Granada declares war on graffiti

The city and regional authorities have set up a special task force to erradicate the vandalism from the city and the Alhambra

Jorge Pastor

Granada

Monday, 19 May 2025, 18:29

"If you want me to die, die with me. If you want me to kill, kill with me." Signed SN. It sounds like a passionate declaration posted on a social media page. However, this is just one example of the growing number of graffiti that have appearing in Granada city, including the Albaicín and even the Alhambra palace. This one in particular appeared on the popular Plaza de San Nicolás, which looks over the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada behind it.

This is one of the hundreds of acts of vandalism that decorate the walls of the Albaicín, a World Heritage Site, and which are the perfect exponent of contempt for heritage and are making local residents' lives a misery, according to the 190 acts of vandalism reported last year to the Local Police.

On 9 May, 20 different graffiti were detected on the outer walls of the Alhambra, the most visited monument in Spain and the great economic engine of Granada. The main hypothesis is that behind these acts was a group of anonymous graffiti artists who move around Europe.

Whether or not the perpetrator or perpetrators are identified, what is certain is that these vandals, who acted at night, left their mark in the form of scribbles and one-eyed skeletons and messages including 'Welcome to borrachilandia' (drunkardland) in spaces including the Puerta de los Siete Suelos, once the main entrance to the Alhambra, and also in many places in the Albaicín like Placeta de San Gregorio and Placeta de Cruz Verde. Both the city council and the Alhambra have already erased all the graffiti, but there is still a lot of work ahead. The enormous challenge now is to put an end to a practice that is doing enormous damage.

Now the director of the Patronato de la Alhambra y el Generalife, Rodrigo Ruiz-Jiménez, has announced that he will speed up the installation of sixty cameras to control the 2,250 metres of the outer enclosure of the palace. "We will put as many as we need," he said. The monument's security company is also carrying out an audit in order to implement any improvements that may be necessary and, for the time being, the number of rounds made by the guards will be doubled.

More cameras

Deputy mayor of Granada Jorge Saavedra has said that the city hall has already received the approval of the Andalusian High Court of Justice (TSJA) for the installation of new cameras at critical points in Granada, once the approval of the video surveillance commission has also been obtained. These devices will be located in San Miguel Alto - which includes Calles Ermita, Carril de San Miguel, Camino del Almanzora and carril de la muralla Alberzana -, Mirador de San Nicolás, Callejón de Atarazana, Placeta de los Carvajales, Cruz de Quirós, Duquesa and López Argüeta. "They will not only have a dissuasive function, but will also help us with identifications," he indicated.

Saavedra pointed out that fines could range between 3,000 euros in general, 30,000 for municipal properties and 250,000 when it is an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), the highest level of protection in Andalucía.

What is the problem? While the process of removing graffiti may be relatively straightforward on private property, the same is not true for a BIC. The town hall and the Junta de Andalucía are working on a simplified protocol that will allow intervention without the need to initiate an administrative procedure every time vandals attack.

According to the Junta's culture spokesperson, David Rodríguez, "If they are eliminated quickly, it avoids the effect that others might be tempted to think that they have a free hand there." He added, "Our competence is the cleaning, but we are willing to take on the restoration if necessary."

Meanwhile, the residents of the Albaicín are basically fed up. They watch helplessly as, overnight, whole walls of their houses are covered with quotes from songs etc, stickers, lipstick, little hearts, and other adages which, however profound they may be, are vandalism.

Margarita Marín, president of the Albaicín neighbourhood association, laments the fashion for poems and quotes, which is spreading throughout the Albaicín.

"We have to look for solutions to fix it immediately." Although she acknowledges that it can often clash with the interests of private individuals, "who sometimes want the town hall to take action and sometimes don't". Marín has announced that action is being prepared to carry out a large-scale clean-up of the Albaicín.

Jorge Saavedra says that the city council is aware of the situation and is doing what it can: "We are doing more than ever, but it is not enough," he admits. "We have to redouble our efforts".

For this reason, the next cleaning contract will include two teams that will be exclusively dedicated to cleaning up vandalism. With regard to police presence, Saavedra said: "It is impossible to have a patrol on every corner; there are officers, even plainclothes, but we do not reach everything."

In 2024 the Local Police carried out 882 interventions, of which 190 ended in a complaint, "the highest figure", the councillor stressed.

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