Barcelona Metropolitan

JUNE 2011 | Nº 173 | FrEE

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Publisher Creative Media Group, S.L. Managing Director Esther Jones Senior Editor Hannah Pennell Editor Katy MacGregor Art Director Aisling Callinan Sales Director Rainer Hobrack Account Executives Richard Cardwell and Thomas McKeown Marketing & Communication Manager Jade Anglesea Sales Assistant Clare Bleasdale Financial Assistant Kim Kalter Editorial Assistant Iseult Larkin Design As-sistant Santiago Amaya Contributors Johanna Bailey, Jonathan Bennett, Lucy Brzoska, Vera Ciria, Roger de Flower, Meredith Gales, Nick Lloyd, Richard Schweid, Tara Stevens and Nicola Thornton Photographers Melanie Aronson, Lucy Brzoska, Alejandro Jaimes Larrarte, Richard Lee Owens and Lee Woolcock Cover illustration John French Illustrator Ben Rowdon

Editorial Office: Enric Granados 48, entlo. 2ª, 08008 Barcelona. Tel. 93 451 4486, Fax. 93 451 6537; [email protected]: [email protected]. General enquiries: [email protected]. www.barcelona-metropolitan.com Printer: Litografia Rosés. Depósito Legal: B35159-96The views expressed in Barcelona Metropolitan are not necessarily those of the publisher. Reproduction, or use, of advertising or editorial content herein, without express permission, is prohibited.

38. LUNCH WITH

Find your nearest distribution point on www.barcelona-metropolitan.com

From the Senior Editor: We’ve all been affected by the financial crisis that is costing Zapatero his job along with more than four million others, whether it be through a (temporarily) cheaper T-10, friends heading home or living with an ever-growing number of local shops showing ‘to rent’ signs, but some will inevitably be hit harder than others. Where Barcelona doesn’t seem to be seeing a big knock-on effect, though, is in its homeless population, which, as Richard Schweid discovers, has hardly risen since 2008. Else-where, Nick Lloyd takes us on a historic stroll down Avinguda Paral·lel, which has been earmarked to recover some of its former cultural glory, although perhaps not so much of its anarchism. Johanna Bailey looks at the growing popularity of knitting in the city, a trend that shows the pastime is no longer the sole preserve of women of a certain age. And if it’s trends you’re looking for, check M5 for our suggestions to looking cool in the summer heat. In Food and Drink, Tara Stevens introduces us to the wonderfully-named chef Dani Lechuga who, paradoxically, is a prophet of meat. Look out too for another book giveaway, our new columnist and an A-Z of Sónar.

Hannah Pennell

FeaturesLiving on the streets 14Knitted together 18Paral·lel lines 22

regularsOn our web 06An inside look 07The month 08 Columns 11Interview: Mertxe Hernández 13M5: Summer fashion essentials 26On 29Food and drink 36Back page 58

DIreCtOrIesFood & Drink 40Marketplace 44

Contents June 2011

26. M5

14. STREET LIFE

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www.barcelona-metropolitan.com

on our web...WIN a bookIn the spirit of doing things for themselves, five international women got together, after meeting at a writers’ workshop, and decided to pool their consid-erable writing talents. The result is 5, an anthology that includes poetry and short prose written by the women, who all come from different walks of life. We have five(!) copies to give away. Just email [email protected] and tell us in five words why you should win a copy. On our web, Iseult Lar-kin interviews Claire Basarich, Anjali Chugani and Laura Nogués, three of the contributors, about the idea behind the project and future plans. www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/fivewriters

Kids welcomeA topic close to many readers’ hearts is life abroad with children. Our newest blogger, Johanna Bailey, aims to tackle just some of the issues, trials and tribulations facing you when raising children here. Writing about her personal experiences, as well as inviting others to write in with their stories and thoughts, Johanna hopes to make the blog as interactive as possible. An American with three years in Spain under her belt, she has two sons, Nico (six) and his younger brother Luca (21 months), and aims to share valuable practical information as well as inter-views with various people involved in raising children. Follow her funny, candid and informative blog on our web: www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/familymatters

As for many of you here, space is an issue at Metropolitan. Pages are limited, so in order to fit in all the interesting articles we receive, we have to put some of them on our website. This month we have three new features for you: Liza Fitzpatrick urges you to visit Barcelona’s former industrial heartland running along part of the Llobregat river; Calvin Holbrook walks you through the best ways to move all your things here; and Hugo Steckelmacher re-veals the new English-language functions of Barcelona Activa—a hub for entrepre-neurs and jobseekers. www.barcelona-metropolitan.com

New articles

06 INTERNET

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I left Mel-

bourne in

the Eighties,

and somehow

never managed

to get back

there. Like a lot

of Australians,

I wanted to see

the world and at

20 years old, after three years working in

a factory, I realised that my career choice

of fitter and turner was an unwise deci-

sion. In 1985, I arrived in London, lived

in a squat in Brixton, spent a lot of time

in the Tate Gallery and started to draw

and paint. Since then, I have had over 25

solo shows in the UK, Spain and Aus-

tralia. I eventually studied graphic design

at Kingston University in London and

since then I have worked as a freelance

illustrator, designer and photographer.

A lot of my work has been for NGOs and

environmental and global justice causes.

I now live in Poblenou with my wife and

two children.

My favourite art is tribal/indigenous art

especially from Australia/Oceania. But I

also like the old school Modernists—I’m

a big fan of Kurt Schwitters and Joaquín

Torres García. Photographers too, like

Walker Evans, have been an influence.

Among my favourite illustrators are Jeff

Fisher and Isidro Ferrer.

A place in Barcelona: I like Poblenou,

especially the Rambla. Right on the

doorstep, I recently stumbled across Can

Framis, a new museum of Catalan paint-

ing, which is well worth a look. It’s great

how they have redeveloped the area while

retaining the old industrial features. The

Pompeu Fabra campus across the road

from the museum is also impressive.

An essential item: Around town, I always

travel by bicycle, and I always carry a

notebook, pencil and my camera.

The cover: Along the seafront from

Barceloneta to Fòrum Mar there are some

great places to visit: bars and restaurants

where you can have a drink, eat some

tapas and enjoy the atmosphere.

www.johnefrench.com

An inside look Illustrator John French

Kids welcome

COVER 07

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Fashion In this feature, fashion writer Vera Ciria talks us through what’s on her Barcelona style radar.

JuneIf the lure of Sónar is still keenly felt but you fi nd yourself pushing a buggy instead of making shapes, then help is at hand in the form of Sónar Kids. Now in its third year, the day gives kids the chance to streetdance or do DJ workshops, get their portrait done with lasers or watch animated shorts from the Belgian children’s fi lm festival Jeugdfi lm, whilst letting mums and dads feel that they can still be involved in one of the biggest festivals of the year. A win-win situation, no? CCCB/MACBA, June 19th, 11am-7pm. www.sonarkids.com

Every year, the same phenomenon occurs in Barcelona. As the temperatures gradually creep up, the sun starts to shine incessantly every day and summer proclaims its triumphant presence, the level of elegance and amount of clothes worn seems to decrease exponentially.

The heat appears to trigger some internal rationalisation that less is defi nitely more. Mir-rors seem to disappear from houses, as the vast majority of people, both tourists and locals alike, couldn’t possibly have checked their appear-ance before stepping out on the street. We are all guilty of throwing elegance to the wind when the sun’s rays beat down unmercifully, yet with the amount of style-conscious garments populat-ing the high-street stores, this type of situation is easy to avoid.

I have several pet peeves when it comes to the never-ending throngs of lobster-red tourists that swoop down on the city each summer. Who deemed it acceptable to wear socks with sandals? Bright-white socks, not cute, coloured socks with wedge heels. Is the sock and shoe combo even comfortable? Which leads us to another terrible summer nightmare, the fl ip-fl op. Such terrible displays of gnarled toenails. The fl ip-fl op should be kept for the beach and poolside. There are so

many pretty sandals for women and gorgeous leather options for men, so why keep insisting on the Havaianas? Visible bathing wear, such as bikini tops, or men with bare chests in the city garners a whole round of inward groans from those of us who actually live here.

But don’t think for a minute that just because we inhabit the city, we deal with the heat any better. Flip-fl ops abound and the short shorts can’t get any shorter—they will become belts at this rate. Rather than wearing a pair of minuscule shorts, why not try going out directly in your underpants? It’s sure to be cooler than those ubiquitous shorts cutting into your bum. You know the ones, with the pocket lining showing in front, below the hem...?!

With stores regularly turning over their stock, on an almost weekly basis in some cases, there are myriad options for summer such as block-col-our or printed sundresses for women and urban shorts and T-shirt combinations for men. Is it really necessary to fall prey to summer negligence and look bedraggled and almost-naked all the time? Yes, summer is an excellent time to show some more skin, get a lovely tanned glow and feel a bit more sexy, but this can be done without los-ing your poise and urban elegance.

Don’t lose your elegance in the summer

08 THE MONTH

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El Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM) is a new initiative from the Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes and opens this month in the 18th-century palace, Palau Gomis, just a few steps from the Museo Picasso. MEAM hopes to be unique in its celebration of fi gurative art, a discipline maligned or somewhat forgotten in contemporary art. The fi rst exhibition to be held there will be Arte Contemporáneo Siglo XXI and will have nearly 200 paintings and sculptures. Check out their website for activities for children and future exhibition news: www.meam.es

Studying the form

On June 9th, the charity Women for Women International will be screening the award-winning Pray the Devil Back to Hell as a fundraising event at the Institut d’Estudis Nord-Amer-icans. With a minimum donation of €5 to view the fi lm, the event hopes to raise money for female victims of war in the developing world. The documentary shows the remarkable actions of a group of Liberian women who came together to try to end the bloody civil war in their country. By staging a silent protest outside the Presidential Palace, their presence became key in the decision to resume stalled peace talks. June 9th, 1pm. Institut d’Estudis Nord-Americans, Via Au-gusta 123. www.praythedevilbacktohell.com

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Diary of an adoption

“Are we in abrochi yet?” Abrochi means ‘abroad’ in West African pidgin, and my newly-adopted daughter was asking me

if we had reached the ‘promised land’ whilst the plane was still taxiing down the runway.

She was incredibly excited, but I was hoping she would sleep. It had been a hectic couple of weeks organising her visa to come home with me, and bad weather meant that we didn’t have much of a holiday (as planned) in between the long waits for stamps, verifications and document legalisations. But here she was, sitting next to me and fascinated by all the moveable gadgets of the aircraft and, despite our 2am start, she slept not a wink the whole way. There was no one to meet us at the airport (I have always been a bit horrified at those documentaries that show adop-tive parents with babe in arms arriving to a barrage of friends and family members at the gate—the kid always looks scared to death) and we humbly got a cab to my apartment and our new life together.

People often ask me what she found the strangest when she first arrived. For other adopted kids, I have heard it’s refrigerators or escalators. For my little girl it was free stuff—brochures, flyers, cards that sit on shop counters and at checkouts. She couldn’t go out the door without coming home with a bunch of them; she still does.

Bringing home an adopted child is sort of like tun-ing in at the second season of a tv show—in my case, the third, as evidence pointed to her being aged at least seven. Despite my regular contact with her over the three-year adoption process, there were so many holes to fill. I found out what I could about her background whilst I was there (not much) and live in hope that one day, when she is ready, she will fill me in on the rest.

That said, it was August and we had plenty of time to get to know each other better. Yet, despite my regular calls and visits during the three-year adoption process, I found out that I really didn’t know her at all. I had always thought of her as being shy and retiring, so was quite stunned at our first social gatherings when I realised that she was outgoing and extrovert, a social animal who loved being the centre of attention. She would systematically go around to everyone in the room and charm the pants off them. That is, everyone but me. In the beginning, I didn’t feel like a mum, I felt like a babysitter or a ‘sugar mummy’—and it would take quite some time for that feeling to change.

Wild BarcelonaText and photos by Lucy Brzoska

Last year, Meredith Gales successfully adopted a girl from a West African country, a process that she wrote about for our website. Here she explains what life has been like for her new family.

New arrival

They were dotted all over the wall, colourless, multi-legged forms, stuck firm to the concrete. A robin flew down to peck at one, but must have been disappoint-ed to find it was merely an empty husk that floated weightlessly away.

It was Pedralbes park and early that June morning, before the gates were open, a generation of damselfly nymphs had emerged en masse from the pond and burst out of their unravelling skins.

