It exists in Cordoba the popular saying that something goes “takes more time than wall work”with regard to the erection of this structure on the banks of the Guadalquivir, which took, between ten cents and diretes, almost three centuries. Since then, such a sentence has been applied to any idle project that abounds so much in any city. The urbanization of lands formerly occupied by Fatima Prison is one of them.
The prison was demolished in 2005. Since then, the construction site has remained on hold. Everything seemed to indicate that it would be concluded this year, since in February the allocation to a company was finalized. However, the only construction company that participated in the competition, Jícar de Córdoba, did not sign anything for mismatches between original and current prices. Start again.
“In Cordoba, nothing ends”the president of Amanecer Neighborhood Association of Fátima, Paco Bellidowho observes with resignation the delay in the work. “We, as a neighborhood association, have reached the limit of what we can do, we can only wait for the work to begin as soon as possible,” says Bellido. Their association has met with the municipal council on several occasions, but their hands are tied if this is not the case. Correctional institutions which takes the plunge and ends up urbanizing.
“I think the neighbors wouldn’t care if the apartments weren’t built and would prefer a park next to the others”
In the municipal sports pavilion of Fátima, very close to the site, Pepi and Paco, also residents of the neighborhood, are waiting for their turn to enter one of the sports classes. “They’ve been dragging their feet for I don’t know how many years, and in the meantime the place has become the neighborhood dog toilet.”they add. The truth is that in the morning you see many people taking their pets to a place that has become an open field with dry bushes.
María Martín is precisely one of these young walkers. “I think the neighbors wouldn’t care if the apartments weren’t built and They would prefer a park next to others“. This neighbor refers to both the garden on Blas Infante Avenue and the neighboring Levante Park.
From the old prison Only part of the entrance structure remains, transformed into a civic center. Next to it, at the confluence of Mahatma Ghandi and Nuestra Señora de la Merced, is another small garden. Antonio Caballero rests on a bench with his little Yorkshire. He clearly remembers the day the prison was demolished. “The delay in the works is the same as that of the Ronda Norte or Marrubial, a question of reluctance,” he emphasizes. His bank neighbor, Andrés Rubiales, signs: “There is no interest and no one is responsible.”
“The delay in work is the same as that of Ronda Norte or Marrubial, a question of reluctance”
Gertru González comes almost every day from Carlos III to the bakeries on Guaraní Street and approaches the subject with a classic: “All politicians are equal”. Next to it, another resident of the neighborhood, who prefers not to say his name for the occasion, emphasizes that “if someone won with the blocks, it would already be built.” We have the feeling in Fátima that transcendental importance is not given to a project that has been classified in this file of mural works.
