Free-D

The fact that Salamanca might not get a high speed AVE rail connection has been a cause of much sulkiness and foot stamping in the local press these last couple of weeks. Why would such a connection be good for Salamanca? Well, obviously it would increase levels of tourism and provide a boost for certain businesses. “Growth” is naturally seen as the magic ingredient in “progress”. But is it really? If we measure success by sheer volume in other areas, the arts for instance - then this model seems ridiculous. Using this principle Andrew Lloyd Weber would be one of the greatest composers of all time. The thing is, cities aren’t simple economic equations any more than artworks. Our mania for “success” ignores the fact that growth is a complex phenomenon. To be sure there is the natural, delightful “budding of spring” type of growth and healthy “adolescent blooming”. But there is also  cancerous growth. It is never easy to predict what the results of greater affluence will be. But what is obvious is that scale itself (at either of its extremes) is not synonymous with progress. This is all the more true when it comes to cultural matters. What is it that attracts tourists to Salamanca? Is it the mountains of frog themed t-shirts? Unlikely. Confronted by this superficial, consumerist culture, the temptation is to withdraw to ones’ oak lined study and hide amongst the classics.  But this is just another form of cultural death.  Not that Salamanca has a dearth of real cultural life - it’s just that Politicians and councils like to keep improving things. But how exactly could Salamanca be better? Well, take the cathedral for example, don’t you think that it would  be better if it were more of  a “multifunctional cultural space” instead of a boring old sublime expression of plateresque architecture? And Salamanca itself – how could we improve it? Well that’s an easy one – more shopping opportunities. Goodness, I like shopping as much as anyone but what I love about the city just doesn’t have a price ticket on it. And the less “multifunctional” everything is, the better in my view. It’s hard enough to find a phone that isn’t suffering from an identity crisis these days; let’s not start applying our obsession with convenience to historical artefacts. But what we really want, more than lots more shops and suppository sized phones is to have our cake and eat it. One of the many things that’s so charming about Salamanca is the magic quality of space it possesses.

If you attempt to milk this rare character for financial gain then you run the risk of destroying this very quality. It’s the kind of contradiction that success very often brings. A contradiction that could spell failure.