The park pond is a stronghold of a diminutive damselfly with a long name, the western willow spreadwing. The whispering bamboo grove along one side provides a perfect site where they can lay their eggs in autumn. On hatching the following spring, the nymphs drop from the conveniently overhanging stems straight into the water.

Biology students monitor the pond life and have found three types of tadpole (water frog, tree frog and midwife toad) and various damsel and dragonflies. But not a sign of mosquito larvae. The spreadwing nymphs, who are a mainstay of this aquatic commu-nity, do a formidable cleaning job, their claw-like lower lip flicking out to snatch passing prey.

After the mass metamorphosis, most damselflies had dispersed, but I found one still clinging to its discarded skin, wings neatly folded together, not yet spread open in the characteristic position for which the species is named. You couldn’t help being struck by the small size of the translucent husk, abandoned only a few hours before. The slender abdomen, with its green metallic gleam, also seemed impossibly long.

When half emerged, the damselfly pauses and, like a balloon filling with air, its wings and abdomen are inflated into shape with hemolymph, the insect equivalent of blood. It’s a vulnerable moment, as the insect waits for its wings to dry out and harden before it can leave its watery habitat definitively behind and take to the air.

Lucy Brzoska runs nature tours and writes for www.iberianature.com

A new generation of damselflies

Discarded nymph skin

Newly-emerged western willow spreadwing

COLUMNS 11

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INTERVIEW 13

Mertxe HernándezFashion Designer, Barcelona

When I was young, I used to really enjoy dressing my dolls, deciding which outfits they were going to wear, and which piece of fabric would go best where. I also used to like anything that involved using my hands. Much later, I had to decide whether to do fine arts at university, or fashion, so I decided on fashion. I am a very determined person. Once I get something into my head, I completely go for it. As part of my fashion and design course, I had to work in different companies, but as soon as I finished, I knew I wanted to launch my own collection. I was about 23. I started working at home on the dining-room table and selling to other shops, and took part in a fashion fair that they used to have here every year to promote designers called Espacio Gaudí, but at the age of 28, I found my own space in the Born. Eleven years later, I’m still here! My style has changed a lot. In the beginning, my designs were quite radical and avant-garde, but over time they’ve evolved to become a little bit more conventional. It’s not easy, you know, because it’s not a style that suits everyone. There are people that say they like it but they wouldn’t wear it. I don’t normally do commissions, but I did design some T-shirts for the Cirque du Soleil, which was a great collaborative experience.I work in the studio downstairs. Depending on the piece, it can take me as little as a day to make something. The range includes bags, skirts, T-shirts, tops and party dresses, something for every moment of the day.Every two months, I exhibit a new artist’s work in the shop, because I really enjoy the fusion between art and fashion. Of course, I watch trends, but I also like to offer something that has the personal touch. My trademark item is the collar with dangly strips.I always think, “if I would wear it, it’s ok.” I make all my own clothes, except jeans! For me, London is the best city for fashion. I can’t really define why, but it is cool and bold, and I always like the clothes I find there. There is a great culture of young designers there and whichever market I go to, I think “Wow!”. I love the designs of Balenciaga who was around at the same time as Chanel. He was from the País Vasco but lived in Paris. More contemporarily, I like Alexander McQueen, and Hussein Chalayan, a Turkish Cypriot designer living in London. My clients tend to be 50 percent local and 50 percent tourists. Many are foreigners who live here; they find there is more of a culture here to buy from smaller shops. I love the Born. It has changed a lot since I’ve been here. It used to be very dangerous 15 years ago, and on this street (Rec), for example, there weren’t any shops or boutiques. Custo opened a shop and then gradually little artisan shops started to set up. But really, it has changed beyond belief.

www.mertxe-hernandez.comInterview by Nicola Thornton. Photo by Lee Woolcock.

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14 HOMELESS

Given that Barcelona is in the midst of a financial

crisis and that foreclosures have increased dram-

ataically over the past two years, an observer

might expect to find rapidly rising numbers of

people living in the city’s streets, but it hasn’t hap-

pened. On any given night, some 1,500 people in

Barcelona are experiencing homelessness, only about five percent more

than in 2008.

Of those people who were homeless here on a cool night in March

2010, when the latest count was taken, some 650 people were sleeping

rough, and some 850 would sleep in one of the city’s shelter spaces. Of

the 1,500 people counted that night, however, none were children. The

city maintains a careful system to guarantee that families will not find

themselves living in the street.

And, even the 1,500 people counted that evening represented a low

number. Other, comparably-sized cities in Europe have four or five thou-

sand people in their streets each night. “The most important reason for

the low numbers here is the safety net of solidarity that people have with

their extended families,” said Ricard Gomà, at the time of writing Barce-

lona’s second deputy mayor and director of a department in the Ajunta-

ment called Acció Social i Ciutadania (Social Action and Citizenry), un-

der which falls responsibility for people experiencing homelessness. “The

support network from extended family in Barcelona is as close-knit as

you’re likely to find anywhere, and much stronger than you’ll find in an

Anglo-Saxon society.”

The city has worked hard to design alternatives for those who do not

have a family on which to rely. Five years ago, four people worked full-

time with those who were homeless or in danger of winding up on the

streets. Today, 50 people do so. “During the past five years, we have built

a network between City Hall and various entities,” said Gomà. “We have

a goal of social inclusion, and to move toward it we have professionals in

the streets every day, identifying homeless people in the initial phases of

their problems. In Rome, with five thousand people in the streets, they

don’t have socio-educational programmes, nor preventive programmes. I

think this is the big difference.”

After the sun goes down, two-person teams go to various districts of

Barcelona to make contact with newcomers sleeping rough and let them

know what services—shelter, food and showers—are available, as well as

to check on the people who live outdoors for weeks or months or years.

One cold night in March this year, Valentin Hîncu, a native of Rumania,

and Khalid Ghali, originally from Morocco, were walking their rounds

of the Les Corts district. Both are fluent in Catalan and Castilian, as well

Despite the financial crisis, Barcelona’s homeless population has scarcely grown—but can an ambitious plan eradicate it once and for all? By Richard Schweid. Photos by Lee Woolcock.

Street life

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HOMELESS 15

>>

as their native languages.

At one street corner, an old mattress is tucked away behind a rubbish

bin. It belongs to an alcoholic male from Bulgaria, Hîncu said, who has

been sleeping there for two years. The team has stopped by to see how

he’s doing. He’s not there, so they know he is in the bar at the corner,

where he spends his waking hours, but rather than try and talk with him

in the bar they’ll stop by again later in the week. The next stop is the

Jardins de Màlaga where a heavily bearded Catalan man named Antoni

is sitting on a bench in the dark, wearing three heavy sweaters beneath a

filthy gabardine. In front of him is a complicated wheeled cart, packed

high with many things, out of which he pulls a vacuum cleaner body with

no hose, which he had found that day. “I’ll keep it and maybe a hose will

turn up,” he said. The team admires the useless vacuum cleaner, checks

on his legs, which have been bothering him, and chat for a few minutes.

After a while, they move on. During the course of their eight-hour

shift, the pair may walk 25 kilometres, said Ghali. “It’s not easy, but it’s a

gratifying job. For instance, there’s a Portuguese guy who’s kind of para-

noid; he would have nothing to do with anyone, but now he’s gotten to

know us and he’ll let us take him for a shower, and he’ll go to the comedor

(shelter canteen). These are small changes, but they make a big difference

in a person’s life.”

In addition to the habitually homeless, the recession has created a need

for emergency housing for those people who have lost their own place to

live. In 2005, the city had such housing in only one of its 10 districts.

By 2010, emergency housing had been opened in every district. “This is

a resource for families with a high risk of losing their housing and who

have no social or family support,” said Ricard Gomà. “In 2010, we have

provided emergency housing to a thousand people through about 150

units. We also have a network of inclusion housing with social workers

who are working toward getting these families or individuals into a nor-

mal rental situation and stable housing. We have some 300 units of social

inclusion housing that serve about 1,500 people who will be in them

between six months and a year.”

In 2005, an undertaking called ‘A Citizen’s Agreement for an Inclusive

Barcelona’ was subscribed to by 450 social action agencies, charities and

non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which, together with the city

council, created eight networks dealing with aspects of social inclusion:

assistance for those living in homelessness; socially responsible businesses;

job training; centres for infants and adolescents; assistance in receiving

and integrating recently-arrived immigrants; foster families; accessible

housing; and cultural events for social inclusion.

The first of these, homelessness, is dealt with by La Xarxa d’Atenció

Five years ago, four people worked full-time with the homeless. Today, 50 people do so.


16 HOMELESS

>> a Persones sense Sostre (The Network for Attention to People without

a Roof), which is made up of 24 different charities and NGOs, and the

Ajuntament. The Network provides both day and night services. The day

services include a place to leave belongings, a meal, showers, workshops

and common rooms. The night services include an evening meal and a

bed. The 2010 survey counted a total of 1,108 persons using the day-

time facilities, and 842 using night-time services.

In addition to providing these services, the Network has undertaken

an ambitious campaign to end homelessness in Barcelona by the year

2015. This was Barcelona’s response to the European Union’s designa-

tion of 2010 as the ‘Year of the War on Poverty and Exclusion’. The

slogan for Barcelona’s campaign is “Imagine a 2015 with no one living

in the street”.

It will not be an easy goal to reach. “For this to happen, the citizens

need to convert themselves into a pressure group on the public powers

to insist that, even in times of economic crisis, social inclusion has to

continue as a priority,” said Ricard Gomà.

The most critical factor in Barcelona’s formula to combat social exclu-

sion is local government, he added. “These days, there’s no doubt that

government is the main engine in public health and education. Five years

ago, this wasn’t happening when dealing with social exclusion. This was

the territory of charities and NGOs. We believe that in the fight against

social exclusion, the principal engine has to be the public administration.

Once that is established, the public administration will work with, and

count on, the charities and NGOs.”

HOMELESSNESS IN THE WORLD

- An estimated three million people are homeless in Europe (Source: Red de

Apoyo a la Integración Sociolaboral, 2010)

- Homelessness in Greece rose from 17,000 in 2009 to 20,000 in 2010

(Source: European Observatory on Homelessness)

- It is estimated that by 2015, there could be 24.4 million homeless people

in Nigeria (Source: UNHCR)

- In the US, 1.37 million of the overall homeless population are under 18

years old (Source: International Journal of Psychosocial Research, 2008)

A heavily bearded Catalan man named Antoni sits on a bench in the dark, wearing three sweaters beneath a filthy gabardine.


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18 KNITTING

All You Knit is Love

IFIL IFIL

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KNITTING 19

>>

Knit one, purl one

World Wide Knit in Public Day takes place every year in June, since being created by uS knitter Danielle Landes in 2005. I partici-pated a few years ago when I joined a group of Spanish women who were knitting in the park. It would have been relaxing had it not

been for all the double-takes that were thrown our way by various passers-by. Judging from their expressions of incredulous wonder, you would have thought we were out there churning butter. We could have started rub-bing our knitting needles together to try and start a fi re and they probably wouldn’t have been any more amazed. It was clear that they still viewed knitting as a traditional pastime engaged in only by grandmothers. Hav-ing just come from New York City, where there are dozens of wool shops and weekly knitting groups fi lled with hip young women and men, this came as a bit of a surprise to me.

The knitting revolution has been slow in coming to Spain but there are signs that this is changing, at least in Barcelona, where more and more wool shops and knitting groups (sometimes called ‘stitch and bitch’ groups) have started popping up in the past couple of years. American Jennifer Callahan and her Catalan husband Miquel Saurina, were ahead of the game when they opened their shop ‘All You Knit is Love’ in the Born in 2006. “At the time, knitting wasn’t fashionable yet and the bank director who was giving us the loan for the store looked at us like we were crazy!” said Saurina. “He asked why we were starting a knitting store when so many others were closing down.”

But Callahan and Saurina had something entirely different in mind

from the typical Barcelona wool shop. They set out to sell products that couldn’t be found anywhere else—natural yarns instead of acrylic and lo-cal products such as Xisqueta wool from the Catalan Pyrenees. “We also wanted people to be able to come in and touch the yarns rather than just look at them from behind the counter” said Callahan.

