Franco's Living Legacy - Brianda Cerda

Franco's Living Legacy: Power Dynamics in Architecture of Guardamar

The first day in Guardamar, I met the thought that I would encounter most. I dipped my toes in the water for the first time, expecting it to be freezing cold. But it wasn’t. It was warm. I looked to my left and saw the most picturesque view of what I had always expected of and thought of as a beach home. A line of pastel colored houses lined up on the sand, a step away from the sand and steps away from the water. I couldn’t believe the aesthetic beauty of it. And they weren’t even trying that hard. I liked that they were peeling, and some were falling apart (although then I thought they only appearedto be falling down and were not literally falling apart). I loved the nature in that. I hesitated to leave, but I knew darn well that was a sight I would never forget either way.

The next few days, I kept thinking about it, wondering if my classmates had seen it. Since then, we had never gone there as a group. I wondered if unlike the rest, southern part of the beach, it was a sort of hidden gem that only the locals visited. I never understood why it was less popular. Why no one else had grown attached to it if they had indeedseen it. I returned to that part of the beach occasionally. And when I would leave, I would always ask myself why I hadn’t tried to walk up the line of houses. I never did. 

Perhaps, it was that the water allured me so much, that I couldn’t wait, and I instead immediately gravitated to it. Or maybe, it was that the close proximity of the houses to the water made me feel like if I did walk through, I’d be violating someone’s privacy. After all, someone owned/owns those houses. 

I did, however, try to buy myself some time in one of these houses. As in, I looked online to see if any of these houses were available as Airbnb’s or for rent. I had actually considered booking one to stay at for our independent travel week (much travel, I know). But I found nothing. It was as if they didn’t even exist. And I looked. Very hard. 

It somehow came up one day as I was talking to Alex. My eyes widened as I heard, “illegal”. Duh, I thought, there’s a reason I had fallen in love with the sight, with this crazy idea that I could own a house so close on the beach. Because nowhere else, at least that I know of, is this a thing or at least is this allowed. These houses were an exception, and the homeowners, exempt. Why, you may ask? 

Legend, aka Alex, says that these houses, constructed as a barrier for the sand, were given to people who held high political power from Franco’s dictatorship. These could be the politicians themselves, relatives or friends. Since then, the houses have remained with those people of power. 

Collapsing houses

This is not pretty. It is unfair. Not to mention, illegal and dangerous. The beach should be public to all, but these houses are an impediment. Spain like the US has laws regarding how close you can build on the beach. The Ley de Costas (1988) rules a zone of 500 meters to be public, and an available walkway. The city has tried to get the owners to move out and let go of the houses, that can fall apart any second, but the powerful owners continue to make renovations and fix their homes up. Thus, this has delayed the process for the city to reclaim the homes and get rid of them. They simply cannot kick them out! Houses have already fallen down, and in those cases, the city will clear them up; hence, the random holes between houses. This is such an interesting power dynamic that the city has not been able to overpower. Water has been seeping into the houses’ structures, and eventually they will fall, but till then, it seems like the city has no choice, but to wait. 

When we walked back from the dunes through the beach, I myself saw the inconveniences this causes. We had walked a good distance before we had to go back onto the paved sidewalk. The beach was separated by a wire fence. It was blocking a structure that had collapsed. Since then, the rest of the walk down the beach was blocked by the houses. In retrospect, I don’t remember how I would’ve walked back down to the beach. I don’t remember any openings. But I do remember seeing people on the beach at some point along the walk. It seems the only way to reach that point would’ve been to enter through where I had first encountered the beach, which was a few blocks down. It was completely blocked off. 

I got to peek into a few of the houses. They all seem to have the same layout, with magnificent views of the ocean. However, many owners shut their doors as soon as they saw me peeking in or attempting to take a picture. I understand the ladder would be a reason to do so. (Oops). 

Rare footage of house layout, angry lady walking to shut the door, rightfully so

I got to speak with one of the residents, thanks to Iris, our amazing and powerful GSI. We tried to get information out of her, but she was very closed off. She told us to check the posters which were outside the houses on their walls. Then, I guess when she figured out, we weren’t trying to be confrontational, just curious, she said almost in a whisper (loose translation) – “It’s hard to get a place here as most of us have owned these houses through generations. People from outside can rarely own or rent them. We all know each other and are a family, so it would be hard for an outsider to get a hold of one. Even people who rent the houses are part of us, they are people the renter knows and trusts and/or are related to. So, no, it’s hard to find one of these on the market or for rent/available”. 

Iris asked me if I wanted to ask any more questions, and scared of being disrespectful, I said no. But what I really wanted to know was where she stood in the power dynamics of this all. Did she know Franco, or was she at all related? If so, how? Or what politician did she know? Was she just wealthy? In other words, how did she end up living in one of these houses? Iris and I said we’d return to interview other residents, but we never did. I hope to return one day to do so. Will the houses have fallen down by then? Till then, those magnificent houses illegally parked along the water are an apparent reminder of the power dynamic that often plays out in urban spaces. A professor once said that architecture has always been controlled by the powerful, for the powerful. A privilege usually only available for the wealthy. But I am excited to see how a new generation of designers challenge that.