THE COLLAPSE OF A BEACH BUNKER
Violeta Vigo
These photographs are taken from a 90-year-old bunker situated in Guadalquiton beach, known among locals as Bunker beach, in Sotogrande, Spain. I took these photographs a few months before winter storms and repeated crashing of waves caused the collapse of the concrete. The bunker that had given this beach its name, that held memory of the Spanish civil war, had fallen at the coast it was once built to guard. This unexpected wreckage inspired me to revisit the significance of this location and its history.
The bunker was built by the Republican army in 1937, to defend against possible naval attacks from Spanish, Italian and German fascists. Situated in a tactical military position, the site observes the Southern coast, the Rock of Gibraltar and Morocco; Spain, British territory and Africa in a single frame. At the time of taking the photographs I was soaking in the crude beauty of the site; a time capsule, with barbed wire and hard concrete contrasting a peaceful landscape of untamed nature. Whilst I recognized its history, it was not until this bunker was destroyed that I understood the value it had possessed. Structures like these act as an anti-war symbol as they help us remember the impact of the Civil War on Costa del Sol, tragedies which receive far less recognition than, for example, the Guernica in Andalusia. For instance, we should remember the tragic exodus in Malaga, which resulted in the slaughter of thousands of people. Rebellion first succeeded in Seville, and Almeria was the final place to fall to Nationalism towards the end of the war.
We also commemorate other fragments of Spanish Civil War history specific to this location, such as the refuge that the “Campo de Gibraltar” proposed for thousands of republican families fleeing the repression of Francoism. The physical proof of the civil war’s effect on the Mediterranean coast is disappearing with time, furthering the concern of the detachment that many Spaniards feel towards the collective memory of the war and this portion of Spain’s history. I am grateful I happened to photograph this bunker whilst it was still whole.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 5.