This last comment struck a chord with me. I’ve always found the proc-ess of buying wool in Spain to be intimidating. Traditionally in Spanish mercerias (shops where they sell craft and sewing supplies), most of the wool is kept behind a counter. Also behind the counter, there typically lurks a hawk-eyed saleswoman who looks less than thrilled that you’ve deemed it necessary to saunter into her realm. “Puedo ayudarle?” she pounces, be-fore you’ve had a moment to regain your senses and work out why you’re standing next to a display case featuring 800 pairs of baby-blue booties and a cross-stitch of two mournful-looking horses.

At this point you must indicate which wool you are interested in, and then, with what seems an exaggerated show of patience, the saleswoman will retrieve it for you and then proceed to stare at you expectantly until you make a decision. Apparently, it is actually these women who are used to being the ones making the decisions. The way things traditionally work here is that the knitter fi rst tells the saleswoman what she wants to knit. The latter then devises a pattern, chooses the yarn and ‘guides’ the cus-tomer in making the garment. This process generally entails numerous trips to and from the yarn shop as each step is completed and further instruction is needed. “We have older women coming in all the time who say that although they’ve been knitting for 40 years, they don’t know how to read a pattern by themselves,” said Callahan. All You Knit is Love, on

BBA /MBA

www.euruni.eduBusiness Education

> Small classes> All courses taught in English> Excellent mix of theory and practice> International environment> Global campus network

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The click-clack of knitting needles is getting louder in Barcelona. By Johanna Bailey. Photos by Melanie Aronson.


20 KNITTING

the other hand, is entirely autoservicio. Callahan and Saurino are there to help but they encourage customers to choose both their own yarn and patterns.

In October 2010, Silvia López and Carmen Garcia de Mor opened the Gràcia wool shop IFIL with the intention of catering to a new kind of knitter. “Our objective is to get people to stop associating knitting with something difficult that only older people can do,” said López. IFIL pro-vides knitters with dozens of seasonally changing patterns (developed by Garcia de Mor), all of them clearly marked with level of ability, wool required and estimated knitting time. Since about 80 percent of their cus-tomers are people who are just starting to knit, their focus is on simplicity. IFIL aims to be more than a knitting store, however. “We believe in more than just yarn,” said López. “Knitting empowers you when you see that you can create something. You can then take that empowerment and ap-ply it to other parts of your life—maybe you’ll break up with your idiot boyfriend or leave a job you don’t like.”

The biggest indication that the knitting trend has come to Barcelona is that the typical customer at both IFIL and All You Knit is Love is under 35 years old. Clearly a marked change from the bootie-knitting abuelas of yore.

So why now? Is it just another American trend that has made its way over to Spain, riding on the top of a big frosted cupcake? Or are there are more factors at work here than just trends? Feminism came late to Spain and the country’s women have spent the past 30 years reacting against the traditional gender roles so beloved by Franco. Perhaps only now are women starting to feel that they can engage in hobbies such as knitting and still be liberated at the same time. The economic crisis probably has something to do with it as well. “The crisis has helped us to see that not everything is about money,” said Silvia López.

Whether you’re a novice or an expert, if you’re interested in knitting, there are plenty of options for finding like-minded folks in Barcelona. You can take a class at All You Knit is Love or IFIL (both have English-speaking teachers). Or you can participate in a local knitting group. Most of the groups are Catalan- and/or Castilian-speaking but they welcome foreigners, as well as novice knitters. Not only is it a relaxing way to knit in company, but also a great way to meet Barcelona natives and practise your foreign language skills! For those who feel that knitting is tough enough without having to conjugate the subjunctive at the same time, there is also a new English-speaking knitting group that recently started up at the ‘Fish and Chips’ café in the Raval.

World Wide Knit in Public Day will take place on June 11th this year and both All You Knit is Love and IFIL are planning fun events. Judg-ing from what I’ve seen of the burgeoning knitting scene in Barcelona, I expect there to be a lot more knitters and a lot fewer stares than the last time I participated!

MORE INFO

All You Knit is Love—Barra de Ferro 8; www.allyouknitislove.com

IFIL—Torrent de l’Olla 161; www.ifilbarcelona.wordpress.com

Merceria Santa Ana—Portal de l’Ángel 26. Go here if you want to see the traditional knitting system in action. Head to the second floor, Mon-day to Thursday from 10am to 1pm, and you’re likely to see a group of women sitting around the counter, knitting and being guided by the saleswoman.

Ravelry—Join this site and look in the ‘Groups’ section under Barcelona. You’ll be able to see the recent activities of and news from a number of Barcelona knitting groups, shops and forums. www.ravelry.com

World Wide Knit in Public Day—www.wwkipday.com. Find out more about founder Danielle Landes at www.daniellelandes.com

BARCELONA KNITTING GROuPSKCS (Knitting, Crochet, Sewing) Barcelona—http://kcsbarcelona.blogspot.com

Teixicomanes de Barcelona—http://teixicomanes.blogspot.com

Fish and Chips English-speaking knitting group—Rambla de Raval 26; www.fishandchipsbarcelona.com

The knitting group at Fish and Chips—photo by Alejandro Jaimes Larrarte

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Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 8:30 p.m in the Sala d’ACTES of the REIAL CERCLE ARTISTIC (C/. Arcs 5, Barcelona (near the Cathedral). Entrance fee €20 for non-members with a 20 % discount for members of the REIAL CERCLE ARTISTIC

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and the MICHELE FABER QUINTETjazz, rhythm and blues and contemporary music

GWEN PERRY is a vocalist, interpreter and international show woman who has been dubbed “The Lady of Song and of Music”. Her repertory ranges from jazz to rhythm and blues to beautiful ballads.Gwen will perform well-known standards as well as several pieces from her new CD “MELLOW”, to be released soon. The CD was recorded in Barcelona with Michele Faber-pia-no, Fredrik Carlquist-sax/clarinet/flute, Pere Loewe-upright bass, Joe Smith-drums and Dave Mitchell-electric guitar.

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22 PARAL·LEL

Guns, sex and anarchy Over the years, Avinguda Paral·lel has hosted an eclectic mix of cafés, erotic shows and political radicals. By Nick Lloyd. Photos by Richard Lee Owens.

Today it is easy to see

Avinguda del Paral·lel

as a noisy thoroughfare

lined by undistinguished

apartment blocks, but for

decades the street was

the centre of the city’s nightlife with a dozen

theatres, numerous music halls and cafés

peopled by cabaret artists and bon viveurs; a

steamy mix of eroticism and anarchism.

The avenue was originally laid out in 1859 as

part of l’Eixample, Ildefons Cerdà’s great project

for expanding Barcelona. After planning the

characteristic blocks of his grid pattern, he then

grandly drew two great avenues perpendicular

to the grid: La Meridiana (running north-south)

and El Paral·lel (running east-west). Cerdà

himself seems to have named the avenue, noting

that, unlike any other street in Barcelona, it ran

parallel to the Equator (41º22’34’’ north). He

had intended it as a fine ceremonial boulevard

like Gran Via or Diagonal, but its proximity to

the port and because it cut through the working-

class quarters of El Raval and Poble Sec meant

that it was always destined to become the centre

of Barcelona’s popular, if not sleazy, nightlife.

Since the Middle Ages, the city’s working

-class entertainment had been centred on the

area around where Plaça Catalunya is today,

and along the old road connecting Barcelona

to the village of Gràcia, but with the building

of Passeig de Gràcia came gentrification and

stalls and fairs gravitated towards the new plots

opened up along Paral·lel. When the street

was officially opened in October 1894, it was

already home to a burgeoning entertainment

industry of cafés, music halls and, particularly

towards the port end, brothels. By the early 20th

century, it had as many as 10 theatres and several

music and dance halls along a stretch of barely

300 fun-laden metres, leading to the avenue’s

nickname of the ‘Montmartre barcelonés’.

One particularly rough-and-ready tavern,

which would become the most famous building

on the street, was called La Pajarera, a haunt of

drunken sailors and unruly workers. Its owner

grew tired of their antics and sold the business

to an Andalusian who had recently arrived in

the city with the aim of making his fortune.

He set up a precarious platform at the back

of the bar, initially offering flamenco shows,

but soon expanded the repertoire to include

zarzuelas (Spanish musical comedy) and the

performances of a remarkable ventriloquist.

The hall was sold again in 1905 and renamed

the Gran Salón del Siglo XX, which alternated

variety shows with the latest technological

wonder: a cinematograph. Three years later, its

name was changed again to the Petit Moulin

Rouge. The idea was to bring Parisian-style

cabaret shows to the city. In 1929, coinciding

with the International Exhibition, the façade

was renovated, whimsically adding the sails of

a windmill, which have become its trademark.

During the Civil War, the waiters, ticket

sellers and other employees, who were members

of the Anarchist CNT trade union, collectivised

the Moulin Rouge, and established the same

salary for all employees, much to the annoyance

of many of the dancers and vedettes. The hall

continued to offer somewhat piquant shows,

though the artistes now performed as scantily-

dressed militia fighters. When Franco occupied

the city, not only was Catalan repressed, but

foreign languages were also suspect, and Moulin

was ‘Castillianified’ to El Molino while Rouge

was dropped due to its communist connotations.

But while Francoism imposed a terrible yoke on

the city, at least at El Molino the show went on,

its eroticism a small but welcome relief in the

repressed, grey city of the victors, though it had

22-24. Parallel PDF.indd 34 5/23/11 12:12:50 PM

PARAL·LEL 23

>>

to deal with censorship, including a law against

cross-dressing artists, and raids by the police

(who could often later be found frequenting

the premises as clients). With the advent of

democracy and permissiveness, the theatre fell

on hard times and eventually closed its doors in

1997, remaining shut for more than a decade,

despite a colourful campaign for the authorities

to step in. Finally, in 2010, it was bought

and restored by a group of companies, and

although it has lost its original 1929 windmill,

the new kitsch façade has quickly blended into

Paral·lel’s streetscape.

El Paral·lel reputedly once had the longest

stretch of street cafés in Europe, including the

still surviving El Café Español and perhaps the

most notorious bar in the history of Barcelona,

the remarkably inappropriately named La

Tranquilidad, which stood at number 69, next

to the Teatro Victoria, until it was demolished

in the Forties. As a haven for gangsters, police

spies and, above all, anarchists, anything but

tranquillity reigned here. During the period of

pistolerismo in the early Twenties, Barcelona was

awash with guns smuggled from France after

the end of the First World War. Weapons were

sold openly in La Tranquilidad, which also

organised raffles, with the winner taking home

a Star pistol. Anecdotes about La Tranquilidad

abound. In the early Thirties, the legendary

Anarchist leader Buenaventura Durruti and

his friends were habitués of La Tranquilidad.

One story relates how a young beggar with a

defeated air came into the bar asking for money.

When he approached Durruti’s table the bar

went silent. Durruti looked the man intently in

the eyes, and then pulled out his revolver and

slammed it on the table, saying “There, take my

gun. Go to the bank.”

Another great of symbol of the avenue and

Poble Sec are Les Tres Xemeneies, built between

1896 and 1912, and known popularly as ‘La

Canadenca’, after the Canadian company that

financed them. The power station here was the

origin of one of the most successful working-

Yesterday and today: (left) image by Barcelona photographer Frederic Ballell in 1913 showing audiences leaving the theatres; (right) Les Tres Xemeneies flanked by modern buildings


24 PARAL·LEL

>> class actions in history when eight office workers were sacked in February

1919. Beginning with a call by the CNT to reinstate the workers, the

strike spread rapidly, and evolved over 44 days into a general strike

demanding lower working hours that paralysed much of the industry of

Catalunya. Among the consequences of the strike was that the Spanish

government was forced to limit the working day to eight hours, one of the

first such laws anywhere in the world, though it was soon to be repealed.

Not surprisingly, the association of El Paral·lel with such activities, led

to another nickname, ‘the Anarchist Boulevard of Barcelona’, among

radical circles in Europe.

These days much of Paral·lel has lost its glamour and

notoriety, and as one moves towards the Plaça Espanya end of

the avenue, one is faced with a dull and uninspiring series of

residential blocks. However, just off Paral·lel is the unusual Casa

dels Cargols (House of Snails) at Tamarit number 89. Legend

has it that the original owner had the house built after coming

across a stash of gold while looking for snails on Montjuïc. In

thanks to these gastropods, he covered the façade of the building

in snail motifs. Or that was his story, anyway, for covering up

some early 20th-century dodgy dealing.

