Barcelonian tips

When moving to a new country, there are some unconditional things to deal with, in order to live in peace. By reading this article, you'll become familiar with the Catalan regulation and organisms that aim to help you with it.

First of all, your situation depends on your country of origin. If you are a citizen of the European Union (EU), and/or if you are from a State that is member of the Schengen Area, it's gonna be easier for you to live in Barcelona. 

Indeed, as you may know, the Schengen Area, formed by 26 countries, abolished any form of border control. Moreover, if you are from the EU, you don't need a visa to move from a country to another.

    Full Schengen members (EU member states which have implemented the Schengen Agreement)

    Associated Schengen members (non-EU member states which have implemented the Schengen Agreement)

    EU member states which are bound to implement the Schengen Agreement but who have not done so yet)

    EU member states outside the Schengen Area

If you come from the rest of the world, you should ask for a visa in order to be allowed to take up residence in Barcelona, and in Spain in general.

Once you're in the city, you must think about paperwork. The very first thing to do, if you're here to work, is to ask for a NIE - Número de Identidad de Extranjero - compulsory to sign an employment contract. After that, you should get some information about "la tarjeta sanitaria", that is to say, the Spanish medical card. The first year that you own this card, you'll be able to read "acces catsalut primer nivel", meaning that you only have access to general practice. However, if you need a specific care, a committee regularly meets in order to define the real needs of each one. From the second year that you have the medical card, it's indicated "acces catsalut segon nivel", and you'll have free access to every kind of medecine.

Lots of organisms in Barcelona are here to help you to understand the functioning of Spain. The first one is the SAIER - Servei d'Atenció a Immigrants, Emigrants i Refugiats - located in Avinguda Paralel·lel, 202-204 (metro station: Espanya, L1, L3). It has existed since 1989 and its goal is to help imigrants and refugees who live in Barcelona. Then, the SOAPI - Servicio de Orientación y Acompañamiento para personas inmigradas - counts an office in each districte. It gives general information about rights and duties, administrative steps, the area knowledge, etc. The OACs - Oficines d'Atenció Ciutadana - also exists in every districte. It aims to facilitate the administrative steps.

About specific needs, you should take note that the PIADs - Puntos de Informació y Atenció a las Donas - are here to help women when it comes to discrimination or violence. There's one of them in each districte. The "oficinas d'habitatge" aim to help people to buy or rent social accomodations in each districte. Barcelona Activa, located in Carrer de Llacuna, 162-164, is an organism that may help you to set up your company in Barcelona. Finally, the "oficina d'atenció del consorci d'educació de Barcelona", located in Plaça d'Urquinaona, 6, helps families to put their children into the educational system.

Some interesting phone numbers:

- emergency phone number: 112

- Police: 092

- Firemen: 080

- ER: 061

By the way, you may wonder what a "districte" is. Actually, Barcelona is divided in 10 districtes that are administratives areas, in order to facilitate steps. In these districtes, you can find barris, that are neighbourhoods.

Barcelona's districtes

Barcelona's barris

I really hope that this is gonna facilitate your arrival in that beautiful-sunny-hot city! =)

Noisy nights

You may have chosen Barcelona for your holidays, internship, studies or new job thinking that you'll be able to party hard at night all year long. That's true: one of the first thing I was told by my flatmate was that the city counts more than 5.000 bars and pubs. It has also more than 30 discos.

But the thing that you probably didn't think about was that there's actually laws against the noise, even in a city like Barcelona.

We, interns in 1GlobalTranslators, are all used to partying together, and the 3 last home parties we participated actually ended with the police's arrival. The fact is that, you won't have any trouble til more or less 2 in the morning, but after that, you should really pay attention to the noise.

