Hip-Hop Dancer, Barcelona

My daughter's young hip-hop teacher during a performance in La Masia cultural center in Nou Barris. I couldn't know less about hip-hop being from the old school and born in 63 but I have to admit that movements rock and look swell in a photograph. The most interesting thing was not in isolated frames (come too think of it if it weren't for the clothes and shoes there is no hint of hip hop in this shot) but in the full series: hip-hop dancer.

Dr. Bartomeu Robert Monument by Catalan Sculptor Josep Llimona, Plaza Tetuan, Barcelona

On Plaça de Tetuan, Barcelona at the intersection of Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Passeig de Sant Joan, there is this magnificent monument built in honor of Bartomeu Robert aka Dr. Robert, physician, teacher, renown Catalan politician and city mayor after 1899. Based on a project by Domenech i Montaner, the monument was finished by sculptor Josep Llimona in 1910. It was originally located at Plaça Universitat but later dismounted and stored during Franco's dictatorship. The sculptures remained well preserved till they were set back in place at the new location in 1985. The main figure is on the other side but this group of people representing the Catalan family and Catalan workers really caught my attention, in the morning light against the sky.

Casa Ramon Oller, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 658, Barcelona

Modernista balconies are authentic Barcelona hallmarks. Catalan Art Nouveau is everywhere, in every detail and displayed in full splendor. Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, one of our main arteries holds very good samples of this art such as this apartment building at number 658. The place you see here is a restoration made in 1900-1901. The original house dates back to 1871 and had been designed by Eduard Fontseré. The reform was carried out by architect Pau Salvat i Espasa (1872-1923) later on. Notice the magnificent ironwork especially on the tribune and the leaded glass panels.

Flamenco Dancer: Hands

Flamenco artist during an audition at La Masia de la Guineueta, a cultural institution in Parc Central de Nou Barris. I was there to see my daughter dance, not in this category but in hip-hop and I was sitting in the first row. I took some more pictures that I will probably show soon. Look at the hands and the elegant pose. Such beautiful back and shoulders she has! Happy entering in the new week.

Carnival in Barcelona: La Merce Market

Another picture from this particular series taken in La Merce market last weekend during Barcelona carnival celebrations. I guess it is not very comfortable to work wearing a joker costume but it all helped cheering up the season and the lousy weather.

Barcelona Carnival: Fantasy of a Little Princess

I don't really know what the costume is about. Snow White perhaps. Whatever it is who knows how many fantasies populate this child's mind, how different can she see the world through her rose colored infant glasses. Perhaps this market is full of fairies hiding behind those huge stands from where they gently offer treats. I couldn't resist using the classic color isolation trick.

Barcelona Carnival: Butcher in Disguise at La Merce Market

La Merce market in Nou Barris quarter (Pg Fabra i Puig 270-272) participated as usual in the Barcelona carnival activities. As it is traditional at this time of the year workers wore costumes while serving clients. In the picture this lady butcher with wig and red hat had no problem in skillfully slicing that chunk of meat. Maybe you came out with some artificial hair in your food but who cares, it is carnival time.

Mosaic: Els Gegantons del Pi by M. Guivernau

Mosaic at Barri Gotic by M. Guivernau near Plaça del Pi. I don't remember the exact point. Most of these mosaics are on carrer Petritxol but this one in particular I cannot recall. I have been busy lately so I just post the picture and a short text.

The Arch of Triumph: Celestial Trumpets

Imposing rose the brick walls of Barcelona's Arch of Triumph. Archangels on the frieze seemed to be stalking while pretending to be blowing the trumpets to merrily celebrate victory. I decided to edit the picture with some infrared color and then tinted black and white to add some more dramatism to the image. In case you want to see the whole monument, other details of the architecture or learn about its history please check these previous posts:

• Under the Arc de Triomf
• Arc de Triomf: A Landmark of Barcelona
• Triumph Arch or Arc de Triomphe
• Arc de Triomph Detail with Modernist Street Lamp

The Photographer

Why freezing a fragment of reality when we can live that same reality right now? Why do we collect memories if the past is no more? It was not always so. First we painted a hunting scene on the walls of the cave to evoke our deeds and then it all began. We are extremely fond of memories. We perfected the tools till we imprinted reality on a piece of paper not without effort at first and then we made it universal. Now everybody can be the painter of the tribe. Popularity makes it harder to be original though. Reality is just reality and chances are too many people shoot from the same angle and focus on the same subject. But luckily we are more than button pushers. We carry that magic stuff called soul. We like to find beauty around us, create and obtain self satisfaction with the result, just like the first day in that cave. And just as tools didn't create men but certainly helped them grow the same happens with cameras. With the right gear you can express yourself better but always remember that ancient caveman, the photographer in you.