In addition to El Molino musical hall, today just three

theatres remain: Apolo, Condal and Victoria, but the city

council has recently purchased (from the Chinese Evangelical

Church) the old Arnau theatre, which has stood in a sorry state

for several years, with the aim of turning it into an as-yet-

unspecified cultural centre. The plan forms part of a project

to return Barcelona’s Broadway to its former glory (presumably

without the Anarchist heritage), making what the council calls

an “avenue of leisure” for the city, leading from the newly-

renovated Las Arenas complex in Plaça Espanya all the way

down to the port, passing through new squares to be created

along the avenue, and allowing the historic street to become

more of a meeting-point, rather than a division between, the

districts of Poble Sec, Raval and Sant Antoni.

Nick Lloyd leads Civil War tours in Barcelona with the Centre d’Estudis

de Montjuïc and runs the website www.iberianatura.com

The new incarnation of El Molino

The owner built the house after coming across a stash of gold while looking for snails on Montjuïc.

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26 M FIVE

This summer’s stylish essentials.By Vera Ciria

Orange It is rare that the colour orange

asserts its power on the catwalk. A normally difficult shade, this

season orange is luscious and juicy, popping with vibrancy, begging to be worn this summer. Take a

quick look in practically any store at the moment and there are rails

of orange options for both men and women. Combine with other

brilliant hues or mix with more neutral tones.

Bobble Designed by the renowed industrial designer Karim Rashid, the Bobble is a reusable, portable water-filter. With one Bobble said to filter over 300 bottles of water, the aim is to reduce the environmental impact of the mountains of plastic bottles that we throw away each year. It’s available in three different sizes, one small enough to fit in your bag, the biggest large enough to replace your at-home water filter. So this summer, instead of reaching for an Evian, consider using a Bobble in-stead, and do your bit for the planet.

Available at various outlets including: Servei Estació (Aragó 270); Gadgets & Cuina (La Rambla 91, Aragó 249 and L’illa shopping centre); and branches of VIPS. www.waterbobble.com

five

26-27. M5.indd 6 5/23/11 1:08:08 PM

M FIVE 27Photos courtesy of Zadig &

Voltaire

Horizontal stripesDoes Miuccia Prada never tire

of churning out the best season trends? The thick horizontal stripes she sent down the runway are now everywhere on the high street, and

Kookai have done a particularly good range (see picture). Choose

your summer stripes wisely, though. Now is the time for thick

bands of colour or stripes that vary in width. You’ll be spoilt for choice,

as there are T-shirts and dresses, skirts and shirts, and all manner of

accessories to choose from.

www.kookai.fr

Forever21 The Primark of the United States, Forever21 will open its doors to the Barcelona public on June 4th. Set in the teenage domain of the La Maquinista shopping centre, don’t let the environment or name put you off. This is the place to stock up on summer essentials without breaking the bank.

www.forever21.comwww.lamaquinista.com

Seventies’ styleNot everything in the Seventies revolved around hippies. Fashion

is currently revisiting this decade, bypassing the paisley and tie-dye, to focus instead on steamy glamour for summer. Combine

luscious jewel tones with heaps of gold accessories—if you’re feeling flash, French jewellery designer Gaia Repossi has created

a lush, but expensive range of cuffs and rings for the chic Parisian label Zadig et Voltaire. This is a trend that works well for both

men and women, so don’t be shy!

www.zadig-et-voltaire.com

NExT MoNTh: ThE BEST SWEET ShoPS

26-27. M5.indd 7 5/23/11 1:08:12 PM


OnGREC P. 31

SÓNAR P. 32

REALISME(S) P. 34

EL EFECTO DEL CINE P. 34

The Raveonettes. Bikini June 3rd.

29 Cover copy 1.indd 1 5/23/11 2:41:37 PM

3

the edit We trawl through the month’s cultural events and pick our favourites

18th

ON Contributors: Will Shank and Natasha Young

30 ON

5th

If you’re the type of person who dreams of creating

their very own little fanzine then this might be the

festival for you. Ilu·Station started life as a festival

devoted to penmanship, illustration and graphic

design but this year they’ve shifted their focus on

to the fanzine and comic. With this change, their

annual mercado, which sells fanzines from around

the world, has taken on a more key role in the

proceedings. Stars of the show will be the German

collective Biografiktion.

Ilu·Stationwww.ilustation.com

Is Darwin Deez Darwin Smith, or is it the name of the band? It isn’t quite clear. Like Har Mar Superstar without the pervy sleeze,

there’s a lot of styling, silly dance moves and irreverent music videos to get through before you come to the actual music with

this act. With the debut album getting mixed reviews, it’s going to be interesting to see what he (they) brings to the stage

Darwin DeezMusic Hall

Sarah Gessler and producer Josh Fontan met in the heady, halcyon days of

Barcelona’s underground music scene in 2003 and they’ve been touring

their gritty, organic soul ever since. Now the pair have launched a new

monthly night at the recently done-up Café Royale with different invited

guests each month. To read an interview with Beatspoke, check out our

website: www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/beatspoke

BeatspokeCafé Royale

16th

9th

2nd

30-33 LIVEPDF.indd 30 5/24/11 12:28:55 PM

the gigs

ON 31

Grec Festival Various venues

RaveonettesBikini, 3rd

Those Dancing DaysMusic Hall, 3rd

IAMApolo, 4th

Sami YusufApolo, 8th

Hola a Todo el MundoMusic Hall, 10th

James Taylor QuartetApolo, 10th

Marky RamoneRazzmatazz, 11th

HooverphonicApolo, 14th

OMDApolo, 15th

MetronomyRazzmatazz, 18th

John MayallApolo, 22nd

Ricky Martin Sant Jordi Club, 29th

The Teatre Grec doesn’t get to show off very often. Left forlorn and empty

most of the year, it’s only during the annual Grec Festival that this lovely

open-air Greek amphitheatre gets to shine. If high art is your thing, there’s

nothing quite like hoofing it up Montjuïc on a balmy festival evening for a

spot of culture with the lights of Barcelona twinkling far below.

The Grec Festival began back in 1976 with the dual mission of support-

ing local artists and bringing some of the world’s most interesting theatre,

dance, music and circus to Barcelona. Events happen citywide but tradition-

ally, it’s the Teatre Grec where most of the action takes place.

France is the featured country this year and despite Gallic arts being in

the spotlight, the French show that is causing hearts to flutter is actually the

work of an Englishman—best not tell the French! Born in London but a long-

time resident of Paris, Peter Brook is widely regarded as one of the most

revolutionary theatre directors alive today, and at 86 he shows no sign of

slowing down. His pared-down, unfussy reworking of Mozart’s Magic Flute,

shows at Mercat de les Flors (June 18th to 20th).

Over at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, get mixed up in and confused with

Octopus (June 30th to July 3rd), a new show by the esteemed French cho-

reographer Philippe Decouflé and his company DCA. At his best, Decouflé

is dazzling, so if you only see one dance show at Grec this year, make it this

one.

There’s plenty more for dance fans to get excited about. There’s a wealth

of local dance on the bill, with new work from Sol Picó (June 30th to July

3rd), Àngels Margarit (July 22th to 24th) and La Caldera (June 29th to July

10th). Contemporary dance company Gelabert–Azzopardi’s inaugural show,

La muntanya al teu Voltant (June 17th to 18th), keeps it Catalan, with the

Banda Municipal Barcelona playing Carlos Santos and Borja Ramos’ music

alongside 12 dancers and sardanistes. Meanwhile, B-boys and girls battle it

out in the European classifier of the Red Bull BC One on July 3rd.

Two thousand and eleven has been a hell of a year for Manel. It’s a rare

feat indeed for a band singing in Catalan to top the Spanish charts but that’s

exactly what they did back in March. The poster boys for Catalan nationalists

and quirky indie types alike, their homecoming gig at the Grec (July 11th)

promises to be very special indeed.

There’s little on offer for lovers of English music this year but you could

always try something new. Look out for a Sónar collaboration between

Japanese pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto and audiovisual maestro Alva Noto (June

19th); traditional medieval melodies from the Mallorcan queen of La Nova

Cançó, Maria del Mar Bonet (July 4th), and sounds of the colonial Caribbean

from Jordi Savall (July 25th).

For the hard up, don’t forget that most venues offer discounts to stu-

dents, seniors, kids and the unemployed, and if previous years are anything

to go by, you’ll also find great last-minute deals on tickets a few hours be-

fore curtain up at the tourist information office in Plaça de Catalunya. For full

details of the festival line-up and ticket information, check out the website:

www.grec.bcn.cat. June 17th to July 31st.--NY

17th

La Caldera. Photo by Sola Bubulus

30-33 LIVEPDF.indd 31 5/24/11 12:28:58 PM

For more live events, visit our website: www.barcelona-metropolitan.com

32 on

23rd

A-Zannie

Dels

eskmo

Holy order

illum sphere

Jessie wareKaty b

offshore

steve oaki

the Gaslamp Killer underworld

macba/cccb (day) Fira Gran via (night) www.sonar.es

Sónar. June 16th to 18th

magnetic man

no surrender

venice

bjorn torske

clara moto

30-33 LIVEPDF.indd 32 5/24/11 12:29:28 PM

on 33

eskmo

Four tet

Ghost writer

Katy b

offshore

Zinc

paul Kalkbrenner

venice Yelle

raime

l-visThe 16th version of the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is this

year dedicating itself to the power of art and the feminine

spirit, paying particular attention to work coming out of

France and Asia. Programme highlights include the inclusion

of “l’enfant terrible” of Canadian cinema, Xavier Dolan, who

shows his feature film Les amor imaginaires, whilst Laure

Charpentier’s Gigola is likely to draw in the crowds thanks

to its stellar cast. Adapted from Charpentier’s own novels,

it’s based in the criminal underworld of Paris in the Sixties,

stars Lou Doillon and led Peter Bradshaw in the UK’s Guard-

ian to say “It’s steamy, saucy, racy and suffused with the

feeling of wickedness you might get from drinking spirits

before lunch or smoking in church.” June 28th to July 9th.

www.cinemalambda.com

FIRE!! Institut Francès

Still looking like the dorky Monday after-school band, The

Pains have moved up a notch on their second LP Belong.

They’ve drafted in Flood and Alan Moulder, producers

responsible for the sound of Smashing Pumpkins and

Depeche Mode back when they were still in nappies, and

come up with a more confident, brassy sound. Yet despite

their bookish looks it’s their poor lyrics that let this New York

group down. Despite the grown-up makeover their overly

emotional lyrics reveal that they’ve still got a way to go to

shed the amateurish, musical puppy fat. But there are dia-

monds within the dirt and if you loved their more shambolic

self-titled first LP, then it’s likely you’re going to stick around

with this band and see what comes next.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Apolo

28th

20th

30-33 LIVEPDF.indd 33 5/24/11 12:29:46 PM

I must admit that I was waiting to be convinced, during my stroll

through the galleries at MNAC, about the premise of an exhibition called

‘Realisme(s)’ that ends with the work of abstract Catalan artist Antoní

Tàpies. By the time I left MNAC, I was not.

At the very least, it affords the viewer the opportunity to see several

verifiable masterworks by Frenchman Gustave Courbet that rarely leave

the Musée d’Orsay and which have never been to Spain before. But the

exhibition doesn’t exactly live up to its hype. “Through [Courbet’s] brush,

reality entered painting: Realism was born.” Well, certainly as a reaction

against the prevalent Romanticism of the early 19th century, Realism was

RE-born. But didn’t Caravaggio depict his Baroque saints and sinners in

the 17th century with a kind of street smarts and in a style of photorealism

(okay, this is an anachronism) that must have made Courbet green with

envy? Competent, certainly, and important, in Art History 101, but Courbet

as the ‘father’ of Realism when it was ‘born’ in the 19th century? Certainly

not.

Hyperbole aside, Courbet (1819-1877) is definitely a linchpin in 19th-

century art, during the period between Romanticism and the arrival of the

Impressionists. The exhibition starts strong, with a group of self-portraits

of the artist with his wild mane of dark hair, one of which, while with its

roots still clearly in the Romantic period is shocking in its confrontational

character.

The exploration of Courbet’s precedents and his legacy has two unin-

tended affects. Firstly, his Catalan contemporaries come off looking rather

badly, except for perhaps the paintings of Ramon Martí, a competent but

uninspired local boy (from Mataró). While on the other hand, French real-

ists like Millet and Carolus-Duran stand up proudly next to Courbet.

