Connor turns thirty and behind that Hugh Grant smile and those britt cool gait hides, he confesses, a true accountant. A much less boring profession if he lives in London, the axis on which the universe of his generation revolves. So his is going to be the perfect party: he has summoned all of his international friends to Primavera Sound. Or rather, in Barcelona, ​​since he “did not change this Spring for its Madrid version, without sea and with deathly heat”. “No, Barcelona will continue to be my placeâ€, he reaffirms himself, with his shy extrovert charm.
At his side, Giuseppe, an Italian computer engineer who lived for a time in the British capital, is the example of the convening power of smiles. They could have filled a castle, but they have rented apartments… In Poblenou, in Badalona… “You name itâ€.
A few meters away, a group of classy young Londoners smile under the millionaire sun of the chilled Aperol stage. Mirror glasses and glitter on the temples. Olivia, finance broker, rounds off the look with a sequined mini dress. The posh folk are hospitable, sharing their orange drinks and matching loquats ripening in pots on this beached platform.
“In London you wouldn’t find such a huge festival, and they barely last a day. Glastonbury? Well, yes, the tents, the mud… It’s not like here. Also, isn’t this smell of the sea magnificent?†says the only guy from this good vibes only group who stays in Alella. Annie, a designer and publicist for an architecture magazine, confesses her desire for Depeche Mode and points out that she loves seeing older people at Primavera.
“Yesterday at the Pet Shop Boys there were a lot of people who have been following them since the eighties. It’s fantastic: this is not for a family audience, but for everyone. By the way, having a free day would be unthinkable in England. And you don’t want to know what this aperol would costâ€. In the background, a naive and sad girl’s voice sings in Spanish: “I’m going to hide in a corner what I thought was love.”
Good vibes and a lot of caring. The sessions on festivals and mental health organized by Primavera Pro find their commercial reflection at the Maybelline stand at the Fòrum. A macro smartphone/panel spits out a questionnaire about your mental balance, to gradually end the stigma. Once you get past the queue, you understand why it’s only made up of girls: the reward is a token exchangeable for liquid lipstick or mascara.
Margarita (under 24, according to the answer to the questionnaire) swallows the tip of a sandwich before chatting with this newspaper. She is Colombian, “from Cali, you know?” Yeah, sure, the cartel and such. “Yeah, but arriving in Barcelona and seeing people wearing Pablo Escobar’s shirt was shocking. Because it is not how the series paint it, although there are very good ones â€. She is a graphic designer, she lives where she wants, although she has been in Barcelona for two years, and in half an hour she starts working on festival tickets. “Yes, I like Primavera, although musically it’s somewhat elitist, right? I miss more metal bandsâ€. Oh yeah!
