The first time the visitor stands at the entrance to the hermitage of the Virgen del Socorro in Alicante, after descending the short staircase that connects it with the Plaza del Topete and its formidable balustrade over the Postiguet beach, they wonder what they are doing there. a hidden, camouflaged chapel, as if persecution weighed on its cult.
Then the visitor discovers that what was weighing was another cult, the one that pays tribute to money, the one that in 1973 condemned the old hermitage to demolition to build a parking lot that would serve the residents of the tall buildings that rose in the fever. of developmentalism. It was the era that gave rise to such controversial projects as the Meliá hotel, visible from here, which separates the beach and the port, “pardoned” after being declared illegal in 1990.
We are in the Raval Roig, an old fishing neighborhood, of which only one remains, according to what they say, who fishes in the mornings and in the afternoons sells his catch at the Santa Pola fish market. The demolition of a hermitage that has existed at least since the 16th century competes for first place among the urban atrocities committed in a capital that has competed in the Champions League of self-deprecation and speculation since the 1960s.
Now, the 1,500 residents of this unique neighborhood, one of the oldest in Alicante, which in the mid-18th century had 82 houses and 300 inhabitants, of which 35 were sailors, demand from their town hall attention comparable to that they receive from the countless tourists who walk the narrow streets where brightly colored rehabilitated façades alternate with others impoverished by abandonment.
There are many Alicante residents who border or cross these streets once a year, on the occasion of the Santa Faz pilgrimage, which last Thursday the residents took advantage of to express their demand: “Raval Roig exists, my neighborhood for whenever” read some strategically placed signs.
They ask for a community center, a place to meet, that the sidewalks be improved, that the old water pond be cleaned up to have a small park, that the garbage containers be buried… a facelift, in short, for a jewel waste of the city.
For the tourist, it is a place of passage, which cannot be interpreted, here the informative signs that in other places offer a context to the visitor do not reach. The usual bars, like the one at the La Marina Cultural Society – whose terrace is packed on Sundays – only accept cash, something unusual when even bread is bought with a card, and contradictory in a neighborhood that lacks an ATM.
In 2020, the municipal plenary session approved a proposal from the socialist group for the City Council to acquire the vaults, an old powder magazine located on Madrid Street that was declared BIC, and the old schools in the neighborhood, to respond to the neighborhood request and provide the Raval with a community place. But the years go by and they continue waiting. While public investment thinks about it, private investment understands the potential of the place and some of the rehabilitated homes offer tourist accommodation.
Every September, Raval Roig continues to celebrate its festivals, which date back to 1839, where its patron saints, the Virgin of Socorro and the Virgin of Lluch, procession. Every Holy Monday, the brothers wear the popular Morenet. They are traditions that keep alive the spirit of a paradoxical neighborhood, where a few meters separate the low houses, once occupied by fishermen, from the towers erected for the bourgeoisie in the real estate expansion of the 70s, whose windows enjoy an enviable panoramic view of the Bay. His spirit is alive, but Raval Roig requests material care to stop his decline.