The fine for too much noise is 75 euros (the police doesn't come first to warn you guys, they charge immediately), and the price gets higher depending on the number of people. Thus, we all were once in a massive home party. The police came and asked everybody to go out, counting each person leaving the flat: we were more than 80. And the really bad surprise was that when there is actually more than 50 people in a "piso", the "multa" price is 200 euros! Don't trust that they won't come to the poorest neighbourhood because one of the 3 parties was in Raval, the most legendary "barri".

Other piece of advice: be really careful when you drink alcohol in the street because if the police sees you, you may be charged 13 euros.

Now that you're aware of the sentenced you risk, have good night in Barcelona city!

La tentación de Existir: a Black and White Retrospective

The “Fundació Foto Colectania” is a private foundation inaugurated in 2002 in the district of Gracía, Barcelona, whose objective is to diffuse photography and collections through exhibitions and activities such as seminaries and conferences. 

The exhibition "La tentación de existir" (The Temptation of Existing) compares two essential works of two Sweden authors of the second half of the Twentieth Century: Les amies de Place Blanche of Christer Strömholm and Café Lehmitz of Anders Petersen. They are two photographers which have the same way to understand the world around them. In the works of  Strömholm and Petersen, the teacher and his pupil, is present a Nordic melancholy  and a strong empathy for the people portrayed. 

Christer Strömholm (1918-2002) is known for his intimate black and white street photography portrait series. For him photography was not aimed to describe the reality. His idea was that the work of the photographer starts from himself because the image is in his head and not in front the camera.
In the late 1950s and early 60s, he lived in Paris and he created his most famous book, Les amies de Place Blanche, portraits of glamorous transsexuals in the red-light district around Pigalle. He described it as a book "about insecurity, about humiliation, about the quest for self-identity and the right to live".

La tentación de existir: Les amies de Place Blanche

The black-and-white photographs, shot at night capture a lost Paris, subterranean yet lively, at a time when General de Gaulle was intent on creating an ultra-conservative France with strict Roman Catholic values. The "night birds", as he called them, worked the streets around Place Blanche hoping to raise money to travel to Casablanca for the expensive operation that would complete their gender transformation.
Strömholm like his subjects, worked into the early hours, sharing with them their early afternoon breakfasts, watching them put on make-up and clothes, going down with them to the streets as they solicited for clients. This was a sort of insider reportage based on trust and friendship. 
More than once he affirmed that “Working with photography is a way of life. When I looked to my photos I see that each one is a self-portrait, a part of my life”

La tentación de existir: Les amies de Place Blanche

The transsexuals of Place Blanche led a hard life and often struggled to survive, but in the photographs, what is visible is a sense a camaraderie between the "girls" and between the photographer and his subject. Besides, Strömholm's surprisingly intimate portraits form a magnificent and vibrant tribute to these girls. His photo-essay raises profound issues about sexuality and gender. The subjects' exaggerated self-image shows their often unrealizable dreams and desires. A book of longing and desire, a true classic of postwar European photography.

La tentación de existir: Les amies de Place Blanche

Anders Petersen, a Swedish photographer born in 1944, had been Christer Stromholm’s pupil for one year, between 1966 and 1967. Then, in 1967, he started a project called Café Lehmitz, which takes its name from the bar in Hamburg (Germany) where Petersen used to photograph the late-night regulars - prostitutes, transvestites, drunks, lovers and drug addicts. 

La tentación de existir: Café Lehmitz

The photographs are not intended to judge, they are really close to the soul and the mood of the people depicted, they offer a glance of reality. About the experience in Café Lehmitz, he says:

"The people at the Café Lehmitz had a presence and a sincerity that I myself lacked. It was okay to be desperate, to be tender, to sit all alone or share the company of others. There was a great warmth and tolerance in this destitute setting."

The book - published in 1978 by Schirmer/Mosel in Germany – became a milestone of European photography; one of its photos was used by the American songwriter Tom Waits for the cover of his 1985’s album, Rain Dogs. 

