Barcelona belongs to everyone who walks through it: with roses, with books, with cameras and cell phones, hand in hand with someone or by oneself. Barcelona is an explosion of life, it is powerful, full of culture and shared emotions. The city today transforms into a great stage open to love. This gallery is a journey —the flight of the Àngel— through one of the most special and beloved days of the year.
Today I look at my city letting myself be carried away by reciprocal curiosity. Sant Jordi speaks above all of love, for me, but of a love that goes beyond a couple: a collective, shared love, a deep appreciation for our culture, the city, and the people who make it their own. It may seem like a cliché, but that's exactly how I feel. Sant Jordi is all of us: those who sell, those who buy, or those who simply observe, like me, marveling at how strongly we beat among pages and petals.
1. A woman in front of the Palau de la Generalitat. © Àngel Bravo 2. A couple's kiss reflected in the mirror. © Àngel Bravo 3. The Cathedral converted into a central space for the Sant Jordi celebration. © Àngel Bravo 4. A couple walks along the Rambla under construction and without Sant Jordi stalls. © Àngel Bravo 5. Pilarín Bayés signs her illustrated stories at Sant Jordi. © Àngel Bravo 6. A couple kisses at a Sant Jordi stall. © Àngel Bravo 7. Visitor inside the decorated Casa Batlló. © Àngel Bravo 8. Bookseller, dressed as a dragon, at one of the Sant Jordi stalls. © Àngel Bravo 9. A couple looking at roses. © Àngel Bravo 10. A woman photographs the Barcelona City Hall. © Àngel Bravo 11. A couple immortalizes their kiss in front of Casa Batlló. © Àngel Bravo 12. Encounters between readers and writers. © Àngel Bravo 13. A stall full of books. © Àngel Bravo 14. The Sant Jordi banner next to the Barcelona Cathedral. © Àngel Bravo 15. A couple kisses in Plaça Catalunya, oblivious to everything around them. © Àngel Bravo 16. A man reads in the middle of the city. © Àngel Bravo 17. Dragons and roses. © Àngel Bravo 18. Young woman queuing to sign copies of the book, sitting on a portable chair. © Àngel Bravo 19. Flavita Banana signing at Sant Jordi. © Àngel Bravo 20. Photographing La Pedrera. © Àngel Bravo 21. "Book devourer" bag. © Àngel Bravo 22. A woman, with a rose in hand, reads oblivious to her surroundings. In the background, the banner reminds "Sant Jordi makes us better". © Àngel Bravo 23. People flipping through books. © Àngel Bravo 24. Roses for Sant Jordi. © Àngel Bravo 25. Eduardo Mendoza signing copies during Sant Jordi's Day. © Àngel Bravo 26. Spring atmosphere during Sant Jordi's Day. © Àngel Bravo 27. A tourist photographs a street in Barcelona with a rose in her hand. © Àngel Bravo 28. A woman, with a walker and wearing a rose, makes her way. © Àngel Bravo 29. A rose peeks out from a teenager's backpack. © Àngel Bravo 30. Readers queuing for Joël Dicker. © Àngel Bravo