This Flick group is a brilliant collection of street art in Barcelona. The above near the Forum is by la ira món mort
Graffiti protesting has become a symbol of resistance as a rising tide of visitors engulfs the local population
He, or she, is a Catalan cross between Banksy and an anti-tourism league. At night the mystery graffiti protester roams the streets of Barcelona’s old quarter leaving behind markings on the streets that divide them into separate lanes for the tourists and the “normal” Barcelonans.
Every day the city hall sends out workmen to paint over the markings, afraid that someone is trying to push away the tourists who bring in welcome wealth but increasingly make native Barcelonans feel jostled off their own streets.
I liked this poem by Paul Blackburn (1926-71) set in Barcelona in the 1960s. The complete poem is here with the correct spacing between the words. It is published in the excellent literary magazine Barcelona Ink.
When Blackburn was asked in 1962 how he would like to die he answered “in Barcelona during a revolution against F. Franco”.
The Touch
The windows
are never wide enuf.
Calle de Vidrio, Barcelona, is
off Fernando, toward the Plaza Real;
short, tight, narrow, &
leads toward the palmtrees
Th e corner bar to the left is
three to fi ve pesetas cheaper than
the one to the right
as you enter, plenty of
sky, trees, a fountain, the
arcades sit over each side we
sit with gambas, cervezas, dis-
MARISCAS
cuss my sis-
PERCEBES
ter’s imminent
ALMEJAS VIVAS
arrival I face
CENTOLLOS
the walls, cannot see Y
the palmtrees behind me GAMBAS
ALAJILLO
BEBA COCA COLA SEPIA
PULPITO
BAR FARON
it says
The Afro-American poet Langston Hughes visited Barcelona in 1937 as a newspaper correspondent for the Baltimore Afro-American. He saw the terrible destruction in the city caused by the bombing.
I came down from Paris by train. We reached Barcelona at night. The day before had been a terrific air raid in the city, killing about a hundred and wounding a great deal more. We read about it in the papers at the border. Last night, I thought. Well tonight, I’ll be there. Here (October 23, 1937)
He was inspired to write the poem Air raid: Barcelona (from here). The imagery is stark. East is back to Mallorca where Mussolini’s squadrons were based.
The death birds wheel East To their lairs again Leaving iron eggs In the streets of Spain.
Black smoke of sound Curls against the midnight sky. Read the rest of this entry
The Barcelona Photographic Archive has just released a hundred or so photos taken between 1907 and 1908. They were taken by Frederic Ballell, one of the pioneers of Catalan photojournalism, who delighted in documenting the daily life of the city. Above a goat herder passes by Palau Moja, below a puppy seller. From La Rambla, hace un siglo
See also History of Les Rambles
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies opened its doors this week after being closed for reforms for several years. More in English
A community of Chinese immigrants settled in in Barcelona in the 1870s, fleeing, I think, the Opium Wars and turmoil in the Philippines. They lived in extremely poor conditions in the Camp de la Bota where the Forum is sited today . The area was known for some time as the “Barrio de Pekin”. As the years went by, more immigrants were attracted to the area and the shanty town grew. The Chinese were probably assimilated into the city’s population. Many of the shacks were swept away in sea storms in the 1920s, though with the building boom of the 1929 Universal Exposition, more arrived.
See also Camp de la Bota, Barcelona’s killing fields
The above painting, Platja de Pequín (Pequín beach), was painted by Isidre Nonell in 1901. More from Wikipedia
The Turó de la Rovira betwen El Carmel and el Guinardó offers one of the best views to admire Barcelona. The ruined gun emplacements remind us it is also the site of Barcelona’s air defences during the Civil War. More on this another day. It is also a great spot for graffiti. Photos by Mónica. Note hanging shoe art.