La tentación de existir: Café Lehmitz

On Erik Kim’s – a street photographer – blog, we can find the list of the 10 things Anders Petersen may teach you about street photography:

1. Shoot with your heart, not your brain: “I am more using my heart and stomach and I go for that, it keeps me going”, he says. “I don’t use the upper-half so much when I am shooting – it is more after when I am shooting when I am looking at my contact sheets, and then I try to analyze and put things together”.
2. Create photographs with more questions than answers
3. Use a simple camera
4. Style isn’t something aesthetic: Petersen’s style is more related to the approach – empathic and human – he as with the people he photographs than with aesthetics.
5. Be a maniac, obsessive, photograph a lot of subjects.
6. Get close to people
7. Photography is a self-portrait of yourself
8. Focus on content, not form
9. Photography is about solutions, not problems: as Petersen declares, “photography offers a lot of opportunities. For me, the camera is like an entrance to the private lives of other people. And if you are curious like me, it is a fantastic tool”.
10. Keep an innocent eye, watching things as if it is the first time you do that. 

The exhibition was inspiring: both the artists are original and they allow subjects usually unpopular or discriminated to find their legitimate space in the history of photography. 

Federica and Carlotta

El Raval, the true essence of Barcelona

Barcelona is a multicultural city, having absorbed elements of a lot of cultures from all over the world. It is characterized by a wide range of different locations, you can have a good time at the sea, have a walk through the mountains, appreciate modern areas, or visit the old city centre. 

However, if you really want to enjoy the true atmosphere of this incredible city, the only thing you have to do is to get lost in the Ciutat Vella, a magic neighborhood full of small streets, hidden bars and shops, and secret places to discover. Ciutat Vella is divided in four main areas: the most famous Barri Gotic, Barceloneta, Sant Pere and last but not least, the Raval.

El Raval in particular is one of the most attractive and fascinating neighborhood in Barcelona, one of the most authentic and genuine. It was born as an expansion of the medieval defensive walls of the city, surrounded by Poble Sec district, Sant Antoni district and Barri Gotic. It hosts 50000 inhabitants from all the world in just 1,1 square kilometres. 
Originally it was home to giant vegetable patches grown to meet the needs of the city, then with the Industrial Revolution they were transformed into factories, but it is only in the 20th century that the Raval became more and more populated. The south area of the neighborhood became the real "red light district" of Barcelona, characterized by overcrowding, prostitution and drug trafficking, and the situation didn't change until the government decided to start designing an urban renewal plan in preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics Games. New houses and streets were built, as well as new parks and squares. In addition, they built the famous Rambla del Raval in the hearth of the district, characterized by the enormous cat sculpture designed by Fernando Botero.

Today Raval is a neighborhood full of life, where art and night life meet in colourful streets. It is home of many theatres, cultural centres, galleries, academies and museums like the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) or the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB), that allow new artists and intellectuals to emerge. Moreover, its lounges, nightclubs, bars and lots of live music will entertain you all night long for sure!

There are even some classics gems such as the Bar Marsella or the London pub, where the likes of Hemingway, Picasso or Dalì often went to drink a cup of absynth or beer. Finally, the Boqueria indoor market, the vintage shops in Ribera Baixa and the Filmoteca de Catalunya are some of the many treasures that reside in this fascinating neighborhood.

The Shadow of the Wind: a Barcelonian story

"This city is a sorceress, you know, Daniel? It gets under

your skin and steals your soul without you knowing it."

You can easily guess the name of the city described above: Barcelona, of course. The quote is taken by a novel I've read some years ago - and again and again over the years, The Shadow of the Wind, written by the Barcelonian writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón in 2001. The novel has quickly become a worldwide bestseller, and it has sold 15 000 000 copies all around the world. 

The Shadow of the Wind

The story unfolds in Barcelona, in 1945: on one cold morning, a librarian brings is only child, Daniel, to visit the Cemetery of the Lost Books, hidden in the gloomy alleys of El Raval. The librarian wants his child to adopt a book, hidden in one of the old library's shelves, and Daniel chooses La Sombra del Viento by the unknown artist Julián Carax.