But it’s Courbet’s direct and unflinching depictions of the female nude

that put him on the map. His choice to depict the voluptuous reality of

women’s bodies freed him from the strictures of academic representations

and he tackled eroticism head on. His iconic Origin of the World which

depicts female genitalia, surely no longer shocks, yet is it presented here

as a fleeting, apparently embarrassed, projection onto a dark corner at the

exit. The portal from which all of us entered life was a scandal in 1866, and

apparently it still is. Seeing Tàpies’s abstraction of the same subject, one

is somewhat primed for what lies around the corner, and yet…--WS

Thirteen artists working with the moving image provide a rich cinematic ex-

perience inside the darkened galleries of CaixaForum. From a group of both

well-established (and deceased) cinéastes like Andy Warhol and Bruce Con-

ner to a younger generation of artists whose medium is the moving digital

image, the show’s organisers have cut out a clean slice of examples from the

vast genre of experimental film-makers paying homage to commercial movie-

making. I was shocked to discover on the entry wall text the use of the past

tense in describing film as the medium of the 20th century. But it is true: “the

cinema WAS the unrivalled art form” of the last century; now we are digital.

The exhibition starts strong with Warhol’s Sleep (1963) in which the film-

maker silently observes his lover asleep in a pieced-together montage of 50

minutes (edited down from five hours). It speaks of the other-wordly passage

of time experienced by the moviegoer while reality is put on hold. Immedi-

ately beyond the Warhol, the visitor becomes the star by passing through a

cinematic red curtain on which his own image is beamed in silhouette; the

irony is that one cannot view one’s own image while creating it, (Douglas

Gordon, Off Screen, 1998).

There is not much narrative in these films, but among the exceptions is the

haunting Trailer (Saskia Olde Wolbert, 1995) in which a narrator tells the tale

of silent film stars with a tragic demise, who may—or may not—have been

the director’s own estranged parents. In Eight (2001) Teresa Hubbard and

Alexander Birchler leave a birthday cake out in the rain, creating an endless

wet-and-dry scenario for a little girl whose party seems to have been rained

out. In Release (1996), Christoph Girardet splices repeated footage of Fay

Wray writhing against (or it it toward?) the off-screen presence of the giant

ape King Kong in a truly disturbing bit of simulated rape/orgasm, all of which

was right there in the 1933 movie.

My own favourite was the haunting room in which the projected beams

of magic light that create the image on the screen become like a sculptural

presence themselves. Anthony McCall’s You and I (2006) recreates the

smoke-filled movie theatre of the mid-20th century by pumping a gallery full

of fog from a haze machine. I watched a solitary visitor, unaware of my pres-

ence, dance and pose in the midst of the haze, thus becoming a part of the

abstracted moving image, as the artist had intended.--WS

Realisme(s). L’empremta de Courbet MNAC. Until July 10th

El efecto del cine. Ilusión, realidad e imagen en movimiento. Sueños. CaixaForum. Until September 4th

34 ON

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34-35 ARTSPDF.indd 52 5/24/11 12:24:00 PM

3

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Thursday, Friday & Saturday From 23h to 03h Free entranceBorne area, Av. Marqués de l’Argentera, 27 Metro: Barceloneta, Jaume I Estació de França

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Barcelona canalla i sublim. Setba Zona d’Art. Until June 30th. setba.net

Experiencias móviles. Francisco Godia. Until June 21st. fundacionfgodia.org

quick picks ON 35

Unfolding-Andrea Bátor�i. N2 Galería. Until June 17th. n2galeria.com

34-35 ARTSPDF.indd 53 5/24/11 12:24:02 PM

Worth a butcher’s

Read TaRa’S food and dRink blog foR The laTeST gouRmeT newS and ReviewS: www.baRcelona-meTRopoliTan.com

Definitely not one for vegetarians, this restaurant from award-winning chef Dani Lechuga puts the focus firmly on meat. By Tara Stevens. Photo by Richard Lee Owens.

It’s hard to think of a better name for a Spanish chef than Dani Lechuga, although in this case it might be more apt if his apellido was something along the lines of carne or ternera, since

meat—particularly beef—is his speciality. Followers of the Spanish system of accolades will know Lechuga’s name for winning this year’s Cuiner de l’Any at the Fòrum Gastronòmic de Girona, and last year’s Cuiner Jove at the Acadèmia Catalana de Gastronomia. He is, in short, the man of the moment and quite possibly Cat-alunya’s answer to Fergus Henderson of London’s esteemed meat house St John. Let’s see where he takes it.

Meantime, Lechuga’s interest in meat, its provenance, husband-ry and, ultimately, butchery started young—his dad is a butcher—and in September 2010, he published his first book, La Cocina de la Carne. His menu at Caldeni is a direct reflection of his passion, and features Wagyu Kobe beef and Nebraska Angus as well as locally-reared Girona beef that he hangs for 48 days to achieve just the right degree of meaty tenderness. Dense marbling, mel-low-yellow fat, a rich beefy flavour—it’s pretty marvellous stuff, though even I draw the line at eating meat for starter, main and dessert so I checked out the rest of the menu too.

A number of things ticked my boxes at Caldeni. Décor that used block colours ranging from sand to vermillion gave vibrancy to what could otherwise have been a fairly gloomy dining room. No music, but enough of a buzz to keep it from feeling overly serious. An interesting aperitif menu offered an unusual Italian beer laced with coriander, reserva cava and a bone-dry, slightly salty Gutierrez Colosia Fino (a new favourite for me) made an auspi-cious start to a similarly compelling wine list. We chose a Lagar de Merens made with the white Trajadura (otherwise known as Treixadura) and scarce Lado grapes from Ribeiro (€19.75); crisp, aromatic and well-matched to dishes that followed in cleverly syn-chronised fish-meat, fish-meat, fish-meat sequence.

The cecina, as one would hope given Lechuga’s pedigree, was beautifully marbled, delicately smoky and a rich, bloody red that left you in no doubt as to the beast from whence it came. Likewise

Caldeni—València, 452 (Eixample). Tel. 93 232 5811. www.caldeni.com. Mon-Sat 1.30pm-3.15pm, Thu-Sat 9pm-10.30pm. Approx €60 for three courses incl. wine.Tara’s rating: ✪✪✪✪

the very finest bresaola you could hope for but way better (to my mind, cecina, like jamón iberico, is now outshining its Italian counterpart). Home-cured sardines followed, delicately brined in a tomato vinai-grette—sharp but not too acrid—and a better-cured sardine I have yet to come across. There were plenty of them, too.

Pulpo salad was fresh and lively and worked well with lightly steamed artichokes and asparagus spears, a slick of romesco sauce and the delicate kick of shiso sprouts. Velvety trinxat tortilla honed of potato, spring cabbage and pancetta was topped with a grilled scallop and a cube of slowly stewed oxtail. A delightful mix of porky, fishy beefiness.

My dining buddy thought the salmonetes a touch over-cooked. I rather liked the taut, tight flesh framed by crisp skin that would be the envy of crackling anywhere, and I liked the minerally mullet flavours on top of a thick patty of trotter. My only problem was the trotter itself. I’ve tried to love them, I really have, but the honest truth is that with very rare exceptions I can’t get my head around the gelatinous texture. My pal was a fan and wolfed down his own, plus mine too, declaring them magnificent especially with the intense prawn head, fish and pig bone gravy it came with: micro surf and turf you might call it.

And so to the beef. We choose the 48-month-old local steer over flashy imports, which came purely and simply seared, pink and juicy in the middle, tender as butter with the merest smear of Café de Paris sauce and a smoked potato on the side. Nothing more to say: pure bliss! We finished with mango and strawberry sorbets, which brightened us up a treat, paid the rather hefty bill and made a men-tal note to come back for the great value menú del día (€21) as soon as possible. Take it from me folks—everything they say about Dani Lechuga is true!

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36 GASTRONOMY

36-37. food & drink PDF.indd 56 5/23/11 12:15:21 PM

Worth a butcher’s RecipePORTOBELLOS STUFFED WITH GOAT’S CHEESE AND THYME

Ingredients (serves four)· 8-12 mid-sized portobello mushrooms, stalks removed (wipe clean, don’t peel)· 200g hardish goat’s cheese, crumbled· 3 medium-sized shallots, fi nely diced· 6 ripe cherry tomatoes, fi nely diced· Sprig of fresh thyme, leaves plucked off, about 1tbsp· Salt & pepper· Olive oil

MethodPreheat the oven to 250ºC. Mix together the goat’s cheese, shallots, tomatoes and thyme with a fork (don’t mush it up too much as you want the colours to pop). Season with salt and pepper. Spread the goat’s cheese mixture over the top of the mushrooms and place in an ovenproof dish smeared with olive oil to stop them from sticking. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve on hot buttered sourdough toast with an agua de Valencia (fresh squeezed orange juice and cava).

It is not, I admit, strictly speaking the season for mushrooms, but portobellos are around most of the time these days and they make for a rich, yet healthy, summer brunch or supper fi lled with trace

minerals that are otherwise hard to get. Mushrooms of any kind, but particularly the bigger ones, are high in selenium—an essential min-eral for properly functioning thyroid glands and for treating weakness or pain in the muscles. Good stuff then. These are also the easiest thing on earth to make, though I do recommend getting your hands on some decent sourdough for toast (Baluard, Crusto and Hansel are all good, if pricey, sources). Likewise invest in good goat’s cheese. Formatgeria La Seu sells some superb versions, but the harder cheeses work best for this dish.

by Tara Stevens

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GASTRONOMY 37

36-37. food & drink PDF.indd 57 5/23/11 12:15:28 PM

Andrew Morris is a London-based cookbook publisher with 33Books (who, I should point out in the interests of trans-parency, have published my book), who regularly visits Bar-

celona for inspiration. It’s a destination where the prime purpose of visiting is to eat as much fabulous food as possible, he says, and I couldn’t agree with him more. We went for lunch on the beach to talk food, wine and the city’s never-ending appeal for food lovers.

The lunchAndaluz-style chanquetes (tiny fried fish) with partridge eggs, carpac-cio of rape with poppy seeds, crayfish with oyster leaf and arroz del chef (made with smoked rice from Carpier, with artichokes, mushrooms, prawns and baby octopus). The wine was Nou Nat, Binigrau, Mal-lorca (Chardonnay and Prensal Blanc).

Why the obsession with Barcelona? It’s a culture where eating out is an everyday thing. If you combine that with a city that is clearly obsessed with product and ingredients, you get this sympathy of taste available on so many different levels—from tapas bars to three-stars.

Why did you choose Kaiku for today’s lunch?I was talking about wanting to eat seafood with an old friend of mine and he insisted I come here. I owe him a big thank you as it’s stupen-dous and you get to sit looking out over the sea. What impressed me was it’s all about a love affair with the sea and the chef clearly wants to present these products in interesting ways. I’d like to have been with a big enough group to try everything.

What were your favourite dishes?I really liked the texture of the poppy seeds on the carpaccio, which turned what could have been quite slimy monkfish, or at least a very dull, pappy mouth feel, into something that really worked. And I’ve never had smoked rice before so that was new for me; it was com-forting but not overpowering and was great with the artichokes and mushrooms, and especially the mussels.

Andrew also recommends: Last night’s Can Kenji (Rosselló 325, www.cankenji.com) was great: punchy, fresh Japanese food with bags of flavour at bargain prices. And I always go to Quimet i Quimet—I know it comes up a lot, but it’s a crowded, local jewel box of beautiful, sparkling treats where there’s always something more to discover.

KaikuPlaça del Mar 1, Barceloneta. Tel. 93 221 9082. Open Tues-Sun, 1-3.30pm. Menú €13; á la carte approximately €30-€35 for three courses plus wine. Tara’s rating: ✪✪✪✪

Lunch with...This month, Tara Stevens dined with cookbook publisher Andrew Morris.

Chanquetes with partridge eggs

38 GASTRONOMY

38 Lunch with PDF.indd 42 5/23/11 12:16:15 PM

Teresa Carles’ passion for vegetarian cooking is evident when talking to her, for more than 31 years she has dedicated her professinal life to create and cook delicious food.

With restaurants in Lérida and Zaragoza, Teresa has now opened her first vegetarian restaurant in Barcelona alongside launching her own brand of homegrown, quality produce under her name, Teresa Carles.

