It has been 25 years since Bill Clinton caused a huge mess in the Albaicin. He arrived in the Albaicin on Thursday, July 9th 1997 and left Friday, July 9. He returned to Granada, where he was 29 years old and had visited on a backpacking, road, blanket trip. The President of the United States of America was returning home to a past he could not escape. Clinton was engulfed in personal and political tribulations, including the Lewinsky scandal, which was about to explode. He was also moved by the Mirador de San Nicolas that gives you the opportunity to see the Alhambra from the balcony. Although it wasn’t clear whether Clinton claimed that it was the most beautiful sunset anywhere in the world was not entirely clear, the phrase was recorded in the annals.
It was a privileged location, and Granada was not the same. Clinton’s recall of her youth gave the Nasrid capital a new lease of life. It was also the beginning of a legend that time has preserved. Not only were the sovereigns dressed in fantastic elements for the event, but also because Hillary Clinton and Chelsea were accompanied by King and Queen of Spain as well as the former Prince Felipe. It’s difficult to tell the difference between the wheat and the chaff a quarter century later. But it doesn’t have to be. Even if condiments are fictional, the story is even more beautiful. They seem to be. Or they seem.
This unusual event happened a few days prior to the arrival of the White House tenants. The preparations for the visit were quiet. Although there was some frenzy, it was very low-key. This is how to succeed in these cases: Do many important things and not be noticed.
But there was a security flaw. A haberdashery owner in Granada received a piece of paper in English via his fax – a device that allowed documents to be sent remotely. The owners of the business were shocked and reported the information to the City Council. Amazing was the X-File explanation. The US intelligence services sent secret details to the Grenada store after someone got the wrong number.
It wasn’t the only “Mortadelo and Filemon moment” in those historic hours. The president’s car, nicknamed ‘The Beast’ due to its ‘bestial ‘portions (forgive me the redundancy), and power, was unable to fit through the narrow streets of the old city. This was a serious problem. The car was equipped with superior armor and built to withstand missile impact, but it wasn’t prepared for the nooks, crannies, and other challenges that Granada inherited in its multicultural past. That was at least what I was told. It is most likely true. It was rightly so.
Another episode, that could have been taken from James Bond movies, took place at Palacio de los Cordova. This was the location chosen to host a dinner party and party in honor the Clintons. Although the good mouths claim that the sarao ended as the rosary at dawn, that is still a reserved matter that could be classified one day.
Clinton requested that the windows remain open to allow him to continue his joy without the need for filters and see the Alhambra lit. To prevent an attack, several snipers were required to be stationed in different areas of the Albaicin. It was possible that it was similar, but these doubts are what make an event a legend.
Also, it was said that the US president wore an armoury tie to prevent bullets from passing. Maybe yes, or maybe not.
It is recorded that Clinton stated the following when he visited Alhambra: “I’m very happy to return,” he said when Jose Antonio Guerrero (journalist for IDEAL) asked him loudly and in English his impressions when he stepped on the Nasrid palaces.
Clinton has been back to Grenada for 25 years. Clinton keeps coming back to Grenada.