Daniel is enchanted by the book, the first one that has stolen his heart:

"Few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a palace in our memory to which, sooner or later - no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover or how much we learn or forget - we will return".

He decided to inquire into Julián Carax mysterious life, incapable of understanding why nobody knows the talented author. The plot follows Daniel's investigation over Julián's life, bringing to light a bleak, long story that has been buried within the depths of oblivion, unmentionable secrets and obsessive romances, surrounded by the horrors of the Spanish Civil War - which is over during the narration, but revived through flashbacks and the characters' memories.

The novel's genre is difficult to define: Bildungsroman - since the novel is shaped on Daniel's personal growth, noir and, above all, gothic, because of its gloomy atmospheres and its light and dark contrasts.

Regardless of its literary value, I suggest you this novel because of the setting, too. Reading it, you will explore Barcelona's barrios and travel across the city. In the following map, the crucial spots of the novel are listed.

The Shadow of the Wind walking tour

In conclusion, if you are searching for an interesting, exciting and intriguing novel about this beautiful city, you definitely have to read The Shadow of the Wind, which the Daily Telegraph describes this way:

"The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art. I couldn't put it down. Enchanting, hilarious and hearthbreaking, this book will change your life".

No review could depict it better. 

Carlotta Neuenschwander

El castell: a Catalan tradition

Last Sunday, in front of the Sagrada Família, a typical Catalan tradition was taking place: human pyramids, called castells. 

Castell

The custom was born in Tarragona almost 200 years ago and it spread across all Cataluña. A castell is a human tower of different heights – depending on the number of people who take part of it, divided into various segments:

• La pinya: it is the base of the castell and the segment composed by the hugest number of people. People who constitute la pinya not only sustain the tower, but they cushion possible falls. La pinya amortises between 40 and 60% of the fall. 
• El folre, las manillas, and los puntals standing upon la pinya to reinforce el tronc.
• El tronc is the most visible part and it determines the difficulty of making the castell, determined by the number of people involved and by the height and number of rows.
• El Pom de dalt is the superior part of the tower, crowned by the enxaneta, a kid who puts his feet on the top, raises his arms and does the aleta, a form of victorious greeting to the crowd. 

The enxaneta

The origins of castells have their roots in the Baile de los Valencianos, a dance realized during some religious processions and characterized by different sequences, among which there is the development of a human construction, too.

The first documented castell happened in Cataluña, in 1770, in Pueblo del Arboç (Tarragona). Only twenty years after it the name castell was adopted, in order to differentiate it from el baile valenciano.

A special and fascinating characteristic of these human structures is the motto, which is: "Força, equilibri, valor i seny" (strength, balance, courage and common sense). 

In fact, castellers – the people who made up the castell – need to have some features:

• Strenght: indeed, the first castellers were farmers, able to hold great weights. Nowadays, a casteller is still a stocky person.
• Balance – and trust. In these situations, trust in the others is crucial, in order to feel supported by those who stand below the tower and who have to hold you.
• Courage - especially for children forming the highest levels of the castell. 
• Common sense – performing requires a huge concentration and good sense. Any distraction or error can cause the fall of the structure.

Los castells were recognized as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, on Jordi Roigé’s proposal. The proposal, dated back to 2006, was welcomed by the entire country and it got the solemn support by the Parliament of Cataluña in April 2008. In Julio 2009, the Spanish State approved the proposal, and the application was formalized on August 28th, 2009, in UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Finally, on November 16th, 2010, los castells became part of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, among other 200 elements coming from different parts of the world and relevant for their peculiarity.  

