The most complete exhibition of Colombian artist Fernando Botero can now be seen in Barcelona. It will be at Palau Martorell until July. An important exhibition, because Botero is Barcelona, but he is, above all, Raval. His name is associated with the enormous bronze cat that calmly observes from its spot on the Rambla of this Ciutat Vella neighborhood. It has been there since 2003, although it had previously been in other locations. A popular sculpture, a well-fed cat with whiskers, a bell, half-smiling and the calm gaze of someone who is simply strolling.
La Rambla del Raval is an extension of the flats located on itAs with felines, they can slip away or they can be the true protagonists. Sometimes, some tourists discover it or come to see it on purpose, and they don't stop taking photos under its tail, caressing its bronze or even trying to climb it, something quite complicated due to its hard and slippery skin. Other times, however, it is there, without anyone detecting its presence or paying much attention to it. It observes everything that happens around it, which are many things. Because the Rambla del Raval is actually the courtyard of all the buildings that lead into it. It is an extension of the apartments. The balconies that frame it demonstrate its necessity. They are full, with a lot of clothes hanging and other objects; chairs, children's bicycles, and butane gas cylinders. That the Rambla is home can be seen on the torrid summer nights, when the residents of nearby apartments, with little ventilation and no air conditioning, spend hours, enjoying the cool air, with their children in pajamas, on the street benches.
In the Raval, there is density inside homes and density on the street. That's why the Rambla is a kind of oasis, one of the few places with trees, it is public space that acts as public space. It was created for that purpose, a forceful urban intervention to lighten up a neighborhood. Tearing down five blocks of houses ---in one of them Gaudí lived---, making two streets disappear, would now be impossible, there would hardly be the consensus and political decision to approve it. But it was done, and now it is used to the fullest.
On the Rambla del Raval, people stay, play, chat ---there are semicircular benches that encourage meeting and conversation---, stroll, breathe, sunbathe, do business or, simply, pass through. It is one of the streets with the most activity in the city and with the most presence of immigrants. In the Raval, 51% of the population comes from outside ---the average in Barcelona is 25%---. The presence of foreigners is also evident in the other ramblas; in La Rambla, that of Catalunya and that of Poblenou. All are busy and central places, with people from outside, many, just passing through. On the Rambla del gato del Botero, however, a good part of the foreigners are not tourists, they are residents. They live here and have chosen Barcelona as their city, to make, or remake, their lives, with long-term projects, they have had children, who now play in the children's area, and have set up businesses, mostly restaurants, with all kinds of cuisines, which extend along this essential promenade for the neighborhood.
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