Born in a pandemic, 'The Barcelonian' transcends the digital channel and presents a book that collects the first hundred illustrated covers inspired by Barcelona

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The tedium of confinement sparked the imagination of Alicante illustrator Luisa Vera. For some time he had been playing with drawing postcards of Barcelona - the city where he lives - inspired by the legendary covers of The New Yorker magazine . But in one of those Zoom conversations with colleagues, he suggested that they participate in his fun . And surprisingly, they agreed. And they didn't just accept it, they complied. It was the seed of The Barcelonian, a digital initiative of illustrated covers of an imaginary magazine that shows the thousand and one faces of the city. And the fact is that there is not only one Barcelona, ​​there are as many as the eye can see. And, in this particular case, how they draw it. In less than two years, the covers of The Barcelonian posted on an Instagram account have materialized in two exhibitions and, since a couple of weeks ago, the first hundred have been collected in a book of the same name.



The auditorium of the Urgell Civic Center was packed. There was nothing less. It was the official presentation of the book The Barcelonian , published with the collaboration of Barcelona City Council. The master of ceremonies was the cultural activist Inés García-Albi from Factoria Cultural Martínez, with whom Vera decided to team up when she saw that this entertainment was starting to take shape. Also invited were Águeda Bañón, communications director of the council, and the artist Perico Pastor, author of one of the covers that appear in the first volume of The Barcelonian . "I always say that it is a project that was born by accident and also that it is collective", insisted Vera, who mirrored similar initiatives that arose in other capitals such asThe Parisian and The Milanese . However, he also had to pay the price of growing up, of becoming professional: “When we decided to go beyond Instagram and open the online store, some illustrators left the project. I understand the mistrust, but it hurt. In fact, I was about to throw in the towel."


The precariousness in which illustrators live - first cousin to that of many creative professions - articulated the speech of Perico Pastor from Lleida. "At the end of the 70s, when I went to live in New York, I discovered that illustration was paid, that you called a place, they received you and they looked at your book . That didn't happen here, not by a long shot!” he recalled. "Since Luisa suggested that I participate in this project, I have followed all the covers and I am amazed at the talent in this country, taking into account the rates paid by publishers and the media, which since the 80s have only gone down It blows my mind that with this shit there is this quality. That's why I'm also not surprised to see illustrations by colleagues published in The New Yorker. I didn't get it, but I'm very happy for them", he explained. And the audience rewarded him with the loudest ovation of the entire evening.



Having vindicated the office, it was also necessary to continue to vindicate the book that had brought them together there. "Each illustration is a world and a different view of the city. And, finally, they are all together", Vera explained to The Barcelonian . "Right now we're getting a lot of covers, that's why it's so nice to see different artistic languages. Also that recognized illustrators coexist with others who have just started. They just have to convince Luisa, who is the one who selects the covers. In fact, we receive many proposals from outside, but at the moment we only want people with a very strong connection to the city. And it must continue to be one of our particularities", added García-Albi.




However, there has already been the first spin- off of The Barcelonian : it is called The Zaragozian and it is driven by the Aragonese illustrator David Maynar, author of one of the covers that appear in the book and who was sitting between the public "You've gotten yourself into a mess, but it's a wonderful mess," García-Albi told him amused, who also remembered the boom in imaginary magazines. "This project has spread to many cities: The Madrileñer already exists, in Madrid, and we know that there are similar initiatives in Valladolid, in the Canary Islands... It would be very nice to meet all of us and raise a debate about how we look at cities and also about the precariousness of the profession". Another round of applause and also a glove that Vera picked up to put an end to the presentation: “Yes, we should all get to know each other and continue sharing. This has been one of the great joys that The Barcelonian has given me ."


A multifaceted city


Barcelona can be a corridor of the Boqueria market, a night motorbike route from the Carretera de les Aigües, a day at the beach in Barceloneta, a fiesta major parade, a beer in Plaça de la Virreina and a building of Gaudí But this Barcelona dressed for Sunday also has a dark side. Because Barcelona is also a battle between squatters and riot police, a traffic jam and a drowned cry for help. This does not take away from the fact that Barcelona is also in solidarity, as when it claims the boat of Open Arms, the sellers of the blanket topand the LGTBI+ collective. And also seductively everyday when it reveals the yellow and black taxis, the trencadís, the pigeons, the panots, the wrought iron balconies and the hydraulic tiles. Barcelona is multifaceted, changing, plural, restless and very emotional. So much so that it is impossible to draw two exactly alike. This will be verified first-hand by those who leaf through The Barcelonian , the book that collects a hundred Barcelonas in an illustrated cover format. But it would be a shame to stay here. Behind each drawing is an open door to the universe of an illustrator. Laia Arqueros, Elisa Munsó, Júlia Solans, Patossa, Carmen Segovia, Joan Negrescolor... Why don't we keep pulling the thread? It's the hidden prize of this gem of a post.