Ghosts of Spain

Chapter 4-How the Bikini Saved Spain

Benidorm with London and Paris is a symbol of European tourism. Before Benidorm was a village with unspoilt beaches. Now it is full of skyscrapers, hotels like “Bali”, outsiders and old people who want stay there for the rest of their lifes. Thanks to Pedro Zaragoza, the Mayor of Benidorm, you could wear bikini in 1950. The church was against of this and the Government too. On the opposite side is Marbella, a corrupt city. Marbella also is tourism place but here only the rich people come. Benidorm is a city for humble people more than Marbella. The most famous politicals of Marbella are Jesús Gil y Gil and Julián Muñoz who were mayors of Marbella y corrupt people. “La Costa del Sol” is a place where runaways hide. The bikini brounght to Spain the European tourism but black money and curruption have been the consequences.

Chapter 7-Club and Curas.

The prostitution is illegal in Spain but exist. The prostitutes have a ordinary life: they have passport, no blackmail and they have been advertised in the most famous newspapers. Really the most interesting in this chapter is “La Dictadura”. The Church had a lot of power during and after of this era. The media like books, movies, newspapers, etc. suffered the censure and bans which made living difficult. During “La Dictura” the women's and gays' life was a hell: jail sentences for adultery, abuse, poor employment situtation or social contempt. Nowdays the gays' situation has improved for example with the gay marriage but the women's situation haven't improved a lot.

Chapter 8-Men and Children First

Tremlett flatters the Spanish womens for their work when they are mothers: going working, caring for children, etc. Tremlett is surprised by the high rate of doctors who sometimes have to go to another country. However the worst is their speech when they comunicate you a disease because it is difficult to understand. Is a mystery to him the day care in Spain because they didn't accept his son with two years. He doesn't understand why before there was a lot of children in the families and now it's difficult. He also talk about the emancipation of sons, because he has a good relation with his parents he won't leave home until the marriage. Moreover if you don't pay the Cementery tax, they will take out from there. Finally he don't like neighboring comunity because they gossip endlessly.

Chapter 11-The Madness Of Verdaguer

Barcelona has changed. The Catalonians thinks that they are different to the Spaniards: language, architecture and culture. There was a lot of people who were standard of Catalans like Jacint Verdaguer, Jordi Pujol or Pasqual Maragall. They discriminate against inmigrants and Spaniards. This political and the most of Catalans want the independence. Furthermore they use “La Reinaixança” and its writers as a lead of Catalonians and their beliefs. Giles Tremlett talks about the detestation to people of Madrid and the rest of Spain. However not only there were these ideas in Catalonia but also in Andalucia: Anarchism and Independence. The Catalans feel an special rejection of all Spanish. Learning to write Catalan had been banned to Catalonians by General Franco. So they have been annoyed by not learning Catalan.

Chapter 13-Moderns and Ruins.

Pedro Almodóvar comes from a small village where people is demure and puritan so his movies are a bit pornographic and it has a moral false bottom. Spain hate the old so we refeuse it and we want to change all for something new. We escape from the village to the big cities. We believe if we forget all the old, we will advance like other European countries. As we want to be “modernos” we build skyscrapers but we sopil our wonderfull cities. Spain always has been seen like a uncivilized and raw country. They also said that we were different to the rest of Europe, they didn't see future in Spain but not us. However now we run away from de cities to the village. We escape baucause we hate the modern at least I.