Michelle’s Marbella Vacation: A Peculiar Choice

Marbella is still under shock. A notorious Spanish seaside resort, it was chosen by the first lady of the United States for her private vacation. It is an odd choice in principle. Though the American press remains silent, El País, the biggest Spanish daily, mainly sees the positive effects for Marbella. We’ll have to wait and see about that.

The big poster welcoming the Obamas was taken down. It’s Michelle’s private trip; while Marbella is exploding with pride for hosting the first lady, it was just too much. El País subtly suggests so, and it’s not easy to tell the wife of the president of the United States that she has made an odd choice without being indelicate or derogatory to your own country. So, on El País’ Web site, in an article about Michelle Obama’s first day, mentions that Marbella is a city criticized for never-ending corruption scandals and is perhaps finally being redeemed. In other words, Michelle Obama’s visit has produced exceptional support for this city of ill repute, and the pictures of Michelle are its redemption. This is especially true because she came with Sasha, her daughter, and some of her daughter’s friends. And as everyone knows she is a perfect mother; her stay is a strong endorsement of the city. What great advertisement for Marbella! However, not all of Spain sees in Marbella what Michelle does.

In Spain, Marbella is a vacation town, granted, but it’s mostly a paradise for “dolce vita” (the good, easy life), celebrities and night owls. It is also a major hub for corruption, drugs and all sorts of traffic. It’s a place to frequent with moderation.

It’s a city of fiestas and evening parties photographed every week in the celebrity magazines. The celebs spend the summer there and own extraordinary villas where luxurious parties are held. The magazine Hola captures every week the mixed yet typically Spanish crowd that gathers there: bullfighters, TV stars, flamenco dancers, industrial tycoons, bankers and politicians. Not all of them, but always the same ones.

It’s also a city of drugs, and its proximity to Morocco makes all sorts of trafficking easy and extremely profitable. There is also the problem of urbanization along the coast. The real estate legal battles linked to members of Jose Maria Aznar’s political party have been all over the Spanish press for years now. It has ruined the political atmosphere of this “Sun Coast” resort, while giving it a questionable reputation. So thank you, Michelle, for polishing the image again.

Back to the stay of the first lady and her guests: far away from these depravities, they are thankfully visiting the Alhambra in Grenada. There will also be a charity dinner at the hotel, hosted by Javier Barden and Eva Longoria as rumor has it. But does this justify traveling with a retinue of 40 people right in the middle of an economic crisis? The cherry on the cake is Michelle and Sasha will visit Spain’s monarchs in Mallorca, in the country of the count of Barcelona, father of Juan Carlos. Marbella will most likely be seldom mentioned, as the royalty are not familiar with it.