Nydelsesturisme in extremis

Abstract

In the 1950s, the Spanish beach initiated a process of radical change because the Franco regime decided to use the beach in an international branding of Spain as a tourist destination. This way the beach witnessed a cultural meeting between the Spaniards and the outsiders (the tourists) and an evolution of the infrastructure and cultural meaning of the Spanish beach began. In addition, international and national literature gave an account of this development and contributed to the symbolic understanding of beach life in Spain. This article shows how this evolution manifests itself in literary works by Carmen Laforet, Juan Goytisolo, Ernest Hemingway, James Michener and J.G. Ballard. It also argues that the Spanish beach due to its virgin nature as a tourist destination presupposed an open space, which demanded a new and particular meaning. The Spanish beach became synonymous with pleasure and sensuality and formed a parallel universe, which contrasted with the political reality of Spain. This development was taken to extremes in the literary testimonies and, it is argued, that the literary afterlife of the beach contributes to the cultural understanding of beach life in Spain today.