Viva Barcelona!

this is a painting i did after coming back from Barcelona, it is about the mix of memories i have about hanging out at the Plaza Del Sol.

Kode & Keno in Barcelonacheck this out

A Random memory from living in Barcelona in 1993:

I was always playing football(soccer) in the plaza del sol in a neighborhood called Gracia. it was an old medieval part of town, one of the small villages that basically got swallowed up in the growth of the city. it was a very hip, very laid back area with little plazas where people gathered and hung out. the plaza del sol was my favorite one because it was so lively. there were several outdoor cafes whose tables often overlapped and there would be performers and people playing games.
this is a video of the plaza i found on youtube, my game used to happen right behind where he is sitting and the cafes were off camera to the left. of course this guy has to rap, because that's what people do there.if you speak spanish and can't understand all of it, it's ok, he's mixing in Catalan.

i tended to sit and draw a lot at first. but as i became more used to the place i became friends with some local guys who played a lot of ball and smoked a lot of hash cigarillos, or "pourros". they were really nice and always brought a boom box and played music like the "gypsy Kings" or Led Zeppelin as if it were their personal soundtrack.

this one day we were playing ball, and it was starting to get dark. my guess is it was a saturday or friday evening because it was a bit too crowded to still be playing a relatively rough game. i was playing defence and the guy on the other team was about to score on me. i blocked the ball and punted it towards the other side of the plaza. only thing was, i punted it way too hard. the ball flies up over every one's head, well, everyone in the game that is. it thankfully cleared the outdoor tables of one of the cafes. i thought it might be ok, but i was still doing the obligatory act of holding my head with both hands with my mouth wide open.

unfortunately the ball was a direct trajectory to disappear inside an open restaurant door. one of the outdoor cafes had an indoor restaurant where people went for a more intimate, better ambiance kind of experience. basically, very well dressed people out on the town for a candlelit dinner. well, we see the ball go right in at a high velocity and angle. the bounce alone was probably going to be over 30 feet. from the sounds that came pouring out of the place it seemed like it must have ricocheted about 5-6 times. there were loud screams, both of the men and women pitch, there was the loud crashing sound of shattering plates and flying cutlery. i think i said something like "oops" and looked at the other guys and shrugged. i half expected a mob to come out with pitch forks and a police chase to ensue.

what happened next, is the clearest, most accurate summation of why Spain kicks serious ass. a waiter comes walking out very quickly with the ball. i get the feeling that we have trouble coming since he seems so determined. but then he holds the ball in two hands, pulls his arms up and back behind his head, and releases the ball towards us with his back foot properly still touching the ground. he had thrown the ball in as if he were a player, proper form and all. not a single curse word, or any angst whatsoever. imagine if Americans could ever be THAT tolerant?!?!