Marcos Serra was sworn in as the Mayor of San Antonio last week for his 2nd four year term but now with an absolute majority rather than a flimsy coalition to work with. A vote of confidence from the local electorate for the young and likeable Serra, his to-do list will be long and varied but one thing keeps repeating on him like a hastily eaten kebab at 2am in the morning.
I’m referring, of course, to San Antonio’s infamous West End, a few streets in the urban centre that still manages to demand more column inches than anywhere else in Ibizas 2nd largest town. The above flippant remark is relevant as there are probably more kebab shops in the west end of San Antonio than actual bars which says it all about the progression of the area that has been a political hot potato for over 5 decades
The West End has gone through many changes since it’s conception in the 70’s. From upmarket evenings to riotous anything goes madhouse to today’s post-covid incarnation that is a shadow of its former self yet still draws the crowds with cheap booze and bawdy behaviour. It’s the anti beach club/superclub hangout where the same people who pay 300 euros for a sunbed and bottle of premium spirits in the daytime (whilst posting pretentious instagram pics of course) haggle over jugs of sickly sweet cheap alcohol that cost a fraction. While other Ibiza venues push up their prices to eye watering levels, the West End proprietors are the masters of their own destiny by undercutting their neighbours while hassling young kids to drinks packages designed to get them into a drunken stupor. A true race to the bottom.
Compared to other places, the area is gloriously downmarket with questionable characters aplenty. It doesn’t try to be pretentious or boring, it does exactly what it says on the tin – loud, proud, bawdy, boisterous and never dull. You need to have your wits about you as there’s plenty of chancers ready to pounce but this is all part of its ‘charm’. It not only attracts people for all the aforementioned reasons but for many it’s the starting point for their Ibiza journey, especially for those on a budget. For every negative there’s a positive and we could argue for hours on whether it’s good for the town but that will get us nowhere in the context of this article. It is what it is but that doesn’t mean it can’t change.
The big question is what will Marcos Serra and his local government do with the area over the next 4 years. In 2019 he produced a glossy video with sexy graphics on how he was going to upgrade the West End with a roof and paving. It looked great and although it produced much cynical commentary, at least it was a plan. Covid kiboshed that thought pattern but earlier this year the Mayor’s office brought in a financial initiative, offering a grant of up to 80.000 euros per business ‘to encourage a change of business model’ with the specific aim of changing pubs and bars to shops and restaurants that function during the day,” 6 businesses have applied so far.
This initiative is part of a three million euros fund obtained from the EU for urban improvement and beautification which prompted Mayor Serra to declare that ‘for the first time, a real investment is being made in the West End……..to give a leap in the quality of tourism in San Antonio’. Another idea was for the floor of the West End to be brightly painted by the artist Okuda however with elections looming and local feedback varied the Mayor got cold feet and put the plan on ice for the time being citing timing issues.
So lots of plans but no tangible changes so far but now Marcos Serra is back in the big chair, the whole of San Antonio is waiting to see if he can pull off a minor miracle and regenerate an area that is screaming out for some tender loving care albeit with an iron glove to rid it of its more undesirable elements.
It’s not out of the question, Ibiza has the uncanny knack of constantly reinventing itself, it only takes a bit of foresight and investment to change the mentality of the paying public. We have seen it with Ushuaia, Mambo, O Beach and too many more to mention.
The Mayor is in his early 40’s so is of a generation that has grown up with the West End evolving into the place it is today. He has been there on Saturday nights with all his mates so he knows exactly what needs to be done but in reality it’s more difficult than it sounds. If he can turn around this small strip of bars, clubs and fast food joints then his name will be etched in stone next to his statue at the bottom of the famous cobbled street. Whether he is brave enough to tackle it head on and break a few eggs to make a delicious tortilla is a whole different story.
"MAN IN SAN AN" by Martin Makepeace 