Barcelona / 24-11-2016 /
“37.079 metros cuadradoooos!” “70 millones de eeeeurooooos!”
Una lotería improvisada en una acera del Eixample. En la opuesta, seis furgonetas de mossos, dos coches de la guardia urbana y varios grupos de policías de paisano.
“250 viviendaas!”, la bolita del bingo va girando, y las activistas cantan a través del megáfono las propiedades de Santiago Cardete, cuya residencia se esconde tras el cordón policial. Las vecinas, curiosas, se paran a preguntar quién es este señor. El colectivo de Espai Comunal La Rimaia se lo explica: Santiago Cardete Olmo es uno de los grandes propietarios de Barcelona, responsable de la amenaza de desalojo sobre el edificio okupado y auto gestionado en Poble Sec. Finalizado el escrache, las activistas se marcharon, no sin antes advertir que volverían.
El proyecto de la Nova Rimaia es un centro social y de vivienda situado en un edificio abandonado durante más de 20 años, habitado mientras fue la sede de la Universidad Lliure la Rimaia y ahora re-okupado des del pasado febrero, haciendo frente a la especulación y gentrificación del barrio.
———-
“37.079 squared meeeeteeers!”“70 milion eeurooos!”
An improvised lottery in a sidewalk of Barcelona. On the opposite one, six Mossos police vans, two urban patrol cars and several groups of secret police.
“250 hooomes!”, the bingo ball keeps turning, and the activists sing through the megaphone the many properties of Santiago Cardete, whose residence is hidden behind the police cordon. The neighbors, curious, stop by to ask who this man is. Espai Comunal La Rimaia activists explain to them: he is one of the biggest owners around Barcelona, who speculates with buildings and is responsible of the potential eviction of one of them that is now squatted and self-managed by the collective in Pobre Sec district. The activists are performing an ‘escrache’, a kind of demonstration born mainly in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in which a group of people goes to the home or workspace of someone they want to denounce, in order to make their actions known to the public. They finish it cheerfully, but not before announcing that they will be back.
La Nova Rimaia project is a social and living project placed in a building that was abandoned for more than 20 years, squatted in the past to host the Free University La Rimaia and re-squatted on February this year against the speculation and gentrification of the neighbourhood.
Sergi Pujolar, Mayu Ruiz / Krasnyi Collective BCN