Anyone who has gone out through Gràcia has had a drink at the Canigou bar, in the upper part of the Plaza de la Revolucion. Yes, sometimes it’s noisy, because sometimes it’s crowded, but it’s a bar where he has traditionally stayed to talk. Is he bar where you go to have a drink before going to a nightclub, but also the place where you can eat a sandwich before going to the Verdi cinema, or after seeing the film.
It is also a morning bar. It’s actually something different depending on the time of day. Like the neighborhood, it has been changing hours over time. But for at least three decades it has been a place to have a quiet drink. It is welcoming, it calls the usual parishioner, who likes to always go to the same place. Those people who surely have to live longer: lovers of routines.
The fact is that last Friday, 1st of Julythe family that owns the Canigó celebrated its 100th anniversary in a “comfortable” way.as explained Sara Arias Parcerisas39 years old, fourth generation in charge of the premises, a task that he shares with his uncle miquel angelwith his aunt Anawith four other waiters, a person who works in the kitchen and another who is in charge of cleaning.
A warehouse
The one who started it all was Josep Parcerisas, a native of Piera (Anoia), who in just two years did many important things in his life. On July 1, 1922, he paid for the transfer of what was a warehouse, which he converted into a bar. On July 5, according to the documentation, it was officially his. He called him Canigou out of sympathy and allusion to a friend’s bar, who named it Montseny.
Shortly after taking over the establishment, Parcerisas married Ana Colominaand in 1924 they had their only child, Michael. They lived in the spacious loft above the bar and where no one lives anymore: three bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom. The kitchen, the bar.
Three generations lived there. Because the son got married and his wife, Henrietta, Sara’s grandmother, joined the Canigó team. The couple had three children: Mari Carmen (Sara’s mother, now retired), Ana and Miquel Àngel. Whoever frequented the Canigó in the 90s, when it also started out as a nightclub, has to remember the two sisters and their father, who died two years ago at 96, always on the premises. Sara and Miquel Àngel, who had other jobs, ended up going back to the bar. All the family mentioned have worked there.
Hours and workers
When the great-grandfather began his journey, the Canigó opened early, in the morning, and also closed early. He offered many breakfasts, because Gràcia was for decades a neighborhood with factories and workers. Over time, factories closed and needs changed.
Sara explains that they have been adapting to these changes. Suddenly, there was a time when they barely worked during the day, and they delayed the opening. It now opens at 10am and closes at 1.30am on weekdays and 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays they always close.
It is not transferred
Sara went to school in nearby Montseny street, and happily remembers coming back from class to sit at a table to do homework. Not only that: “My mother remembers that as a child, I would often sit at tables with clients to talk with them & rdquor;.
No, underline: this bar is not trespassed. What if they made you an offer? Any. She loves this life and plans to keep it. The bar has overcome the pandemic, although Sara reports that now in the morning there are fewer people.
“There are no waiters & rdquor;, Explain. A sign indicates it at the entrance. He assures that it is not for the salaries, and that the contracts are for 40 hours. But no proposals arrive.
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There has never been a robbery here. “Only once did they enter at night but they did not take anything. My grandmother came down the stairs and asked: ‘Is there anyone?’ & rdquor ;. Nor, she says, do they have considerable messes. Yes, it is true, she says, that recently they have begun to receive some complaints about the noise in the square. That is why the celebration “comediated & rdquor; it was not taken outside.
At the festivals in Gràcia this summer, a cousin of his, son of Miquel Àngel, could make his debut at the bar. Fourth generation, like her. Her fifth is embodied by her son, still small. Time will tell if she ends up serving the drinks that the clients of Bar Canigó calmly drink, while they talk and watch rivers of people pass by on the crowded corner between Verdi and Plaça de Revolució.