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Last posts

Les Gens que j’aime, a romantic hideaway in the heart of Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian, Only-Be

In Barcelona near Paseo de Gracia, you can find one of the most original bars in the city on Valencia Street, in a basement just barely marked. It´s called Les Gens que j´aime and it’s known for its modernist aesthetics, its red velvet couches and live jazz and soul. In addition, a friendly tarot reader offers her services there … Barcelona is full of places that are out of the ordinary for one reason or another: places with special charm because of their original decor, activities that are held there, beverages, music … or all these factors like in the case of the Valencia Street pub called Les Gens que j´aime (ie, “The people I love.”) I discovered this beautiful bar almost by accident, wandering aimlessly one sunny summer afternoon in the Eixample. Incidentally I noticed a few white ball lamps, located almost on the floor, pointing to the presence of a shop in a basement. A silver metal plate and stairs to the entry confirmed to me that there was actually a bar, so curiosity led me inside. Descending the stairs I had to stop for a moment that my eyes become accustomed to the nice cool shade of Les Gens que j´aime … I looked around, surprised by the ambiance of bohemian yet modernist style: Elizabethan red velvet couches, dozens of paintings and old photographs, period lamps … Later I learned that the place has not changed at all this decoration since its opening 1967, when it represented a breath of fresh air during the late afternoon of the Franco era in Barcelona. I sat in one... read more

Horoscopes: Junk or a Blueprint for Life?

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian, Only-Be

We´ve all had the sneaky pleasure of reading our horoscope in the newspaper and most of us don´t really pay much attention to it. But some folk are so deeply involved in birth charts, predictions and the subtle movements of the skies that astrology has become a blueprint for their lives. So what´s the deal with astrology? Is it a science, handed down to us from the ancients, or is it about as useful as any other kind of weird superstition? The short answer is that the jury is still out – but there´s more to the psuedo-science of sky watching than we may think at first. Basically, astrology is about as scientific as medicine. In other words, not very. Medicine is the art of trial and error, and is a good analogy for astrology. Remember when we discovered a new planet? It was Pluto, for those of you born after the dawn of the 20the century! This was good cause for astrology-haters to dismiss the whole thing as lies and superstition: After all, if we have been basing our predictions on missing information, how accurate could it be? Good point, until you remember that no-one dismissed medicine as superstition just because we discovered germs and penicillin. Instead, say the top astrologers, it is important to simply accept that astrology is an evolving art (or science) and that new discoveries are a sign of advancement, not a reason to throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. There is a simple, yet powerful scientific indicator that astrology is not a made-up way to guide our day,... read more

Guy Bourdin has first exhibit in Spain

Mónica Boixeda Madrilenian, Only-Be

Guy Bourdin is one of the most relevant photographers of the 20th century, and is coming to Spain for the first time to present his work in an exhibition in Madrid, that will show the most important moments of his career. Guy Bourdin is one of the most famous fashion and advertising photographers in the world, and although a lot of his colleagues are experts as well, he is also one of the most influencing artists around. For the first time, his work will be shown in Spain in the Sala de Exposiciones Del Canal Isabel II de la Comunidad de Madrid from the 14th of September until the 14th of November. The title of the show “A Message for You” alludes to the complex mind of a photographer, and tries to dissect what it is that he wants to communicate and show to the world. Now the work that he did during his career, that lasted over three decades, will be shown in different art galleries and museums all around the world. For instance in the Victoria&Albert Museum in London, the Jeu de Paume in Paris or the National Museum in China. For this French artist fashion photography has been a means to communicate a message, conveying it by images with a background history, fascinating compositions full of colour. But this doesn’t mean that his imagery and messages were easy to decipher. On the contrary he was deeply influence by the absurd and surrealism. Thereby he changed the way in which fashion and advertisement photography was conceived and this is the reason why he became so famous and... read more