The hum of some birds and the splash of fish in the pond. Nothing else at night. That is at the edge of six in the morning the only soundtrack of El Retiro before the park reopens, closed by the pandemic since last March 14 and on the day the capital premieres phase 1 of the de-escalation. Security guard José Luis Caboblanco, 55, heads by car through a dark and deserted park towards the gate that opens onto Puerta de Alcalá. “I’ve been here eight years and this work is wonderful.”
His partner Joan Gali, 37, opens the gate at six o’clock. Outside, José María Maroto, with his two gauges, has been waiting a little earlier. Rome and Lime. Immediately the first runner appears already sweaty, eager to recover a territory he considers his own. And he gets big, like the one who crosses a goal the first, raising his arms and with a satisfied face. It is Ángel Serrano, orange shirt, that hardly stops. Its shadow is quickly lost between some paths and some trees that it knows well.
“Attention, sentry box !, from now on, only vehicles that normally had authorization will access”. Caboblanco makes the order clear to his colleagues: with the reopening, those who have had extraordinary permission for maintenance work or because they had to work during the closure no longer have it.
And with the first walker and the first athlete, the first politician. The delegate of the Environment area, Borja Carabante, did not want to miss the occasion and saw the sunrise in the park. As the sun rose, the different doors served as vomitoriums through which the people of Madrid accessed, such as the runner, to recover a territory that had not been closed for so long since the Civil War.
This Monday, the 19 large parks of the capital have reopened and were closed to avoid crowds. Along with El Retiro, green lungs have returned to daily life and for recreation such as the Casa de Campo, Madrid Río or the Dehesa de la Villa. The rest, the district ones, the smallest, were already opened on May 8. For its part, the Community of Madrid will reopen the three major peri-urban parks in the region – Valdebernardo, Polvoranca and Bosquesur, 581 hectares in the municipalities of Alcorcón, Leganés, Fuenlabrada, Getafe, Pinto and Madrid – and the Botanical Garden.
That the closure of the parks in the capital was maintained, despite having advanced to phases 0 and 0.5, was not understood by the citizens, who have suffered in recent weeks crowds on many of the sidewalks of the city. Carabante says that the 140 workers of El Retiro have remained in their positions, “there has been no ERTE”, and for two weeks the return of the people of Madrid has been prepared and all the trees have been checked. In line with the mayor’s speech, whom he accompanied on a visit this Sunday, Carabante has insisted on asking for caution, keeping distance and wearing a mask.
Carlos, a 22-year-old aeronautical maintenance student, takes the opportunity to regain the pulse of the park with his dog Aika. Leaning on the railing that surrounds the lake, the view is relaxed towards the monument to Alfonso XII. “This is a relief for the daily stress of the city,” says this neighbor of the nearby Menendez Pelayo avenue who goes to the park daily.
Also in the area is Borja Cebamanos, 29 years old. “El Retiro is a place in the center of the city where you can disconnect, which for me is running.” The first day that the authorities let him go out to do sports in the morning strip – hours that are still maintained – from six to ten in the morning, he came running around the park and left horrified by the number of people who had to look for other areas of the city less invaded by athletes. “It was impossible”. Borja understands that the authorities decreed the closure of green spaces because “if not, the same would have happened in Madrid as in Barcelona on the beach. All lying here on the grass. “
Antonello della Norte’s tripod has also been planted early. This photographer has had the privilege of being one of the few who has continued to access the park during these weeks that it has remained closed. Hired by the City Council, he is documenting life in El Retiro. “Nature has spoken. You can see better air quality ”. He says that he has even been able to see species that are not easy to enjoy in these waters, such as the cinnamon jar, a water bird. For most, a duck. Antonello is not very clear if the period that access has been forbidden will serve to make citizens aware of the need to maintain these spaces in the city. Expect them to dump less trash and not give wildlife processed food.
The Association of Friends of El Retiro continues to demand that these almost 120 hectares of great historical, cultural and natural value be better managed by the different administrations. They believe that the park right now “is ungovernable” by depending on different levels. They claim a kind of entity that groups a single command, explains the president of this association, Javier de la Puente.
At seven thirty in the morning the flow of people is very high. Walkers and athletes enjoy everywhere. But there are those who do not find the return of the people from Madrid as funny. Juan Francisco Cózar, 55, a park employee for 15 years, is cursing with his phosphor suit and a metal rake. He is usually dedicated to cleaning tasks but these weeks without visitors he has been turned into a gardener. “This has been very calm, I have not been infected. You will see now “, he points out, as he continues on his way speaking only aloud without caring about those around him:” Let’s see if they stop ass-fucking! “.
Information about the coronavirus:
– Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the coronavirus.
– The coronavirus map: this is how cases grow day by day and country by country
– Coronavirus action guide
– All measures against the coronavirus in Madrid
– In case you have symptoms, the Community of Madrid recommends avoid going to the health center except in cases of extreme need, use the web coronamadrid.com and the phone 900 102 112
–
In EL PAÍS, dozens of journalists work to bring you the most rigorous information and fulfill your public service mission. If you want to support our journalism and enjoy unlimited access, you can do it here for € 1 the first month and € 10 the following month, with no commitment to stay.
Subscribe-
