Two of my photos from our recent trip to the Valencian Coast struck me as interesting:
“España es un pais desunido e incierto que no sabe a donde va.” Spain is a separated and uncertain country with no idea where it is heading. The graffiti on this ruined house, hidden behind a wild stretch of beach near Gandia, is not uncommon. It could have been there for years. The next photo, by contrast, hints very strongly as to where Spain is heading.
This sign, posted in the lobby of the block of flats where we stayed in Gandia, deals with the simple matter of the local refuse collection service. But look closely: in order to communicate with the population of Valencia as it stands today, the message is written in Valencian, Spanish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian and Arabic. A sign like this would never have been seen 5 years ago, probably not even 18 months ago for that matter. After hundreds of years, is Spain becoming a truly plural society again?
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 