Expo92.es: Web para una exposición universal

Seville's Extravaganza, Expo '92

The New York Times | Jueves, 01 de Enero de 1970, 00:00:00

FOR centuries, visitors have climbed La Giralda to view Seville from atop the tower of its massive early Gothic cathedral. And for centuries it has been a view of palaces, parks and myriad churches set against a background of parched Andalusian countryside and the legendary Guadalquivir River.

But today, if you stand 250 feet above the ground and look northwest, that view has been transformed by the sudden appearance of a strange new city, a city of open-air theaters, ultramodern buildings, artificial lakes, shaded avenues, designer bridges and cable cars that covers 540 acres of the long-verdant Island of Cartuja. Five years after work began, Expo '92 is a reality. Between April 20 and Oct. 12 this year, the last World's Fair of the 20th century hopes to draw 18 million visitors to a hundred or more national, regional and "theme" pavilions as well as to a rich fare of live entertainment that, in true Spanish style, will continue well into the early hours of every morning. Old Seville, just a 20- to 30-minute walk away, need not feel upstaged. It too has been spruced up for what will be the central event of Spain's Columbus Quincentennial. It will be host to concerts, operas and plays, while its fine restaurants will offer welcome respite from the faster food of Expo. In any event, once the World's Fair is over, much of the new city will be dismantled. And Seville the eternal will remain. But for the moment, two months before King Juan Carlos inaugurates the universal exhibition, all eyes are on Expo and its scramble to be ready on time. From afar, it already looks finished. At the site, the bustle continues. Heavy construction work on most pavilions has been completed, but the time-consuming tasks of decorating interiors, preparing exhibits and applying the final touches will continue up to the last minute. Inside dusty pavilions, national pride is already astir as architects, engineers, designers and craftsmen busily prepare the image that their countries will show to the world. No one says so openly, of course, but everyone knows they are engaged in a competition in which public attention is the only measure of success. And a week or two after the opening, the verdict will be in: some pavilions will be mobbed and others will be ignored. In the end, though, the real winner or loser will be Spain. It has spent $2 billion on Expo's lakes, roads, auditoriums and services as well as on four theme pavilions and its own national pavilion. (On Tuesday one of the four major theme pavilions, the Pavilion of Discovery, was destroyed in a fire. Jacinto Pellon, the Expo '92 president, said there was no hope of restoring it.) Spain has spent a further $10 billion on related projects -- Seville's urban improvement, including construction of eight new bridges over the Guadalquivir, a high-speed train from Madrid and new highways throughout southern Spain. Yet why bother? That was the question that kept popping into my mind as I looked down from a gently swinging cable car that, with three stops, follows an oblong route over the Expo site. Why bother to invent such a complex and eccentric event? "Collective madness," was the way Mr. Pellon put it cheerfully. "It was born at a time of economic euphoria," he went on. "If we started today, it would not be like this. In fact, it probably wouldn't have been started. Now it looks like a sort of utopia." Well, perhaps world's fairs are meant to be unreal. Certainly there is something theatrical about building a city for a six-month run. Surely it must be unnatural to expect foreign countries -- this time, a record 111 nations, compared with 77 at the last World's Fair, in Osaka, Japan, in 1970 -- to invest their own money to promote someone else's prestige.Then you have the result: an eye-crossing hodgepodge of architectural styles that gives many fairs a Disney-like quality. And there is the dubious wisdom of inviting people, in July and August, to melt in the Andalusian summer, when daytime temperatures are often in the 90's in the shade. Nonetheless, it is happening. Spain can argue that the Columbus Quincentennial is as good an excuse as will ever be found for a World's Fair. And Seville is the obvious site. Much of the planning for Columbus's trip in 1492 took place in Seville. When he finally set off, he left from a port not far to the south. For a decade or two after his death, in 1506, he was buried in a monastery on the Island of Cartuja itself. Today it is claimed (a claim challenged by Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Havana) that the Admiral's bones lie in Seville Cathedral. Appropriately, Expo's theme is "The Age of Discoveries." And while Spain will dwell on its own discovery of the Americas, participating governments, Spanish regions, international organizations