The true Barcelona

The journalist Beatriz Silva (my wife) and the photographer Lorenzo Moscia have produced a wonderful portrait of Barcelona. Beatriz writes "The monumental transformation undergone by Barcelona with the 1992 Olympic Games has failed to make the diverse working-class city full of contrasts disappear where Pablo Picasso began painting in 1896. It is not necessary to venture too deep into the narrow streets of the El Raval or El Born neighborhoods to discover the Barcelona of the belle époque where prostitutes wore the best clothes to welcome the sailors and where it is still possible to get drunk on absinthe. Despite being one of the richest cities in Spain, Barcelona has a poverty rate of around 18%. This figure is even worsening due to an economic crisis that has pushed up unemployment in Spain to 27%. This situation particularly affects vulnerable groups such as the elderly and immigrants who are forced to search for scraps of food or beg to survive. The number of people sleeping on the street has grown by half in just five years."

Read more and see the pictures by Lorenzo here.