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Cultural Activity: Speak Local Be Global 

Last Tuesday I had the privilege of meeting 4 individuals from Barcelona during CEA’s AICAP Exercise: Speak Local, Be Global. The age range varied from people our age (early 20’s) to late 60’s. We met in pairs, I was sitting with another student from our psychology class and the Spanish students were accompanied by one of their classmates as well. The first group we met were two other women, one our age and the other in her mid 40’s. My partner and I had to explain to them that we were at the session as an assignment for our class that was studying the psychological aspects of culture rather than just the language.  We asked them what they thought some of the cultural differences between the States and Spain and discussed with them some of what we were learning. They were laughing because the last session they had one of the American students asked them why people walk so slow in Barcelona. We explained that she may have asked a question like that because that’s a common stereotype we have about people here as well as how we’re so used to our time oriented values at home, which results in a seemingly fast paced way of life. We laughed a lot in this group and they gave us a lot of suggestions of things that they like to do in Barcelona. The woman who was in her 40’s had recently moved to Barcelona from southern Spain in order to get a job. She said she started to take this English class because it was necessary to know the language for almost all the business jobs she was applying to.

The next group that we talked to included a boy our age and a woman in her 60’s. Since we were doing a lot more talking in Spanish this round our conversation was a lot more limited (due to my very poor Catalan speaking skills).  It was interesting to see the cultural difference that existed not only among the different countries but also due to a generational difference. One of the questions my partner and I were asked was why we studied abroad, and if it had anything to do with the club life. I was embarrassed that this was one of the assumptions a local would have about study abroad students. I tried to show them throughout the rest of our conversation that our interests lied outside of just the night life and tried to demonstrate our enthusiasm about getting to know their culture during our time here.

During these meetings with the Spanish students I realized that I had a stronger cultural identity than I thought. I think this was because questions were being asked about what we think the differences between our cultures are and what we thought of one another’s culture. I learned that although I take pride in where I come from that I also feel guilty about a lot of the “side-effects” of growing up in the States. I took a language course all throughout high school but being bilingual wasn’t the norm and it certainly wasn’t necessary for us to learn a second language. English is used so globally that we don’t emphasize the importance of knowing other languages.

It was definitely a very valuable experience to be able to speak with people from Barcelona and discuss our different cultures. I thought it was a great direct application of what we had been doing in our classes in CEA and would definitely have done it again!

We didn’t take any pictures at the event but here are some pictures of Barcelona that I took for my photo journalism class!

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I’ve now been to the bunkers a few times with my friends and with my family. The first time I had gone without any knowledge of what the bunkers were but when I returned with my family we had just discussed them in class and I was equipped with the knowledge to become their tour guide. The bunkers were built during the Spanish Civil War with the intention of them being used as anti-aircraft batteries. They were supposed to defend Barcelona from the bombings that were dropping on the city. Now what remains are these ruin-type looking walls and it’s an incredible viewpoint that is a 360 panorama of the city. On one side you can see the coastline and buildings like Sagrada Familia or the high-rises in La Industria.

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CULTURAL ACTIVITY

I always heard about the tangible intensity that was present in the Camp Nou arena but I never understood why that strong of a passion was present. Coincidentally, that week in my history class we were learning about the War of Succession and Madrid’s victory. We were toured around el Raval where 300 years ago people’s shops were burnt down and the people were tortured as a result of their resistance to the crown. Due to the union of Spain and the Madrid power at the time, the Catalan culture had been stripped. Their language was not allowed to be spoken and their economy and taxes were now property of Madrid. After learning about all these events I began to understand the power of the 300 yearlong push for independence.  I also now understand why speaking Catalan is so important and when you decide to choose to speak Spanish or English you’re sending a certain message. When I first got to Barcelona I thought I would have an easy time picking up Catalan, having a general understanding of Spanish but I quickly realized that although they may sound similar they are actually very different languages. I always thought Catalan was a Spanish dialect, but in history we learned that they just have very similar roots in other languages (mostly Latin), and that it could offend some people to call Catalan a dialect.

