Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman who had spent 71 years living in her home in Madrid’s Retiro district, was evicted this week. The case has sparked substantial mobilization in Madrid and widespread outrage on social media, but the eviction was carried out this Wednesday after several earlier attempts.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Maricarmen’s house hours before the eviction, trying to prevent it. Among them were Ana Belén and actor Juan Diego Botto, presenter Inés Hernand, and Irene Montero, while neighbours and activists spent the night in front of the building.
Today we learned that the well-known pianist James Rhodes also tried to contribute, albeit without success. The British musician, based in Madrid, told La hora de La 1 that he offered to pay Maricarmen’s rent at market price. When that approach did not work, he went further and offered to buy the apartment himself so that she could continue living there.
“I offered to buy the apartment so she could live there indefinitely,” Rhodes explained to ElDiario.es. He spoke with Urbagestión and proposed acquiring the property: “Let me buy the flat, rent it to her, and we all win. You with her money, she with her house.”
Rhodes says Urbagestión refused both proposals. “There isn’t much positive to tell,” he said. He also claims to know of other people who have made similar offers without achieving results. An anonymous writer offered to cover most of Maricarmen’s rent, El País reported, but the real estate group was not convinced.