and a half-dozen private corporations have been asked to focus on what they have contributed -- scientifically, socially or culturally -- to the world as we know it. This is a broad brief and, even though the contents of many pavilions are being kept secret, it is likely to result in a rich variety of exhibits, ranging from Renaissance paintings to high-tech magic. Spain will set the mood with its theme pavilions. On the grounds of the newly restored monastery on the Island of Cartuja, the Pavilion of the 15th Century will depict European society at the time of Columbus. The Pavilion of Navigation will track the great maritime discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Pavilion of the Future will address the environment, energy, telecommunications and space in four separate buildings. Additionally, the Gardens of the Americas and Nature Pavilion will display the luxuriant botany of the New World. Because many third-world countries could not afford their own pavilions, Spain has provided special buildings for different regions -- Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, the Arab world and the South Pacific islands. Spain's 17 autonomous regions have built their own pavilions around the new Espana Lake, looking toward Spain's national pavilion, a large white block that at first sight resembles a nuclear reactor. To insure that everyone has fun, Spain has organized a stunning calendar of spectacles, some in Seville, but many in Expo itself. With a seating capacity of 5,500, the new open-air auditorium will be kept busiest with a program that includes music and dance for all tastes -- from classical and jazz to flamenco and salsa. The Palenque, a large stylized tent, will hold regular popular dances as well as entertainment linked to the special days that each participating country or organization has been assigned. The United States, for example, has its Expo day on May 17 and Canada on July 1. The Teatro Central will also offer avant-garde theater, music and dance from around the world. Fun, of course, includes eating. And, for that, there will be something for every taste and pocketbook. No doubt among the most popular, at least at the height of the summer, will be the 40 ice-cream vans, 20 ice-cream stores and 10 fruit-juice stands. But there will also be 100 restaurants around the site itself, many offering fast food of the hamburger, pizza and tapas variety, plus restaurants and cafes in the pavilions of many nations that will include their cuisine among their "discoveries." Indeed, a World's Fair is traditionally also a world's menu -- everything from French and Hungarian to Mexican and Indonesian dishes. The real adventure of any World's Fair, though, involves the surprises offered by national pavilions and exhibits. One can only hope that many American visitors -- a half-million are expected -- will not be disappointed when they visit the United States pavilion. It was originally designed by Barton Myers, but neither Congress nor private corporations came up with enough money to build it. Eventually, with construction far behind schedule, a firm of British architects, Charles Langdon Associates, was called in to adapt Mr. Myers's design to a far smaller budget. Set on one of the largest plots, it now comprises a "wall of water," three metallic "shade sails" representing Columbus's ships, two geodesic domes (with a General Motors-sponsored film in one and a Bill of Rights exhibit in the other), an exhibit organized by Kansas City (Seville's sister city) and a small plaza for shows. Surrounded by finished pavilions, the rush is now on to complete it by April 20. JUDGED architecturally, the United States pavilion will be facing stiff competition from countries that have invested heavily in more daring and imaginative designs. Japan's pavilion, said to be the largest wooden construction in the world, evokes a Buddhist temple. Monaco has conceived a walk-through aquarium. Switzerland has built the world's largest paper tower. Mexico's pavilion has a long stone facade that ends in a massive X. Denmark has come up with something that resembles a metal spaghetto. Hungary's wooded pavilion looks like a beached whale sprouting Transylvanian towers. The Vatican offers a palatial glass and steel pavilion. While the visual impact of the different styles of so many tightly-packed pavilions can be overwhelming, however, order is provided by a crisscross of avenues, including five shaded pedestrian ways. One, the Palm Avenue, will be cooled by a giant bioclimatic sphere and, no doubt, will rapidly become a favorite place to pause. A sense of space, on the other hand, is offered by the area around the Lago de Espana, which is linked to the Guadalquivir by a canal along which shuttle boats will travel. In the end, though, what matters is what will be inside each pavilion -- and in most cases that will only be revealed on opening day. A