Orientation Week
NYU in Madrid’s Orientation for grad students ended yesterday with a day-trip to Segovia. Throughout the week we met with professors for a series of cultural lectures, tours and debates. The activities were a great way to get to know the city and each other. Below is a rough outline:
Monday we met at a cultural center, the CaixaForum for a presentation on Stéphane Hessel’sbook Los Indignados: and the 15M movement in Spain. Currently in Spain and across Europe unrest is building amongst the youth. Hard economic times with no sign of improvement have led to the mobilization of students voicing their concerns about their future and the future of EU governments. Hessel’s pamphlet has been in heavy circulation causing protests and organized rallies to pop up all over Europe. Our Speaker Dra. Alicia Gómez Montano, works with the press and gave insight into the changes. She explained that the role of the press has changed, that these movements are taking place without the use of newspapers and television as a form of communication. Rather than relying on traditional outlets los indignados are using social networks like Facebook and Twitter. It is an exciting time to be in the city and in Spain. We may see a lot of changes over the next year.
Tuesday we watched a film by Álex de la Iglesia called La Comunidad. The film takes place in Madrid in a rundown apartment building inhabited by some very peculiar individuals. The protagonist Julia is a real-estate agent assigned to showing a vacant apartment. The ceiling crumbles in from above, allowing Julia’s curiosity gets the best of her. She finds herself alone in a dead man’s flat with 300 million pesetas. She quickly learns the dangers of having such thoughtful neighbors as the movie spirals into a gory blood bath. After the movie we discussed the film. De la Iglesia creates a community of castizo tenants representative of Spain and the difficulties of transitioning into the European Union.
Wednesday night the graduate students had a mixer with the faculty at the NYU campus in el Viso. There are 22 people in the program, split into two concentrations; 1. Linguistics and 2. Cultural Studies and Literature. Everyone in the program comes from different educational backgrounds and experiences. Most people have spent time abroad and studied Spanish in college. After meeting with several professors with doctorates in history I feel more comfortable with my undergraduate degree. I should be able to tie my previous studies into the cultural studies track. For this semester I enrolled in 3 history courses, a grammar and composition class and a research workshop.
Thursday morning the group met a Tirso de Molina for a guided tour of Lavapies. Standing on calle de la Magdelena our guide Maria asked us to observe the wideness and cleanliness of the street. Pointing to a security camera she explained that we were on the edge of society and with one quick turn to the left we would be entering a poorer neighborhood, lacking Bourgeois urban planning. Narrow streets lined with graffiti slope downwards into the traditionally poor neighborhood of Lavapies. Looking around we noticed hodgepodge buildings and laundry hanging illegally from balconies. There were also a multitude of signs for Indian, Pakistani, Korean and Thai restaurants. In the US we are accustomed to seeing immigrant communities. But in Spain this is an entirely new phenomenon. Within the last 20-30 years Spain has experienced a massive influx of immigrants from all over Asia, India and the Americas. In Madrid, Lavapies was historically the Jewish quarter of the city but is now inhabited by thousands of foreigners. Today the city’s population is about 1/3 non-Spanish.
This shift has created many social tensions. One example offered was the competition between Asian grocers and native Spanish businesses. In Spain most shops close midday for a siesta, allowing families to eat lunch together and rest before reopening for the evening. The immigrant vendors in contrast keep their shops open all day and all night, frustrating their traditional competitors. These are deep cultural differences that have sometimes led to violence and hostility.
Another issue which Lavapies faces is gentrification. There is a push to develop tourism and business throughout the entire city of Madrid. Maria explained there is a “cleaning” of neighborhoods like Lavapies. New theaters and restaurants attract a wealthier demographic and tourism while displacing poorer inhabitants who currently reside in the community. This cleanse does nothing to resolve serious social issues, there is no push towards education or social outreach to better the community. The “problems” like prostitutes, drug dealers and gypsies are simply pushed to the peripheral of the city.
The reaction by some in the community has been quite powerful. There has been regeneration from within the barrio itself. My favorite part of the tour exemplified this. La Tabacalera is a a massive old Tabaco Product factory located in Lavapies that the city one day hopes to restore. Remarkably the lack of municipal funding has not stopped anyone in the community from pushing forward with the project. La Tabacalera has become a center for art and live music. There are classes offered daily, exhibitions, and debates. I am quite intrigued with this place and plan to spend a healthy amount of time visiting.
Friday we spent the day in Segovia, in Castile Leon, 1 hour from Madrid. We split into smaller groups and were given tours of the historic city. Our guide/professor Paco was wonderful. In traditional Spanish fashion we stopped for a leisurely café con leche before beginning the trek around the city. Afterwards he led us on a very detailed journey through the city.
At first glance Segovia is a medieval city complete with castle and stone wall. But there is so much more, Segovia shows the span and intrigue of Spain’s history. The perfectly preserved Aqueduct boasts of the city’s Roman origins. The architecture demonstrates a complex social and religious past. For a time Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted with in the walls of Segovia. We visited a small catholic church which was previously a Synagogue built by Muslim stone masons.
We passed one of the main prisons used during the Inquisition. The main Cathedral, dedicated the he Virgin Mary shows a later history with an interesting mix of Gothic, Romanesque, Rococo and Baroque designs. As Paco told us-it took centuries to construct the massive churches we see across Europe. We often see of mix showing changes in styles and a fluctuation of construction funds.
The tour ended with a breath taking view atop the Alcazar of Segovia, the main fortress of Castile where Isabella la Catholic was proclaimed queen. Her reign would lead to the unification of the country and the dominance of Christianity.
After the tour I ordered cochinillo (suckling pig) THE local dish to round out the experience and a bottle of wine from a nearby vineyard. The meal made me think of Stuart- 3 things he loves- wine, local dishes, and pork.
Orientation was incredible. Our tours were so informative I know this post has failed to do the justice. I am excited to start classes on Monday and continue to learn about this amazing place called España.
