February 16, 1999
Calle Conde de Barajas
Seville
Gorillas
Two years ago, you didn't have to pay for parking in Seville. At least
you didn't have to pay the city. Before the city figured out that they could charge
citizens for street parking, the street people decided they could.
In Seville, rental car theft is the most common crime against tourists.
In Seville, car theft is the most common crime against residents. It is so common that a
few locals put signs in their cars that say "I live here and have nothing in the car.
Please do not break in." Many people prevent a smashed window by leaving their car
doors unlocked.
A couple of business minded thieves who had smashed a few too many
unrewarding windows came up with a new plan. To guarantee their income, they directed
people to a free parking space and charged a small fee to "watch" the car. In
short, pay them up front and they will make sure none of their friends break into your
car.
Tired of paying for car windows, Sevillians accepted this underworld
organized parking scheme as an acceptable alternative. But new enterprise often brings
rise to conflict. Gorillas began to fight amongst themselves for territorial rights
to parking areas. Often these confrontations resulted in injury and death. Something had
to be done.
Seville's City Hall considered the modern parking solution. They could
crack down on all of the gorillas and install parking meters. But what to do with
the hundreds of unemployed street people? Expo was coming and soon the world would be
grading Seville's performance. The sensible solution was to organize the gorillas.
Now, gorillas have simple uniforms and even handout receipts.
Their territories are carefully defined, as are their working hours. Each one is
registered with the city.
But Seville's warm weather continues to attract street people. You can
still find them on the small dead end streets whistling, hand waving and standing in the
middle of the road, trying to attract customers.
