One of the signs that in Barcelona, now yes, we are beginning to leave behind this long Holy Week that has been the pandemic is that social events are returning with force. In recent days, Planeta has filled the MNAC with VIPS, writers and journalists to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its highly endowed literary prize. Some of these celebrities and aspiring celebrities have also been seen at the inauguration of the Moco, the Barcelona headquarters of the Modern Contemporary Museum of Amsterdam. Theater premieres and galas of all kinds have also been taking place with a joy and a desire for canapés and gin and tonics that had not been seen since before the arrival of Covid-19.
I am happy to see that we are leaving behind Zoom meetings, book presentations where authors could not defend their work openly or offer a sad glass of cava to their long-suffering audience. What a pleasure to be able to unmask ourselves and greet old acquaintances with a handshake or a couple of kisses while we queue in the catering area of an event for our glass to be refilled, without hearing a little voice in our head repeating like a mantra: hands-distance-mask, hands-distance-mask...
That social events inevitably lead back to a festival of cocktails and canapés is a symptom of normality and prosperity, as is the return of the photocall, that structure that serves as a stage for event guests to parade and be photographed. The photocall is an important element for this type of social event. Organizers use them to show their power to attract. The more VIPS parade through your photocall, the more impact the event will have ---the photographs will appear in the media and the photographed themselves will share them through their social networks---. For this reason, the brand or logo of whoever is paying for the party always appears on the photocall. In this sense, it is like a billboard.
The photocall also makes the work of photographers and journalists much easier because it concentrates all the fauna that needs to be photographed in a single spot. Finally, for celebrities it is also very practical since it allows them to prepare well to give their best in front of the cameras and avoid being caught badly lit, with wrinkled clothes or at the precise moment they are devouring a croquette.
There are true photocall professionals, especially among influencers, since they spend half their lives in front of the mirror rehearsing poses and, therefore, are perfectly aware of their good side. Also among actors and actresses who know that, to a large extent, they live off what Ventura Pons calls "the looks," meaning the face, and, in front of the cameras, they know how to be seductive, funny, or unsettling. They are photocall fodder. Politicians, on the other hand, always act as if they are going through the photocall out of obligation, even though they love to be in the photo. Big businessmen ---I'm talking about those who have real money and usually only socialize in private clubs and discreet reserved areas of upscale restaurants--- are the ones who feel most uncomfortable with this business of being subjected to a shower of flashes and, instead of parading through a photocall, it seems like they are doing it in front of a firing squad.
That social events inevitably lead back to a festival of cocktails and canapés is a symptom of normality and prosperity, as is the return of the photocall, that structure that serves as a stage for event guests to parade and be photographed.Behind all this showof drinks, canapés andphotocallsthere are communication and public relations agencies, catering companies or event producers that have had an especially hard time during these long months of pandemic. Hundreds of presenters, artists, sound and image technicians, photographers, cooks, waiters, hostesses, printers, makeup artists, hairdressers, stylists...Professionals who do not parade through the photocalls, but who are essential for celebrating events that, although they may seem pure frivolity, help to turn the gears of the economy. Between cocktails and canapés, contacts are made, deals are closed, commercial ties are strengthened... Long live thephotocall!
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