I decided going to a Barca game was an experience I couldn’t leave Spain without. I went into it very excited to observe what I learned in class to my time in the stadium. I arrived not even two minutes late to the game and had no issue getting into the stadium because everyone had already been seated (and most likely had been sitting there for a considerable amount of time before the game started too). This was the first observation of dedication to the team and of the passion for the game. I had grabbed some popcorn with my friend and we were munching while we watched. I noticed that we were among very few people who were doing anything but staring intently on the field. Unlike the home games that I’m used to, no one was on their phones, no one was chatting or making side comments, and there was no obnoxious bantering between individuals. The stadium was quiet until the other team had fouled and ear-piercing whistles went off all at once. The Barca fans were signaling their disapproval for the ref’s call by making these noises, which was a completely new sound and experience for me. Every noise produced by the crowd was orchestrated by one person near the goal. He would introduce a new Barca chant and everyone would follow suit. I’m used to seeing three competing, sloppy chants go on at once in the stadiums at home. No one in the Barca stadium was noticeably drunk like they would be at home either. To the Catalans, the games aren’t as much a fun, social, drinking event but a statement about their pride in the city.

When Barca scored the entire stadium would erupt and rejoice. It was happiness and pride that can only be described as contagious and would send chills up your back. I don’t think I would have appreciated and have respected the experience nearly as much without our guest speaker or having learned what I have in my courses this semester. I’m excited to share this foreign experience with my sports fans at home.

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Upon arriving to Barcelona I was very eager to try the new foods that Spain had to offer. I’m known among my friends and family for being a “food enthusiast” and always prided myself on my enthusiasm for trying new dishes. My favorite foods from back home involve pretty much every cuisine- ranging from Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and Italian. With all that being said, I thought I was more than prepared to encounter a new food culture. However, I quickly found out that I was wrong.  

The first night we went out to eat and I already knew what I was looking for, “paella and sangria”, what I thought were the core foods of Barcelona. We stumbled into a restaurant off the city’s touristy hub, “Las Ramblas”, and I ordered “arroz negro”, which I assumed was paella with black beans in it. When I received it and saw the completely black dish with mystery contents I knew I should have done some research, but it was too late.

The chef was already eagerly watching for me to take my first bite. After a few small nibbles I decided this dish’s presentation and taste weren’t for me. It was only when we were leaving that my friend revealed to me where the black color came from: squid ink. Hearing this made my think I was going to get sick, considering I barely even eat seafood. None of us being satisfied with this new cuisine, we immediately wandered into the nearest Burger King.

I didn’t realize at the time but this was a result of being in a new culture and confronting their different customs (such as food), and as a result feeling uncomfortable. It isn’t atypical for sojourners to seek their comfort foods in situations similar to these. In my Food and Culture class we have discussed our “tastes”, and how our food preferences are almost entirely determined by the culture we grew up in. In reality, the squid ink paella didn’t taste bad, I was just never exposed to squid ink before and the unfamiliar sight and taste of it was more unattractive than the actual food. Now that I have lived in Barcelona for about four months I have been able to note my evolving “taste”. I used to strongly dislike tomatoes and now I not only like them but also thoroughly enjoy them. Prior to my study abroad experience I would never think of eating seafood but now I find myself occasionally ordering it for myself. I can see the direct correlation with my increasing time in Barcelona and exposure to it’s gastronomy and my increasing openness to the foods here.  Now knowing what I have learned in class about taste and its cultural origins it will be very interesting to see how my own taste expands as my traveling expands as well.

