Barcelona

About a week ago, on 23rd April to be precise, a great event was held in the streets of Barcelona. It was indeed Sant Jordi’s Day, the patron saint of Barcelona, though you must admit that it does not represent such a colourful festivity. According to the legend Sant Jordi had to kill a dragon to save his beloved princess’s life and a rose sprouted out from the dragon’s blood. On account of this story it is this special day, which makes us think of a sort of Valentine’s Day brought forward in time, that men give a rose to their wives, mothers, girl friends or just to their female acquaintances. In return women give a book to men, since the 23rd April is the anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes’ death as well, the famous writer of Don Quixote and therefore one of the greatest figures in the Spanish literature.

On Sant Jordi’s Day hundreds of street stands with flowers and books (brand new or second-hand) fill up all the corners in Barcelona but especially the well-known Rambles in the city centre, where as we could see from live images on TV, roses and books were sold until well into the night. This shows the importance of this day for people from Barcelona and Catalonia who enjoyed both a book fair and stands in the heart of the city.

Valentine’s Day, magic legends, a book fair and street stands. Sant Jordi is all these things together!

Article by Lucille Wehrlé

Translated by Genma Herrero

Two side-hung doors nimbly open in La Violeta, a spacious bar where the neighbours from Gracia often go. A filthy shade spreads over from the floor to the roof, covering on its way the plastic tables and the slender columns with capitals that give rhythm to the room. Only the fire extinguisher and Estrella’s logo (one of the most known Catalan beers) brighten up the spacious dimly lit room with a touch of red. It’s been two weeks since I witnessed this daily and practised performance for the first time. Day after day, the regular costumers play their role in this banal scene again and again, with a Swiss clockwork precision.

Striding purposely, the motor-cyclist with a dark blue suit starts the dancing at a quarter to six. He keeps his back straight as he walks to his stool at the end of the bar. Before he can order anything, he has already got a small brown bottle on his lips. A man who was reading the newspaper at the other end of the bar, and who was like waiting for the starting signal to be given, moves away silently.

La Violeta comes to life. At half past six, the select group of post officers takes a seat around the round table. With a rag on his hand, the cheerful owner of the bar takes part in the lively conversation. The bar fills up with long-haired youngsters who slovenly throw their jackets and roll up the cigarettes with a stance of indifference.

The pot-bellied writer takes some liberties. Being neither a civil servant nor a worker he can make his entrance at any time. He leaves his heavy books apart and comes out from a cloud of smoke to order a black coffee. Then, he keeps stroking his beard with a podgy hand for hours while he listens to himself.

In this scenery, where I also have an assigned position, there are some silhouettes whose faces I will never see. From time to time, the owner has a quick look at my drawings. I usually meet his wife at the market. And when I go back to La Violeta I already know that before six o’clock the motor-cyclist is going to come in striding purposely.

Text written by Géraldine Garçon, French artist who lives in Barcelona and makes artistic works about the daily life of the cities she lives in. Translation by Montse Nualart

Around a year ago the passers-by in carrer de la Justícia in Rubí (a town in the Barcelona metropolitan area) were alarmed every time they walked past the Municipal Theatre. But why? From the outside they could see men armed to the teeth wearing balaclavas and walking round the theatre. Not until they called the police did they find out that all was part of the new play of La Fura dels Baus, one of the most innovative and controversial theatre companies in Europe.

La Fura has chosen the tragedy in the Dubrovka Theatre of Moscow as a basis to adapt the plot of Boris Godunov, a drama by the Russian poet and novelist Alexander Pushkin, to the reality of the beginning of the 21st century.

Throughout the play the creators from La Fura share with their audience the horror suffered by those in the Russian theatre: the appearance of the terrorists, the planting of bombs in the stalls, the tension of the kidnapping and the arguments among the terrorists. Some scenes even evoke the crisis committee and the negotiations with the terrorists. It is true that the creators themselves stress that their intention goes beyond recalling what happened in Russia and that their will is to show the audience the horror of any kidnapping or violent situation.

The première of the play took place in Segura de Molina at the beginning of April and it will have its first night at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya on 17th April. Later on, La Fura is going on an international tour which will bring the 21st century Boris Godunov to Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Translation: Gemma Herrero Fabrés

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