Immigrants: Through the Mirror

Ghosts pass you by, wandering, roaming the streets like penitent souls. You could swear you saw two of them out of the corner of your eye. You try not to stare at those in another dimension, passing through the mirror. They don't seem to be real, so "different" as they are. And there they go, in silence. They do stare at you from time to time, or so it seems, as if they would like to say something but they cannot communicate with you being on the other side. Someone sent them to that uncertain world to pay for sins that never were. But wait a minute, are you really sure which side you are? What if your side of the mirror is not paradise? Please don't judge other people by appearances, get rid of those prejudices, just who do you think you are? You are nothing but another monkey on the more idyllic side of the woods. Homo sapiens are just a bunch of immigrants no matter what. Who told us to leave from Africa anyway? Humans go from place to place at will. So it has been and so it should be forever more. Borders are meant to be trespassed. So think twice, maybe you are the immigrant next time.

Maremagnum Barcelona, Shopping Center and Leisure Resort: A Bird's Eye View

Maremagnum Barcelona due to its privileged location is a sort of magnet that attracts tourists and locals alike. The shopping center does not hold the best stores in town, neither the best restaurants or the most thrilling attractions in the city but the fact is this renown place has a little of it all and it happens to be by the sea, in this sort of detached wharf where you seem to be floating on wooden planks spellbound by the smell of saltpeter, watching seagulls fly and shoals of fish gather around a crumb of bread somebody dropped into the calmed waters.

You are in Barcelona but at the same time you feel you can watch the skyline from the distance and abstract yourself from the context. Certainly Maremagnum is a must see. The Aquarium, the paintings market under the front pergola and the 3D IMAX movie theater are recommended visits.

As previous posts just offered details I thought it would be better to show the whole scene as seen from Montjuic mountain. Don't forget La Barceloneta in the background

Montjuic Cable Car /Teleferic de Montjuic - Take the Barcelona Experience to the Limit

The Montjuic cable car known in Catalan as Telefèric de Montjuïc, is the perfect spot to take the Barcelona experience to the limit. Not in the middle of the winter of course, although now they are protected against inclement weather, but in the spring as shown in this picture. Knowing you need a glimpse of sunny Barcelona sometimes to better digest your dull skies I decided to drop this image into my streamline now that no one is looking. If you happen to see that lady over there during your visit ask her to please step out of the picture next time. You ought to know it is not the first time a cable car appears here so I will skip technicalities except for a wonderful video for you to get an idea of what the ride on the cable car is like: Barcelona Teleferic

The Cascade Fountain, A Jewel of Catalan Art by Josep Fontser

It is an authentic luxury to walk in Parc de la Ciutadella, contemplating the old pavilions, the museums, the statues, the zoo, the lake or the greenhouse. It is a privilege not only for art enthusiasts but to any citizen who enters this magical place, to have such treasures within their reach. We tend to ignore the obvious though. I think we learn to better appreciate our artistic patrimony when we visit one of those monotonous industrialized cities built on glass and steel where art is just a ridicule pastiche in the nearest mall and we remember what we left at home. Of course Barcelona does not have exclusive rights to consider itself as the mecca of art but we do have a thing or two to congratulate upon. Besides the obvious landmarks in the city, and if I had to vote, this fountain, the Cascade by Josep Fontser, would be in my top ten. On previous posts we saw a detail of Aurora's Chariot and of one of the fountain Griffins.

Art Nouveau Flower Motif on Old Modernist Pharmacy Façade

To welcome the new week I would like to share with you this beautiful flower motif found on the façade of the antique modernist Viladot pharmacy and laboratory once featured in this blog and located if I remember well, on the corner of carrer Bruc and Ronda de Sant Pere. One of those small details scattered here and there in the city that you won't find unless you take a walk out of the usual touristic route.

Police Chase, La Ribera Quarter. Is Barcelona Less Safe?

