Plaça Catalunya and La Rambla yesterday resembled Sant Jordi before the pandemic after recovering the central and emblematic scene that many Girona residents and visitors already missed after four years of almost forced exile due to the coronavirus. An epicenter that this year expanded to other arteries such as Carrer Nou, Pont de Pedra or Plaça del Vi, with the stands of the political parties. Among the familiar faces, that of councilor David Mascort, whom more than one was tempted to ask about the drought, or Lluc Salellas who, in his first Sant Jordi as mayor of the city, read a fragment in public of Vent de grop by Aurora Bertrana, in an event of uninterrupted reading for twelve hours of works by Girona authors organized by the CUP.
Despite episodes of wind, the weather respected the more than 120 stalls of booksellers, florists and organizations that joined the party, which started with the traditional literary breakfast dedicated this year to the poet and writer Montserrat Vayreda. “It’s always the great unknown, the time, but it seems that it will hold”, Daniele Sabbatini, of the Liberia Empúries, explained when it was not yet noon. Florists like Carla Vert, from La vie en vert, certified good impressions with facts. “We haven’t stopped for a moment”, he assured.
Almost ninety organizations also attended a day that helps them raise funds for their needs and social causes: the care of Parkinson’s patients and their families, the insertion of young people with difficulties or to pay for a volunteering. But at the quintessential book party, money is no obstacle to being able to read. The Association of Neighbors of Santa Eugènia knows this well, who offered used books for free in exchange for a thank you and the will. “Many residents had books they no longer wanted and we thought it was counterintuitive to throw them away”, explained president Reinald Roca in a day in which local authors such as Miquel Martín, Xavier Pla and sports journalists Xevi Masachs and Eduard Solà, with his books on the season to frame Girona FC.
