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Non fiction

DUN TEMPO E DUN PAÍS

By MANUEL CAAMAÑO SUÁREZ

About this book

Dun Tempo e dun País is Manuel Caamaño Suárez’s latest book. The author was the main actor in the setting up of some of the most important cultural enterprises in the past forty years in our country. The book is divided into two distinctive parts, the first one is entitled “Writings and speeches”, in which a series of conferences and speeches by the author are included. These texts pursue the objective of “creating a country of our own” in the time of Franco’s dictatorship and the years after that.

The second part is entitled “Of popular constructions in Galicia”. It includes a series of papers related to anonymous constructions that are part of popular architecture, or architecture without architects.

Book fragment

In recent times, several authoritative voices have spoken out against feísmo (“uglism”, disorganised and unplanned housing developments). All or almost all of them agree on the complexity of this situation of degradation and the need to take action and open intervention pathways. However, in order to achieve this, even in these fast moving times, we must reflect and watch our country as a whole, taking into account the different physical spaces and planning solutions that may take several aspects into consideration.

There are no clear paths and, least of all, definitive solutions, as we know that the problem is far too large. I, however, consider that some of these generic ideas should be part of a process of reflection, debate and study: the reorganisation of population settlements, the numerous uninhabited villages, or those that are on the verge of being deserted; the value of different types of heritage; the creation of suitable conditions for today’s living standards in rural areas; the sanitation and regeneration of rivers, estuaries and mountains and, of course, the restoration of buildings in areas that are still inhabited. This is a world in itself, especially if we consider that 2/3 of the territory in rural areas is being abandoned by the population and is in need of effective and radical solutions that may help the population remain, with a lifestyle that is suitable for the times we live in.