Police chase I witnessed some time ago in the narrow streets of La Ribera quarter near Santa Caterina market in Barcelona. That day we were taking part in a photo walk organized by Barcelona Photobloggers and suddenly we saw this police car coming right towards us at an impossible speed for an alley like the one in the shot. Needless to say we all stuck our butts against the wall and got so scared that didn't even think of taking pictures. We were standing at an intersection, a cop headed down the street in the image and the car followed but some scaffolds got in the way and they stepped on the gas in reverse in the most pure Hollywood style and went up a slightly wider street. At that point, I remembered the camera and captured this blurry silhouette. I knew it was awful and distorted but I was surprised it had the mood of some documentary shooting. The following morning I read a young man had been killed in the subway and attackers had managed to escape in the narrow alleys nearby although they were caught some days later. Maybe not the same events but it could be.

Well, you know, this sort of things may happen in Barcelona too although it is not an everyday scene.  Or maybe it is but you get to see one or two a year. The fact we are not part of the action does not mean we should look the other way and pretend the problem does not exist.

According to last semester's official poll 43% of participants think the city is worse than before against a more positive 34%. The previous poll carried out in June 2009 showed an opposite result.

The number of people that think local authorities do their job correctly or efficiently is lower than in June but it is still favorable to present town hall administration. There is a certain feeling of being on the right track or so they say, as emphasis is being made on security this year. Results cannot adorn the evidence, 19,6% of citizens mention insecurity as their deepest concern, followed by unemployment voted by 17,6% of participants.

Of course I don't mean to scare anybody: Barcelona is not Sin City!

Bike Tours in Barcelona Waterfront

A bike tour along Barcelona waterfront spotted right in front of Hotel Arts at the end of the wharf nearby, the same day I took this other picture of a man and his bicycle. It was also a foggy morning, pretty much like the ones we are having lately. Yet these people seem to be having fun enjoying the view so imagine how great the experience must be in the spring on one of those bright sunny days watching sailboats coming into the marina or taking a swim after the long ride. Possibilities there are many in the city to go on private, tailor-made bike tours sightseeing landmarks or just the narrow streets of the old part of town and stopping for a refreshing beer and some tapas but finding the best route and the best company I leave up to you since that is not the purpose of this post.

Francesc de Paula Rius i Taulet by Manuel Fuxa and Pere Falques

Walking down Passeig Lluis Companys towards Parc de la Ciutadella right at the opposite site of Arc de Triomf we find a monument that honors city mayor Francesc de Paula Rius i Taulet. This obelisk was built between 1897 and 1901 by sculptor Manuel Fuxà with the help of architect Pere Falqués. The universal exhibition of 1888 held in Barcelona had a significant impact on the economic, cultural, demographic and urbanistic development of the city and much of such improvement is owed to Rius i Taulet as president of the event and as promoter of many projects started as a result of the exhibition. Notice the man with hammer on his left that symbolizes Labor and a lady paying homage to the mayor on behalf of the city.

David and Goliath Sculpture by Antoni Llena

I've always wondered how a sculpture that resembles a kite can be called David and Goliath. Well, maybe if we frame a tiny human shape next to the tripod then everything makes sense. This sort of War of the Worlds machine marching ominously along Plaça dels Voluntaris (yes, not as catching a word as the original "Surrey") was made by Antoni Llena for the Olympic Games in 1992. The day was foggy and not picture friendly but that doesn't mean we have to stay at home. I hope you like it come what may.

barcelona

Barcelona Trees, Our City Lungs: Green Awareness, Health and Other Musings

Barcelona is a city of trees. Of course not as exuberant as we would like but enough to add a note of color, clean up the smog a bit and make people more environment-aware. Catalans care about green. You could say trees are part of the urban furniture. There are plenty of parks in Barcelona and Parc de la Ciutadella in this picture is one of the most emblematic and visited. I have to confess our respect for nature is not as profound so as to go and stretch our bodies standing around a tree so this particular group called my attention. My first thoughts were that it was some kind of pagan ritual calling the powers of Earth and trees in this case cause the man who was leading the exercise was waving at me not to take the picture. Perhaps I was interfering in their concentration. I guess it was only part of some yoga routine. By the way, I read that in Feng Shui, trees represent strength and are considered a source of protection. Whatever the reason they gathered round the trunk for, you have to admit that it was a healthy thing to do much more attractive to the eye that a drunkard sleeping in a nearby bench. Yes, my friends, trees, our city lungs, can filter the air but they won't do miracles!

barcelona