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FIELD STUDY #3 EL RAVAL

1.              Describe the Spaces for Public use in Raval Area. Peolple, public spaces, stores and private areas.

 The idea in creating public spaces in El Raval was to create an area for the local people of Barcelona. The area of Passeig de Gracia and the right part of the gothic area was for tourism and commercialism but the city wanted to keep an authentic spot in the city for locals and residents to live and enjoy. The public spaces such as the schools, hospitals, libraries, churches, and parks were to revamp the area that was considered “the ghetto”, which was inhabited by prostitution and drug dealing. The public change of putting new public establishments up was in order to attract a new social fabric in the area. Public housing was offered for people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. The idea of the public spaces was to give the people a safe and flourishing environment to improve and begin to flourish themselves. This transformation took place before the summer Olympics in 1992.

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2. Where is Raval placed in the City Map. The most expensive area of the core of Barcelona for public use.

Raval is located between Parallel and Ramblas. It has gotten to be such a desirable place to live due to its convenient location and authentic culture. It’s located right next to Ramblas, which draws you right to the beach, it’s neighboring the gothic district as well as center city.

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3. Make a list of Public buildings and explain its uses. What kind of people are the target of these buildings? Do you think this area was planed for youth?

Some of the public buildings we visited were the CCB- Centra Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Placa dels Angels (The Angel Square, Social Housing), MACBA- Contemporary Art Museum and UB. The modern art museum contains art that is aimed to attract the youth and the openness of the square that’s in front of the entrance promotes a fun hangout area for the youth as well. UB is among one of the most well known public universities in Spain and is so popular because it is a safe zone from police and young adults can go there and not have to worry about being bothered by authority. You can see a lot of young people gathering and using the open space to doing activities such as skateboarding.

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4.              What signs can you see in this neighbourhood that explain its nature (stores, bars, public buildings, street art, etc…). Take photos of 5 examples that justify your answer and show symbols of alternative culture in the area.

The area of Raval has a lot of grafiti that reflects the resident’s artsy characteristics as well as the area’s openness to self-expression in the younger generations. The stores contained a lot of cutting edge clothes and jewlery, music places, new and trendy restaurants, etc.

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5. Conclusions: Why do you think the area of Raval district of Barcelona has become one of the centres of alternative culture in Europe during that period? Why do you think this space have determined people’s action?

I think Raval has been able to preserve and promote such a unique environment because it has been unweathered by tourism and commercialism. Typically, cities and the outside of cities are effected by the market’s desire to meet tourist’s demands (ex: Ramblas trading its authenticity for tourism revenue). This area was created as a haven for locals from the city center. I think that this is an area that local people view as an area of free self-expression and has bred the altrenative culture that we can see today.

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FIELD STUDY: EL BORN

1. Make a list of five streets dedicated to craftsmanship or trades and describe them. What were “Els Gremis” (guilds)?

The Guilds were associations of craftsmen whose communities and practices were located in El Born. The Guilds were all governed by a very rigid and specific set of rules that were unique to each guild. In order to be considered a craftsman of a certain practice you had to be very skilled and knoweldgable about that specific craft. This requiered a considerable amount of training and testing.

Five examples of the streets dedicated to the craftsmanship/ trades include

Carrer dels Cotoners (Cotton Producers)

Placa de Llana (Wool Producers)

Carrer de les Candeles (Candle Producers)

Carrer de Sabateria (Shoe Producers)

Carrer de Semelores (Flour Producers)    

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2. “La casa-taller” (The house-workshop) was the typical craftsmanship family house. The same place to live and work. Describe how spaces and stories were organized in a “Casa-taller”.

The House-Workshops were comparable to small studio apartments. The space was organized in a minimilized fashion because the purpose of these homes were just the necessities- sleeping and eating. They were small in order to encourage time spent outside of the house and spent perfecting and performing crafts/ practices. These houses have tiny windows that are lined on top of one another that show the outsiders where the staircase is. The order of the stories were organized in a way that allowed the richer people to live on the bottom and avoid walking multiple stories. This was important during these times because there was no water supply in the house and fires were common, so being on the bottom was crucial. The “richer” people who lived on the bottom consisted of the workshop owners and the higher stories consisted of the workers and servants.  

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3. Observing the buildings of this area of Barcelona, mention some of the main architectural aspects that distinguish the craftsmanwork buildings to the industrial production ones. For example, materials, spaces or structures of the buildings and streets.