Teresa Carles:A woman

for whom vegetarianismis a way of life

Teresa Carles · Jovellanos, 2 (entre Pelai y Tallers) · 08001 Barcelona · +34 93 317 18 29 · www.teresacarles.comHorario: de 9h a 00h (Cocina ininterrumpida)

What led you to open your first vegetarian restaurant in Lleida more than 31 years ago?Ever since I was young I have been very aware of the benefits of healthy and natural food. At the end of the Seventies, there were very few vegetarian restaurants in Spain and very few adventurous people so we decided to travel through Europe and the United States to investigate this type of cooking; we were passionate about it and wanted to dedicate our professional lives to it.

How has your cooking developed since then?I’ve always wanted my cooking to be in a constant state of evolution, I can’t imagine

any other way of succeeding and moving forward if you aren’t constantly renovating and recycling ideas whilst having an eagerness and desire to improve.

At the end of the Seventies and start of the Eighties, our dishes were predominantly made from vegetables, wheat and grains but as Spain started to open to the outside market we could access an abundance of vegetables or vegetable-based products such as tofu, seitan, tempeh, seaweed, soy sauce and beansprouts. This dramatically increased the possibilities of creation and innovation. We still continue to research the market and always include new, interesting ideas and produce.

Where do you your products come from?I was born in Algerri, (Lleida). I grew up on a farm, surrounded by wheat, fruit and olive plantations. Many of the products that we use come from farms similar to that which allows us to control and ensure quality from the start. Other products come from small local producers in Lleida and

Barcelona. We are interested in organic produce and prefer regionally produced products, as long as the price to pay for such products is reasonable.

Describe your dishes?Our homemade dishes include delicious combinations of vegetables, wheat, seaweed, eggs, milk and other lactose products, delicately presented and cooked with the passion for food that inspires us.

Who will we find in your restaurants?Surprisingly 90 percent of our clients do not follow a strict vegetarian diet. They like to look after themselves and the majority of their diet is vegetables, however they may occasionally eat high-quality meat or fish. Three out of four of our customers are young women, worried about their figures and health and who, of course, love healthy, natural food.

Teresa Carles:A vegetarian restaurant for everybody

Advertising feature


Bar

Margarita Blue 4BARRI GÒTIC

Located in the heart of old Barcelona, Margarita Blue has become a classic in the city’s bar scene. Delight in the dishes from the ‘‘Mexiterranean” kitch-en, such as a variety of tacos, amazing guacamole, fresh carpaccio and tomates verdes fritos or take pleasure in a drink or cocktail whilst appreciating new music and spectacular shows that alter-nate between theatre and performance art. �

C/Josep Anselm Clave 6 | Drassanes Tel. 93 412 5489 | www.margaritablue.com | Mon-Fri 1.30pm-4pm, 8pm-2.30am, Sat-Sun 6pm-2.30am | RV

Cinebar

Plaza Cardona 4

Carrer Paris 200

Tel. 651 970 971

93 002 2300

Ever wished you could

share Barcelona cocktails

with Audrey Hepburn or

Humphrey Bogart? Now you can.

The newly opened CINEBAR in Plaza Cardona is a

magnet for fi lm fans and the good news is, there’s

another branch opening on C/Paris, 200 (with C/

Enric Granados) this month.

Cinebar brings the golden age of cinema back

to Barcelona with original version screenings of

everything from Hollywood classics to French

New Wave and Italian neo-realism. All fi lms are

screened as a backdrop with subti tles so you can

also enjoy the carefully selected music from the

Thirti es to the Sixti es.

While you’re there, enjoy a ‘cine sandwich’ made

from a selecti on of rusti c breads, a movie-themed

salad, fresh juices, smoothies, proper Italian coff ee

or, of course, a cocktail.

Cinebar is the perfect locati on for your events,

from projecti ons and mini fi lm festi vals to swanky

soirées. So whether it’s a Marti ni – shaken not

sti rred – that you’re aft er or a Champagne cocktail,

you’ll fi nd it at Cinebar. Here’s looking at you kid.





V.O.sV.O.s

VOS Bar Dec 2010.indd 1 11/2/10 12:25:47 PM

V.O.S CineBar4SARRIÀ & EIXAMPLE

Ever wished you could share a cocktail with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart here in Barcelona? Well now you can! Cinebar brings the golden age of cinema back to Barcelona with original version screenings of everything from Hollywood classics to French New Wave and Italian neo-realism. While you’re there, enjoy a ‘cine sandwich’ made from a selection of rustic breads, a movie-themed salad, fresh juices, smoothies, proper Italian coffee or, of course, a cocktail. �

Plaça Cardona 4 | GràciaCarrer Paris 200 | Diagonal Tel. 93 002 2300 | Open 8am-3am

Bar - live Music

Moll de Mestral 6-7, Port Olimpic I L4 Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica

DreaMS4PoRT oLIMPIC

Located in Port Olympic, Dreams is the perfect place to unwind and relax. From 7pm to 11pm enjoy the luxurious outdoor covered lounge, where you can enjoy bottle service with brands such as Grey Goose Vodka as well as all your favourite cocktails, beers and hookah pipes. If you’re a sports fan, make use of their wide-screen TV, showing European football and all the action from the NFL and the NBA. From 11pm join the go-go dancers as they perform to the best house, R&B and Latino music. �

Food&drinkFor more in food&drink

visit our online directory www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/eating-and-drinking

NEWIN F&D

Bagels

Be MY Bagel 4GRÀCIA

Do you dream of great bagels? Then Be My Bagel is the right place for you. They sell authentic bagels from Barcelona, just how you like them.

They have an extensive range of bagels and cakes, from the more classic choices such as poppy and multigrain to delicious and innovative chocolate, almond and coconut bagels - you’ll not come away disappointed. �

C/Planeta 37 (Pl. del Sol) I L6 and L7 Fontana and Gràcia I Tel. 93 518 7151 I [email protected] Open from Mon-Fri 9.30-2 pm and 5pm-8.30pm, Sat 10am-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm, Sun 10.30am-2pm

flahertY'S4BARRI GÒTIC

Since it was established in 2001, Flaherty’s has become one of Barcelona’s best known and busiest Irish pubs. By offering food all day from 10am til midnight (including our popular Full Irish Breakfast as well as group menus), live satellite sports on big screens, WiFi, a sunny terrace and a pool room where you can also play darts, not to mention its very spacious premises, Flaherty’s has rightly become known as the pub that has it all!�

Plaça Joaquim Xirau | Drassanes Tel. 93 412 6263

NEWIN F&D

C/Muntaner 7 | Universitat | Tel. 93 453 6445www.7sinsbar.com | Mon-Fri 11am-3am, Sat-Sun 6pm-3am | RV

7 SinS Bar anD lOunge 4EIXAMPLE E

If you’re looking for a friendly and good value place to get a bite to eat, 7Sins is the place you’re looking for! Our menu has a vast selection of dishes to share as well as a large choice of gourmet 100% beef burgers. After your meal there´s an elegant lounge with chesterfield sofas and impressive decor ideal for having a drink or cocktail. 7 Sins also has a terrace where you can enjoy a meal or a drink outdoors. You can see their full menu at www.7sinsbar.com �

Food & drink June 2011.indd 44 5/23/11 1:19:47 PM

Café – ice Cream Shop

FOOD & DRINK 41

indian - hindu

Mediterranean

C/Bruniquer 26 | Plaça Joanic Tel. 93 210 7056 | Tues-Sun 1pm-4pm, 8pm-11.30pm

Veg WOrlD4GRÀCIA

Discover a world of sensations in a re-laxed and homely atmosphere. Try vege-tarian delicacies from all over the world such as delicious bread home-made in a Tandoori oven and south Indian dishes like Masala dosa and Idly. Daily con-tinental and Indian menus, �9.50 inc. Free soup and salad buffet. �

gOVinDa (Vegetarian)4BARRI GÒTIC

A restaurant veteran for 24 years, Govinda specialises in vegetar-ian Indian cuisine. The international menu features talis, a salad bar, natural juices, lassis, pizzas and crêpes. It offers a vegan-friendly, non-alcoholic and authentically decorated environment with lunch and weekend menus. �

Pl. Villa de Madrid 4-5 | Catalunya | Tel. 93 318 7729 www.amalteaygovinda.com | Tue-Sat 1pm-4pm, 8.30pm-12am, Sun-Mon 1pm-4pm

MOti Mahal4RAVALConveniently located between the Rambla de Raval and Paral·lel, Moti Mahal offers an extensive menu of Indian cuisine, including madras and tika dishes, sheek kebabs, traditional soups breads and biryanis. A large variety of vegetarian dishes are also avail-able. House specialities are the clay oven-cooked tandoori dishes and the tofu paneer pakora. Menu of the day is on offer Mon-Fri for �9.25. �C/Sant Pau 103 | Paral.lel | Tel. 93 329 3252 | www.motimahalbcn.comEvery day 12pm-4pm, 8pm-12am | Closed Tues Lunch | RV

international

Plaça Catalunya 21 | Catalunya | Tel. 93 270 2305 | www.hardrock.com/barcelona | Restaurant: Sun-Thurs 12am-2am, Fri, Sat and hol eves 12am-3am | Rock Shop: Sun-Thurs 10am-1.30am, Fri, Sat and hol eves 10am-2am

harD rOCK Cafe4CIUTAT VELLA

Come and celebrate Hard Rock Cafe’s 40th Anniversary!!ALWAYS – A “Bon Jovi” cover band7th June- 10p.m – Free entrance

Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona offers an inspired, creative ambience with incredible rock‘n’roll memorabilia on display. Come and taste authentic American food. Their barbecue entrées slow cooked in the cafe’s hardwood smokers are delicious. Visit the bar to try a premium cocktail and check out the live music and special events on offer. Don’t forget to stop at the Rock Shop for fi ne, classic, cotton T-shirts or a collectable Hard Rock pin. �

Juice and Smoothie Bar

SanO 4GRÀCIA - BARRI GÒTICWant a healthy, tasty alternative? Try a refreshing SMOOTHIE like Antioxidant, Mango & Passion Fruit or Coco Muesli (�3.80) or a delicious JUICE made only with fresh blended fruit and no added water, milk or sugar (�3.60). Want something savory? Try a tasty home-made bagel (�4) or a yummy muffi n (�2). Can’t decide? Try one of their convenient combos from �4.50. �Gran de Gràcia, 16 | Diagonal | Tel. 93 217 8115 |Jaume I 1, | Jaume I | Tel. 93 310 3247Every day 10am-8pm | [email protected] | www.sanojuice.com

CafeterÍaVil.la flOriDa4SARRIÁ

A little oasis in Barcelona’s Zona AltaCafetería Vil·la Florida is situated in the San Gervasi civic centre, in a beautiful, stately building surrounded by gardens.During the week they offer a la carte or a menú whilst at the weekends there’s brunch and tapas.Breakfasts, premium teas, fresh natural juices, and cakes and biscuits plus healthy, home-made deserts �

C/Muntaner 544 | Putxet | Bus: 64 (stop Munta-ner); Bus: 22, 75 (stop Pl. Bononova)Mon Fri 9am-10pm , Sat Sun 10am-6pm

NEWIN F&D

gut4GRÀCIA

Firstly there’s the food. Using only the finest quality ingredients, the kitchen spe-cialises in Mediterranean cuisine with an international twist and plenty of options for vegetarians. Try their quinoa and tofu burgers or a sinful home-made dessert. Secondly, there’s Gut’s attention to detail and the friendly, respectful service. It’s the perfect place to have a drink and enjoy the night in good company. Try it for yourself and find out why everyone is talking about Gut. �

C/Perill, 13 I Diagonal Tel. 93 186 6360 I [email protected]/ Avinyó, 42 | Liceu | Tel. 93 218 3000

SuKur4BARRI GÒTICLocated right in the centre of the Gotic area, this delightful restaurant invites you to enjoy a wide and tasty selection of Mediterranean and Greek specialties.Their extensive bar and cool atmosphere makes it a perfect place to unwind and relax with a delicious cocktail.Superb quality and price - highly recom-mended. �

NEWIN F&D

to advertise in thissection, please call93 451 4486 or [email protected]& food

drink


Vietnamese

42 FOOD & DRINK

Bun BO ViÊtnaM4BARRI GÒTIC

Satisfy your craving for fresh, healthy Vietnamese food just steps away from the Gothic cathedral. Sit under the leafy trees of the quiet terrace or inside the restaurant which is entirely decorated with bright colourful pieces straight from Saigon. Start with delicious fresh summer rolls, crispy Asian pork lettuce cups, followed by traditional Pho or Bun noodle dishes. Accompany your meal with a fresh and exotic cocktail like the sakirinha (caipirinha made with sake). The menu of the day is an affordable �10 inside and �11 on the shady terrace.The kitchen is open non-stop all day. �

