In two neighborhoods of Barcelona, ​​Sant Jordi has performed a small miracle. In Sarrià , he managed to get the booksellers of La Llibreria de la Plaça to set up the stall as if nothing had happened. In January, the bookstore burned down, but the sisters Rosa and Maria Bassedas received so much support from the whole neighborhood that yesterday their stalls occupied a large part of the square.
“A neighbor has left us part of her house to use as a warehouse,” explains Rosa, overwhelmed by the displays of affection they have received. Now they are with the paperwork and the rehabilitation of the premises, fighting to open soon. “We’ll see if we can raise the blinds of the bookstore again before the summer.”
A decentralized party has been established in Plaça de Sarrià , where the neighborhood buys books, roses – they are hand-wrapped at the flower shop on the corner – and then buys desserts from the patisserie, where yesterday they sold cakes in the shape of book, with titles such as KRTU, by J.V. It goes without saying.
At the stand of the A Peu de PÃ gina bookstore, Carme Riera signed books and expressed her Sant Jordi wish: “May Carmen Balcells’ dream of turning Barcelona into the world book capital, Barcelona Latinitatis Patria, come true” .
At another end of the city, in Poble Sec, the miracle happened in a bar. In Carrer de la Bòbila, in September 2021 Juanpe González opened the La Cañada bar, opposite the Candaya publishing house: “Last year we had a small Sant Jordi party on the terrace because we had some friends who were publishing books, and we did it with three small publishersâ€.
The success made other publishers want to sign up, and this year nine have joined. “They are small publishers, who do not have access to large spaces”, continues Juanpe, who explains that they have been able to cut off the street and set up the stalls thanks to the Association of Merchants of Poble Sec and El Paral·lel and of the district.
On a small stage, performances followed one another, such as that of “Sergi Felipe, my friend from the Municipal Band of Polo Norte and Tejero”, declares the bartender from Terrassa. “They are all friends and customers. We are a bar that already has cultural programming, with small concerts, literary presentations and performing arts. The artist is Sara Serrano, my partner, who has led the production and coordination of the day’s events”, he concludes.
St. George thaumaturge.
