Barcelona State of Mind

One hand in the air for the big city,

Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty,

no place in the World that can compare,

Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeaaahh

come on, come,

yeah

Editorial Planeta Building

You probably recognize the lyrics above, made famous by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The song is an ode to the Big Apple and its many dimensions. As I former Brooklynite, the song speaks to me in its many ways. Nostalgic maybe? Not really.

The song could easy be applied to BARNA. The city, like New York, is a great melting pot with many dimensions. It lies on the Mediterranean with similar dreams and aspirations. And like the Big Apple, BARNA has incredible art and architecture, with a definite Iberian flair. Another plus for this Catalan city. The food is also much better than New York´s, no contest. I am especially fond of the "Bikini" ("Sándwich mixto"), a toasted sandwich with cheese (manchego) and jamón dulce. The sandwich is supposedly name after the Sala Bikini, a music venue on the Diagonal de Barcelona. This location introduced the sandwich modeled on the French Croque Monsieur. Its name was linked to local, and the rest is history.

Incidentally, the Sala Bikini still exists and offers some of the best indie music acts in Barcelona. This week, for example, Zoé, Mexican alternative/psychedelic band will perform.