C/Sagristans 3 | Urquinaona | Tel. 93 301 1378 | www.bunbovietnam.com | 1pm-1am Every day

thai

take-away

C/Sabateret 4 I Jaume I Tel. 93 315 2093 [email protected] I www.pimpamplats.comEvery day 1pm-12am

PiM PaM Burger4BoRN

Here quality is of the upmost importance, making it the best burger and frankfurter take-away in town. Special hamburgers, chicken burgers, bratwurst, frankfurters, home-made chips and stroganoff are also available and are all prepared on the premises. �

Vegetarian

aMaltea4EIXAMPLE E

Visit Amaltea vegetarian restaurant where tasty and healthy meals are served in a welcoming environment. Dishes include cereals, pulses and vegetables with home-made puddings. The cuisine is creatively international with care taken to ensure all ingredients are fresh and dishes are well balanced. Menu of the day �10.50, night and weekend menu �15. �C/Diputació 164 | Urgell | Tel. 93 454 8613 | www.amalteaygovinda.com | Mon-Sat 1pm-4pm, 8.30pm-11.30pm, Closed Sun

C/ Còrsega 381 | Metro Verdaguer / Girona Tel. 93 459 3591 | www.restaurante-thai-gracia.com Every day 1pm-4pm, 8pm-12am | RV

thai graCia4GRACIA

Expect authentic ingredients all imported from Thailand and cooked by experienced Thai chefs. The Pad Thai and green and yellow curries have excellent subtle fl a-vours. Simply delicious! The special tast-ing menu for �21 is a huge hit and allows you to try all the exotic dishes Thai Gracia has to offer. An affordable �11 menu del dia is avail-able during the week. The warm hospital-ity and attention to detail to every dish at Thai Gracia will keep you coming back for more. ��

thai thai4EIXAMPLE EThai Thai restaurant invites you to taste and enjoy traditional Thai food with tropical ingredients from Thailand prepared by Thai chefs. They specialise in all kinds of Thai curries. Thai Thai has created a delicious tasting menu for only �24 and a fresh menu of the day is on offer for �9.50 during the week. �

C/Diputació 91 | Urgell | Tel. 620 938 059 | www.thaithai.es C/Princep Jordi, 6 | España | Tel. 663 126 398 | Every day 1pm-4pm,8pm-12am | RV | www.thaithaibcn.com

Delivery

Vitali PiZZa

Special Metropolitan offer: Buy 3 pizzas and get the 4th pizza FREE + a bottle of Lambrusco. �

C. Paris, 109 I Hospital Clinic I Tel. 93 444 4737Gran Via, 931 I Clot | Tel. 93 303 0735C. Taxdirt, 13 I Joanic/Gracia | Tel. 93 285 41 95www.vitalipizza.com

indian - Modern

C/Agustina Saragossa 3-5 (in front of CC L’Illa) Maria Cristina - Tram 1,2,3 L’Illa

Tel. 93 252 3115 | www.shanti.es Mon-Sat 1pm-4pm, 8pm-11.45pm Closed Sun | RV

Shanti4LES CoRTS

Shanti (which means peace in Sanskrit) have selected a rich and varied menu comprised of traditional dishes that offer an authentic Indian experience to even the most discerning palettes. Using classic recipes their dishes respect tra-dition but come with modern presenta-tion. Try their tasting menu for only �24.90 (+IVA). ��

NEWIN F&D

SuShi On the BeaChTwo boys put their heads together and came up with a great idea!Sushi delivered to while you sunbathe on the beach, 7 days a week. Choose between two �10 menus. 4 Prawn Makis with cream cheese, strawberry, salmon, teriyaki sauce and black sesame + 4 Futomaki of salmon and mango + 4 California rollsYou’re just a call away from fresh sushi, madedaily with love, delivered to you while you sunbathe. �Tel. 672 917 174

C/Pasaje Milans 28 | Tel. 93 260 0789 www.gourmet-express.es

gOurMet eXPreSS4BARCELoNA‘Lunch Box’ by Gourmet Express. The best alternative to pizza or Asian food. A new concept in Barcelona; we are specialists in delivering high-quality food to your home or offi ce at reasonable prices. We can de-liver within 30 minutes, exquisite menús, made by our own chefs using only the freshest products. Traditional Catalan and Mediterranean food to satisfy the most discerning palate, thoughtfully served with all you might need, including metal cutlery and glasses. All so you can enjoy food in the comfort of your home or offi ce. Free delivery to readers of Barcelona Metro-politan. �NEW

IN F&D


!*


Hairdressers

Business directory

BeautyHealth &Wellbeing

Home Services

Education

Services

Business

Employment

To advertise in this section, call: 93 451 4486 or email: [email protected]

See also our online directory at www.barcelona-metropolitan.com

Hairdressers 44-45

Bodywork/Massage 45

Veterinarian 45

Doctors 45

Dentists 45

Chiropractors 46

Acupuncture 46

Teeth Whitening 46

Pharmacy 46

Psychologists / Psychotherapists 46-47

Life Coaching 47

HypnoBirthing 47

Construction 47

Interior Design 48

Plumbing 47

Rentals 48

Transport / Storage / Removals 48

Real Estate 48

Locksmith 49

Language Schools 49-50

Translation Courses 50

Summer Activities 51

Piano Lessons 51

Translation Course 51

Design 51

Computers 51

Television Services 52

Tax Services 53

Legal Practices 53

Insurance 53

Financial Service 54

Business Coaching 54

Job Opportunities 54-55

44-49 June.indd 44 5/23/11 1:45:38 PM

BeAUTY | HeALTH | WeLLBeiNG 45Bodywork / Massage

English DentistDr. Nicholas JonesBDSLDSRCS Col. No 4090

General & Cosmetic dentistryOrthodonticsImplants & Tooth whiteningSmile makeoversDiagonal 281(Sagrada familia L5/Monumental L2) Tel. 93 265 80 70 / Mob. 607 332 335

[email protected]

FREE CHECK-UPS

Open Monday to Saturday

Dentists

Doctors

English DoctorDr. Steven Joseph Col nº 38291

BSc, MBBS, DRCOG, MRCGP, MRCPsych (London)Member of the Royal College of General Practioners U.K

Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists U.K

General Practice · Mental HealthExtensive range of primary care services

Access to all medical specialists/investigations

GOOG Lmedicalcentre

Tel 93 330 2412 • Mobile 627 669 524Email: [email protected]

Gran Via Carles III nº-37-39 08028 Barcelona Les Corts

Veterinarian

44-49 June.indd 45 5/23/11 1:45:41 PM

46 BeAUTY | HeALTH | WeLLBeiNG

Manuel Isaías López, MD, PhDChild and Adolescent

Psychiatrist & Psychoanalyst686 991 742

Anna Jansen MADance Movement

Therapist657 183 542

Donna DeWitt MAPerformance &

Sport Psychologist607 636 246

Jill Jenkins PsyDChild Clinical &

School Psychologist935 041 690

Claudia Ros Tusquets MAClinical Psychologist& Psychotherapist

934 102 962 / 657 570 692

Network of English Speaking Therapists

Vera M. Hilb MAClinical Psychologist &Psychotherapist, EMDR

667 584 532

Emma Judge MALicensed Counselor

Psychologist639 041 549

Peter ZelaskowskiUKCP Registered Psychotherapist

628 915 040

Maria Sideri, MScPsychologist & Dance Movement Therapist

655 162 410

Connie Capdevila Brophy PhDClinical Psychologist& Psychotherapist

934 670 650

www.barcelonanest.comAll NEST professionals are Licensed / Certified English - Spanish - Catalan - Dutch - German - Italian

Established since 2000

Norma Alicia León, PhDClinical Psychologist

Psychoanalyst680 971 468

Jonathan Lane HookerPsychotherapist, Counsellor, Coach and GuideJonathan Lane HookerPsychotherapist, Counsellor, Coach and Guide

Jonathan Lane HookerPsychotherapist, Counsellor, Coach and Guide

Help and support with:

• Lack of Energy or Low Self-Esteem• Expat Issues and Adapting to Change• Improving Family and Personal Relationships• Feelings of Anger, Loneliness and Isolation, or Anxiety• Achieving a Particular Goal or Finding a New Direction• Changing Unhelpful or Destructive Habits or Patterns of Behaviour

www.jonathanhooker.comRead more about Jonathanand the above issues at

[email protected] TEL 93 590 7654 MOB 639 579 646

• Changing Unhelpful or Destructive Habits or Patterns of Behaviour

20 MINFREE

INTRODUCTORYMEETING

Pharmacy

Psychologists / Psychotherapists

Teeth WhiteningChiropractor

44-49 June.indd 46 5/23/11 1:45:44 PM

BeAUTY | HeALTH | WeLLBeiNG 47

HypnoBirthing

Life Coaching

Psychodynamically - oriented Psychodynamically - oriented psychotherapycan provide effective treatment for:can provide effective treatment for:

Nick CrossReg. psychologist no. 17158(Col·legi Oficial de Psicòlegs de Catalunya)

Psychologist PsychotherapistPsychologist Psychotherapist

Anxiety & fears • Relational difficulties Depression • Problems adjusting Loss • Trauma Neuroses

Tel:644 193 825

e-mail:[email protected]

You can change the situations you don’t like in your life in a very short time.

Take control of you life and emotions and achieve well-being, joy and personal satisfaction.

You will feel motivated and energised from the very first session.

Telephone: 676 698 529

Life Coach – CounsellorIsabel [email protected]

Plumbing

Construction

Looking for someone you can trust?Call 657 994 630 Same day service

Electricity Air conditioning Plumbing Handyman

C/Alcolea nº42 bajos, 08014 Barcelona

Plumbing and electrical servicesNo job too small or too largeCommercial and residential air conditioningSatellite installation

CAll 657 994 630

Inysi 1-8th.indd 1 4/19/11 2:21:45 PM

44-49 June.indd 47 5/23/11 1:45:46 PM

for Sale/Rent in Sant CugatModernist Villa(La Floresta)

10 minutes from Barcelona. 5 bedrooms, 1500 m2 of terra-ces and park land, private pool, fruit trees, fabulous views, quiet, sunny, move-in condition. Price €790.000.

Call 609 808 608 to arrange a viewing. More info and photos can be seen at

www.villainbarcelona.com

48 Home ServiceS

Transport / Storage / Removals

Rentals

:

GRAHAM COLLINSPROPERTY CONSULTANCY

INTERIOR DESIGN& DECORATION

Puzzled by the property market ?

Need a renovator that speaksyour language ?

Want that designed look on an Ikea budget ?

C/CONSULAT DEL MAR 35, 3er BARCELONAt: 0034 678 75 75 11 e: [email protected]

Interior Design

Real estate

ProPerty rentals and sales in and around Barcelona

Ficasso real estate - www.ficasso.com+34 933 196 176 [email protected]

ProPerty rentals and sales in and around Barcelona

Present this ad for 5% OFF our agency rental feeFicasso

The F ine Art of spanish property

Also temporary rentals for 3-11 months!

44-49 June.indd 48 5/23/11 1:45:49 PM

Home ServiceS | eDUcATioN 49

Language SchoolsLocksmith

44-49 June.indd 49 5/23/11 1:45:52 PM

50 EDUCATIONLanguage Schools

iness Spanish

à

Professional language training esPañol / english / català

Private tuition and workshops for specific purposes in company/ at home or at our premises in Gràcia.Bcn communication. tel. 662 15 12 88 - 639 38 68 24 [email protected]

Clases particulares y talleres para temas específicos en tu empresa/domicilio o en nuestras instalaciones en Gràcia.

Para buscar trabajo: preparación de entrevistas.

Para encontrar trabajo: inglés comercial básico.

atención al público: lenguaje telefónico, recepcion de visitas, redacción de correspondencia.

negociación: preparacion de reuniones, presentaciones y correspondencia relevante.

¡me voy de viaje!: vocabulario básico para viajar.

tengo un examen: preparación de todo tipo de exámenes.

Vivir en Barcelona: Approach to the culture, society and language of the city.

Business spanish: Vocabulary and useful information.

looking for a job in spain: How to deal with a job interview.