The buildings in the Guilds are distinguishable first through the materials that they were built with. This area was constructed with mainly wood and stone which contrast the newer buildings in later times that are constructed mostly of steel. The streets are narrow and tangled, this helped with keeping and invaders/ intruders out of the city walls and the people within the Guilds protected from harm. The closeness of the guilds also assisted in allowing people to easily access other workshops and get what they needed.

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4. Find the cultural relation of this five places cited bellow to catalan culture. Take on account the different historical periods in each case.

 a) Santa María del Mar: this was the church of the guilds and was the biggest governing power of the people at that time. The church was what brought people structure and was a uniter as well. This church is consistent with the simplistic theme that was prevalent during the Catalan culture at that time.  

 b) El Mercat del Born: built in 1873, this market’s purpose was for the workers of the guilds to buy and sell their goods publicly. This market was made with iron, the icon material of Catalan at the time. Iron is also seen on the workshop’s balconies and in a lot of the columns throughout the Guilds.

 c) El Fossà de les Moreres: neighboring Santa Maria del Mar, this placa is a memorial site for the Catalans who fought against the Castilians who invaded Catalunya and stripped the Catalans of their culture during the War of Succession. There is a flame that is forever lit (an eternal flame) in honor of the fallen soldiers as well as those who lost their shops, houses, families, culture, etc. as a result of the War of Succession.

 d) La ciutadella Park (The Fortress of Philip V by 1714): built after the War of Succession, this park stands as a symbol for the centralized government of Spain, and is perceived with a lot of hate by the Catalans as it is a reminder of the Castilian victory during the War of Succession. However hated, this was the only green space in the city of Barcelona for many years.

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5. After September 11th 1714 the decrees of Nova Planta were proclaimed in Catalonia by Philip V. Mention the main changes in catalan society doing a little research after the Field study.

The decree instilled the Cadastre- a new tax system that helped build the citadel. The Cadastre also is what officially abolished the Catalan culture by banning their language. This is what most people credit the major turning point of Catalunya’s history at that time.

  6. What is el Consolat de Mar?

This was the judicial branch that was put in place to settle commercial disputes. This body was set up by the Crown of Aragon in order to avoid involvement of the Spanish crown.  

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1.Roman Monumental Influence. These photos feature the Roman Monumental influence on remains such as the walls, towers, sewer system, public baths, and streets. (Each photo has a caption with a more detailed description of what each item is and it’s function).

Today, a lot of Catalan buildings are reminiscent of Roman Barcino. You can walk through the Gothic Quarter and admire similar arcs and pillars that were so prominent in Barcino. What stuck out to me was how the old walls, sewers, baths and so on were all made out of stone, this was to ensure a sturdy and strong city. Today when you walk through Barcelona most buildings are modern and made out of various materials. However, the Gothic Quarter, has for the most part, remained true to its history and mimics the same stone appearance as it did during the time of the Romans. 

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2. Roman Religious Artifacts. One of the first items I found in the museum were the remains of the Roman House. This was the Barcino Episcopal Complex and is referred to as the “Christian nucleus of the city”. 

The second item that is featured is the doorway which only the bishop could use. It led to the cathedral as well as the baptistry. 

Barcino was originally Polytheistic, which means they believed/worshiped many Gods. However, Christianity eventually became the core religion when the Romans took control, making it a monotheistic city. Religion was probably the most important component to this city, or any city, that is governed by their church. The evidence is seen through how much of the city had revolved around the religious buildings. 

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3. A huge recognizable trait for Roman Architecture are the columns in front of their buildings. There were a few displayed in the museum that have remained from Roman Barcino. These column type buildings can be seen on a lot of buildings in Barcelona today, as well as on buildings all over the world, such as the US’s White House. 

Another construction similarity we can see today from Roman Barcino are the dramatic arcs in front of buildings. These seem to be popular around the port especially and is shown above on a “newer” building on Barcelona.