A Sant Jordi of contrasts. From sun to hail and wind gusts, with the predominance of intermittent rains and a gray sky. After overcoming a pandemic, the fear this Saturday was that it wouldn't be a good day, but the option of a hailstorm had not been considered. Barcelonans, always unaccustomed to rain, were shocked when, shortly before one in the afternoon, icy balls began to fall, small but no less impressive. It was the last thing needed. "Like the Bible," declared Virginia Feito, who debuted this April 23 savoring the success of Mrs. March (Lumen). "They had told me it was going to be exciting, but no one imagined this," she admitted.
She was right, but, fortunately, the scare lasted only a short time. It's no wonder the crowd erupted in a heartfelt applause when the sun came out again. The collective emotion didn't do much good because the rain soon returned, with some small hailstorm replicas and keeping the sky gray and rainy for the rest of the day. There were also wind gusts, which especially affected the stalls on Paseo de Gràcia, leaving some injured. Between the hail and the wind, some booksellers had to leave, with broken boxes and damaged books. Pollen was another unexpected enemy, turning sneezes and red eyes into one of the day's constants.
Despite the unstable weather, many people came out en masse to celebrate this April 23, which has earned the title of the first post-coronavirus, unless there is a new plot twist. Without restrictions like those of last year and enjoying the first weekend without masks in most places, attendees merged into a single human river, as before, feeling overwhelmed by the mass of people. They also debuted the literary super-block designed for the occasion by the City Council, which allowed people to walk calmly from Diagonal to Gran Via, only stopping to let cars pass on a couple of streets. The old normal must have been worrying about more everyday issues like the weather, crowds, or pickpockets.
Knowing that rain threatened, Barcelona residents left home prepared. "Like someone going on an excursion, with a raincoat and an umbrella," said Carlota Gurt, who didn't want to leave anything behind on her first Sant Jordi. "I also bring tangerines," she added. Gurt debuts with Sola (Libros del Asteroide/Proa), "a backward story of a woman who destroys herself and rebuilds herself." "But it's not tearful, it's furious," the author remarked.
It was also the first time for Ennatu Domingo and Pilar Codony. For the former, her teachers from the Vila de Gràcia Institute came to see her "very happy," asking her to sign Madera de eucalipto quemada (Navona), "a very personal book, but one that makes you travel and builds bridges between cultures."
The also first-timer Codony proclaimed, almost disbelieving: "I'm signing books." Not only was she debuting as a writer at Sant Jordi, but she was also discovering how this festivity was celebrated in Barcelona. She, from Banyoles and accustomed to going to La Bisbal de l'Empordà for books and roses, was a little worried this Saturday, considering that she doesn't handle crowds very well. Despite it being her first April 23rd, she already had an anecdote: "A lady came up to me and said: 'I don't know this book, but I know the previous one.' Clearly, she confused me with someone else." For those who want to read her, for now, they will have to settle for her only book, Distòcia (L'Altra Editorial).
Another newcomer was Jordi Cruz, from Art Attack. "Many come and tell me I'm their childhood. It's a very nice reunion," he pointed out. At his first signing, with Mejor no te lo creas, he already received a dragon-shaped cake for Sant Jordi, very artemaniaco, to be honest.
The most veteran
As it could not be otherwise, among the first-time authors, there were other more veteran ones, who accumulate many Sant Jordis and even more stories. All of them were grateful to be able to see their readers' full faces again, "normality is being celebrated," added David Trueba, to whom a reader brings the same copy of Saber perder (Anagrama) every year for him to sign, and then takes the new release, this time Queridos niños (Anagrama).
To David Trueba, a reader brings the same copy of Saber perder every year for him to sign and then takes the new release, this time Queridos niñosFor details, that of Santi Balmes, with five Sant Jordi awards in his history. This year, he takes home the story of a reader who came to see him. She was pregnant and announced that she would name her baby after one of his songs, Oniria. It also brings joy when you are compared to Roald Dahl. That happened toLaura Fernández, withMrs. Potter is not exactly Santa Claus(Literatura Random House) in her arms, to whom one day a reader approached with a letter, telling her that, since as a child she had not been able to write to the storyteller par excellence, she was doing it with her.
Continuing with the anecdotes, Rosa Montero said that they have even dictated to her what she had to put in the dedication. This year, the writer, who presents El peligro de estar cuerda (Seix Barral), complemented her signature with a bit of glitter. "I feel very indebted to the readers," she maintained. In the end, as Eduardo Mendoza said, who has been signing at Sant Jordi since 1977 and has hardly missed any, "it's not book day, it's reader's day." Mendoza has preferred to keep the stories to himself, he assures that he has so many that he will write a book compiling them all.
Without reaching the record, similar figures to 2019
In the end, the bad weather prevented this Sant Jordi from being a record, as expected by the sector. The Cambra del Libre de Catalunya estimates that figures similar to those of 2019 have been achieved, when 1.6 million books were sold and 22 million euros were invoiced, but they have not been surpassed. It will also be necessary to see the losses of booksellers who had to collect their stall early and leave with a lot of spoiled material.
In Catalan, the best-selling fiction books have been: Benvolguda (Columna) by Empar Moliner, El monstre de Santa Helena (La Campana) by Albert Sánchez Piñol, Mamut (Club Editor) by Eva Baltasar and Quan s'esborren les paraules (Columna) by Rafel Nadal. In non-fiction: La Vall de la Llum (Destino) by Toni Cruanyes, L'alegria de viure (Univers Llibres) by Sílvia Soler and Crims: Llum a la foscor (La Campana) by Carles Porta.
In Spanish, the best-selling fiction books have been: Roma soy yo (Ediciones B) by Santiago Posteguillo, El Libro Negro de las Horas (Planeta) by Eva García Saenz d'Urturi, El mapa de los anhelos (Planeta) by Alice Kellen ---one of the authors with the longest queues at this Sant Jordi's signings--- and Violeta (Plaza & Janés) by Isabel Allende. In non-fiction: Por si las voces vuelven (Planeta) by Ángel Martín, Cómo hacer que te pasen cosas buenas (Espasa) by Marian Rojas Estapé and La muerte contada por un sapiens a un neandertal (Ediciones Alfaguara) by Juan José Millás and Joan Luis Arsuaga.