Perlora 

Candás, Asturias

Perlora, located on the coast of Asturias, was conceived in the 1950s under the regime of Francisco Franco. Designed as a retreat for the workers of the heavy industry from the nearby Ensidesa steel plant, it reflected a Francoist commitment to the social welfare of the working class, in a context of repression. Originally a symbol of public recreation and equality, the town underwent drastic changes after Franco's death in 1975 and Spain’s transition to democracy, culminating in its privatization in the 1990s. This change led Perlora to become a site of real estate speculation and heritage deterioration.

Today, Perlora emerges as a place marked by the passage of time, a space where uninhabited structures speak of a grand past. Although people have reclaimed this place, their access is limited by physical and legal barriers. People inhabit the surroundings of the houses, staying on the porches. Houses that have been stripped of all value now only offer shade and an ideal setting to imagine other lives. Now, the future seems absent, leaving only a perpetual present. A place lost in time.