MY POINT OF VIEW 20 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Something is about to happen in Barcelona. Something important. Well, maybe ¨important¨ is not quite the word: ¨stunning¨ or ¨amazing¨ would be the best word for some people, it has to be said. The thing is, on July 19th and 20th, Bruce Springsteen is coming to town.

Come on now, don’t get all cynical about it. I am NOT writing this article when all the tickets are already sold out and you no longer have the slightest chance of getting to see one of the living myths of popular music. Quite the opposite, because, surprisingly enough, there are still some tickets left for the last concert of the tour, on the 20th. Yes, I know that the most logical thing would have been for the last concert of the tour to be full to bursting, but on this occasion Bruce or whoever organizes the concert dates for him has come a cropper in a big way. A concert was announced for the day after (the 20th) instead of for the day before (the 18th), which would have been more natural because that way those who had made a big effort to buy tickets for what was originally going to be the only concert in town (on the 19th), and so logically those who wanted to see him most, now have the choice of either going to both concerts or settling for seeing the next-to-last concert of Bruce’s tour …but that’s another matter.
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MY POINT OF VIEW 19 (by Tatiana Sisquella)
SPECIAL EDITION: MARRAKECH

“Salam alikum”, “bonjour”, “merci”, “can I trust him?”, “does he trust me?”, “what's the name of the hotel?”…I think that the stress produced on arriving in a country that is new to you should have a name. Likewise there should be a word to define the discomfort passengers experience when there is too little space between seats on planes. I think it's a sensation shared by most of us who, for one reason or another, decide to discover another city: it has a pinch of fear, a handful of insecurity, a generous helping of hope, a little mistrust and the whole lot is sprinkled with the urge to have a good time.

This is how I felt on arriving in Marrakech. And now, after four days of the mixture being marinated in the atmosphere, the people and the food of this city, I can say that the resulting combination is a great improvement on my expectations.

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San Fermin and La Tomatina

The Running of the Bulls vs the craziest tomato battle in the world

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MY POINT OF VIEW 18 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Aaagh!! We’re coming to that time of year (or I should say, that accursed time of year) when bangers and fireworks become undeservedly popular. We’re approaching the festival of Sant Joan (Midsummer’s Eve).

One day it would be worth looking at why there are some saints who are better-known and have the privilege of having more celebrations in their honour than others, but that’s another matter.

The subject for today is that I would like to give a few tips to those of you who are visiting our city for the first time on the night of 23rd June.

1.    Invest all the money you had planned to spend on buying Mexican-style hats in the acquisition of ear-plugs.

2.    If you see a group of teenagers huddled together with a lighter, don’t give them the credit of the doubt and take it for granted that they’re getting ready to smoke some dope. What they are really preparing is a personal attack against your hearing.

3.    If you really like bangers, you won’t be enjoying this article, and on the night of Sant Joan you will have more fun than Winne the Pooh in the warehouse of a leading brand of honey. 

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MY POINT OF VIEW 17 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Yes, I know, I know…it’s unforgivable, not a word of explanation or anything. In fact, I’ve been so bad about it that one day in the not too distant future I’ll try to explain, or even to justify, my 3-week absence…but, not today.

Today I want to talk to you about music, because Barcelona, like every big city that’s ¨in¨, is a town that is overflowing with music festivals, especially whenever there’s a chance of holding them in the open air. We have the ¨Sonar¨, we have the ¨Primavera Sound¨, the ¨Summercase¨, the ¨Electronic Weekend¨…we have loads of them. Another thing is that all the concerts I’ve just mentioned have a lot of points in common:

1.    Electronic music as an indispensable ingredient.
2.    Plenty of modern, beautiful, alternative people with more than a few bob in their pockets.
3.    Names of groups that are unpronounceable by mere mortals like me who are not well up in the matter*.
 

