Cafe Babel: The Secret Charm of Small Barri Gotic Cafes

The narrow alleys of Barri Gotic in Barcelona's casc antic (old quarter) are studded with small bistros that have this sort of deceptive ramshackle appearance. Many of these, are rather mimetic and seem to come out of a lethargic dream when the last rays of the sun slowly disappear at the top of the weathered façades. An enthusiastic clientele of loyals and the usual newbies fluttering from place to place, storm the place to start over the life cycle of bohemian deja-vus. A good idea to attract the prey for the night kill is to use some flashy lure and that is where art comes alive. A nice painting on the metal rolling door sometimes can help the house keep a certain cultural aura that is well appreciated by customers and inadvertently contributes to the atmosphere of an otherwise dull street. Notice this pumping heart at Cafe Babel where all different bloods blend and gush out into one single stream probably an allusion to the famous biblical tower and the notion of a united humanity, speaking a single language. It is a very small place, with just a few tables but artistically decorated. To the sound of Nu Jazz you can enjoy a good menu or a nice drink (they even have absenta) either inside or at the quiet terrace across the street in the middle of Placa dels Traginers just below the remnants of the old city wall: check Plaça del Traginers - A Very Romantic Place an article by Sonia Martinez Argüelo at Barcelona Spotted by Locals which features a picture of Cafe Babel's terrace.

One-Week-Old Yorkshire Terrier Puppy

Some pet photographs well deserve some space in this blog. Granted that dogs are a very well trodden subject when it comes to photography but of course, depending on how they look. I guess puppies are beautiful enough to be portrayed with some decent results so here it goes: a one-week-old Yorkshire Terrier puppy I photographed this weekend for my neighbors who seemed to be very happy with the newborn babies, four beautiful black puppies. The hair comes further on so now they could be easily mistaken for other breeds. If you don't believe me notice the mother's hair on the top right corner of the picture.

A Mexican Hat, Black and White and Musings About the Past

In the streets the most absurd, the most trivial situation may be frozen up and become a scene in your imagination and eventually end up more or less fortunately imprinted forever on a photograph. Some of those scenes acquire more meaning or are better off in black and white or sepia. I don't know why is that so. Have you ever wondered why the lack of other colors turns a photograph into something more artistic, more symbolic, more serious perhaps? And wondering about that, why is it that after ten or twenty years, that significance grows exponentially. For example, I am somehow sure that this modest snapshot of a random guy showing off his brand new Mexican hat along the Rambla de Mar bridge near Maremagnum center, looks better in black and white but I am convinced that twenty years from now (not that it is meant to turn into a famous picture) this trifle, brief moment in time, will evolve into something more artistic, into a sort of message from the past, talking about other times, other people at least to me and my family. It is evident that black and white gives value to images because in our imagination we associate faded, blurry, noisy, black and white images with the past. And curiously enough, although recent generations have been surrounded by color photographs there is something there in the back of our minds that makes the association persist. Maybe it is something about chromatism, dreams, the subconscious mind...who knows. Here is a link to a previous version of someone else wearing a Mexican hat but this time in color: Mexican Hats in Barcelona.

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