Bilbao La Vieja

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Compared with the districts of Abandoibarra or Casco Viejo, the process of renovation arrived somewhat later in Bilbao la Vieja district of Old Bilbao.

However, much more than any other place in the city this colourful and lively neighbourhood is a multiethnic melting pot of all ages and walks of life, with over 100 different languages spoken here thanks to the steady flow of immigration Bilbao has witnessed in recent years.

In Bilbao La Vieja artists and art conservationists set up shop alongside goldsmiths, Moroccan restaurants, healthcare centres, convents and night clubs.

In addition, the neighbourhood's artistic expression gives it the freedom to turn La Merced Church, for example, into Bilborock Music Centre, with multiuse rooms and rehearsal studios all under one roof.

There is also Bilbao Arte on Urazurrutia Street, with its exhibition rooms to display their work. This municipal art workshop is

aimed at promoting and offering training to young and aspiring artists. The Municipal Civic Centres on La Cantera and Conde de Mirasol Streets respectively, have been completely renovated in conjunction with the La Cantera Square. Indeed, local residents have been enjoying a wide range of services and a pleasant recreation area since 2005.

Further to these improvements, the 20042005 academic year saw the inauguration of a student residence on Las Cortes Street to bring more young people and culture to the neighbourhood.

Without a doubt, urban renewal here has had significant psychological and social impact on the area, best appreciated in the widening of the previously narrow Cantalojas Bridge, which spans the rail classification yard. The resulting esplanade has breathed new life into this district, highlighted by an original sculpture called La Exorcista. Sculptor Manuel VALDES collaborated with Mario VARGAS LLOSA, the Peruvian writer and Nobel Prize laureate, who penned a poem especially for the occasion. Onlookers see a depiction of a woman's head talking to them via a poem forged into this bronze work in the manner of “talking sculptures�.