Ephemeral architecture is the art or technique of
designing and constructing buildings that are temporary, short-lived, and
especially characterized by the poor quality of their materials.
Almeriacine
By Juanen Pérez Miranda
March 20, 2024
The completion of the filming of the French series
'Zorro' and the demolition, a few days later, of the spectacular sets built in
the area of El Chorrillo, Pechina, has met with strong opposition among
cinephiles and fans of film tourism.
Undoubtedly, the disappearance of these sets is bad news,
but rather than joining in the complaints, demonstrations of indignation and
even pointing the finger of guilt, cases like this should first lead us to ask
ourselves an extensive list of questions whose answers are not easy at all.
That's why it's such a complicated and controversial topic.
In this case, as in other similar events that have taken
place in this land of cinema, we let ourselves be carried away by the
sentimental and desirable, without stopping to ask ourselves numerous
questions. These sets, like most of them, have been built on a private estate.
Does the preservation of the sets benefit the owners at all? Who would bear the
alleged costs of maintenance and surveillance? Who would be responsible for
damages or accidents that hypothetically visitors to the sets would suffer? And
in the institutional sphere, would the municipality in which the decorations
are located derive any benefit from the visits? Who would regulate and control
access to the private estate?
The sets of 'Zorro', moreover, are of a greater volume
and height than other nearby ones with which we inevitably compare this case.
This particularity makes them even more prone to deterioration by
meteorological agents (wind, rain). This, together with the indiscriminate
access of people, cinephiles or not, lovers of film tourism or not, and
isolated cases of vandalism, surely makes the place dangerous after a while.
But the conservation of some sets has already been
carried out, with evident success, a hundred meters from this same place.
That's right, in December 2013 we were all surprised that after the filming of
'Exodus: Gods and Kings' (Ridley Scott, 2014) they razed all the sets built
except for the small ghetto, which has given us so much joy looking back ten
years. The ghetto, which no one can explain why they left standing, has seen
productions such as 'Game of Thrones' (2016), Brandariz's peculiar biblical trilogy,
'Brussel' (2017), numerous television programs, music videos or the most recent
'Road to Bethlehem' (2023) and 'Zorro' (premiering at the end of 2024) parade
through its streets.
But between shoots, the ghetto has suffered periods of
complete neglect and ruin, as we see in these images from May and December 2019.
Each new production has meant a rebirth for the ghetto,
which has seen its houses and streets renovated and reinvents itself for a new
stage of subsistence. The last impulse, with the series 'Zorro'.
Almeria is fortunate to have consolidated over time
several sets, which were also "ephemeral" at their birth due to the
way they were built. Saved by the continuity of filming and by the tourist
exploitation, and also thanks to the commitment of their owners, today we
continue to enjoy the towns of Oasys-Minihollywood, Fort Bravo and Western
Leone, something that cannot be said in Madrid or Catalonia. But many, many
others were not so lucky and ended up disappearing. We all know cases such as the
ruins of the Poblado Mimbrero, which are still there because they are in a very
isolated place; several forts that were eventually dismantled; the town of
Nueva Frontera, whose owners ended up demolishing to avoid continuous
incursions into their paintball player farm; the imposing castle in 'The
Mystery of Wells' (2003), which wanted to buy a company but the Environment
prevented it, or the fortress El Cóndor, which after its last appointment with
cinema, 'Honolulu Baby' (2001) does not stop gradually falling apart and today
is only a dangerous ruin. I wish it wasn't like that, but the owners of El
Condor have no tourist or cinematographic interest.
Are we going back to the exemplary example of the
surviving ghetto of 'Exodus'? Why wouldn't the same happen with the beautiful
buildings they've built for 'Zorro'? Quite simply, because no one can guarantee
that before the walls of the town hall or the casino begin to threaten to fall
– or fall on someone – there will be some new filming that is interested, that
uses them as they are or modified.
We can accuse the owners of the El Chorrillo estate, the
Pechina town council, and the Almeria Provincial Council of lack of tourist
vision, but what is evident in this case is that the owners of El Chorrillo
have gotten rid of a problem. The huge estate on which the historic houses of
El Chorrillo are located, which were a mining train station at the beginning of
the 20th century, has had an urban development project for about fifteen years
and, with this plan now free of legal complications, it is for sale waiting for
investors who would totally transform the place. Although its cinematographic
history goes back many years, the boom of important shoots that followed
'Exodus' does not confuse the real objective of the property: to sell for
urbanization.
Here is an article by Manuel León in La Voz de Almería,
October 2022. The property is still for sale.
This case of the 'Zorro' sets has the aggravating factor
that fans have practically not had time to see the sets. Filming ended on a
Thursday and the next day all the props were being removed and on Monday the
shootdowns began. Less than a week later, nothing remains of the buildings.
Leaving aside the visceral and the search for culprits,
we can only think of, from coherence, an intermediate solution that may be
valid for future similar cases, which hopefully will abound. It would be an
attempt at a temporary agreement between the Provincial Council of Almeria
(Filming Almeria, Turismo Costa de Almeria) and the owners, to take charge of
access and surveillance for a few weeks and thus allow hundreds of people to
contemplate the sets, who would undoubtedly come, in the same way that so many
people have visited the ghetto of 'Exodus' and 'Game of Thrones'.
Temporary solution and then the inevitable demolition?
Better that than nothing.
Hopefully we will learn for the future, with interest on
each other's part.
