Gijón/Xixón does not need impostures to awaken desire. It has the Cantabrian Sea, the San Lorenzo beach, Cimavilla, the taverns, cider, its industrial past, and a distinctly personal way of living life. These attractions are precisely what the new tourism brand Gijón/Xixón, Horizonte Valiente leverages to present a city that is more contemporary, recognizable, and linked to its urban, social and cultural reality. It does not need to invent a new personality, but simply tell the world, in a natural and sincere way, that it is a “big and enjoy-life” city. Because whether in Asturian or not, those who live in it are proud to know where they come from and who they are.
The manifesto, developed by the consultancy Mandarina Brand Society, condenses ideas such as honesty, diversity, modernity, sustainable energy, culture and the working and creative pride, and marks a new direction for the Asturian city, that is to position Gijón/Xixón as what it already is: a genuine destination for both outsiders and its own inhabitants. It is no coincidence that Eduardo Chillida chose the Cerro de Santa Catalina to install his Elogio del Horizonte, an architectural work that, like a modern totem, connects humans with the immensity and, at the same time, embraces and protects them with its two large concrete arms.
A City to Live In
The message of Gijón/Xixón, Horizonte Valiente, begins by making a big difference: it is not the same to visit as to live. The aim is to shift the focus from monuments and places that are photographed toward a broader experience, linked to everyday life, the proximity of people, the neighborhoods, and the maritime character of the city. The visitor ceases to be a spectator who merely looks, to become someone who feels, who participates, who joins the city’s daily rhythm.
