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Summer in Ibiza has certainly taken its
toll on everyone and everything and I do not just mean people
suffering from heat exhaustion. For example, last Friday the
islands only electrical supplier, Gesa, broke the record of
electrical consumption for the second time this summer. The
Ibiza and Formentera system reached its peak at 21,41 hours
on Friday night when the islands used a grand total of 135
Mega Watts, the maximum electric consumption in Gesa's history.
The experts assured that the increase in demand of power was
produced by the recent high temperatures. They also added
that these figures would drop, with the temperatures, over
the weekend. Although Gesa has so far been able to cope with
the record demand, facts like these only make it more clear
that every year Ibiza and Formentera need more and more power.
It is now about time we started saving energy,
as this seems to be the only way to keep-up with the islands
growing needs.
Can Misses hospital is also suffering from
the 'August syndrome'. The co-ordinator of the Casualty department,
Carlos Rodríguez Ribas, has declared that too many
people are passing through the emergency unit and the system
is saturated.
"Most people that we see have not got
serious injuries but they come to Casualty because they panic.
My recommendation would be that anybody who is not in a serious
condition should go to a medical centre instead of coming
to the hospital", stated Ribas.
Eventhough Can Misses staff has been reinforced
to cope with the summer rush, it is still not enough. Figures
show that on average 150 people pass through Can Misses Casualty
department everyday during the summer, too many people for
the staff of four doctors and four nurses per shift to cope
with.
A recent study has also revealed that Ibiza
Town needs two more medical centres to cope with the alarming
increase of population.
Although Can Misses has been going through
a bad patch with the lack of staff, the health department
(Conselleria de Sanitat) has still found time for the local
charities. The most recent donation was that of six million
pesetas to three non-governmental organizations. The Government
has donated four million pesetas to the gay and lesbian association
Ben Amics and to the anti-Aids organization Alas. A further
two million pesetas was donated to the Escuela de Sida (Aids
School). This money will be used in an awareness campaign
to alert people of the dangers of Aids, which is a world-wide
problem.
The August month has also forced the local
police, Policía Local and the Guardia Civil (Civil
Guards), to incorporate more officers to patrol the San Antonio
streets. These specialized police will control the streets
making sure that the drug problem remains under control over
the summer season. The object of the police force is to clampdown
on the 'danger zones' so that the number of drug related crimes
are reduced.
The local police have also had a lot to
say about the MTV festival planned for the 29th August. Policía
Nacional (National Police), Guardia Civil (Civil Guards) and
the Fire Brigade have all expressed how dangerous it would
be to fit 20.000 people in the San Rafael Hippodrome when
the legal capacity is for 700.
During the week, the local newspapers published
that the MTV Ibiza summer festival would be taking place after
two politicians from San Antonio convinced the San Rafael
population to accept the concert in exchange of a donation
of six million pesetas. The money would be used to buy new
furniture for the local church, etc. MTV also had to pay five
million pesetas in payment for last year's festival.
This year it is becoming more and more clear
that the San Antonio Town Hall and the Island Council (Consell
Insular) are abusing the situation in a bid to get as much
money as they can from the successful music channel. It is
now just a question of how far MTV will go or how much money
they are prepared to pay to get their licence. Considering
that a channel of MTV's dimensions could make or break Ibiza
in the tourist industry, should the Government be playing
with such a delicate situation? I will keep you posted.
The BBC Radio 1 Weekend also caused some
problems on the island because of the huge amount of people
they attracted. The local neighbours complained about the
noise and the mess that was left behind.
Part of the Radio 1 Weekend was to be held
at Pacha discotheque. About one hour before the live transmission,
the owner of the discotheque, Ricardo Urgell, cancelled the
event claiming that the noise from the Pacha terrace would
disturb the neighbours. The Radio 1 crew solved the problem
by continuing their live transmission from Café Mambo
and announcing on-air that Pacha had suffered a power failure.
Other events that occurred over the week
included a live performance from pop queens Atomic Kitten
in San Antonio's Es Paradis Terrenal discotheque on Sunday
5th August. The objective of the concert was to promote their
new album "Right Now" on Monday 6th August in the
UK which includes their new single "Eternal Flame"
that is now at number one in the English top ten. The song
is a new version of the 1989 Bangles hit.
Liz McClarnon, one of the members of Atomic
Kitten, did not attend the concert because of a health problem.
"Liz felt faint when she got on the plane at Gatwick
so the captain decided it was best that she did not travel",
said Natasha, one of Liz's fellow members. Tasha also said
that "Liz was supposed to join us in Ibiza later but
because we still had her passport she wasn't able to travel".
The show must go on and so it did. Atomic
Kitten performed at four o'clock in the morning on the Es
Paradis stage in front of thousands of fans. The pop group
opened the concert with their European number one "Whole
Again" followed by two songs to liven-up the crowd before
finishing with their new single "Eternal Flame".
The kittens also made a guest appearance
at the Radio 1 Weekend before going to Space discotheque for
a night clubbing.
Atomic Kitten is just one of the 'in' groups
that choose Ibiza to promote their latest releases, proving
Ibiza's influence in the global music industry.
Another famous face that has chosen Ibiza
to present his latest art work is Lorenzo Quinn, son of the
legendary actor Anthony Quinn.
Lorenzo has an exhibition at a local art
gallery where he is presenting his new collection of sculptures.
Flamboyant as usual, one of his most intriguing pieces is
a life-like sculpture of Jesus Christ breaking free from the
cross.
Quinn has also carried on his usual theme
of sculpting hands, which is present in all of his artwork.
The exhibition is being held at Es Molí
art gallery in Santa Gertrudis and will remain opened to the
public for the next few days.
If you have any spare time during this hectic
period of August, I recommend a visit.
Louise Wright
louisewright@ibizahistoryculture.com
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