Mass Tourism in Barcelona and Catalan Crisis According to the Media

According to several sources, both local and international, tourism in Barcelona, Catalonia has dropped about 15 percent with respect to the same period last year during the referendum, the violent police repression crisis and the pacific demonstrations of Catalans.

It is evident that figures will not skyrocket in this situation but it must be stressed that this is low season so there is no place for pessimism.

Whoever reads newspaper headlines these days must be aware of one thing that is not perceived from outside this country, the media are always under controlled of certain political groups. After the events of the past days, there are different points of view to evaluate Catalan crisis. Some Catalans have declared a Republic and do not want to follow Spain and its constitution anymore, some other Catalans do believe in the Spanish constitution although they might back up the Republic. There are the ones that are against the Republic, the independence movement but feel more Catalan than Spanish or the ones that feel Spanish but Catalan at the same time. As you see, this is not easy to understand sometimes.

It is not strange then that the media take sides and are biased. Some leftist newspapers have blatantly drifted to more centrist positions or directly flirted with the conservative right. A few are only defending the constitutional rights of Spaniards and thus according to their opinion, of Catalans but there are many who have decided to sell their professional ethic in favor of higher interests who pay their wages.

So summing up, you will hear the word crisis too often, you will hear that Catalan stability is worsening and that economy is breaking up in pieces. Bearing all this in mind, knowing all the pros and cons, I think you are prepared to judge what is really happening in Catalonia and Spain.

Do not be afraid of coming to Barcelona just because of a bunch of headlines written by manipulated newspapers.

Passeig de Colom and Moll de la Fusta: The New Waterfront of Barcelona

If you take a look at the old image you will have a better idea of what the present heavy traffic road occupies in space from the sea up to the buildings in the back. Next to the buildings, we have the view portrayed in the first picture, that is, Passeig de Colom. In the middle of the palm trees you have the highway on the left of the second picture and finally on what is to the sea side of the palm trees you have Moll de la Fusta.

Moll de Bosch i Alsina aka Moll de la Fusta is named after the activities held in this place, the storage and stowing of wood, the very place where the Roman port of Barcino used to be.

As you can assume, the fact that the wood industry among other port activities occupied this side of the city, made Barcelona turn its back on the sea.

It was not until 1982, when the Port authorities yielded the area to the city to build communication infrastructures and 1987 when the Olympics 92 project started, that access to the sea was recovered, something that was bound to alter life in the famous Mediterranean metropolis.

Nowadays, Moll de la Fusta is the stage of great part of the outdoor cultural events in Barcelona as you can see on the right of the second picture, and it is most of all, a beautiful promenade next to the marina, full of artistic samples like the sculpture "Face of Barcelona", the work of the graphic artist and sculptor Roy Lichtenstein, the greatest exponent of American pop art, just to mention an example.
On the other side of the Moll (docks or pier) we can see the Maremagnum Shopping Center and the Rambla de Mar with its drawbridge, which are also part of this change of perspective that took place along Barcelona's new waterfront.

Polychrome Ceramic Work Detail at Casa Comalat by Lluis Bru i Salelles

This is a detail of the outstanding polychrome ceramic work by Lluís Bru i Salelles (1868 - 1952), one of the most important modernist mosaic artists in Barcelona ever. 

Salelles was commissioned by Domenech i Montaner several times. These were his early works that date back to 1900 in his workshop at carrer Enric Granados. 

In 1904 he travels to Venice to learn mosaic techniques that were to influence his prolific catalog. 

The artist was ever present in the vast majority of modernist projects of the beginnings of XXth century and can be admired not only in Casa Comalat balconies and its roof parapet but also in Casa Lleo Morera, Institut Pere Mata, Hospital de Sant Pau and Palau de la Musica Catalana. 

For such admired masterpieces he was awarded the medal of Barcelona International Exhibition of Art in 1911 and the gold medal of the Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925.