Death visits Casa Lola, Ibizan paradigm of urban and tourist illegality

IbizaHis name was Valentín Cabrera Zaracho, he was 48 years old and was from Paraguay. He worked in construction from Monday to Friday and as a security guard on weekends. He was "very happy" because he had been able to legalize his status in the country during the Spanish government's recent regularization; he planned to bring his son to live with him in Ibiza. Death, in the form of a fire, caught him in his makeshift dwelling on the Casa Lola estate, in the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, on Sunday, September 27, past 7 in the morning. With burns on 90% of his body, still conscious and suffering from extreme pain, he was evacuated by ambulance. He died at Can Misses the same day at 5 in the afternoon.

"He was a hardworking man. He had his car, his papers... He was doing well. He couldn't find an apartment he could afford and he settled on the Casa Lola estate," explains Christian Paredes, a friend of Valentín, also Paraguayan. It is a profile that is repeated in Ibiza: an immigrant who has a job, but for whom it is not enough to pay for a room. At the Casa Lola settlement there are people from Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador... Christian knows what it is like to live in a makeshift dwelling. In fact, he had some public prominence during the eviction of the Can Rova macro-settlement in 2024, in the municipality of Santa Eulària. Now he has managed to pay for a room and works as a driver for Uber. Paredes and some of the victim's colleagues maintain that the fire may not have been accidental; it is a fact that the Civil Guard does not rule out. The flames burned the victim's shack and about 60 meters of forest land. Among the remains there were several butane canisters, one without the cap, possibly due to having exploded; it is not clear if it did so because of the fire or if it was the source of it.

The nightmare of Casa Lola

The turbulent history of Casa Lola will surprise anyone who has not heard of it. In 2010, officials detected irregular construction on the property for the first time; in 2013, it became known that an illegal tourist complex of notable proportions had been built there. The parties and the activity made it impossible for the neighbors to rest. Files were opened, the property was sealed off unsuccessfully... The illegalities persisted there. In 2018, the owner, Francisca Sánchez Ordóñez, known as Paquita Marsan, and her daughter were convicted for having people working there without registering them. That same year, the Justice system confirmed the demolition of the illegal works (walls, several buildings, covered and uncovered terraces, and up to three swimming pools). The processing of the files continued; the activity of Casa Lola, too. In 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown, the Local Police interrupted a massive party. Casa Lola remained open. In 2022, a judge authorized the City Council to carry out the demolitions on a subsidiary basis: on August 9, with about seventy clients inside the establishment, the workers, the Local Police, and thirty-five civil guards managed to enter; two people were arrested for resistance. In 2023, Sant Josep declared the demolition work finished and considered legality restored.

But no. Immediately, the story of Casa Lola begins as an illegal settlement. For the neighbors, it must be like that nightmare which, in a horror movie, turns out to be real when you wake up. Complaints begin to be registered for noise, unsanitary conditions, threats, irregular connections to the electrical grid... Sant Josep has estimated that between 150 and 200 people live in the settlement in huts, caravans, and tents. The mayor, Vicent Roig, has admitted that there may be people "at risk of falling into vulnerability" and has denounced that the settlers have to pay a monthly fee to reside there, a payment that "is managed by a person who works or worked for the property owner." These are the accusations of the City Council. Sant Josep has requested a judicial order to be able to enter the premises. "There is no one more guilty than those who act deliberately, abusing a housing emergency situation for their own benefit," concluded Vicent Roig. Before this order could be made effective, a judge ordered the immediate eviction of the settlement and its restitution to the owner, as announced last Wednesday, September 30, by the property owner's lawyer. The owners allegedly filed a complaint for the alleged crime of usurpation three months ago, although it has been known for years that the property is used as an illegal settlement. According to Diario de Ibiza, the eviction could be executed this very Tuesday, since some of the residents have already been warned verbally by the Civil Guard.

Valentín Cabrera is the second victim claimed by fire in an irregular settlement in Ibiza. In 2022, a 46-year-old man died in the fire of his hut in the area of La Joveria, in Vila. Tracing the newspaper archives, between this first victim and the death of Valentín, at least nine incidents related to fire in settlements on the island have been recorded: forest fires, gas cylinder explosions, substandard housing burning down... The combination between the unscrupulous who seek maximum profit and those in need leaves a very wide margin for illegality and, sometimes, for death.