The sun beat down on the Plaza de España in Melilla, but no one seemed willing to move. The heat was a minor circumstance, an inconvenience to be endured in exchange for being there, occupying a piece of square, and being grateful for the royal visit. The visit of the Kings was for many a "relief", a "consideration", after 19 years of absence and a feeling of institutional abandonment.
"We are here as a gesture of gratitude," explained a woman from Melilla. "We are not only a border of Spain, we are also a border of Europe and it seems that they forget that we are a containment." Around her, the square was filling up with citizens who were waiting for Felipe VI and Doña Letizia with the same certainty of trying to ensure that the kilometers with the Peninsula do not imply an institutional distancing.
In this multicultural territory with a fierce and angry Spanishness, they believe and know, from experience, that large migratory flows - the most recent being that of July 31 in Ceuta - are the weapon used by the Moroccan regime when its capricious demands regarding territorial sovereignty and diplomatic relations are not met. "Hasan II also had his things, like Mohamed VI, but the worst will come with his son," says another Melilla native, "we will never know the truth about everything that happens with Morocco but what we are clear about here is that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is a traitor."
Twinned with their Riffian neighbors - many Melilla residents of Maghreb origin come from this area with a subversive attitude and which does not recognize the Alawite dynasty - they did not hesitate in the minutes prior to the arrival of the Kings to put the Moroccan monarch in the spotlight. "Listen Mohamed: long live Spain, eh!" Several groups sang in unison from the Plaza de España.
It was a few minutes before twelve when the Government delegate, Sabrina Moh, appeared. His presence provoked an immediate reaction. The whistles crossed the square and, immediately, the shouts of "Get out!"
When Felipe VI and Letizia got out of the car, the wait was suddenly over. The children, who until then had had to content themselves with looking between the bodies of the adults, ended up perched on their parents' shoulders. People pressed against the fences, stretched their arms, raised their hands and sought, among the crowd and the greetings, the possibility of a moment of recognition.
Some wanted to shake a hand; others, get a look. There were also those who carried covers of the magazine ¡Hola! with information about the Royal Family.
For nearly thirty minutes, Felipe VI and Doña Letizia received the mass bath that the city had been waiting for for years. The voices clashed, the arms kept rising and the little ones tried to make their way to the front row.
Later, accompanied by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, and the regional president, Juan José Imbroda, the Kings went out to the balcony of the City Hall. A deafening and continuous "I am Spanish" inspired them with the affection of the people of Melilla, something that Felipe VI took for himself, placing his hand on his chest as a sign of gratitude.
