On September 19, 2021, at 2:10 p.m., the Tajogaite volcano on the island of La Palma began spewing lava, a lot of lava. The eruption lasted nearly three months, left one person dead, caused multiple evacuations and destroyed many buildings. Amanda Melian’s house is not a complete exception to the rule. It was half-buried under the ashes of the volcano, while the family was completing the extension and renovation, after having mortgaged the property for the work.
The native of Tazacorte, a stone’s throw from the volcano, therefore had to flee in disaster with her family and has been living for three years in a prefabricated house made available by the Canary Islands government. She is forbidden from going up to her house to clear the path and collect souvenirs and belongings. But the worst part, for her, is that the “cracked house”, as it is now nicknamed, has become… a tourist attraction. “Tour operators take curious people there, who sneak in to take photos despite the “Private Property” sign,” she is furious at this media use. A Spanish daily even, during a competition, awarded its photography prize, worth 10,000 euros, to an image of the residence. A photo that also made the front page of the British newspaper “The Times”, among other publications.
So, Amanda Melian reacted. She put a tarp over the part of her house that sticks out from the ashes. “There is no reason why what is a source of big problems for me should become a source of profit for others,” she told the local site ElValledeAridane.com, which focuses on disaster victims. “I don’t want them to expropriate me, or leave my house as it is for tourist excursions, even if they pay me for it!”
