© Richard HuangMadrid’s Puerta del Sol is home to a famous statue of a bear and a strawberry tree. Legend has it that bears once roamed the area. One day, a mother and her young child went out together. The child wandered off alone and, pursued by a bear, climbed a tree. The mother called out as she searched everywhere. Hearing her voice and fearing that she might come too close and put herself in danger, the child shouted, “Madre, id! Madre, id!”—“Mother, run! Mother, run!” Thus, the story goes, Madrid got its name. In one version, the child’s cries brought hunters to the rescue; in another, they frightened the bear away. Either way, this charming legend has made the statue one of Madrid’s best-known symbols—and an obligatory photo stop for visitors.
We came especially to see it too, hoping for a friendly photo with the bear and the strawberry tree. Sadly, this was what we found instead.
© Richard HuangOn this visit to Spain, I found construction everywhere. Madrid and Barcelona both seemed like enormous building sites, with trucks coming and going and construction materials piled up wherever we looked.
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangEven the streets were divided up by metal barriers, making it very inconvenient to get around.
© Richard HuangThe Sagrada FamíliaHardly needs mentioning: more than a century after construction began, it is still being built. Scaffolding and cranes compete for height with its towers…
© Richard HuangThere is one thing about construction in Spain that deserves praise, however. Building sites are usually screened off behind large hoardings—and quite attractive ones at that.
© Richard HuangThe outer panels are often printed with nearly life-size images of whatever lies hidden behind them. The illusion is so convincing that, if you are not paying attention, you might take it for the real thing.
© Richard HuangThis is the Puerta de Alcalá, besideEl Retiro Park. We passed it on the way from the airport to our hotel, and one of my companions promptly began clicking away at the “gate.” Our driver smiled and said, “It’s fake.” Sure enough, it was—we had almost been fooled.
© Richard HuangWhere there are building sites, there are people doing the work. The workers kept appearing in my viewfinder, so I went with it and took a series of photographs of Spanish workers.
© Richard HuangAt the very least, the photographs give us a look at what Spanish workers wear on the job.
© Richard HuangTheir workwear deserves some praise too. The colors are bright, and different trades have their own styles and colors, making them easy to distinguish at a glance.
© Richard HuangI later learned that Spain is a world-class infrastructure powerhouse. Its high-speed rail network is the world’s second largest, after China’s, while its motorway network ranks fifth. Madrid itself has only about three million residents and ranks around fiftieth among the world’s urban populations, yet it has the tenth-largest metro network. Spain is also home to two of the world’s ten leading airports.
© Richard HuangSpain is also a world leader in infrastructure technology, and Spanish engineering and construction firms have secured major projects across Europe, Africa, and South America.
© Richard HuangDuring the new democratic era that followed the end of Franco’s rule, Spain developed a growth model built on finance and real estate. Massive investment in roads, railways, bridges, and other infrastructure helped the country develop rapidly, in what became known as the “Spanish Miracle.”
© Richard HuangIntentional or not, I came away from this trip with this series of photographs.
© Richard Huang
© Richard Huang
© Richard Huang
© Richard HuangThese photographs document the state of construction in Spain as the pandemic was drawing to a close. Perhaps these building sites were signs of an economy beginning to recover. Perhaps they were the result of infrastructure spending intended to stimulate it. Or perhaps they were simply a reflection of the leisurely pace at which the Spanish build. Whatever the case, I hope that by the next time we visit Spain, the Sagrada Família will finally be finished—and we will be able to pose happily with the bear and the strawberry tree.