- From 9 to 12 July, 19 establishments will be offering 1 tapa and 1 drink for €5, so you can experience the most authentic and popular side of the Raval.
- The Tapas Route is one of the highlights of a festival featuring 11 stages, music, popular culture, paellas, butifarrada feasts and street activities.
Tapas are probably the most democratic form of gastronomy. They invite you to head out onto the streets, share a table and discover stories. That’s why there’s no better way to ‘rediscover’ a neighbourhood than by going out for tapas. This July, the Raval invites everyone to savour it bite by bite. Because there are many ways to visit the Raval, but few as authentic as sitting down at one of its tables.
So, from 9 to 12 July, the Raval Tapas Route will once again be one of the highlights of the neighbourhood’s Fiesta Mayor. This year, 19 bars and restaurants will be offering a tapa and a drink for just 5 euros – a very affordable way to invite locals and visitors alike to explore its streets and discover the gastronomic, cultural and human richness that characterises the Raval. In fact, the Tapas Route aims to be the best response to certain narratives about the neighbourhood.
Because the Raval wants to assert what it truly is: a vibrant, working-class, diverse, hard-working and welcoming neighbourhood where people continue to share the streets, squares and tables.
19 tapas to discover the most authentic Raval
This year, the Raval Tapas Route extends to more parts and corners of the neighbourhood and, for the first time, includes two venues at the Boqueria Market, thereby strengthening the neighbourhood’s link with one of the most iconic spaces in Ciutat Vella and Barcelona (l’Universal and Clemen’s Boqueria).
Over four days, diners will be able to embark on a tour that allows them to sample a wide variety of establishments and culinary offerings – a route that reflects one of the neighbourhood’s defining characteristics: the coexistence of cultures, traditions and approaches to gastronomy. From iconic venues such as Bar Atlanta and Bar El Toro to new offerings like those at Fat Cat, La Prudència and Las Fernández, not to mention tapas featuring cuisines from around the world, such as those at Nun Cultural Cafè, Chula Vista and El Magraner Boig. Each tapa will be an opportunity to discover a different and authentic way of experiencing the Raval. The Route is complemented by tapas from El Cafetí, La Ravala, La Monroe, Arume, La Morera, Bar Mendizábal, Dr. Beer & Mr Fried, Biocenter, Bar Costa and the aforementioned Clemen’s Boqueria and l’Universal.
The most diverse and popular local festival
The Tapas Route is one of the centrepieces of the Raval’s local festival, which will fill the neighbourhood with popular activities, culture, music and events for all ages, and which aims to celebrate life on the streets and in local shops. With 11 stages dotted around its streets and squares, concerts, family activities, community meals and numerous community initiatives, the festival will once again transform the Raval into a vast meeting place open to everyone. Because there are neighbourhoods you simply visit. And there are neighbourhoods you live in. The Raval is one of them.
For example, at midday on Friday, Carrer Nou de la Rambla will become the neighbourhood’s hub for socialising, with a community paella (free of charge) in aid of the Amics d’Arc del Teatre Association. That same Friday evening, music will begin to play on the stage on Carrer d’en Robadors, where everyone can lose themselves in African rhythms, Catalan rumba and flamenco. Also on Friday night, those looking for a more rock-oriented atmosphere will find it on the stage at Bar La Cobra.
At midday on Saturday, solidarity and sport will go hand in hand with the community sausage barbecue, in aid of the Raval Men’s and Women’s Football Club, which will take place on Calle Nou de la Rambla; whilst sustainability will have its own hub at the flea market on Calle Riera Baixa, a space dedicated to giving second-hand clothes a new lease of life.
On Saturday evening, two of the festival’s most special events will take place: the packed-lunch dinner and a gathering of the drag artists who brought Bar Marsella to life during the 1960s, 70s and 80s; and an encounter with the culture and traditions of the Middle East (Lebanon and Pakistan) on the stage at Nun Cultural Café, on Calle Lleó.
Music, however, will take centre stage on Saturday night, with a variety of venues and performances. For example, on Carrer de la Verge, you can enjoy the hardest-hitting rock at Moebius Bar, whilst lovers of Latin music can dance on the stage at Pantera Mambo. Fans of rap and urban culture will have their own hub on the stage in Plaça Aureli Capmany, where there will be DJ sets, graffiti workshops and much more; whilst electronic music and hard techno will have their own space in Plaça Blanquerna, featuring a headline performance by Aranya Club.
On Sunday, the Fiesta Mayor, organised by the Ciutat Vella District, the Eix Comercial del Raval and the neighbourhood’s shopkeepers and residents, will draw to a close with a community paella (from 12 noon) and music until 10 pm in Plaça Salvador Seguí, hosted by Monroe.
There will therefore be 11 stages and 11 events to suit all audiences. “In light of the image many media outlets portray of the neighbourhood, we want to emphasise that the Raval is not just what appears in the news, but a neighbourhood that embraces its local festival, a neighbourhood of residents who share a table, and of shopkeepers and restaurateurs who, every day, open our shutters and build a sense of community,” says Jordi Bordas, manager of the Eix Comercial del Raval.
In fact, Bordas points out that the Eix Comercial del Raval forms part of the neighbourhood’s Puntos Lila network, meaning that “all venues, bars and spaces at the Fiesta Mayor will be safe spaces against gender-based violence and LGBTphobia”.
Opening image: Tapa from La Prudencia
Source: ACEVEDO COM
