It's the 21st century, the EU is expanding and the capital of one of the union's largest administrative regions has plenty on its plate. While the old centre continues to delight and astonish visitors and the locals keep the good-time flags flying in the bars and cafés, the government has social and economic problems that it will have to tackle without being cut as much Euro-slack as before. For Seville, as for other Spanish cities, the post-Franco honeymoon is over. While some semi-autonomous communities have unquestionably thrived since their creation, it was always going to be a bumpy ride for Andalucía. With massive unemployment (unfairly perceived by the rest of Spain as an unwillingness to work in the summer heat, although a wander around Seville's cafés certainly can give that impression) and a lack of a modern commercial or industrial infrastructure, plenty of Seville has been doing it tough for years, although it's not immediately visible to the visitor. This is exacerbated by a skewed distribution of wealth that has been in place since the Reconquista. While many sevillanos have bullfight season tickets and a horse and carriage for Feria in the garage, there's a worrying number of homeless people, substantial desperate immigration into a city poorly equipped to cope with it and seedy suburbs where heroin enlivens life on the Spanish fringes. Some of these problems have existed for centuries; flamenco, the music of the gypsies with its dark tragic themes, is a reflection of this, as are the city's Virgins of the traditionally working-class barrios of La Macarena and Triana, literally symbols of hope in more troubled times, and still adored fervently now. Seville's saviour has been tourism. While the 1992 World Expo incurred massive debts, corruption was rife and the site now stands in semi-dereliction, it did help place Seville even more firmly on the map as a destination and major infrastructural improvements were implemented. Modern architecture received a much-needed boost and the city was graced with many new buildings, from the emblematic Calatrava bridges, the Andalucían Junta and the Teatro de la Maestranza to more humble libraries, office blocks, and apartments which, while they may lack the panache of a Guggenheim, are to be particularly admired for the way they have slotted into the historic cityscape. While Expo undoubtedly boosted tourism, it wasn't a marketing gimmick. Visitors have been coming since the early 19th century, unable to keep the smiles off their faces confronted with the leisurely life, the superb tapas and stunning ensembles of painting, sculpture and architecture. The people of Seville are another attraction. Their beauty is a fact that has been endlessly commented and quoted on and their openness and amiability, legendary. It is inaccurate, however, to categorize them so easily. Architecturally, the Seville house has traditionally been an inverted structure built around a central patio; a half-open door offering a glimpse of what lies within. Something of the same desire for privacy is in the personalities of Sevillians too. While a stranger in the bar will happily chat about politics or football, they won't volunteer information about themselves and you can feel very honoured indeed if you are invited to their house. It's perhaps best summed up by a quote from a sevillana dancer. "We love it when people from outside Seville come here and dance, and we'll happily dance with them. They'll enjoy it, they'll feel excitement and exhilaration, but they won't understand it. Not even if they're from Cádiz or Córdoba. You have to grow up with it to understand". A reflection on a culture far deeper than first-time observation might reveal. When people from English-speaking backgrounds talk of "the finer things in life" they generally mean those things that give them pleasure. A sevillano would say it the other way around; a night spent in the company of friends, a good meal, a leisurely coffee on a sunny terraza, a puff on a good cigar, a night of dancing until you've no energy left; these are not the finer things, these are the basics, and the rest of life must be planned so that they remain so. This is the attitude that attracted 19th-century visitors; Merimée, who penned Carmen for example and is an essential part of Seville's charm. The homogenization of modern European life and dumbed-down media culture has affected this, but far from fatally; it's still a blessed relief to get off a plane from London or Frankfurt and notice that everyone walks at half the pace and still gets everything done. The tapas culture is a good example of this. For visitors, what impresses is the quality of the food and the sheer "civilizedness" of it; for Sevillians it's a logical and enjoyable way to spend time with friends, chat to barkeepers, and have a meal and a few drinks at the same time. Politically, Seville has always been a polarized place. The birth- place of the CNT anarchists, it was also fertile recruiting ground for the Falange in the 30s. Culturally, it's strongly conservative, which is a double-edged sword. While the horse carriages, fans, castanets and nazarenos have become Spanish icons, the city isn't one you'd back to produce the next revolution in popular culture. The fact that the best known song to come out of the city is Macarena, a clichéd tune produced by an ancient pair of musical has-beens, tells a story (as does its worldwide popularity, mind you). There's little variation in the contemporary music scene and almost no live bands. In some ways, flamenco takes a lot of the talent and energy that would otherwise be diverted elsewhere. Other art forms struggle a little; not much money is channelled into them and the theatre-going scene remains reactionary. Social and cultural problems aside though, what is most attractive about Seville is the general air of contentment. Sevillanos are always at pains to convince visitors what a pleasant place it is; completely unnecessarily, as most people have already formed that impression after a couple of hours. It's a happy place and people enjoy living in it, actually something that can be said about precious few European cities. The Metro is currently under construction in the city and it will be like no other in the world. In Seville people are going to talk on the underground.
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Seville - £7.99
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