'Locals go home'

Food is being prepared when the smell of sofrito mixes with that of a joint. "The tourist apartment people again," she says to herself as she runs to the patio to collect the clothes and close all the windows tightly. She turns off the heat and lets the sofrito rest. She has forgotten the bread. She quickly goes down a staircase that sounds like a disco at 4 in the morning. "Please, not 'Despacito' again," she thinks when she starts to hear some chords she could even spell out. Among mobile phone case and nail shops, a 10-minute route begins to the only bakery in the neighborhood where they still understand "a quarter, please" and don't sell 'cookies' or 'cupcakes'.

INFORMATION

Illustration: Pau del Toro

Text: Cristina Martín Valbuena

Title: 'Locals go home'

Website: http://www.paudeltoro.com/