The Anna Pérez Pagès Prize, the trench of (sexier) cultural journalism

BarcelonaThere's a rule we apply with friends: if The first year is a successThe second becomes a tradition. The second edition of the Anna Pérez Pagès Prize for Cultural Journalism has established itself as the only place and the only time in which anyone celebrates the importance of culture and the existence of those of us who explain it; today they would call it the secure site of cultural journalists, just as the red sofa ofArctic, the memorable Betevé program directed by the honoree, which He left us prematurely two years ago. If tradition is a celebration, the ritual of an award ceremony serves not only to remember Anna, but also to put her on our calendars, just like we used to do when we met up with her.

"Let's give ourselves a pat on the back," quipped theater critic Oriol Puig Taulé, presenter of the gala alongside the vaudeville singer Glòria Ribera—both impeccable, you'll want to see them at every event. Because, indeed, the organizers and the guests at Espai Lliure this past Tuesday night were all the same people: cultural journalists and company. Normally, we might seem few in number because we're just a corner of the newsroom and a three-minute segment at the end of the newscasts, but when we're together, we feel like we could conquer the National Awards. I see Toni Puntí, Marta Vives, David Guzmán, Carolina Rosich, Eva Piquer, Jofre Font, Ada Castells, Albert Forns, Bernat Puigtobella, Paula Carreras, Rita Roig, Clara Narvión, Manel Pérez, Tania Sàrrias, Laura Sangrà, Josep Lambies, Mariona Bertran, Claudia Rius, Gemma Ruiz, Anna Aurich and Neus Masferrer—and he left me. There were also cultural managers (Izaskun Arretxe, Francesc Casadesús, Leticia Martín), institutional communication colleagues (CCCB, TNC, Icub) and family, friends and admirers of the "beast of professionalism and enthusiasm" that was Anna Pérez Pagès, alias Peigis (Ada Colau, Meritxell Falgueras, Mayo Roger, Ana Polo, Julia Barceló, Maya Jenkinson, and etc).

At the rhythm of Words words The presenters used irony to describe the daily struggle of cultural journalists: "A sexier headline, please"That's engaging," "You don't have a program today, there's a Barça game," "The festival is advertising us, can you rewrite the article?" "Controversies and obituaries, the only way for culture to make the front page," Ribera fanned out. Laughter of empathy; we're all from the same camp. Audience: "To foster critical thinking," "because cultural journalism—and not cultural marketing—can explain who we are," "because it promotes beauty and combats ignorance." "Because it's a bastion of resistance against fascism." From the same trench: Jordi Bordes, a journalist fromThe Punt Avui, promoter of the theater criticism portal Recomienda.es and the revival of the Performing Arts Critics Awards. This year's jury, made up of Irene Dalmases, Xavi Pardo, Carlota Rubio, Claudia Rius, and Carolina Rosich, recognized his "omnipresence, enthusiasm, and dedication" as a "militant of grassroots journalism" and his role in "reclaiming the figure of the critic in the media."

Bordes asserted that he is "a journalist but also a good person," and admitted that he feels comfortable outside the "headline, exclusive, trending topicBut he also portrayed a complex era, in which cultural criticism is endangered, pages are thinning, and precariousness is rampant. "I won an award the year I published the least in my career. Imagination is necessary to find new paths in this profession," he noted. "I must have done something right at home because none of my children will go into it. They had a better nose for it than I did; I persisted in the profession out of habit," he admitted with his affable pessimism. That's the thing about addiction, and that's the thing about activism: you can't give up. Go West —our "brothers, go in peace" to dance the hits of the DJs—and all that remains is to hope, as the Village People say, that We'll find our promised landWe'll talk next year.