How many strange gadgets have already been invented to go to the beach?
Now, most likely his mother will take him to eat at a beach bar , to feed him with pre-cooked food , to get him a hamburger from one of the many places in fast food that are already on the promenades or even, at the other extreme, opting for a vegetarian option. Besides, who today would go of their own accord to a crowded beach ?
THE BEACH AS A WORKPLACE
Yeah our summers have changed , and if it shows from a few years here, imagine yourself from the beginning of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st. In fact, at that time, vacations were not spent on the beach , because it was not thought of as a place of well-being, but of work . "It was not until the beginning of the 20th century when the beaches began to have a spatial use for leisure. Until then, the towns and coasts were only “inhospitable” places where poor people worked, basically fishing and building boats. In these places they lived in near survival conditions , or they were simply "wild" territories, tells us Fátima Gómez Sota, professor of Sociology at the European University.
However, according to the book The Beach: The history of paradise on earth , this idea changed when an entrepreneur (so that we understand each other: one of those healers of the time ) convinced the upper classes of Britain that drinking sea water was good for "the ups and downs of the spirit" and other discomforts. According to the thesis of the book, little by little, the rich realized that the beach could be not only healing, but also fun.
There are coves such as San Agusti, in Formentera, that still have a structure designed for work
However, it probably took more than the verbiage of a single man to carry out a whole paradigm shift, but what is certain is that the beach had a therapeutic function during the 19th century: there they marched, above all, those who were afflicted with tuberculosis or even "melancholy". Little by little, and following a instinctive and ancestral knowledge , sea was prescribed to all those who suffered from Diseases of the respiratory tract and even rickets, thus assigning patients to the high mountains or the coast depending on their conditions. It happened, for example, in Chipiona, where even a spa was established for the Recovery from the patients.
Sea water, with its capacities disinfectants, decongestants and regenerators of the mucosa, served as medicine. Of course, from afar: what was actually breathed was sea air, so at that time bathrooms in general were infrequent , and the ocean was considered dangerous. That is why the crucial moment in which the wealthiest they change their minds before the beach.
"At the beginning of the 20th century, the wealthy classes were discovering the attractiveness of these places for rest and health and began to build residences, spas, etc., thus coexisting fishermen and a budding vacationer elite – who discover the benefits of simple and quiet life against the modern life that was beginning to emerge in the cities–", explains Gómez.
Little by little, how could it be otherwise, the whole society imitated them : "At the beginning of the 20th century, only the wealthy classes participated in the "summer holiday", those who owned residences on the coast -places like Biarritz or San Sebastian they were usual destinations of these times for the European elites – and they spent the summer season there. While , the popular classes were content to take the train to spend the day on the beach and then return to sleep at their houses in the city, or else they were the ones who worked to accommodate and serve these elites during the summer season," continues the teacher.
The first vacation at sea
THE BEACH AS A REFLECTION OF SOCIETY
In this way, the beach began to be a place that said more about society than it seemed , since it reflected not only class divisions, aesthetics and leisure, but even his approximation to the sexuality . "The image of elegant vacationers at the beginning of the 20th century corresponds to the first swimmers –English and American– , women for whom going to the beach was a first liberation of the corseted dresses and therefore a change as to one's own relationship with your body and a relaxation of customs", illustrates the specialist.
And she continues: "On the other hand, walks on the coast were also a showcase for a wealthy class that began to be seen outside the usual halls. Henry Bennet, after returning from Biarritz, wrote: “ Hundreds of people walked along the shore from sea; ladies and gentlemen who they wore their bathing suits with the same elegance with which they wear their evening dresses to go to a soirée”.
On the beach it was imposed a very characteristic lightness , which has lasted to this day, and which was already celebrated with dances and events of a similar nature. Jane Austen wrote it in Pride and Prejudice: "In Lydia's imagination, a visit to brighton -city of the sea, resorts and upper classes par excellence- meant access to all the possibilities of happiness in this world ”.
'Magic at Midnight' reflects that moment when spending the summer on the beach was the most 'in'
THE BEACH AS A DESTINATION OF MASS TOURISM
"Since World War II, gradually and as a consequence of the industrialization process, major changes in tourist flows. The great socioeconomic fluctuations, the transportation advances and the implementation and gradual extension of the paid vacations , among other factors, allowed a considerable part of the middle and working classes to begin to participate in the so-called “ summer” . This is how the beach became a space for mass leisure ”, details Gomez.
