The city of (dis-)trust: balconies, the biopoliticised self and the new everyday governmentality of the public space in Madrid in times of COVID-19

Abstract

From the moment the Spanish government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, every day at 8 p m , hundreds of thousands of citizens dedicated mass applause from their balconies and windows to show their gratitude to the doctors and nurses taking care of those affected by the outbreak Immediately after the applause, some residents played a list of iconic songs suited to the times of forced quarantine, social distancing and anguished uncertainty However, it should not be surprising that the subversive subtexts of both iconic songs are not commonly recognized in the new public soundscape of urban Spain that has emerged in pandemic times Indeed, what one could say is that the everyday COVID-19 soundscape appeared to consist of a complex acoustic magma resulting from the dramatic social, economic and cultural reshaping of daily urban life: kids playing, laughing, crying and/or screaming;the public sharing of Spotify playlists seeking neighbors' public approval;histrionic television journalists reporting COVID-19 developments in real time throughout the day;some neighbors conversing among themselves, singing songs from their balconies or windows, or even playing bingo with microphones