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MY POINT OF VIEW 16 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

While walking around Barcelona, perhaps the more observant among you will have noticed that the city’s fountains are empty. There’s no water in them. It’s the same with the artificial lakes, the public swimming pools and all the other places where the water doesn’t have a vital and essential function.

Don’t go thinking, though, that this is because we are as tight-fisted as all the clichés make us out to be. The reason is much more serious and worrying than that: it’s due to the serious drought that we’ve been suffering for far too many months now.
 

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MY POINT OF VIEW 15 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Today I want to take you on an excursion. Yes, that’s right, just like the excursions we used to go on when we were kids. So get out your lunch-box, put on some strong shoes and hang your camera around your neck, because we’re going to the mountains.

Barcelona has two big mountains: Montjuïc and Tibidabo. What’s more, these two mountains (depending on where you’re looking from) are face to face with each other, challenging and motionless, although in fact they’re constantly changing. They have both aged in different ways, and have shrunk more than a little (one at the top, and the other at the bottom). Years ago there was a fun fair on each of them, but, as often happens when two things are too much alike in the same city, it’s difficult for them to live in harmony. And no, I’m not talking about the Espanyol and Barcelona football clubs, although I could be, but that’s another subject. Let’s get back to strong emotions.

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MY POINT OF VIEW 14 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Roses, books, books, roses, people, roses, books, people, books, people, roses, books, books, more roses and more people…

Because today no other words are needed to talk about this Catalan tradition: Sant Jordi's Day. If you want to know why we celebrate it look it up in Google, because I want to talk to you, describe, explain what happens on our streets for a few hours on April 23rd.

 
Very early in the morning, when it's still so dark we should really call it night, the florists who sell flowers wholesale at the 'Mercat Central' flower market, have everything ready to receive the last rose buyers. We say last, because the professionals have done all their work days before. This day, and there are a lot of people (particularly young people who want to make some quick money) who spend the day selling red roses together with an ear of corn and a ribbon with the 'Senyera' (the flag of Catalonia). To enter the market you need a special permit, but I can tell you from my own experience that at around 7 in the morning they let everyone in… and the sight is really worth seeing!

Once the flowers have been sold, it is a joy to walk around any of the streets, let yourselves be carried away by the smell of roses and stop at a bar to have breakfast while you watch people putting up the stalls of books and roses that hours later will be immersed in the crowds.

Every year, on April 23rd, all the streets, squares, alleyways and roads around the city will be bursting with people looking for a book for him and a rose for her. On this day there is no rose more beautiful than another or book better than another: there is your book and the rose that you give or the rose you receive and the book you give.

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MY POINT OF VIEW 13 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

Most psychologists recommend that we have a daily routine that varies only very slightly. They say that this makes us feel calm and secure, and give us a stable reference point. Having fixed meal times, going to the gym on a certain day of the week or organising the fridge in the same way every week can be small gestures that make everyday life simpler. In the same way, the route we take each day to work, to university or to school has the same importance. It is a good idea to establish certain norms for this journey, since it is after all made at least 5 days a week. En route you very often see the same man on the same corner out walking his dog, the woman who has filled up her shopping basket to feed the whole family and is now waiting at the number 14 bus-stop, or the group of school kids taking advantage of the last few minutes before they enter class to chat about everyone and everything. Every day, practically the same images – not identical, but very similar.

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MY POINT OF VIEW 12 (by Tatiana Sisquella)

I have learned this week from the media that the Maradona of the Rambla is retiring. My first reaction was a feeling of indifference, due to the fact that this gentleman, who wears the colours of the Barcelona Football Club and does juggling acts with footballs, has never done much for me and has never really turned me on in the same way that the sight of the fountains of Montjuïc may have done, or a view of the sun setting over the port, or taking an aperitif up on the mountain-top at Tibidabo. After thinking about it for a few minutes, though, I realized that I was doing an injustice to a personality who, thanks to his consistency, coherence and discretion, has come to form a part of the folklore of our city.

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