good many countries will be using state-of-the-art audiovisual techniques to tell their stories. Some will bring originals and reproductions of important works of art. A few still seem unsure what they will show: the large pavilion built by the Soviet Union will, since subsequent events in Moscow, fly the Russian flag, but it is now having to make room for exhibits from other former Soviet republics. The Pavilion of Promise is officially Tonga's contribution, but it has been financed by the Mormon Church and will offer an ecumenical exhibit. With so much to see, visitors who come for only one day will have to be choosy. But there is ample reason to stay longer, not only to enjoy long -- and cooler -- summer evenings full of entertainment, but also to get to know Seville. The inauguration of Expo '92 comes immediately after Seville's extraordinary Holy Week processions and celebrations and is followed by the annual Seville Fair, when the bullfighting and flamenco spirit of Andalucia comes alive. Seville's new opera house, the Teatro de la Maestranza, has a wonderful program of concerts and operas, starting appropriately with Bizet's "Carmen" on April 24 and including many of the world's top singers, soloists, orchestras and conductors. At the Teatro Lope de Vega, the focus will be on theater classics, works by Ibsen, Calderon de la Barca, Beaumarchais and the like. The Roman ruins of Italica, eight miles outside Seville, will be the site of the city's annual international dance festival. Even regular visitors to Seville may be surprised by the changes. The Guadalquivir River, which was redirected to reduce flooding in the 19th century, leaving only a canal in front of the city, now again flows through Seville. Railroad tracks have been removed to turn a four-mile stretch of river bank into landscaped gardens and promenades. New ring roads have been built to reduce downtown traffic and new bridges link the city to the Island of Cartuja. By April 20, the noise and dust of recent years should finally make way for a much-improved city. Even the narrow streets of Santa Cruz and Macarena, the city's oldest neighborhoods, have been transformed. Dozens of 14th- and 15th-century churches have been renovated, as have many of the ancient palaces that hide behind austere walls. As money has flowed into Seville, abandoned houses have been turned into expensive apartments. And, more than ever, as spring approaches, windows and balconies explode with flowers. A walk through these streets is a pleasure not to be missed and no particular route need be followed: around every corner, there is always a reason to change direction. SEVILLE, of course, has certain "must" sights. The cathedral, the third largest in Europe after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London, was built on the site of a former Moslem mosque and retained its minaret, albeit with a Christian pinnacle attached. It contains the supposed tomb of Columbus, while its golden altar is considered the most valuable in Spain. Nearby stands the Alcazar, the palace built by Spain's monarchs on the site of a Moorish palace and, more importantly, preserving the style of Moorish palaces. Its hand-painted tiles, carved ceilings and plaster filigree are matched only by those of the Alhambra in Granada. If time permits, there is more to be seen: the Archives of the Indies, which contain documents dating back to Spain's conquest and colonization of the Americas; the Golden Tower -- no longer golden -- beside the river; the Hospital de la Caridad, with its Murillo paintings; the old tobacco factory -- echoes of "Carmen" -- which is now the university; the Plaza de Espana, built for the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929; and the Plaza de la Maestranza, Seville's splendid 19th-century bullring, which, if taste requires, can be visited empty. This year Seville will inevitably play a supporting role to Expo. And that is only fair. Expo will offer the unexpected and the extravagant. In the name of the past, it will provide a close encounter with the future. And while it may be Spain's show, it will be international in every sense. Still, if the pace becomes too much, it is good to know that Seville will be waiting just across the bridge -- with cold dry sherry and tapas at the ready. PLACES TO STAY FOR VISITORS TO THE WORLD'S FAIR Getting There For some weekends, holiday periods and special events, as many as 250,000 visitors a day are expected to attend Expo '92. One reason Spain built a new high-speed railroad from Madrid to Seville -- cutting the travel time to 2 hours 45 minutes -- was to permit Madrilenos to visit Expo in a day. The Government also spent heavily on new highways so vacationers in the Costa del Sol and other southern Spanish resorts can make World's Fair day trips by bus. The commute solution, then, should ease the pressure. But many tourists, above all foreigners, are unlikely