please turn greek subtitles on
dear vacations from marika on Vimeo. what is a vacation?
this video essay is a compilation of stories, fotos and videos I found on the web, as well as in family foto archives, from people having visited Paros Island for recreation in the past. when visualizing Greece's future after wwII, tourism seemed like a win-win scenario towards modernisation, well-being, evolution. since then, ideas on work, travelling, foreigners and locals have been transforming, but the fantasy of "summerlands" stands as the ever mighty model of living for guests and hosts. the building of new hotels on state's funding (Xenia Program) along with the promotion of a new life-style through the movie industry set the standards and made visible the way to enjoy the country's assets for the rising urban working class. the Xenia hotel in Paros is one of the very few still in use, ironically enough it now houses the Town Hall and Municipality Services of the Island. just a week after the hotel's opening in june 1958, truman capote, then 34, rented a room and amazed by the beauty of the spot, stayed there for almost three months. the following decades greek islands have been frequented by more or less locally aware or aestheticaly sensitive visitors taking shots of their vacation-time. this is not an archeology project though. it's all about enjoying time-off. |
1956-
το ξενοδοχείο Ξενία της Πάρου (Μελτέμι) σχεδιάζεται με εντολή του ΕΟΤ από τον Κωσταντίνο Καψαμπέλη the Xenia Hotel in Paros (Hotel Meltemi), a project undertaken by the National Tourist Organisation, is on paper. 1958- οι πρώτοι επισκέπτες φτάνουν the first guests arrive 1960- δυο ταινίες γυρίζονται στην περιοχή two awarded movies are shot on the site 1970- εργαζόμενα κορίτσια κάνουν διακοπές working girls visiting 1973- επισκέπτες καταγράφουν με κάμερες χειρός super8 camera owners visiting and filming 1974- ζευγάρια κάνουν διακοπές honey mooners visiting 1996- φοιτητές κάνουν διακοπές college students visiting 2000- οι υπηρεσίες του Δημου Πάρου μεταφέρονται στο παλιό Ξενοδοχείο Ξενία the Xenia Hotel becomes the New Town Hall commissioned by paros festival july 2018 |