When I was little and lived in the village, one of the things I liked most about the Christmas holidays was going down to Barcelona to see El Corte Inglés's display window. Every year, around this time, they would install a large altarpiece with animated figures that occupied a good part of the facade of these department stores in Plaza Catalunya. They called it Cortylandia and it left adults and children speechless.
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The initiative had been born in Madrid at Christmas 1979 when El Corte Inglés organized a first Cortylandia to promote its recently renovated Preciados center. Since the initiative was a success, in subsequent years the idea was replicated in Barcelona and other cities. Seen in perspective, the marketing managers hit the nail on the head with Cortylandia because they managed to turn an essentially commercial initiative into a Christmas tradition and a mass spectacle. During a few years, the Christmas holidays began when Cortylandia was inaugurated. Hundreds of people gathered every day in Plaza Catalunya to watch the musical show of the animated figures and this, by force, had to affect the cash register. I especially remember the year when Cortylandia revolved around Gulliver's Travels, with an impressive 18-meter-high figure that made you feel truly Lilliputian. The installation, inspired by Jonathan Swift's famous work, premiered in Madrid in 1985 and the following year it could be seen in Barcelona.
I suppose I have such good memories of those El Corte Inglés display windows because in the 80s and 90s it was the closest thing there was to the fantasy world of Disney World. Eurodisney was not inaugurated until 1992 and Port Aventura did not open its doors until 1995. Therefore, in that Barcelona of the years prior to the Olympic miracle, El Corte Inglés's display window seemed much more spectacular than it probably was.
In that Barcelona of the years prior to the Olympic miracle, El Corte Inglés's display window seemed much more spectacular than it probably wasEl Corte Inglés's Christmas display window is perhaps the most impressive thing ever seen in the city, but small businesses have also always managed to dress their shop windows for Christmas.Often, making up for the scarcity of resources with ingenuity and imagination. There are merchants who are true geniuses creating fantasy spaces that make the merchandise shine with ridiculous budgets: a string of lights, colored cardstock, paint onsprayand little else. In some neighborhoods, prizes are even given for the best-decorated shop windows.
There are merchants who are true geniuses creating fantasy spaces that make their merchandise shine with ridiculous budgetsShop windows are part of Christmas. They help dress the streets for the holidays and remind us that the commercial fabric plays a very important role in Barcelona.Let's stop with stories, browsing the Internet for Christmas gifts will never be like going shoppingnor will the home screen of a web page ever be as beautiful and effective as a good shop window. Happy holidays!
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