"I'm a bit anxious and I had never been three years without showing my work, so I couldn't wait any longer and I've released this little diversion, so that the wait isn't so hard," explains Joan Martínez, alias Linux, veteran photographer, graphic designer, teacher and editor, regarding Preses falses, a kind of bibliographic appetizer that precedes the ambitious photographic book he is finalizing about the last forty years of the Barcelona blues scene. "In this volume, some of the most mischievous and less formal images appear, which were discarded from the book I will present on the occasion of the city's 20th Blues Festival," he warns, sparkling water in hand, leaning against the bar, while in the background Diz and his band are hard at work with Salt peanuts.
"I have been specialized for many years in portraying cultural events such as the Barcelona Blues Festival or the Barcelona Tattoo Expo, in addition to working for several musicians from the local scene. In this sense, it is not uncommon to see me taking photos at any concert. 40 anys de Blues a Barcelona will be my third book."
--- I see you mix images of shows with portraits of musicians.
--- Yes, I usually took photographs of live shows, but more and more I liked the challenge of portraiture and I was very lucky to be able to count on great artists who happily collaborated. So, just before the pandemic, I started the blues portrait project. In principle, I did it to thoroughly and seriously test the large 10x8 inch format. And, in the end, it is consolidating as a complete guide to everything that has been happening in the Barcelona scene.
--- And where do you do all those sessions?
--- My studio is currently in Nau Bostik, an incredible space in Sagrera. There I have a small set and, above all, my laboratory for developing and making prints, always analog, in the traditional way.
Proud of having almost always done "many different types of work that have filled my soul," the regular customer is satisfied with his self-employed status. "The pleasure of being your own boss is the best," he assures.
An artistic education
Born in Nou Barris, where he currently resides, when Joan was approximately one year old, his parents emigrated to one of the population centers of the municipality of Subirats, Alt Penedès. "There I grew up surrounded by a rather artistic environment, as my parents are ceramists, painters, and sculptors. I think that environment allowed me to see things that my friends didn't quite understand."
At 15, he returned to the city to study Graphic Arts, combining it "with several curious jobs, from record salesman for a distributor, to fanzine and magazine creator, surviving with other more precarious jobs." At 17, he became independent and moved to the vicinity of Plaza Real. "Then I combined my work in different newspapers like La Vanguardia or Avui, with the still rogue nightlife of the Gothic Quarter."
--- And when did you return to your original neighborhood?
--- It was about twenty years ago, when I was around 30, thanks to real estate speculation. At first, I landed there a bit depressed about leaving the center of Barcelona, but in a few months, I integrated, and now I wouldn't change that place for any other.
In Nou Barris, Joan is part of the collective 9barrisimatge.org "with which I explore more social photography without straying from the world of culture" and is involved "in many of the movements that are forged there, giving workshops and photography courses in social centers and at Lomography, a store that supports and promotes analog photography, the photography of a lifetime."
A business for a few
"This city saw me born, I was absent all my childhood and returned to it to start my adult life," reasons the photographer, before adding with a laugh: "If I ever reached that stage."
In love with Barcelona's multicultural character, he sees in it "one of the few cities I know with a quality of life, a location, and a climate that allow you to meet people from other cultures and places. That, I believe, is the added value that Barcelona has for those of us who are curious. At any moment you can meet people from anywhere and share a lot of experiences and happenings with them."
A perspective that clashes with his current perception of the city, "which is currently a brand and not a place to live, a business for a few and a ruin for the majority," he laments.
--- What, on the other hand, is a very good business are our tapas, portions, sandwiches or menu, everything here is served rich and in abundance.
With a half-smile that denotes appetite, Joan Martínez reviews the gastronomic offer of the Bar before stating:
--- If possible, portions, in plural, to try everything.
And he asks for another water, because he will want the food very spicy.