When we visited Barcelona a couple years back, I noted the patently obvious government make-work construction jobs, and other signs the Spanish economy was not all it had been cracked up to be.
However, the parts of Barcelona we visited by and large seemed full of happy, relaxed folks going about their business.That’s because they were the tourist areas.
The one exception was when we wandered into the El Raval district west of La Rambla. We were following my mom and brother, who were chatting in condition White a half-block ahead, and by the time I myself awoke to what surrounded us, we were many blocks deep in the barrio. I didn’t like what I was seeing at all and cajoled everybody into getting the heck out of Dodge before we got more attention from the barrio’s residents.
Well, the excellent film Biutiful, which should have won Best Picture of the Year were there any justice, takes place primarily in Barcelona’s dark underbelly, El Raval included.
The film’s well worth seeking out. Its depiction of that subsection of the Spanish economy resonates even more given current events in Europe.
For the DOOM!-minded, it would make a good pairing with Time of the Wolf, but that’s another topic.