Is Ibiza the new San Tropez or the new Notting Hill?
It's funny but so far this year I haven't read any newspaper stories about a holiday resort which promises to be the 'new Ibiza'. Maybe their absence is a good sign. The articles were just lazy shorthand concococted by PR people and journalists.
These 'new' stories have always followed the same basic pattern. Just pick any place with sun, sea, cheap booze, Club 18-30 holidays and a disco where Judge Jules or Pete Tong have appeared. That's all a writer needs to uncover a new Ibiza. As journalism goes it's cheap and, usually, nasty. But, hey, I call myself a journalist too. And I live in Ibiza.
So I thought I'd flip the idea on its head and look at where I think Ibiza might be going, based on what's happened to other places with a few important similarities. I'm not saying they're identical. No two places have the same history or geography. But there are parallels I think. See if you agree.
San Tropez was a beautiful fishing village on the French Riviera. Actually it still is a beautiful spot with narrow winding lanes leading down to the Mediterranean. You won't find many fishermen though. Instead there are designer shops and classy restaurants lining the perfectly restored streets.
In a few years that could be Ibiza Town or even San An, although perhaps a little too much concrete needs to be removed in order to really move the latter resort upmarket. The area round the port and Dalt Vila in Ibiza though is ripe for 'improvement'. Work has already begun to turn the castle into a Parador, part of the state-run chain of upmarket hotels in historic buildings. The council has also started forcing people under the city walls in Sa Penya to upgrade their properties.
It would be hard to argue against this regeneration. Many of the old buildings are in a sorry state and will fall down if they aren't restored. The castle has been allowed to crumble into a state of disrepair for decades. There is no doubt that something needs to be done to protect the Dalt Vila and Sa Penya.
The changes will make the area more desirable. Prices will rise. Many of the existing occupants will be forced out. That won't be unpopular because this is an area with a reputation for drug addiction and crime. The gypsies who live here now aren't much loved by the authorities either.
Global economic problems might slow the regeneration of Ibiza Town, but it's only a matter of time. It'll bring money, protect the fabric of this historic area and make it a much pleasanter place to live or visit. Can that be a bad thing?
I'm not sure. Going back to San Tropez: from the 1920s through to the 1960s it was filled with artists, drunks, writers, displaced Russian aristocrats, Spanish republican exiles, whores, playboys and the idle rich. (Okay, I know this is an exaggeration. Most of the population was getting on with normal life in the same way as they always do in any place.) The point is s for a time the town had a fascinating mix of the bored rich and the poor but interesting.
San Tropez now is almost certainly safer, cleaner and in many ways a nicer place for most people to live or visit. but it isn't anywhere I'd be desperate to go. It's pretty and safe. Unfortunately those two virtues aren't the best friends of creativity.
Most painters, musicians, writers and other artists are badly paid. They need somewhere cheap to live. So why not create an artists' community with economical housing? It sounds easy until you try to define 'artist'. There really is no way to distinguish them from chancers, layabouts, junkies, alcoholics or whatever. Indeed, many artists are all of those things. Squallor and art frequently go together. And vice versa. For instance, why has Switzerland as the most consistently wealthy country in Europe with the most spectacular scenery created so little in the way of art?
The point I'm trying to make is that the regeneration of Ibizawill make the island a less exciting place. But it's very hard to argue in favour of poverty.
I intend this to be my first collection of thoughts on changing Ibiza. I'll be blogging as often as other work and pleasure allows.
2 comments:
Good article Nick. I wonder where the gyspies will shove off to. They don't own their properties do they so they'll not be able to relocate officialy elsewhere.
Where on the island could they go? Or would they/could they go to the mainland? Has the goverment organised anything for them?
Tricky one isn't it?
Gypsies always lose out, don't they? The problem is that nobody will want to have gypsies moved near them. And the gypsies won't want to move either.
My guess is there'll be no official solution. I guess that a large proportion of the gypsy population doesn't exist as far as officialdom's concerned. So they'll just be priced out without anybody officially evicting them.
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