Can doors be installed at La Boquería?

The stallholders are the main victims of the transformation of La Boqueria. The transfers of their stalls (very few square meters) are paid in millions of euros, accumulated by certain groups, and those who have worked there all their lives suffer a massive influx of tourists who no longer buy cod or sea bass because they will have lunch on the cruise ship or at the restaurant on duty. They look, take photos, and watch as some Barcelona woman still fills her cart, but they don't go shopping. And a market where no one goes shopping is not a market: it can be a square, a decoration, or a shop window, but it's not viable to keep the mussels fresh if no one buys them. The word "mussels" is not in vain. market comes from the Latin root merx, from which the Latin verb is derived Merchant (to buy) and the name of Mercè (grace or reward), who is the patron saint of this city of merchants that was Barcino.

Like many cities, Barcelona has a limited capacity to generate resources, so they turn to businesses that don't necessarily share the city's urban values. In the case of La Boqueria, if certain groups remain at the market stalls, the need to recoup the millions invested will end up deciding what is sold. It's a dog chasing its tail: we'd like to buy decent food at reasonable prices, but tourists only buy pre-cut pineapple packaged in plastic cups. And since the Raval neighborhood no longer buys anything, some stallholders turn to candy.

Markets say many more things about cities that we don't think about. Americans don't even know what a market is anymore, because they buy everything in large commercial stores that are industrial warehouses, and they either take it home or go there with their fangs to load the refrigerator and freezer as if a nuclear bomb were about to fall. That's why, in the eyes of many Western tourists, a market like La Boqueria has been a rarity and a historical curiosity for years.

The current state of La Boqueria is a result of the tourist drift of La Rambla. If there are few residents left, and most tourist apartments and seasonal rentals are concentrated in Ciutat Vella, who goes to La Boqueria these days to fill their fridge on foot? According to municipal data, La Boqueria is the municipal market that receives the most visitors (not buyers): 23.3 million in 2023, four times more than the Sant Antoni Market and seven times more than the Santa Caterina Market. The challenge is enormous, because La Boqueria is an institution and one of the best reasons to visit La Rambla. So, who will dare to break the tourism loop in La Boqueria?

As architect Lluís Clotet, co-author of the renovation of La Boqueria in 2000, wrote, the challenge was "not to lose the Mediterranean market character that La Boqueria represented around the world and that linked it so directly to Palermo and Istanbul." Cities must feed themselves, and the fact that neighborhoods still have places where fresh produce is sold, that residents actually choose the produce they buy, and that there are artisans who take care of the food we put on our tables says a lot about the urban culture (not just gastronomic) of the city.

Many markets would like to cry with the eyes of the Boqueria stallholders, of course. That's why all options must be put on the table. The first is that if La Boqueria is a driving force, the market should be allowed to extend to Rambla del Raval or Paral·lel, with open-air stalls, making the success of La Boqueria also an opportunity for the international foods and flavors of the Raval. Numerous French markets have followed this tactic and have succeeded in attracting people back to the market because it's convenient, visible, and reaches many streets, five or six mornings a week. It combines shopping, street food, and strolling, and helps revitalize local businesses. The second is to prohibit the sale of plastic containers and support small producers who focus on quality. Supply also influences demand, and if tourists can't buy fruit juice, they will have to limit themselves to local and seasonal fruits. If any market can commit to organic and local produce, it's La Boqueria, because it probably has one of the best locations and architecture in the world. And there are alternatives for cooking delicacies with ingredients harvested or fished near Barcelona. Street lunch isn't incompatible with sustainable sourcing, and preventing the opening of small, informal food stalls, which would employ many people, only benefits the large fast-food chains on the Ramblas. Finally, we must understand that architecture matters and that the overall value is far greater than the specific offerings at each stand: if everyone respects the same premises, the viability of the combined offering is greater. You can't put gates in the countryside, or in markets.