Why do they perform this tradition in front of the Sagrada Família? There are two main reasons: first, Antoni Gaudí – the famous Catalan artist who projected and designed the Sagrada Família, whose building started in 1882 – was inspired by los castells in the conception of the cathedral, especially for the creation of its towers. Gaudí himself, talking with the architect Cèsar Martinell, established a parallelism between los castells and the towers of his cathedral, since they were built with the same principle: a strong and solid basis and a structure that gets progressively thinner.  Second, in el barri de la Sagrada Família there is a group of castellers, called els castellers de la Sagrada Família. 

Castellers de la Sagrada Família

The group was founded on October 20th, 2002, on Sunday: that is why each year, on Sunday closest to October 20th, they celebrate their birth performing this tradition. 

El castell is something that you should see to better perceive Catalan atmosphere and to learn more about Catalan history and traditions, so, keep you updated about the upcoming events!

Carlotta Neuenschwander and Dario Morra

The Poblenou Cemetery: a Journey into the History of Barcelona

                           

Why Cemeteries are important? They are important because if you know them, this will help you to know the history of the city and the nature of its people, since they represent a patrimony of the place.

In ths case The Poblenou Cemetery (in Catalán “Cementiri de Poblenou”) is the most ancient cemetery of Barcelona. It is located in Poblenou district in Barcelona and it is an authentic open air museum waiting for a restoration necessary to preserve its artistic and historical richness.

Historically it was conceived as a solution to the  unhealthiness of the parish graves present inside the city. It was inaugurated in 1775, but destroyed few years later by the Napoleonic troops. In 1813, it was request to a young Italian architect, Antonio Ginesi, to build the outdoor area. The Neoclassical style reflects the tastes and the political aspiration of the new emerging classes of the city,  the businessman and the indianas manufactures. In 1821 it was used in almost its totality, due to a terrible epidemics of cholera which caused thousands of dead.

Since its inauguration the Cemetery has had a lot of modifications and amplification: the most important one was in 1849, where Joan Nolla build the open area of the pantheons where is concentrated the majority of the works of well-known architects and sculptors of the time. In this new space is evident the will of the new Barcelonan bourgeoisie to exhibit their social prestige.

Apart from the artist values, a cemetery is important also because is the witness of the historical and social processes that marked the evolution of the city. You could see the ideals and the ambitions of its citizens. Besides, you could see not only the success of the new businessman, but also the misery of the poor, relegated to a common part with very modest graves.

You should know in fact that in 1854 the was the fall of the city’s wall and the consequentially expansion of the urban city. Such event symbolized the strengthen of the Barcelonan bourgeoisie which is visible in the Pantheon area, where the will of social and cultural differentiation can be noticed.

In the Cemetery there are the graves of a lot of men and women relevant for the history of Barcelona, such as the businessman Bonaplata, the men who first construct the steam loom in Spain and imported the new one from England, the engineer Narcís Monturiol, who invented the first submarine,  the novelist Narcís Oller, the most important catalan realist and naturalist writer of the period.

Besides, you could see also a lot of people awarded for their social virtues. Indeed, the popular Barcelona has its heroes. Some of them lost their lives helping ill people during epidemics, such as doctors, others fought to defend freedom during the Napoleonic invasion. However, the most popular “hero” is Francesc Canals Ambrós, known as “el Santet”(the Saint). He was a young man of modest origins which was well-known for his goodness and charity. After his dead, at 22 years old, became object of popular religious devotion. The “Santet” cult is still practiced nowadays.

Impressing is not only the amount of flowers and gifts left near to its grave, but also the numerous piece of paper, postcards, or sheets put inside the case of his grave to ask him for graces or just to thank to him for a received grace.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that important monument and works of art are present, the cemetery is still almost unknown also to Barcelonans. Undoubtedly this is due also to the abandonment suffered during decades. Fortunately, this tendency was reversed in the last years thanks to the Funeral Services of Barcelona which are aware of the artist value of the cemetery.

The municipality organized twice per month guided free tour visits, both in Catalan and Castellan on Sunday morning, for more information visit the official website: http://www.cbsa.es/