La Verneda is named for the abundance of Alnus glutinosa, a tree that in Spanish is called common alder or alno (and vern, in Catalan). Soon this and the other nine neighborhoods of the tenth district of Barcelona, ??Sant Martí, will not be those of the groves, but those of the Gabriel García Márquez library, recently chosen in Rotterdam the best of 2023. Long before receiving such a title it had raised local self-esteem.
The other Guggenheim. The first time that Neus Castellano, the director of the library, heard this expression was in July 2022, when she had not even been open this people’s palace for two months (she loves to use this expression from the American sociologist Eric Klinenberg). Neus, who has worked in 27 libraries and had directed three before this one, still didn’t know much about the area and went out to do some shopping.
“I was walking down the Guipúscoa boulevard, behind some ladies who were talking about the library. I wanted to tell them: ‘I work there!’, but my shyness… One commented that her sister-in-law from l’Hospitalet de Llobregat had phoned her to find out if she had already gone to see her and, as she said no, she replied: ‘Baby Well, see, if it’s the Guggenheim de la Verneda’. She already knew it before, but that day I confirmed it: the library would be a success. It’s called neighborhood pride.”
From neighborhoods, rather, because it is actually in Sant Martí de Provençals, although not even its neighbors are clear about the borders and they do belong to the forgotten city. The library director takes advantage of the report to send a message to the ladies of the metaphor: “If you read this, come see me. I will be delighted to give you a guided tour”. One more. Before they chose it as the best public library in the world, the figures were already dizzying: 1,100 daily visits. And they go further.
Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is surprised by the presence of rats in Versailles. Also the palaces of the people, like all the palaces, have chiaroscuro. Although La Vanguardia does not want to visit the in-laws and shares the hyperbolic admiration of the visitors, it is impossible not to see that there are problems with the glass in some windows and that there are a lack of books and places to study, one of the recurring complaints.
Also, oh, one of the two little trees is drying up (perhaps a nod to the etymological origin of the Verneda) that is next to the radio studio and the assembly hall (which will be too small more than once). This ground floor cannot be called a basement because it is as bright and open-plan as the six buildings (-1, 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4). These and other objections are just a few grains of sand on a splendid, postcard-worthy beach.
Neighbors and merchants praise the optimism and vitality that the son of the telegraph operator from Aracataca has brought. From the bar of the Verín bar, on Concili de Trento street, Treball corner, the waitress Laura has privileged views over the library. The place (familiar treatment and excellent crusty bread sandwiches) has six tables on the terrace and does not rule out asking the City Council for more. “This street has gained a lot of life.”
García Márquez said that magical realism was simply realism. He would love for his district to have a Plaza de la Palmera that was without a palm tree for a long time. There is a school, a driving school, a booth, a petanque club, a real estate development, some shopping malls, a bar, a neighborhood and a La Palmera neighborhood association. But the square lost the hundred-year-old specimen that gave it its name and it took years to recover another one with similar characteristics.
Thanks to the Gabo library (the writer’s affectionate nickname) “for the first time in a long time we feel we are in the center of the spotlight and we have lost that sensation of peripheral neighborhoods”, explain two generations of leaders of the Association of Neighbors of the Palm. For a year now, Javi Sáa has been the president of this combative neighborhood entity. Salvador Mañosas chaired it for 20 years. Both praise what the library has represented.
Residents of the ten neighborhoods of the district say the same. La Pau, La Verneda… And, of course, Sant Martí de Provençals. Even the small Via Trajana, wedged between the train tracks and Sant Adrià de Besòs, draws its chest for this cathedral of books, wood and light. “It is not news that we are opening a library. It is news that we will open this library, so aptly called palacio del pueblo”, say Javi Sáa and Salvador Mañosas.
Javi is a friend of cartoonist Carlos Azagra (his is a poster for the 2017 festival: the neighborhood of La Palmera without a palm tree). He also introduced her to his most universal neighbor: Francisco Ibáñez, who lived on Gran Via with Bac de Roda. Many admirers of the library, such as Encarni, one of the oldest of the day (85 years) would like the space dedicated to the father of Mortadelo and Filemón to be larger.
The transfer does not stop. “We deserved this injection of energy after so many years of work,” the merchants explain. Francisco runs El Cau de Paper, one of the few bookstores that resist, and is confident that “this will not be left alone in the foam of the wave: that in addition to many photos and visits, the reading rate will skyrocket, which is missing” . His business tries it with a shelf dedicated to literary works written by neighbors.
The library is not the only joy. Nearby, in the Pere Calafell building, a municipal music school and nursery will be inaugurated this year. “But we need more and better services for neighborhoods with an aging population, as well as inclusive, green and sustainable environments. And rationalize certain transports. Going now from La Verneda to the Hospital del Mar by bus is complicated”, summed up neighborhood leaders.
Alexandra David-Néel assures that the most wonderful journey begins with one step. The library can be that first step. The staff (as immense as it is scarce: barely 15 people) praises the involvement of schools and institutes, the neighborhood, the Latin American community of… There were months left before the opening and the neighbors went to ask them if they needed anything, if they could help them. It is natural: this is his palace.
