'The Work of the Sea': When the Beach Becomes a Stage

When you see her on the beaches of Málaga, it's hard not to notice her. From early in the morning, Alessandra García walks along the coastline, clad in a striking red dress with a GoPro camera strapped to her chest. As she strolls slowly, some people think she's returning from an after-party or part of the Google Maps team. Every day she completes an 18-kilometer stage, which she records and publishes on the Strava app, geared toward athletes. But this isn't a sporting challenge; it's The Work of the Sea , an artistic project that will last all month. Through this 41-year-old from Málaga, she seeks to reclaim Mediterranean culture, pay homage to the sea, and celebrate the rituals of a place—the beach—that transcends social class. "It's one of the few places we have left that's free and isn't completely dominated by capitalism," says García, who, after the first few days, is effusive about the experience. Also tired. “I’m stiff,” she said on Monday the 4th between laughs and yawns.

The project at sea seems like a crazy idea because it takes an entire month. Even more so with the high temperatures and because she chose the days when most people are on vacation. “But there are many families, like mine, who work in tourism, hotels, and hospitality, for whom this is the busiest time of the year,” García told EL PAÍS, more calmly, days before launching a project she had been mulling over for more than a decade, which was made possible thanks to an unexpected call. It was in 2022, when one afternoon her cell phone started ringing and on the screen she could see a name she hadn't expected: Antonio Banderas . They had met shortly before, on the occasion of the Max Awards they both received that year , and the actor called her because he wanted to produce her next work. “I have a crazy idea,” she replied. He laughed, listened, and agreed. "She told me about the project, and I wanted to participate because it was such a novel idea. I like to believe in people from my homeland, people as talented as Alessandra, with great initiative," says Banderas, producer of this project alongside artist Violeta Niebla .

That conversation was the first step in this project, which began on August 1st in Manilva and will run almost nonstop until the last day of the month. In addition to walks along the Malaga coastline, it includes time spent with local families and performances with the audience as the protagonist. “The idea is to tell the story of a whole day at the beach, but over the course of a month,” says the artist. From putting up an umbrella to taking a stroll along the shore or protecting yourself from the sun. The work pivots between her roles as cultural manager, playwright, director, actress, and performer. This will be the first year, but not the last, of this work: she has set the goal of repeating it every August in different cities around the Mediterranean. “It's very crazy and I've gotten very excited, but I've been wanting to do something that will occupy my entire life for some time,” she emphasizes. Every winter, all her materials—from costumes to photographs to podcast interviews — can be seen and heard at the Museum and Center for Contemporary Art of Malaga (MuCAC) .

'Get out of the water'

Among other actions, it has planned one titled Get out of the water, which is inspired by that phrase so often uttered by mothers to their children during the summer at the beach. What does it entail? It aims to be in the sea from sunrise to sunset. It will take place this Saturday, August 16, and she will look for ways to travel along the coast, whether on a mattress, jet ski, paddleboard, or whatever comes up. She will enter Playa Virginia (El Palo) and emerge in Benalmádena, more than 20 kilometers to the west, where her mother will be waiting for her with a towel. Her family will also be essential in the next performance , on August 23 in Playamar (Torremolinos), where they will bury themselves under the sand, as many children do every summer to play.

Before then, the final stretch of the project, The Ritual, will have begun. It will be held on La Misericordia beach, west of Málaga, between Tuesday the 19th and Friday the 22nd. includes audience participation. Forty people—who must purchase a ticket—will become the stars as soon as they step onto the beach. They will follow García's instructions to perform a beach choreography that will include laying down a towel, setting up an umbrella, applying sunscreen, and wetting their wrists and neck before entering the water, as tradition dictates. In between, dancers Laura Morales and Alberto Velasco will perform a piece.

The icing on the cake will be El verismo es esto , a five-day performance—from August 27 to 31, also with a capacity of 40 people—in which the artist, with the participation of various social groups, will make a declaration of love to the sea and ask for its “permission” to let her “do this for the rest” of her life.

García points out that throughout the month anyone can enjoy his performances through his social media and the platforms where he posts his daily routes, in addition to interviews with the families he stayed with during his first few days between Manilva and Nerja.