A massive and spring-like Sant Jordi

"Sant Jordi is the closest thing to a demonstration, because it's impossible to walk through the streets," expressed one of the thousands of passersby trying to cross a Passeig de Gràcia occupied by large rivers dyed red with roses and constant displays of affection. A festivity during which Barcelona takes to the streets to manifest love, literature, and spring. During April 23, the usual long faces of a workday turn into hugs and kisses, and the take-away coffees that, day by day, occupy the hands of the city's residents are replaced by flowers of all colors and books under the arm.

Because if there is one day that manages to stop the calendar and modify the routine, even if only for one day, it is Sant Jordi, no matter how much, like last year, it falls on a workday again. A unique Catalan tradition that achieves the unthinkable and in which, for one day, Barcelonans reclaim the streets of their city, relegating tourists and vehicles to the background. The city has experienced another record Sant Jordi, with constant crowds from early morning, animated by warm temperatures and without the threat of rain that on other occasions has marred the day.

Thousands of people have gathered in the more than three and a half kilometers that the literary superilla occupies from Gran de Gràcia to Las Ramblas, letting themselves be seduced by the covers of the latest literary novelties, meeting the authors of those books with whom they have shared so many hours and emotions, and exchanging flowers for tokens of affection.

The crowds, which caused long queues of literature lovers in front of renowned writers, were also noticeable even when crossing a traffic light, with agents constantly controlling the main intersections of the city, and with the fixed presence of emergency personnel and vehicles throughout the day, as a measure of the self-protection plan that the Barcelona City Council has applied for the first time this year to ensure a safer and more accessible Sant Jordi. A gigantic mass dance that has not only managed to cut off traffic but has even managed to stop the numerous works that have been setting the scene for months on Las Ramblas, a street that, for the second consecutive year, has been recovered as a space for Sant Jordi, precisely because it was on this street that the literary festival was born more than 100 years ago.

All of this, before the astonished gaze of tourists who watched as red flowers invaded shops and buildings and even shone in the Boqueria, although the roses on the facade of Casa Batlló have once again stolen the spotlight and concentrated the selfies that locals and visitors upload to social media during this day. Some of these tourists were interested and learned about the legend of the evil dragon and the chivalrous Sant Jordi who saved the princess on one of the free tours that, with difficulty in making their way, toured the city. And some of these visitors even decided to join the celebration and buy flowers taking advantage of the occasion.

Although the city center has once again monopolized the major book publishers and rose stalls, the celebration has managed to spread throughout every neighborhood and corner of Barcelona, with more than 450 book and rose stalls occupying seven literary blocks in the districts of Eixample, Ciutat Vella and Gràcia, Sant Martí, Les Corts, Sant Andreu and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. More than 200 of these stalls have become the meeting point between writers and readers who, excited, waited in long queues to meet in person and get a photo of those authors whom they already felt they knew perfectly through their words.

The readers' excitement was such that even the long queues under the sun became pleasant. From early in the morning, hundreds of young people waited to meet Alice Kellen or Inma Rubiales, two of the most requested authors of this Sant Jordi, representatives of the young adult phenomenon, who manage to captivate millions of readers with their romantic novels. Among the people waiting, one could even find young women with their mothers, recently arrived from Andalusia and still carrying their suitcases, who had not wanted to miss the opportunity of their vacation in Barcelona to meet their favorite writers. In the afternoon, these teenagers were replaced by those waiting for the signing of Blue Jeans, author of Canciones para Paula or Buenos días, princesa, who, after more than fifteen years of experience enjoying Sant Jordi, has decided to pay homage to it in his latest novel, La última vez que pienso en ti, which narrates the disappearance of an acclaimed author a few days before April 23.

The long queues served as an indicator of the location of the best-selling authors, even for those who do not consider themselves reading fanatics and who looked for any bench or tree to find out from above who was inside each stand. The best sellers by María Dueñas —for whom numbers had to be distributed among the people waiting in her queue—, Ildefonso Falcones, Xavier Bosch or Javier Castillo have once again captivated the attention of readers.

However, Sant Jordi is not only the festival of great authors, but also established writers and media personalities, ranging from television personalities to profiles that accumulate followers on social networks such as the illustrator 72 kilos or the Catalan influencers Can Putades, share space with amateur writers. With this great variety, Catalan bookstores experience one of their most anticipated days, during which they bill 20% of their annual income. In fact, according to provisional data from the Gremi de Llibreters, this year more than 26 million euros have been billed and 2 million books sold.

National and international authors, some of whom were experiencing the festivity for the first time, such as Pierre Lemaitre or Francesca Gianone, agreed in highlighting the unique opportunity that this festivity offers to talk about literature with their readers. Lemaitre, who was signing copies of his latest title Un futuro radiante, stated that there was no equivalent to Sant Jordi anywhere in the world, while Xavier Bosch agreed in describing this day as a "miracle".

In the same way, Javier Cercas, one of the authors who has generated the most queues and expectation, with his book El loco de Dios en el fin del mundo (God's Madman at the End of the World), one of the most current titles of the day, which traces the spiritual journey of this author, who defines himself as an atheist, with the recently deceased Pope Francis. Cercas shared space at the Central bookstore stand with Irene Solà, who was experiencing another joyful Sant Jordi, receiving her readers with a big smile, sharing reflections and visions on literature while signing her latest work Te di ojos y miraste las tinieblas (I Gave You Eyes and You Looked at the Darkness), without forgetting the success that made her a sales phenomenon, Canto yo y la montaña baila (I Sing and the Mountain Dances).

With all these signings and celebrations of the pleasure of reading, Passeig de Gràcia has once again become the literary epicenter of the day. The surrounding streets, such as Rambla Catalunya, concentrated those who wanted to buy flowers, with red roses being the most bought and given, leaving space for blue, yellow, or pink ones for the more daring. This year, the flowers sold by professionals, such as those from the historic stalls on La Rambla, bore the 'author's rose' seal, created by the Gremi de Floristes to differentiate them and given the wide variety of associations and individuals who sell flowers during the day. A festivity that associations and political parties also take advantage of to make themselves known through balloons, posters, and gifts. And there was even space, in such a crowded area, for demands such as those of the workers of the Museu de l'Art Prohibit who have accumulated more than fifty days of indefinite strike for the improvement of their working conditions and who have taken advantage of their central location, in front of the Finestres bookstore stand, to raise their voices on this festive day.