Strange Days in Madrid

In a scene from the cult film, "Strange Days", as Los Angeles approaches the millennium chaos reigns on the streets while citizens expect the worst from the new dawn. Deviants run amok, street walkers call clients for an end of the world party and buildings burn as the homeless take control.

A few days and nights in Madrid seem alarmingly similar and makes one wonder what happened to a capital once renowned for its sophistication and charm.

During the day, on Gran Via in the downtown center, prostitutes of all ages, shapes and sizes battle for customers with whistles and cat calls. Groups of down and out alcoholics huddle around a bottle laying claim to benches and plazas. Homeless fill the doorways and even the grand cathedral entrance was made a home with boxes and shopping carts.

At night, a whole new mood takes hold...the prostitutes still man their corners but the town itself fills the void with people of all ages taking the streets. Transvestites and queens dressed to kill or barely making an effort to disguise their masculinity mix with urban gauchos in ultra tight snakeskin pants. Couples brimming with Catalan aristocracy navigate the homeless as if they don't exist.

Look up and see the grandeur of a once great city but look at ground level and see the cost of economic reform. More to come, tomorrow.