There is a method that some consider infallible to know if the festivities of Gracia they are being successful. It is revealed by a man, who prefers not to give his name, from the Plaza de la Rovira, while having a beer at the exit of any bar. “Do you want to know if there are many people? Then go to the Verdi street. If it’s full, they’re a hit,” he says.
And so it is: Verdi is bursting, despite the fact that some neighbors point out that, on this Monday, There are not as many people as they were before the pandemic. Even so, one more year, to enter this route, which this year dedicates its decoration to Don Quixote, the character of Miguel de Cervantes, you have to queue.
These are the first parties in the Barcelona neighborhood of Gràcia without restrictions since the covid era began, two and a half years ago. And who remembers already? “‘Deu n’hi do’ the people there are. I think there was a lot of desire to leave. I see a lot of people,” he says. Laura, a neighbor from the neighborhood who walks her puppy in Tres Senyores street.
This Monday Gràcia celebrates its first day of festivities and, indeed, its streets are full of people. However, even though “many people” and the neighborhood seems to have resumed the ‘pre-covid’ pulse, as recognized from the Foundation Festa Major de Gràcia, There is not “as many tourists as other years”. In 2019, during the entire week of festivities, between 2,500,000 and 3,000,000 people passed through Gràcia. To see if this figure is reached, we must wait especially for next weekend. Today is a holiday and many people are still outside. “We expected a stronger first day,” they recognize, even so, from the foundation.
Fewer tourists, more Catalans
It is noticed, for example, by the owners of the neighborhood stores. Johnson works in a fruit and vegetable grocery store located on the corner of Providencia and Verdi streets. “There are fewer tourists than other years. Yes, there are many Catalans. Sales are going well for us, but we sell more when there are many tourists”, comments this young man. He says that the people who have set foot on Gràcia this Monday come mainly from other neighborhoods of Barcelona, like Sants. “Few tourists,” she insists.
Many visitors enter your establishment to buy fresh water. Johnson asks to wait for the next few days. Perhaps the usual crowd of tourists returns to this neighborhood paradoxically riddled with graffiti who cry ‘Tourists, go home’, ‘Tourists, google gentrification’ or ‘Tourists, go home; pickpockets welcome’. At least eight graffiti of this type can be counted only in the space between Travessera de Dalt, Verdi street and Rovira square.
Month #FeastsofGrace pic.twitter.com/Z3v7KzfYmo
– Beatriz Pérez (@bperezrod) August 15, 2022
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Eric works at a sound desk at the providencia street, adorned with motifs from the ‘La Casa de Papel’ series. And it certifies what Johnson says. “I was on this same street three years ago and I would tell you that there are fewer tourists. There are more people here.” value.
However, if one puts the ear, it is not so difficult to hear voices speaking French or English. The next few days will reveal if the Gràcia festivities break the attendance records of other years, although, for the residents, what happened this Monday is already a success.