The Gold Medal that Juanito Bayén, 'Pinotxo', was missing

BarcelonaLa Boqueria dressed up in solemnity to pay tribute the most special tribute that was missing for Juanito Bayén, Pinocchio. The police in full dress, the mayor of Barcelona, ​​​​close friends and also restaurateurs like Pedro and Josep Monje from Via Veneto They sat on chairs placed in one of the corridors of the Mercat de la Boqueria to listen to the memories told by those who knew him. At the end of the glosses, the mayor, Jaume Collboni, gave his widow, Carme Celdran, the Gold Medal for civic merit, which she raised with pride and with the gesture that some remembered from the day when friends took Pinocchio in their arms, dressed as a bullfighter, and paraded him around the market. He was a man who represented humility and effort in equal parts, and who was loved by everyone for his human qualities.

When it came to recalling anecdotes, there was one that raised different points of view. When they took pictures of him, what gesture did he repeat? Did he give the thumbs up, as a sign that everything was going well, or the victory sign, which he wanted everyone to have? Collboni acknowledged that they had been talking to the president of the Restaurant Guild, Isidre Gironés, about it, and that they wondered what he did. The photos show that he alternated between them.

Juanito Bayén came to the market as a child, he must have been seven or eight years old, Collboni recalled, and he grew up helping his mother, Catalina, who with effort managed to get a stand in the market. From then on, the story is well known. He spent forty years of his life in the square meter behind the Pinocho bar. He won over everyone, he encouraged them, and with his good nature he said spicy phrases to the women who asked him for a coffee, because Pinocchio had a great sense of humor and made them laugh in a few seconds.

For his part, the president of the Restoration Guild, Isidre Gironés, explained howThe last day that Pinocchio visited La Boquería was with him at his side, because Gironés asked him to. It was March 3, 2023. They had a close friendship, sewn together by daily breakfasts, in which Pinocchio already knew exactly how he liked to drink his cortado. In fact, he would prepare it for him as soon as Gironés entered the market to greet him, just before going to buy what he needed for the restaurant.

Eduard Soley also recalled anecdotes about their friendship. "If I wear a hat and bow tie it is because of Ramon Cabau, who transformed gastronomy in Catalonia. Juanito and I were like fathers to him because he gave us lots of advice," he explained. If Soley still wears a bow tie and hat today it is because of him, and it was also Cabau who convinced Pinocchio to work in good clothing, and he always listened to him.

The secrets of friends

During the tribute there was also time to talk about his dishes, about market cuisine. And about secrets. "He had a stool reserved every lunchtime for my friend Vidal and me to eat, but we had an agreement that if an authority came at lunchtime, then we would eat our dish behind the counter of our stand," commented Eduard Soley.

Finally, the pastry chef Christian Escribà promised everyone that from today the caramelized ensaimada that he prepares with cheese and ham will bear the name ofensaimada Juanito The idea of making it came from watching Juanito iron the ensaimadas. "When I saw him do it I thought how was it possible that nobody had thought of it before," said Escribà. The president of La Boqueria, Jordi Mas, praised the fact that Pinocchio managed to internationalize the market: "It helped us to think big; it helped us to cross borders."

The event, promoted by the City Council, the Boqueria Vendors Association and Genco Editorial Agency, ended in the space of La Cocina de la Boquería, where there was the wax figure of Juanito Bayén, with whom the attendees at the tribute took photos and gave him kisses.