to go all the way to Seville for just a single day at Expo. Indeed, a three-day pass for $100 (compared with $40 for a daily ticket) hints at how long it might take to see everything. Then time should be left for visiting Seville itself, plus possible excursions to Huelva, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera and the Nature Park at La Donana. Accommodations There is plenty of room at the fair, but where are they going to sleep? About 40 percent of hotel space is still available, with the heaviest bookings in the four-star catergory. The most heavily booked periods are the opening and closing weeks. Seville itself has 25,000 beds in hotels given three or five stars under the Government's rating system. Many have increased their prices for Expo (three-star double rooms for $200 a night and five-star doubles for $450 a night), although the Government is urging them to be reasonable. Seville's traditional top hotels are the newly renovated Alfonso XIII (2 Calle San Fernando, telephone 222-850; the area code for Spain is 34 and for Seville 95 within Spain, 5 from outside Spain) and the ever-reliable Colon (1 Calle Canalejas, 222-900). Seville also has many less luxurious hotels as well as simple hostels. During Expo, seven chartered Russian river boats, with a total of 2,300 beds costing $264 a night for a double room with breakfast, will be berthed along the Guadalquivir. And for travelers on a tight budget, a program known as Sevilla Abierta will be run by an agency called Exhibit at 37A Avenida Republica Argentina, 41011 Seville; 28-4936. It will make 30,000 beds available in the city on a bed and breakfast basis in private homes and institutional residences at between $30 and $40 a night. Expo's organizers, though, have had to look farther afield and they calculate there are 19,000 additional hotel beds within 45 minutes of Seville, another 22,000 within 60 minutes, 35,000 more within 90 minutes and still another 42,000 within 120 minutes. For those with cars, accommodation should not pose a major problem. Trips to Expo can even be timed for special events, with alternate days spent sunbathing on the beaches of Huelva or touring the medieval magnificence of Cordoba. To help visitors, Expo has now set up a special reservations bureau called Coral on the Island of Cartuja, 41010 Seville; 46-0092. Through Coral it is possible to book rooms in four-star hotels in Seville itself (still in the range of $300 to $400 during Expo) or at more accessible prices in Cadiz, Carmona, Jerez de la Frontera and elsewhere in the region. Coral is also offering service apartments in the Seville area, with apartments for two between $200 and $300 a night. It would be wise to arrange accommodations through travel agencies before leaving for Spain, but tourists arriving at the airports in Madrid or Seville or at the Santa Justa railroad station in Seville can also turn to special Expo hotel information and reservation booths. Those driving to Seville should watch for hotel information posts approaching the city. The posts will also give campers and drivers of mobile homes directions to several new campsites. MUSIC FOR MAY The new Maestranza Theater in Seville will be the setting for 85 performances by major orchestral groups and performers during Expo '92. Tickets for opera performances at the 1,800-seat house, which opened in May, will cost $20 to $100, those for symphonic concerts and recitals will be $10 to $50. Twenty percent of tickets are to be set aside for purchase through travel agents and tour packagers worldwide. Here is a look at what's coming up in May, an especially busy and rich month. May 5 -- The Berlin Philharmonic, led by Daniel Barenboim, in works by Wagner and Bruckner. May 7 -- The Berlin Philharmonic, led by Mr. Barenboim, in an all-Beethoven program. May 11 -- The Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, in works by Mozart and Brahms. May 16 -- The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Riccardo Muti, in works by Copland and Dvorak. May 24 -- The Liceo Theater of Barcelona in Bizet's "Carmen," directed by Nuria Espert and led by Placido Domingo, with the tenor Jose Carreras, the bass Justino Diaz and the mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza. May 30 -- The Metropolitan Opera in Verdi's "Ballo in Maschera," with the tenor Placido Domingo, the soprano Aprile Millo, the baritone Juan Pons and the mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar. February 23, 1992, Sunday An article on page 15 in some copies of the Travel section today, about Expo '92 in Seville, incorrectly describes the Pavilion of Discovery. The pavilion was largely destroyed in a fire on Tuesday. CORRECTIONS. An article on page 15 in some copies of the Travel section today, about Expo '92 in Seville, incorrectly describes the Pavilion of Discovery. The pavilion was largely destroyed in a fire on Tuesday.

ALAN RIDING