Just to get by: Basic Spanish to cope with daily situations.

i have an exam: Exam preparation.

integra’t!!: Basic Catalan to cope with daily situations

Talle

res

Ingl

és

Span

ish

Wor

ksho

ps

50-55 June.indd 50 5/23/11 3:12:18 PM

SERVICES 51Summer Activities

Piano Lessons

BRAND IDENTITYBUSINESS CARDS LETTERHEADS FLYERSWEB DESIGN INVITATIONS

advertising designBROCHURES POSTERSContact Aisling BA in Visual [email protected] +34 699 260 938

ash.indd 1 5/23/11 3:11:52 PM

Design

Translation Courses

Computers

50-55 June.indd 51 5/23/11 3:12:21 PM

52 SERVICES

Television Services

Call abroad from your

mobile at the cost of a

local call!

Dial local number:(640 199 975)1.

2. Call international number: (00 + Country Code + Number)

3. Talk!

In just three easy steps you can now call home for the same price as a national call:

Feel at home with FreeSpeech and their great tariffs that allow you to ring internationally for the same price as to anybody in Spain.

Do you have a tariff

with free local calls? Then you can ring internationally

for free too!

Take away the worry of speaking to loved ones at home, reject the ridiculous prices for international calls and join FreeSpeech today.

Telephone Services

50-55 June.indd 52 5/23/11 3:12:24 PM

BUSINESS 53

Tax Services Legal Practices

Insurance

50-55 June.indd 53 5/23/11 3:12:27 PM

54 BUSINESS

Job Opportunities

Financial serviceBusiness Coaching

Please send a covering letter and C.V in English to [email protected] and mention ref/Metro

Do you want to attend the Brazilian World Cup?

With 55 global locations, THG/SMG is the world largest organizer of Executive Sports Entertainment at more than 350 major sporting events such as London 2012, Brazil WSC 2014, Champion’s league...

Due to our future openings of our Latin American Offices and and unprece-dented growth in both of our Barcelona and Madrid offices, we are interviewing for Bilingual Sales Executive that will be responsible for building a client base by contacting exclusively top level decisions makers, in addition to cultivating and maintaining long term relationships with them.

You may already have 1-2 years experience in business-to-business sales or are looking for your first corporate role following graduation. Either way we can assure you the very best in training and development that will give you fast track promotion and unlimited earnings within the first 12 months as well as overseas posting.

You must possess:

A burning desire to work within ►sales.A strong determination to suc- ►ceed.An ability to work both on your ►own and within a team.The drive to work beyond the tradi- ►tional 9-5 in a challenging role.Fluency in English while other ►lenguage are a plus

a marcus evans company

Corporate Sports Sales Executive(Barcelona /Madrid/ Brazil)

Our commitment to you:

The opportunity to work for a fast ►pace, inspiring companyInteresting career opportunities ►within our 55 worldwide officesContinual internal training and ►development.Unlimited earning opportunities ►(OTE 40k-80K)

50-55 June.indd 54 5/23/11 3:12:28 PM

EMPLOYMENT 55

We offer a job as a travel consultant. In this role you will:

Make travel arrangements •for customers that are traveling on business and are looking for advice and support.Join a multicultural •team that embraces and integrates diversity.Work in a comfortable •and modern work environmentHave a competitive salary•Have a permanent •contract immediately with 2 months probation period.

We are looking for:Native speakers in English, •German, French (fluent in English for the German and French candidates)Knowledge and •experience in AMADEUS Travel reservation system is a MUSTPrevious experience in •Customer Service rolesExcellent communication •and customer relations skillsPrevious experience in •travel related services.Microsoft office knowledge •Flexibility to work in •rotating shifts

Please send your CV to [email protected]

Interested in becoming part of our team?

American Express Barceló Viajes is a travel management company that is looking for talented people with multiple language skills. In particular we are looking for travel professionals who are native and/or fluent in German, English, French and Spanish.

Are you experienced with the AMADEUS reservation system? If so, we have fantastic opportunities to work in our bustling Barcelona European Hub Center.

Qualified and experienced teachers of French and GermanTo teach for prestigious language school in Barcelona – to start in summer and /or academic year 2010-2011.Excellent conditions

Send CV to:[email protected]

50-55 June.indd 55 5/23/11 3:12:30 PM

56 EMPLOYMENT

Talented Telesales Agents OTE 80k

Please send your CV with contact details to [email protected]

Dynamic, fully licensed Equity Advisory company in central Barcelona looking for telesales professionals for its current expansion drive. Minimum of 1 year telesales essential. Bonuses for top performers

56-57 June.indd 56 5/23/11 1:56:21 PM


HOROSCOPEAries You start a period where there could be financial expansion, but you mustn’t let yourself be carried away by whims when shopping. Invest your money in studying.

Taurus It’s a good idea that you change your ideas about money and think more about the bigger picture. Prosperity is better than you thought. If you need a loan, you could obtain one.

Gemini Congratulations! You are in a period of energetic renewal, but take this month’s eclipses into account and reduce your activity as much as possible. Look after your health.

Cancer There will be a lot of changes in your surroundings, but you will be strengthened by them. You have such big aims that you need time to achieve them. You may crave solitude.

Leo Professional horizons widen and you know you can go further than your think. The important thing is the enthusiasm you show in your job. Results may be slow to arrive.

Virgo This is a month with a fast rhythm full of changes. You might find it difficult, but you will have the means to face it. You should pay more attention to your health and relax more.

Libra You are more energetic than last month, although keep taking care of your health and having massages and therapies. Your faith is put to the test; old beliefs will seem false to you.

Scorpio Be moderate in your finances. Analyse things better, be more practical and earthly. If you’re single, it’s a good time to start a relationship that will end in marriage.

Sagittarius You must pay more attention to your health. You are overweight and waste energy unnecessarily. If you have a partner, problems will come out so that you can deal with them.

Capricorn It’s a time to brighten up your life and add a touch of humour to things, as you have a tendency to take everything too seriously. At work, things start to improve.

Aquarius You have the support of your family for everything new that you undertake. Friends may come to stay with you in your home this month. It’s also a time of parties.

Pisces Your health is more delicate and you should pay attention to your stomach. If you take things with more humour, your health will improve. There may be professional changes.

The sights and sounds of summer ar-rive. There’s a crescendo of bangs and booms as kids of all ages grow increas-

ingly impatient to let off their fireworks before the night of Sant Joan, and fill the streets with their premature celebrations. The chirp of swifts as they stop off in Barcelona to snack on flying tapas en route to a summer in northern Europe. The hooting of car horns when Barça win some-thing. A football game, presumably.

Then there are the less welcome sounds. The shriek of tourists when they realise that the ath-letic young man running down the street has their bag. The whistling silence as politicians fail to do anything about it now that the elections are safely over. And the hollow drum-beat of the press stag-ing half-hearted campaigns that have more to do with reader satisfaction than crime solving.

The latest wheeze is an ‘interactive’ map of crime: readers can send in locations where they have spotted pickpockets at work, and a budding intern at the newspaper in question can stick a flag in an online map. It conveniently doubles as a map of Barcelona’s main tourist sites and busi-est metro stations. It certainly doesn’t tell anyone anything they don’t already know. Theft is a prob-lem in the city? Really? It’s heaviest where there are most people? Who would have thought?

The papers have done this kind of thing be-fore, except with photographs of crimes in ac-

tion. That didn’t have any effect either. The po-lice shrug sheepishly and explain, yet again, that they don’t have the resources, and however many times they catch a pickpocket or bag-snatcher, the criminal in question is always back on the street, and probably committing further crimes while the police officer is still filling out the ar-rest report. As with anything else, if bits of your job are unpleasant, unproductive and unlikely to achieve positive results, after a while you tend to stop doing them.

It’s not that an online map of crime isn’t a good idea, it’s just that it doesn’t go far enough. In an age of interactivity, it’s still fairly analogue. Still a bit Reader’s Thieves. But with a bit of tweaking, the input of some hardcore techies (with which Barcelona is awash) and the use of more ground-breaking technology, it could be-come a major tool in fighting crime. Barcelona’s own WikiThieves.

Ironically, the instrument for the fight back could be precisely the object that most thieves end up stealing, either deliberately or as collateral in their pursuit of cash and credit cards: the mobile phone. All it takes would be some clever com-bining of Twitter, scanning recognition software, location broadcasting and blogging. Rather than a static and obvious map, pickpockets’ move-ments could be broadcast in real time. Someone just has to develop an appropriate app for smart-

phone users, which would spring into action the moment they witness a crime, at a metro station, say. Within seconds, a photograph could be up and running online, even as the thief is off and running down the line.

A secondary app could be created so that if you are the victim rather than a witness, when your phone is stolen, it will continue to broadcast its location in real time. Not only would other us-ers be warned of the proximity of a criminal, but you could track the thief down and take what-ever action you think fit. Petulantly demand your phone be returned, perhaps. Beg to buy it back. Or offer the thief a 12-point rehabilitation plan, with some low-paid but empowering job prom-ised at the end of it, to steer them from their lu-crative and lazy criminal lifestyle.

Without the political will to erode the incentive to steal, petty crime will continue. But perhaps if the campaign went viral, it would be slightly harder for politicians to ignore. And it might trig-ger a wave of crime-fighting apps. Exploding smartphones, perhaps, that spray unauthorised users with purple dye. Smart chips for thieves, like chips for pets, with scanners in busy places so you can check them out on your phone. Or automatic ring tones that hector thieves into returning the stolen phone. In the meantime, hold on to your valuables, especially in busy places. Obviously.

--Roger de Flower

Hot spots and WikiThieves

by Nuria Picola www.nuriapicola.com

scoop

By Ben Rowdon

58 BACK PAGE

58 Back page PDF.indd 90 5/23/11 12:19:19 PM

Dial local number:(640 199 975)1.

2. Call international number: (00 + Country Code + Number)

3. Talk!

Call abroad from your

mobile at the cost of a

local call!

Take away the worry of speaking to loved ones at home, reject the ridiculous prices for international calls and join FreeSpeech today.

The launch of the exciting new company, FreeSpeech, al-lows lower call costs from your mobile in Spain to a list of destinations worldwide. You can now make high quality international phone calls at the same rate as national ones. Depending on your arranged tariff, this could mean ring-ing home for free. Join FreeSpeech and remember you will never pay more than a local Spanish mobile phone call.

Do you have a tariff

with free local calls? Then you can ring internationally

for free too!

:The solution to expensive overseas calls, at the same price of a local call.

Feel at home with FreeSpeech and their great tariffs that allow you to ring internationally for the same price as to anybody in Spain.

In just three easy steps you can now call home for the same price as a national call:

fullpage_JUNE2011.indd 1 5/9/11 2:28:32 PMmain pages - June 11 .indd 7 5/18/11 2:39:24 PM

Fantastic Modern town house of 500 m2 - Tres TorresFour-storey house with lift, five bedrooms and bathrooms. Solarium with pool and gym area. Furnished. Price on application. Ref. L0067ba

Fantastic 75m2 attic- Plaça Catalunya

50m2 terrace, living/dining room, open-plan kitchen, two bedrooms, bathroom. Furnished. Parking opt. Price: €2.000 Ref. 1119

120m2 two-storey loft-style apartment - Poble Nou

Two bedrooms, one bathroom, living/dining room, equipped kitchen. Unfurnished. Price: €1.400 Ref. L0097ba

Pres

tige

Rea

l Est

ate

SL

Please call for further ProPerties 93 241 30 82

FOR SALE

R E N T A L S

Luxury 110m2 apartment with 100m2 terrace - Rambla CatalunyaIn classical building, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, large living/dining room, high ceilings, parking. Perfect condition. Price: €890.000 Ref. 428ba

Brand new apartments - Passeig de GràciaExcellent finishes throughout, great views, terraces, one to three bedroom apartments. GREAT OPPORTUNITY. Prices starting from €728.000 Ref. 1120ba

Brand new flats on the seafront Tritón Building located in Diagonal Mar. Covered garden with community swimming pool. Starting price from €340.000 to €450.000. Ref. 1112ba

Large, 220m2 family apartment - Bonanova

Living/dining room with gallery, 15m2 terrace, equipped office kitchen, four bedrooms, Unfurnished. Price: €3.000 Ref. L0106ba

Fantastic 90m2 designer apartment - Gràcia

30m2 terrace, open-plan kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, one bathroom. Furnished. Price: €1.850. Ref L0108ba

Newly renovated 180m2 Two-storey Attic - Eixample dreta Living room, large kitchen, four bedrooms, two bathrooms. Three terraces with fantastic views of the city. Unfurnished. Price: €2.700 Ref. L0079ba


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