No, don’t shoot the pianist, please. The artist is not the source of the resentment that burns us these days. In reality, the pianist is the one who gives us comfort in these hard times. Few are fully aware of the sufferings that the average Barcelonan suffers on these dates, of the terrible conspiracy that fate makes hover over his heart. The beers served at the bars set up in the Nord station park on the occasion of the Mercè festivities cost three euros.
“Are we in a pub or what? On top of that you have to get a glass worth one euro”. “But then they give it back to you, right? when you return the glass…”. “And meanwhile I have to be with the damned glass in my hand? And on top of that, a serving of wild potatoes at the convenience store costs five euros. So there is no way to…”. In addition, the sun is beating down hard in front of the main stage, the rogue doll workshop has all the seats occupied until the afternoon, there are no free benches left on the stage located under the bridge, the queue of the video game sponsored by Vueling where they give away yellow backpacks is longer than those at El Prat airport on the first of August. Ah, what weather on the first of August!
But the German acrobat who apparently does the enze on a bar that moves a gigantic mechanical arm reconciles you to the analogue fun unfolding before your noses in these times when virtual recreations are so common. It apparently begins by doing the enze… And don’t think you’ll have many more opportunities to watch so many Ukrainian dancers letting their souls go without going through the box office. Without going through the ticket office, or queuing, or… And the puppets? One of the best things about Mercè is its commitment to ingeniously renewed and updated lifetime proposals.
What happened to Rondinaire is that this weekend he couldn’t go by bridge, take advantage of the last bridge before the happy hour changes and night falls at five in the afternoon. No, many couldn’t get away on the last weekend of summer. Because we are out of money, getting paid the same as always, with olive oil at the price of whiskey and the steep September confirming that the good life is over, that from now on you will have no choice but to face your own life without more romances. Mercè always has a bitter aftertaste, steeped in anxiety and nostalgia. Years do not end on the last day of the calendar. The years end and begin with Barcelona’s festa major. This is why daily complaints are multiplying these days. The return to routine and the same as always confirms in a cruel way that, with luck, we remain the same.
Fortunately, we have here, in the park of the Nord station, a lot of pianists trying their best. Few municipal parties are prepared with the care of the Barcelona celebrations. And the artists are aware that they are in a privileged setting. This year this corner of the Fort Pienc neighborhood has the honor of hosting the bulk of the Mercè Arts de Carrer (MAC), traditionally the most surprising point in the programming of this major festival. Here we find eight stages, and in one corner the smallest discotheque in the world. This decentralized MAC also has stages these days in the renovated Carrer Consell de Cent and in Joan Miró Park. In total there will be more than 300 functions. Theatre, music, dance, circus… Familiar and suitable for all ages, the proposal of the Northern Station, as night falls and the rogue goes to sleep, it becomes even more interesting. Then he will open the disco, the smallest disco in the world.
