Away from the glitz and glamour of Formula 1 is Calle Santa Susana in Hortaleza. Or at least they wish they were away from Formula 1 but as the circus rolled into town, one group of residents certainly were not fans. Over the weekend in their neighbourhood and outside the racetrack, residents and members of Union la Hortaleza were protesting about the negative consequences that would last long after the flag is waved. We spoke to Rodrigo Cruz of the Hortaleza Neighbourhood Union to find out more.
The Madring , like the new wave of F1 tracks is not actually a racetrack at all but a weird bastardisation of public cities being taken over for a weekend. As Rodrigo informs me, it was a lot longer than a week. “It´s been a pester for neighbours, many streets are now closed and it has taken three months to build and now another three months to dismantle. It´s cost us over 300 million euros. And housing has skyrocketed.”
Now, the regional government would dispute Rodrigo´s asseration and state that zero public money has been put in. A glowing report from PWC and IFEMA (the quasi state owned venue centre hosting the race) was released on the benefits.
The truth will out eventually but if actually history is a precedent (and reality is always a better indicator than those financially incentivised to say nice things), then looking to Valencia may be a wise move. Valencia´s hosting of the European Grand Prix ended in a Partido Popular scandal as millions of euros were funelled to bail out the event whilst privatising the profits.
Rodrigo Cruz “Prices have trebled, wages haven´t”
But the Regional government would say that this would generate millions of euros and with that Rodrigo wouldn´t disagree. “It´s definitely going to bring money but the main point is it isn´t going to bring money to neighbours here. Pehaps a couple of bars but besides that it´s going to make living impossible for people here who don´t have spare houses to go to.”
Housing of course being the key issue and with reports of houses being rented on AirBnB for 10,000 euros for the race, it´s easy to see why people like Rodrigo who want to live in a community and not a theme park are nervous.
“The cost of living has almost tripled in the last ten years and well, the wages simply haven´t. We are seeing more of our neighbours have to flee and I mean the whole district.”
After the protest on Saturday moved its way through the district, it ended up outside Jardín de Josefa Arquero Hernandez which that day was hosting the Fiesta of La Virgen de la Soledad. A small neighbourhood event that was resurrected in 1993, what shocked me most was the sheer number of children in the area with families.
In a city and a country that has made having kids incredibly expensive to the point of being an act of faith, the mix of ages and genuine community spirit was a world away from the centre of Madrid. This area is planned to be part of Madrid Nuevo Norte but when it comes to Hortaleza on Saturday, it was difficult to see what is wrong with the old one.
As for the race itself ? Let´s just say fans weren´t impressed by what has been descrbed as a boring snoozefest. Perhaps Madring is a metaphor for modern Spanish life: Pointlessly going round in circles with no chance to improve your position, trapped in a meaningless procession for the benefit of a tiny elite paddock. It´s easy to see why Ayuso is such a fan.
The full inteview is available below.