The work, which bears the stamp of Vicente J. Sanjuán Ediciones, is presented this Wednesday in the Assembly Hall of the City Council
A book collects more than 60 images taken by three American photographers between 1957 and 1970
Includes photographs taken by Patty Stratton, who lived in Benidorm since the mid-50s; her mother and a friend
This Wednesday, December 13, at 7:30 p.m., the City Hall assembly hall hosts the presentation of the book 'Three American Women in Benidorm', which compiles more than 60 images taken by three American photographers between 1957 and 1970. This is how The Councilor for Historical and Cultural Heritage, Ana Pellicer, advanced today, explaining that “this work bears the stamp of Vicente Sanjuán Ediciones, who in previous works has already brought us closer to the Benidorm of the mid-20th century seen through Francisco's viewer; Pérez Bayona, Quico 'The Photographer', and Patty Stratton.”
Patty Stratton, who settled in Benidorm in the mid-1950s, is precisely “one of the three American women referred to in the title.” “The other two are women very close to her who came to Benidorm with her: her mother, Kate W. Stratton, and her friend Carol Baldwin.”
The councillor detailed that “during their stay in our city, Kate and Carol could not resist immortalizing that Benidorm that was in the process of change and now those images, which for decades have been part of Llorca Stratton family book, come to light in this book along with unpublished photographs by Patty.”
Pellicer highlighted that “we are talking about three women with artistic and technical training, interested in capturing the changing world that surrounded them.” “That curiosity – he added – is what now allows us to delve into the daily life of a town from many decades ago, but which we recognize perfectly in spaces such as Plaça de la Senyoria, El Castell, El Carreró dels Gats and other streets in the old town or the beaches.”
The person in charge of the Historical and Cultural Heritage department has stressed that in 'Three American Women in Benidorm' “the figure of the woman has a fundamental weight. It is not only that the images that make up the book have been taken by three women, but also that many of the photographs are women. "They are the centre of the action and the camera's attention."
Finally, Pellicer has pointed out that “the edition of these books runs parallel to the intense activity that is carried out by the Municipal Archive to collect and publicize the audiovisual collections that are the heritage of all Benidorm residents and that we would be delighted to continue collecting new photographs, whether from family albums or the work of professional or semi-professional photographers like Patty Stratton.”
After the presentation of 'Three American Women in Benidorm' the book can be purchased in the city's bookstores.