the builders are standing there scratching their heads.

But that's not all. To further confuse me, there is another underground auditorium planned at the central plaza of the city, the plaza de Luceras. These three are all within a mile of eachother. Alicante will need to train musicians to play at all the venues, because there will be more space than artists to fill them!

Here is the arts center that was recently built in Valencia, our neighbor to the north:

But, this is Alicante, and we like the retro feel here. So ours will be based on a 1991 plan that was literally pulled off the shelf and cleared of dust after 15 years:

This is no joke - it's really what has been approved! I expect this image will disappear too, like the plan for the tranvia, so for that reason I've posted it here. Here are the plans for the layout from the 1991 version:

And here are the updated 1993 plans:

Note the shadows on the back side, the side where I live. What's with all the corners on the side nearest the bullfighting arena? Looks like good places to take a piss or puke at night on the way home from the barrio. The bullfighting arena is a central area of the town, and the roads going out at 9:00 and 10:00 are the avenues leading to the lively plaza. So why is there a back side to the building? I imagine it will be heralded as much as a blank concrete wall can be heralded, maybe even being called 'innovative' or 'daring.' 30 years after the death of the dictator. I need to post a photo of the Franco era architect, Juan Antonio Garcia Solera who 'designed' this catastrophy:



I like to knock back a martini with him in an inverview and talk about old times. His son, incidentally, designed the underground auditorium that will be under the central market. As least they kept that one underground! :)

Finally, here's what the architectural glee club has to say about the design:

“Juan Antonio García Solera was born in Alicante in 1924. In 1953, soon after graduating from the Madrid School of Architecture - where he was in the same year as Javier Carvajal - he began to practise as an architect in his native city. García Solera is undoubtedly the representative in Alicante of the second generation mentioned by Carlos Flores" because he went to school in the same year and place as some great architects!

“The 1991 proposal, despite its irregular geometry, demonstrates his clear intention of relating the project to the city centre by a pedestrian route. A series of urban spaces between the different buildings define successive points of interest for the passer-by. A complex set of underpasses for wheeled traffic allows a direct pedestrian link to be made between the new complex and two landmarks of the 19th century city: the bullring and the small park that holds Quijano’s pantheon.

The 1993 solution (however) is far simpler in its geometry and not so radical in approach as the very sound urban planning of the previous proposal, although it retains some of its pedestrian possibilities. Both solutions show the mastery of large scale buildings and urban complexes that García Solera had acquired in his previous great projects.” Great in the sense that they were very large eyesores.

I fear we'll end up with the 1993 version, but I'm crossing my fingers. If we get the'93 version, I'll personally go and put the first graffiti on the back side of the building stating that it sucks and was a corrupt waste of money.

Kitchen remodeling, Franco style

I was at the university getting ready for my Spanish exam, and my girlfriend, who is responsible for design and remodeling, talked with a remodeler from the old school. Our apartment is mostly open space, loftlike I guess. We want to keep the old defining characteristics that you can't find anymore, while updating to make better use of the space. The kitchen is what they call an "american" kitchen, with a bar so the chef can talk with the guests or family directly while preparing the food.

So, the guy enters the apartment, and immediately starts talking without stopping, about what he would do. Change the original wooden windows and doors for aluminum, replace the gas stove with an electric one, put in a wall where the bar is to separate the kitchen and install a door so the chef could be completely isolated, and put in a cheapo drop ceiling and flourescent lights. He said he would call us when the estimate was ready.

I was surprised he didn't offer to tear out the marble counters and replace them with vinyl covered particle board. My girlfriend was just happy that he didn't break anything while he was wheeling about the apartment. I wanted to interview the old man for this post to get an idea of how those in his generation view the world, but the idea got vetoed because his office is just down the street.

As a side note, we're starting to see old Franco portraits for sale in the classified section of the local newspaper.

Pio XII, Hitler's Pope

I include this here only because I walk through the Plaza Pio XII almost every day, and take an interest in street names in Alicante to know my city and its mindset better.

Religion, Rome and The Reich: The Vatican's other dirty secret
Forget 'The Da Vinci Code', 'God's HQ on earth' has a real ghost in the cupboard - collusion with the Nazis. No wonder then, says Peter Stanford, that the church is hiding papers on the dealings of 'Hitler's Pope', Pius XII.