>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SCROLL RIGHT FOR IMAGES

A short story about concrete.

Seseña nuevo is a deserted mini-city built some 40km from Madrid, in the middle of nowhere. Also known as “Francisco Hernando residential”, named after its constructor, this phantasmagorical site hosts 13508 flats. Built without any kind of urban planning and previous infrastructures, such as water supply and public transportation, Seseña nuevo started rising from the ground in the year 2000, the same year when a construction boom took place in Spain. It was perhaps Francisco’s hope that the angry voices of the buyers of his flats would be enough to force the authorities to accept the new landscape and bring all the basic public infrastructures to this new city. Turns out that in 2009 only 3000 houses had been sold to privates, some of them unlucky speculators. Some other 2000 have been transferred to the property of banks as credit payment. The lack of legal guarantees and the fierce reaction of local authorities frustrated Francisco’s intentions and made Seseña Nuevo the symbol of speculation in Spain. For those driving in highway A4 towards Toledo, this useless mass of concrete will loom for many years in the horizon.

Francisco Hernando is nowadays one of the richest men in Spain. He is usually known by the nickname of “El Pocero” (the sewer cleaner). It was the fierce dedication to his first job, cleaning all kinds of sewers all over Madrid, that allowed him to abandon a striking and rigorous poverty and climb all the steps towards a world of wealth.

The following pictures are the result of the few hours I’ve spent strolling around Seseña Nuevo.

Pedro Guimarães, January 2010.