Toni Soler leaves the Gothic: "We feel driven out of a neighborhood surrendered to tourist monoculture"
The journalist has lived there for the last 25 years but states that it is already difficult for him to feel at home in the historic center of Barcelona
BarcelonaThe journalist Toni Soler explained on Instagram that he is leaving the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona after 25 years. "We feel a bit driven out of a neighborhood that has increasingly surrendered to tourism monoculture. Where it is hard to be a native of Barcelona and Catalan and feel at home," he says. The journalist argues that "the Gothic Quarter is full of neighbors who love the neighborhood and deserve for the city to respond to their commitment."
Over the years, Soler has published several photos of his home, very close to the Basilica of la Mercè and Plaça Reial, in the lower part of the Gothic Quarter. He has also denounced the decline of Ciutat Vella, with iconic establishments –such as Pitarra– that are transformed into depersonalized venues for tourists.
Toni Soler, 61 years old and a father of two, is leaving the neighborhood where he built his family, but not Barcelona. In fact, he says he will live just a few subway stops away and will return often. Soler had been an activist in defense of neighborhood life in the city center, recommending restaurants and shops in the area, but tourist pressure has overcome his militancy for the neighborhood.
The comments on the post have been filled with similar messages from citizens who have left their neighborhood or the city, as well as from shopkeepers in the Gothic Quarter who send them their regards.