The most popular items on Barcelona’s Rambla are cheap souvenirs, cannabis sweets, jugs of sangria, mobile phone cases… And visitors make ham sandwiches on the floor in front of the Carrefour, photograph a woman in disguise of Marilyn Monroe hanging from the balcony of the Erotic Museum, haggle with street vendors who offer bracelets in exchange for will, magnets for one euro – or six for five – and fans for two – or three for five -. And what came first, we may ask, the egg or the chicken, supply or demand?
Visitors to La Rambla take advantage of the midday happy hour to drink liter jugs of sangria or beer on the terraces for 15 euros. He doesn’t tend to complain. The price and quantity seem convenient to you. Then the jugs cost 20 euros. Champions League matches fill the terraces. Bachelor or bachelorette parties abound earlier in the spring. They are some of the most frequent postcards of the most visited promenade in Barcelona. There are shops full of magnets and key chains on both sides.
The shops of the I love cannabis type have also aroused the curiosity of tourists for some time. They are the main addition to the commercial fabric of the area. In addition, with many smiles, as if they were promoting a restaurant, the catchers of the illegal cannabis clubs offer them cocaine, ecstasy and speed. At the height of Portaferrissa. Psychotropic treats and drugs of a lifetime compete with visitors in search of adventure. Then what is known as a quality tourist prefers to take a selfie next to the Canaletes fountain and then go shopping a few streets up.
Low cost tourism is condemning the commercial offer of the Rambla. The infographic that accompanies these paragraphs illustrates how the roughest monoculture is consolidating after the ups and downs of the pandemic. The historic establishments – the Moka, the Núria, the Amaya, the Cava Universal, the Cafè de l’Opera…– seem like intruders in this postcard. A few weeks ago, the first establishment here to put up the sign that was being passed around, after the outbreak of the virus, a souvenir shop next to the club of women who strip Dollhouse, reopened, once again full of magnets and key rings
At the moment the Rambla has 38 shops full of souvenirs. And also 16 in theory of clothes that are mostly confused with memorabilia, with many Barça shirts and others with rude messages or the image of Snow White sniffing traces of cocaine. The eleven sites of the old birders are also dedicated to waffles, milkshakes and souvenirs. And the marijuana shops, which before the pandemic were hidden in the secondary streets of the Gòtic, now add half a dozen to the Rambla. Mobile phone case stores complete the picture.
“The problem is the demand – explains Fermín Villar, from the association of residents and traders Amics de la Rambla -. The offer adapts, and what are these tourists looking for? Cheap mojitos on the beach, drunken routes in the Gòtic, and on the Rambla, magnets, key rings, mugs, tin cans, cannabis clubs… And they find it all easily. As long as the city does not control its public space, this visitor will continue to come. The quality tourist is not the one who spends the most, but the one who respects the most, and walks the Rambla at one point and then goes further up. The City Council must enforce the rules. In addition, in the heart of the promenade, there are a few flower stalls that have been empty for years. Through its concessions, it could have a greater influence on the commercial offer on the Rambla. We could dignify the souvenir a little, right? The Xancó shirt shop was transformed into a craft shop for tourists. Not all are magnets”.
And the municipal restrictions on the opening of new businesses so that the place does not become an immense terrace draw administrative paradoxes. Here there is no way to get a license to set up a new premises, but you can get permission to inaugurate a hardware store, a bookshop, a flower shop… Most of the shops for cannabis-related products, the most prosperous , they open as flower shops, for the seeds.
And anyone would say “what about me? I never go down there.” Answer: the Rambla is the main showcase of the city, it marks the reputation of all of Barcelona. If the Rambla seems dirty, the visitor will return home saying that all of Barcelona is dirty. It is the corner of the living room for our guests. In addition, this axis anticipates in a lysergic way trends that ultimately affect the rest of the city.
Amit Sharma runs a dozen tourist-oriented businesses in the area. He explains that most visitors want to go home with a bunch of gifts that won’t cost them money or cause problems on the plane. That’s why they buy so many magnets and key chains. “Many retailers focus on these products and forget about the image of their stores. In addition, the pressure from municipal inspectors is constant. That the souvenirs must be at the back of the store and things like that. That’s why so many retailers offer so many Snow White snorting t-shirts. We try to take care of our image and offer more products, such as Indian women’s clothing and silk items. We also have an ice cream parlor Ben
The pandemic brought down many shutters here, closed a lot of establishments and lowered real estate pressure, and the turnover of businesses also raised hopes. Considered the worst brewery in Barcelona, ??it gave way to a five-star hotel aimed at visitors from the United States, the Yurbban. “It seems that the opportunity brought by the pandemic to renew the offer of the Rambla, to offer an image closer to that of the Rambla Catalunya or the Passeig de Gràcia – says Norma Galofré, of Yurbban Hoteles – was lost . La Rambla has value in itself and is full of stories. Visitors interested in gastronomy and culture appreciate staying on the Rambla. And we recommend their historic businesses. But after a walk they prefer to move beyond Plaça Catalunya”.
“La Rambla’s offer is rónega – acknowledges Xavier Cuenca, spokesman for the former birders – and we do not contribute much to improving it. But we sell what the City Council leaves us. Our stops are concessions”. For years, the Consistory has been looking to evict these traders to free up the space they occupy in the upper part of the central section. The dispute awaits judgment. Meanwhile, the former bird watchers continue to process a popular legislative initiative to declare them an immaterial cultural asset. “We have been on the Rambla for generations. We have no particular interest in waffles. We want to rethink our activity with the City Council. With Ada Colau it was completely impossible. Let’s see now…”
“Yes – intervenes Miquel Laborde, from the real estate consultancy Laborde
The large premises once occupied by H