"However, -he continues- it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the beaches, as is the case in Spain and especially on the Mediterranean Coast, became “commodify” leading to explosion of sun and beach tourism, the so-called “mass tourism”. The "Playeros" appear as a new tribe that massively take the coasts on a seasonal basis, giving rise to a huge development of the tourism industry and a landscape Transformation, especially in the Mediterranean".
As the most flagrant examples of this beach madness we have the megalithic and obscenely maritime buildings of Benidorm and Torremolinos. In the latter, in the heat of the unstoppable proliferation of hotels, an architectural current was even inaugurated, called relaxation style. Since it was dedicated to leisure, the same he combined functionalism with kitsch for the purpose of conveying an image upbeat and fun , opposed to the Francoist morality of the time.
Few places reflect the massification of beach tourism like Torremolinos
Back then, it was not uncommon always spend the summer in the same place , in one in which, in general, there was no room for a soul. Gómez explains: "Going to the beach became, during the second half of the 20th century, a mass activity of the middle classes. According to tourism expert Sara Herrera, "the main attraction for the demand for this type of tourism is based on rest and the search for good weather. On the supply side, the formalization of this type of product in what she knows as 'closed package' with homogeneous characteristics facilitated its sale and made it easily controllable by a small group of operators on a large scale the. It was about travel 'round trip' which included transportation, lodging and, generally, some of the meals”. (Herrrea S.,2006) ".
"This is how beach tourism began to be marketed in international markets. Domestic tourism, highly developed in Spain from the 1970s, I normally traveled by car and with my family . The most common practice was rent apartments on the coast through travel agencies. Once there, the idea was spend the day at the beach. For this he got up early, left loaded with the cooler, the umbrella, the towels and the cream solar energy for the whole family", recalls the sociologist. And we stayed that way until practically the nineties, when Rovira had to wait "six and a half hours" to bathe after eating the lentils, the breaded steak and the melon in the middle of the sand , lest I give him a digestion cut.
Going en masse to the coast caught on pretty quickly...
THE BEACH TO MEASURE
But things have changed, and in the future It will not be so easy for all of us to feel recognized in the same summer experience: "The image of beach and beach bar triumphed on our coasts almost until the end of the millennium, at which time a differentiation of tastes and practices ", specifies the expert. "An important change is the passage of the tour operator to the possibility of prepare the stay on your own offered by new technologies. The massive introduction of these in everyday life totally changes the way of traveling both in terms of supply and demand, and this is also reflected in the beach tourism ".
"Access to information and online shopping marks the change from “all inclusive” to “tailor-made travel” , which implies choice of places, modes and personalized practices. In the face of overcrowding, individualization begins to be sought: exotic destinations, wild places, beaches to discover Gomez continues.
What if, we still go to the beach, but we don't do it the same anymore : "Faced with the homogenization of use, there is a diversification in terms of the experiences that are sought. People no longer go to the beach just to sunbathe and spend family vacations; the beaches become, among other uses, in places to practice sports (water type, running, yoga, dance, skating, cycling, etc.). Is about experience new sensations. In other words, you continue to enjoy the sun and the beach, but you don't have a obsession “to roast” , for instance. The offer is diversified and goes from the bungalow to the resort, passing through the complexes and wellness hotels for those seeking well-being and body care in "more exclusive" environments, lists the professional.
The beach is no longer just synonymous with "round and round" on the hammock
"There is a qualitative change in terms of how to enjoy the beach, to the relationship with the body and its "exhibition" (nudist beaches, player fashion a for all tastes - bikinis, triquinis, accessories, etc.) Even in care and protection, as there are sun creams for different areas of the skin , sunglasses and others. Likewise, there is a greater awareness about caring for the environment that implies smoke-free beaches, protected areas and recycling, among other initiatives".
That's how it is: we no longer make custom swimwear , there are no laws that regulate its length, the beaches are not segregated by sex, no one fines you for wearing a bikini... But have we changed that much? " The parasol and the sarong are still carried , but they look for places with hammocks, beach chill-outs, new age beach bars, eco-bars, etc. Namely, diversity wins of styles, people and places. Now we go to the beach with the iPad, the tablet and the mobile, which allows us to stay connected or seek new connections in the same beach environment. We go alone, as a family, as a couple, with friends... You go to rest, to play sports, to see and be seen and also to admire a sunset or to have a mojito or a tropical juice. In short, the beach is still a place to enjoy leisure and vacations, where to find and share a moment of happiness", concludes the UEM professor.
That innocence of hat and chair in the sand also had its charm