El Legado que Seremos
Origen is a photographic project by Álvaro Ybarra Zavala, developed in collaboration with Endesa, that delves into the heart of a historic revolution: the industrial transformation that is reshaping Europe. It is a silent yet unstoppable revolution, driven by the energy transition, digitalization, and a profound reconfiguration of our productive, social, and urban systems.
More than documenting change, the project immortalizes it. It observes it through the lens of the territory, its people, and the landscapes where the energy of the past still lingers and the future is already beginning to take shape.
Conceived as a visual trilogy, The Legacy We Will Become journeys through three essential stages of this revolution: the end of a fading era, the birth of a new paradigm, and the challenges that will define the world we are building. It is neither a technical chronicle nor a distant narrative. It is a generational perspective. An exercise in remembrance. And, above all, an invitation to reflect on our shared responsibility to imagine, and ultimately decide, the future we will leave behind amid this transformation.
A Tribute to a Bygone Era
Durante más de un siglo, el carbón formó parte de la historia de España. Impulsó la industrialización del país, generó electricidad para millones de hogares y dio forma a la vida de comunidades enteras. Alrededor de minas y centrales térmicas crecieron pueblos, se construyeron identidades y se desarrolló una cultura del trabajo profundamente vinculada al territorio. Durante décadas, aquellas infraestructuras parecieron permanentes.
Chimeneas, torres de refrigeración, cintas transportadoras y parques de carbón formaban parte del paisaje cotidiano de numerosas comarcas. Eran mucho más que instalaciones industriales: representaban empleo, estabilidad y una forma de entender el progreso y el desarrollo. Sin embargo, toda etapa histórica llega a su fin. La transformación del sistema energético, impulsada por la necesidad de reducir emisiones y avanzar hacia un modelo más sostenible, aceleró el cierre de las centrales térmicas de carbón. En apenas unos años, infraestructuras que habían sido esenciales para el desarrollo energético del país quedaron ensilencio. Las turbinas se detuvieron, las chimeneas dejaron de emitir y el paisaje comenzó a transformarse.
Este proyecto nace de ese momento de transición. A lo largo de varios años, Álvaro Ybarra Zavala ha documentado el final de una industria que marcó profundamente la historia reciente de España. Ha fotografiado centrales en funcionamiento, sus últimos días de actividad y los comple jos procesos de desmantelamiento que hoy redefinen estos espacios.
The project has also travelled through the regions where a new way of producing energy is beginning to take hold. For while one era is coming to an end, another is taking shape. Wind farms and solar plants are redefining Spain’s energy landscape. Where energy was once concentrated in large industrial facilities, it is now harnessed through the power of wind and sun. This transformation is not merely technological; it is also territorial, economic, and social.
This story is not about simple replacements or absolute ruptures. It is a story of adaptation, transformation, and continuity. Of communities facing new challenges and opportunities. Of workers whose expertise remains valuable in a different context. Of regions building new prospects for the future without abandoning their memory and heritage.
ORIGEN is a tribute to those who were part of the coal era and a look at the landscapes and communities that are now leading a new chapter. It is a visual testimony to a historic transformation that is reshaping territories and helping to build the energy model of the 21st century.
Visit us from September 24, 2026, to January 7, 2027.
