Aluche

Today I took my annual pre-Christmas departure trip down to the Spanish immigration office (referred to ever so fondly by most of us Americans as Aluche, after the neighborhood and metro stop in which it's located) to get the accursed autorización de regreso document that permits me to leave the country and reenter while my visa is in the indeterminately lengthy renewal process.

I hate Aluche. As if it weren't enough that it's where illegal immigrants in Spain are detained (and not known for its good conditions), the place reminds me of a combination between a prison and a circus. Maybe you're laughing, but I'm dead serious. The building looks both like a creepy cinder-block building not much unlike my high school and a bizarre multicolored circus tent.

Do you think this looks like a government office?

But, alas, the greatest part about the office in Aluche is not its schizophrenic architectural styles. It happens to also be located right across from the site of an enormous prison called the Cárcel de Carabanchel. The prison was not only one of the biggest in Europe until its demolition in 2008, but it also had a pretty bad reputation - it was, after all - built by political prisoners, for political prisoners. Spain's most recent (and hopefully last) dictactor, Franciso Franco, had the prison built in the early 1940s, immediately following the Spanish Civil War. After Franco died in 1975 it was (supposedly) mainly used for regular criminals. It was finally closed in 1999, and during the next nine years the building remained abandoned and subject to graffiti and destruction.

Carabanchel Prison before its 2008 demolition.

Now all that remains of the building is the original entrance - kind of like some sort of ancient Greek or Roman arch, except creepy and Spanish. Like a disturbing ghostly metaphor for those visiting the building across the street - those living in Spain but who aren't actually residents or citizens, which the government makes pretty clear that this is not all that welcome.

Significance of leaving the prison's main entrance?