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.
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