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| The Gibraltar / Spain border as it was |
So, it's gone. The border fence that has overshadowed our lives for three or more generations was finally flung open at the stroke of midnight. As expected, hordes of people gathered on both sides. They swarmed in and out and some swarmed in and out again, several times over. There were tears and jeers. There was chanting, flag waving, some bullish challenges, some provocative gestures, but mostly there was a sense of jubilation. At last another shackle removed. A new era begun.
There will be many words dedicated to commentary on this event. Journalists have been gearing up to this for weeks. Here, I want to acknowledge the great work by GBC in their coverage of the lead up to the signing of the Treaty and to the lifting of border restrictions - I watched the live footage as nosy as the next person but too lazy to go down and see for myself, and a tad worried for Kevin Ruiz reporting from the Spanish side as he was mobbed by flag-draped football fans celebrating Spain's getting through to the World Cup finals. There will be acres of paper and digital space dedicated to political commentary, with myriad points of view expressed and opinions aired.
What, I wondered, will the artists make of this? What emotions will the poets capture, what impressions will they pen, what scenes will be sung by the troubadours of these twin towns of the wide spaces between the land and the deep blue sea of the Strait?
The keyboard warriors were out, virtually, in force, hiding in darkened rooms no doubt, feverishly tapping at their various devices, engaging their avatars and bots in battle with a world that they fear and appear to loathe. Their prophecies of instant invasion strangled as the chanting by groups of Spaniards wrapped in their national flag just inside Gibraltar's boundary turned out to be 'viva los llanitos', far far louder than the cries of 'Gibraltar Español' which have been heard ringing from the north face of the Rock innumerable times through the bars and streets of our city on beery Friday nights.
I found myself having a strong urge to engage with the artists and writers of La Línea. I may still be trying to master the craft in English, let alone interact with those who master Spanish for their art, but as I watched those scenes on TV, the urge to integrate culturally was strong. What an exciting opportunity. I think I had my eyes open to this when I participated in this year's Bloomsday and watched Rebecca Calderon's play at the Museo de Cruz Herrara, and met Raquel Ñeco, delegada de Cultura y Actos Públicos del Ayuntamiento de La Línea de la Concepción. The hour or so spent there woke me up to the realisation of how deeply enmeshed our cultures are in each other.
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| Bloomsday 2026 |
Some people will disagree with me, they will lay claim to their imposed Britishness as if this were at our roots, as if it were only from this that the totality of our Gibraltarian identity is derived. But we all have mixed roots that have fed and nourished us from different soils and all those need to be acknowledged and celebrated, because it is from this that our strength is derived. Just look at how multi-ethnic Gibraltar is, and here I tip a nod to acknowledge the terrific contribution made by Moroccans to Gibraltar during those hard years of the closed border and how brilliantly those who once came to work have made their lives here, how there is no longer Moroccans and Gibraltarians, just Gibraltarians with Moroccan roots.
Identity is, in any case, a transient thing. It changes many times through one life, let alone through the myriad lives and multiple generations of a community. Of course our identity will change as time passes, not because we can flow in and out of each other's spaces more fluidly, but because life is in a constant state of flux, because circumstances both personal and social, change. The mixing of languages, cultures, influences, manners, expectations, skills and identity is something that happens in human life and has always happened. It is what makes us survive and thrive. And that is what Gibraltareños and Linenses are remarkably good at: surviving and thriving. I am certain that, in the arts, especially in our writing, we will accelerate towards excelling, together.
So if anyone in Gibraltar and La Línea is up for a joint writing project, look me up. My Spanish is not great, pero mira, pasa.
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| Gibraltar and La Línea - sister cities |
