Controversial campsite at Praterías: “My city is not a circus”
A video of three Portuguese pilgrims in sleeping bags on the staircase stirs social media and ignites a new debate about the vandalism of historical heritage.
August is coming to an end, but tourists and pilgrims continue to arrive in droves in Santiago. Occasionally, they become the subject of debate on social media due to uncivil behaviors. From graffiti on the stones of the monumental zone to bathing in the fountain at Praterías, vandalism constantly finds new forms of expression. If in June a campsite at the Alameda overlooking the Cathedral went viral, this time it is the building itself being used as a rest area. A video shows three pilgrims with sleeping bags on the steps of Praza de Praterías, sparking new controversy among the residents of Compostela.
Shared by the Instagram account @compostelaresiste, which since last summer has been exposing uncivilized behavior by visitors and generating discussion among locals, the video shows a group of Portuguese-speaking pilgrims camping along the staircase. They were resting at night with their backpacks beside them, wrapped in sleeping bags. When the camera approaches, the pilgrims appear surprised: “This is not an albergue; it’s a public space and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site (…) My city is not a circus,” says the person behind the camera.
This is not the first time a similar scene has occurred. In June, a group of tourists camped in the Alameda park, with a direct view of the Cathedral. The difference now is that, as shown in the video, the campsite was located in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Moreover, the sequence of controversial images from the last fortnight of August is not limited to this situation. Recently, a video circulated on social media showing a group of visitors having a picnic at the Juan XXIII dock. The image displayed a table with a cloth, a few folding chairs, and a cooler on the ground filled with food.
These behaviors, easily observable in the city’s daily life, spark debate about the tourism model. As previously reported by La Voz, the city council began the final phase of its campaign for good tourism practices this Friday. The campaign aims to inform visitors and pilgrims about the city’s spaces and services beyond the Obradoiro, the Cathedral, the Oficina del Peregrino, and the squares of Praterías and A Quintana, with the goal of raising awareness about the fragility of the heritage and respect for the local population.
Source: La Voz de Galicia
