Drift in El Cabanyal

Drift in El Cabanyal To do a drift, you have to walk on foot without a destination and schedule. You have to look at each thing as if it were the first time you have looked at it, so Guy Debord said. Perhaps the best way to visit a city is just this: to renounce the objectives already set to let yourself be guided by the land that is trodden on and the casual encounters, to wander without destination choosing every moment the direction to go, to let yourself be conditioned by the spirit of the places. Tourism in the traditional sense is becoming more anachronistic and vain. Everything seems already seen, everything seems already lived; monuments, churches and museums are no surprise. Our idea is that of conducting tours conceived by tourists and residents that use the experience of psychogeographic drift as a model adequately modified. A different tour Each drift will be guided by a master who will be a true storyteller, not an actor who is playing a role or a guide in the traditional sense of the word. The groups would be composed of few people (maximum eight) and on the fly it will be possible to implement different forms of improvisation and deviations. The idea is to do a part of the guided tour of the master and another where the master will invite people to be active parties according to the rules of psychogeographic walks. Everyone would be invited to use the technological instruments that they already have at their disposal and that seem perfect for drifting (mobile phones, applications that can be used in a specific way for the tour), we will also add instruments for exploration (booklet, headphones , etc) The master may, based on the route, request the use of headphones to use a soundtrack, make listen to specific songs and sounds. In some cases, actors, writers and artists will be called in to guide special tours. El Cabanyal - a special neighborhood The different urban, spatial and social transformations of the last two centuries are decisive when it comes to understanding El Cabanyal. During the 19th century, the original huts and barracks were gradually replaced by permanent buildings. In addition, the summer contact with the Valencian bourgeoisie will give rise, by imitation, to an eclectic and modernist style that will begin to decorate the facades. This is how trencadis was born, an original form of popular modernism with such outstanding architecture that its streets are an open-air museum. Despite this and the recognition of the BIC (Asset of Cultural Interest), for many years, this museum was seriously affected by a plan that wanted to destroy part of the neighborhood to give Valencia a new and hypothetical outlet to the sea, through the extension of Blasco Ibáñez. The resistance of the residents, the judgment of the Supreme Court and the political change in the City Council have saved the neighborhood, which still has deep wounds from these years of struggle and degradation. If part of the neighborhood, the Canyamelar area, is already in full rehabilitation and is becoming fashionable, the part of Cabanyal that was most affected by the plan continues to have problems, it is “ground zero”. El Cabanyal is perfect to be the starting point of an experiential tour that later wants to expand in other areas of the city, it is a neighborhood that has many stories to tell. Our tour will not be limited to the already rehabilitated and fashionable area of the neighborhood, which more or less coincides with the Canyamelar but it does also want to enter ground zero, a place that is worth seeing and telling.