At the age of twelve, the Beach Boys crossed his path and he knew that, from that moment on, his life would no longer be the same. “I get around was the song that blew my mind, the one I didn't want to stop listening to,” recalls Didac Piquer, while having an evening beer leaning against the bar of the Bar, regarding that first sonic deflagration that would mark the rhythm and intensity of all the fires of tomorrow.
The rest flowed naturally. “At thirteen I bought my first cassette tape of the band and from there I pulled the thread: Elvis, Jan & Dean, Roy Orbison…”. And he realized that it went much further than music and was articulated through cultural frameworks that included cinema, literature, art... Subcultural ethics and aesthetics “as a refuge from a framework of reality that you have to live and with which you don't connect, and that push you to create a private world tailored to you.”
He studied graphic arts and worked in several printing presses, but at twenty-six he left everything to start making surfboards, “which is what I still do.” The peculiarity of Montjuich Surfboards —the brand that reflects all the moments lived, during childhood, on the mountain of the same name, before moving in his early adolescence to Maresme— is that “I make surfboards following, conceptually, aesthetically and technically, the way they were manufactured between 1959 and 1979.” A craftsmanship that, almost a quarter of a century later, continues to satisfy the demand of some very demanding surfers.
But beyond helping a few intrepid people catch waves with style, Didac has remained very active in Barcelona's underground music scene, attending concerts —“sometimes meeting greats like Dick Dale or Davie Allan and realizing that, as people, they leave a lot to be desired”— and accumulating a great knowledge that at one point he needed to share with humanity.
Explaining everything and breaking stereotypes
“I have continued to write articles for publications such as Ruta 66, Custom Machine or fanzines like NDF, on aspects as diverse as Hot Rod or Low Rider culture, 60s beach movies or the history of Surf cultures, but in 2006 I took another step with Summer Fun,” explains Didac Piquer, regarding the first book ever written in Spain that talked about surf music and which he published with Milenio publishing house.
But there was more, much more, boiling in his head, as he looked towards the State of California as a great unifier of a broad and deep universe where many things fit. Those tanned surfers of bygone decades, but also pop movies, strident music scenes, customized vehicles, strange clothes, even stranger hair, and drugs with different denominations of origin. Hidden worlds united by the thread of the strange, the unusual, the daring, the illegal, the aberrant, the brilliant. Unimaginable frames of reality. A constellation full of myths and legends; dreamed facts and proven facts, about which something like the last word had to be said.
“The series Once Upon a Time in… California was born thirteen years ago, when Gonzalo Aixa founded the publishing house The Fishbone Project and I proposed the idea that had been buzzing in my head, to compile in one work all the countercultural and subcultural substratum of California in the 20th century.” The idea took hold and Didac got to work. The result is an imposing corpus of five profusely documented volumes, the first of which, Myths and Legends of the Golden State, has just been released. An amazing and necessary dive into Californian sonic and youth subworlds, “where I try to break with stereotypes and clichés.” The definitive account of a place and an era written, moreover, with an agile and very accessible style.
The vital energy that remains
Since 2003, the local's relationship with Barcelona is purely recreational. It is the place he goes to see concerts or have a few beers with friends… “when the city lets me, because getting here is complicated, between Rodalies that doesn't work and the difficulty of coming by private vehicle,” he laments.
He grew up in Sant Antoni and, despite the changes —“common to any big city in the first world”— that result in tourist overcrowding and gentrification, when he comes to Barcelona he still connects “with the vital energy of the city that saw me born and grow up. An umbilical cord that unites us to our place of origin and that never quite breaks,” he reflects, finishing the last sip of his beer.
–Something that can undoubtedly reinforce that bond is our gastronomic offer. Dinner time is approaching and perhaps you might fancy eating or snacking on something…
Having reached this point, Didac Piquer confesses to having “a very poorly educated palate. I essentially seek to satisfy my stomach with simple things, without subtleties.” And, after a few seconds of reflection, he adds: “it’s not something I’m very proud of.”
–Well, that sounds like an ideal condition for a slice of bread with tomato and good ham.
The regular smiles and affirms. “Sounds very good —he decrees—. And if it’s accompanied by a little wine, even better.”
–Coming right up!