If someone sat on a bench in this corner and spent the day watching cars stop at traffic lights, what would they think about Spain? The scene would be filled with the constant hum of cars—Toyota, Renault, Volvo, Audi, Seat, Fiat, Mercedes, and more—each brand a small chorus in the daily soundtrack. What does Spain look like through such a lens? And beyond merely sitting on that bench, what would Spain reveal under the hypnotic pull of anesthesia after a recent surgery in an intensive care unit of a bustling public hospital?
With narcotics news simmering in the background, how does Spain appear to a middle-class observer at home at night? How does it appear from the vantage of institutions like the Post Office, the Treasury, the State Lottery, Doctors Without Borders, ONCE, Caritas, UNICEF? How would Spain be seen by an eagle soaring above, by a swallow arriving from Egypt, or by an Ecuadorian girl walking the subway hand in hand with her mother? How would a prisoner in Soto del Real appear, or a librarian, a cook, a person who is homeless, a supermarket cashier, a bachelor, a mother, a woman who has just had an abortion, or an elderly person calling out for euthanasia? And what about a multimillionaire, a cardiologist, or a couple paying a thousand euros in rent for a single room—how would they view geraniums in a window in Madrid’s San Blas district?
How would a patient on a waiting list be seen by a veterinarian, an alcoholic, a left-handed editor-in-chief, or an unshaven passer-by? What would Spain look like through a keyhole? What if people were observed putting on and taking off pajamas, waking, stepping from bed, and stepping into the shower? Most of all, how would Spain see itself, and how would it see the viewer, from which camera angle would surrounding neighborhoods be observed? How would the soundtrack of everyday life be heard in casinos, and which cinemas or theaters would be frequented? What vices would be found, what does Spain eat for breakfast, how does wealth distribute itself, and how are collective needs managed? If any party managed to answer a fraction of these questions, it would be a powerful force in the next election.