"There are three guilds in Barcelona that are capable of paralyzing or mobilizing the city: that of taxi drivers, that of architects, and this one: that of restoration". This is commented by a circle of people conversing under the mirror ball of La Paloma, "a true institution of immortal Barcelona" —as Lluís Permanyer would say—. They are one of more than 700 guests at the eighth edition of the party in honor of Santa Eulàlia organized this Tuesday by the Gremi de Restauració de Barcelona.
Barcelona's restaurant sector thus celebrated its particular annual liturgy: a mix of sector, city, and cultural scene that, for the fourth consecutive year, took place in the historic El Raval dance hall. Restaurateurs, institutional representatives, actors, businessmen, and familiar faces from Barcelona's cultural life gathered on a Tuesday at noon for a celebration that, more than a corporate event, functions as a small thermometer of the city's collective mood.
Among the large representation of Barcelona's political, economic, and cultural life, highlights include the president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, who opened the event; the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, Òscar Ordeig. The event also brought together former presidents of the Generalitat Artur Mas and José Montilla, as well as representatives of the different municipal groups of the Barcelona city council. Among the guests were also figures with a long career in local politics, such as Alberto Fernández Díaz, Paco Sierra, Sònia Recasens, Janet Sanz, and Esther Capella. And well-known names from the city's cultural, business, and media world, including Lluís Sans, Jordi William-Carnes, Magda Oranich, Queco Novell, and Father Apeles.
In a room also full of restaurateurs, the president of the Gremi de Restauració de Barcelona, Núria Solà, is able to summarize the spirit of the meeting very well: "If there is one thing that artificial intelligence will never do, it's eat and drink." The phrase provokes knowing smiles among a sector that lives precisely from something as physical, social, and human as sitting at a table.
The president of the Parliament, Josep Rull, has taken up this idea to vindicate the role of the sector in the life of the city. Restoration, he said, is "a thermometer of the mood of the city and the country." And he added: "We need collective self-esteem, as a sector and as a city." In uncertain times, celebrations like this —he pointed out— are "a tribute to the love of life, to joy and to enjoyment."
The central moment of the gathering —besides the delicacy— was the proclamation by actor Alberto San Juan, awarded two Goya awards and recently nominated for best lead actor at the Goya 2026 for La cena. Actress Melani Olivares, a friend and stage colleague since the nineties, was in charge of introducing him and recalled their shared beginnings on stage, highlighting both his talent and his human quality.
The actor also declared his "love" for Barcelona, recalling his first trips to the city and the friendship he maintained with actress Rosa Maria Sardà, who introduced him to Barcelona, its neighborhoods and some of its emblematic restaurants, such as Cal Pinxo or 7 Portes. Sardà, he explained, became his particular guide through a city made up of very different neighborhoods, but with "a very powerful identity."
San Juan also evoked some happy moments lived in the city —from performances at the Fundació Miró to a saeta sung from a balcony on La Rambla— and confessed that La Paloma is "a place where I was very happy." "We became family with the people here," he recalled.
The final part of his speech took on a more serious tone framed within the geopolitical context. "Life is in danger," he warned, alluding to the climate of international tensions and conflicts. Faced with this scenario, he defended a clear idea: "no to war and no to violence."
The celebration ended amidst crossed conversations, reunions and toasts, with that air of transversal gathering that often defines sector meetings. A mix of politics, culture and restoration that, as one of the attendees recalled under the mirror ball of La Paloma, still has a unique capacity to mobilize the great spheres of Barcelona.