The guiris are not aware of the news that this is the last sunset of the Carmel bunkers. In order to curb the mass tourism that is making the daily lives of so many residents of this side of the city bitter, the government of Ada Colau determined that the best thing to do was to close them every day at half past eight in the evening, starting today.
And the tourists have no idea of ​​the measure, because the news of the closure has not yet spread through social networks. But they understand it the way you explain it to them, because some are from Lisbon, some from Milan and some from London, and they are all familiar with terms such as massification, gentrification, tourism… After all, these visitors say that it is a global phenomenon, but what can we do about it? The guiris aren’t stupid, it’s just that they’re on vacation. “So, excuse me, will there be a party tonight or not?”. And there is a cloud above.
The councilor responsible for the district of Horta Guinardó, the socialist Rosa Alarcón, says that perhaps in a year from now the situation can be reconsidered, that very soon no official Barcelona guide will talk about the evenings of the Carmel bunkers, which rely on the the fact that little by little the virtual word of mouth deflates and that the party appeal is diluted, that in this way the people who come are attracted mainly by the historical legacy of this place.
“For weeks no illegal party has been celebrated – says councilor Alarcón, and since Easter the Urban Guard has not had to evacuate the place due to overcrowding. Despite this, many people still come. We are taking the first steps.”
Meanwhile on the 119, the neighborhood bus, one of these little ones, arrives full of visitors, and the old people of Carmel all their lives walk along the street of Marià Labèrnia, which leads to this famous viewpoint, first up and then down , listening to a transistor from before.
And between the batteries, Felip walks his dog, an unequivocal sign that he is a neighbor. This Frenchman who is dedicated to the management of events for companies has lived in Barcelona for twenty-plus years. “And I’ve been in Carmel for six years. I arrived here after living in the Raval, the Gòtic and a lot of neighborhoods in the center, because I couldn’t take that lifestyle anymore, I was fed up with so many people and so much commotion. And Carmel is like a small town where people know each other. What is happening is that for some time now, especially in the last year, the issue has gotten out of hand. And that they close it at night and that this is the last evening of the bunkers because it makes people angry, but since it’s been a long time that some of them don’t even come here… We’re all a little the expectation, to see how things evolve”.
