Fantasy books, mystery books, dystopian stories, personal diaries and traditional tales in block letters, cursive letters or print letters. And sagas, many sagas. Students from the Institut Escola Sant Felip Neri in Barcelona, aged 4 to 15, have recommended their favorite books to us and also those that once opened the door to the enjoyment of reading for them. These are their recommendations for this Sant Jordi.

The Good Daughter, by director Júlia de Paz (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1995), can now be seen in cinemas. It shows the consequences of vicarious violence and sexist violence on children, who are often unrecognized victims. And it does so through Carmela, a 12-year-old girl, who must periodically go to a meeting point to see her father, whom she idolizes. Little by little, however, the girl – and with her, the viewer – will discover who he really is and his way of exercising psychological violence.

Between 1996 and 1998, the Montsolís family, owners of wineries in Penedès, entered many Catalan homes through television. Nissaga de poder, the afternoon daily series on TV3, popularized a woman's name that until then was anecdotal in Catalonia: Abril. Actress Mónica López played the character of Abril Montsolís, much loved by the audience, daughter of Raimon Montsolís, the younger brother of the winery owners.

For years, the names Juan and José were given to many babies born in Catalonia, hence the popular saying "There are Juans, Josés, and donkeys in every house." But in recent decades, this trend has reversed. In the case of Josep, after a boom in the 1950s and 60s, when more than 15,000 babies were given this name, its popularity plummeted from the 2000s onward: from 2010 to 2019, only 602 babies were named Josep, and between 2010 and 2019, only 109.

Did you know that algorithms decide what ads we see on social media? It might seem insignificant, but it's not. "If you're a young person about to decide on a university degree, it's very likely that if you're a guy, social media will show you degrees in engineering and computer science, and if you're a girl, degrees in education, nursing, and caregiving," says Liliana Arroyo Moliner, PhD in sociology and director of the Chair for Socially Responsible Digital Innovation. Milagros Sainz, a researcher and professor at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), explains that the popular Google Maps app "uses a man's pace to calculate walking distances, which often makes women or people with mobility issues take longer." There's also discrimination when looking for work, in healthcare, and with the algorithms used by banks to decide whether or not to grant a loan, because the mathematical models of these algorithms are applied in very different fields, and many decisions are made taking them into account.

If there's one girl's name that has consistently topped the popularity charts in recent years, it's Martina. The last time it reached the number one spot was in 2023, but between 2010 and 2016 it held the top position five times. In fact, the last decade saw a Martina boom: 7,585 girls were given that name, and although it's still popular, it has lost some ground between 2020 and 2023, with 1,663 girls bearing that name. It now occupies third place, behind Sofía and Julia.

The peak in the number of children named Antoni occurred during the 1960s. Since then, its popularity has plummeted, with fewer and fewer families choosing this name. In fact, only 28 children born between 2020 and 2023 bear this name. According to Francesc Calafell, a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), this decline can be seen as part of "the natural cycle of names." "This has always happened; names have their cycles, but while the cycle used to last for centuries, now we're talking about decades," says Calafell. He adds that if a name becomes "associated with grandparents—with the exception of people who specifically choose it—it doesn't usually become trendy." However, the average age of those named Antonis is 50.7 years, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

If there's a name that evokes Christmas, it's Noel: it's of French origin and comes from the word Christmas, what does it mean ChristmasHowever, it's not a popular name. There are only 6,745 men with this name in Spain, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), with an average age of 21.9 years. The highest concentration of men with this name is found in Galicia, Asturias, León, and Cáceres. In Catalonia, there are 1,202 men named Noel; a quarter of them were born between 2010 and 2019, and more than half were born after 2000. The most common regions are Garraf, the Lleida regions (Pallars Jussà, Pla d'Urgell, Urgell, and Segrià), and Segrià. "This points to the influence of Galician immigration, even though it's a name associated with relatively young people," says Francesc Calafell, a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF). "In some sparsely populated areas, such as Pallars Jussà or Pla d'Urgell, with just two or three, the frequency skyrockets," he adds.

You might follow her on social media (@congafas_ on Instagram), where, with humor, illustrations and heartbreaking messages, Laura Camps de Agorreta (Barcelona, ​​1984) She defends the rights of the working class. She also addresses parenting, the physical and mental exhaustion of mothers, the lack of support, and the difficulty of work-life balance. This digital activist and communications consultant has now published an essay. We don't have enough time. (Bruguera 2025), where she reflects on the scourge of our times: the lack of time and the relationship between work and life.

Feminism emerged in 2018 from social movements at the forefront of the media and social agenda —that year saw the first global feminist strike in history— thanks to the Me Too movement denouncing sexual harassment, which originated in Hollywood and spread like wildfire. In Spain, the trigger was the street protests against the La Manada case. Feminism advances in waves, and we are now in the fourth wave, which has the denunciation of sexual violence as a key element. Me Too connected us as women and shattered the illusion of equality: "It was an awakening. Despite many decades of equality policies and equality in formal terms, attitudes of sexual violence continue to be reproduced underneath," argues Maria Freixenet, a researcher at the Institute of Political and Social Sciences ( The neo-machista backlash after the fourth wave of feminism, signed by several academics.

Rosalía is a name of Latin origin that the singer from Sant Esteve Sesrovires has popularized, but it's practically nonexistent in the census. It's not a name that families today choose when naming their daughters. We've gone from around 600 women with the name Rosalía (with and without the accent) in the 1950s to fewer than ten today. The average age of Rosalías in Spain is 61.5 years, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Zamora, Salamanca, Almería, and Ourense are the provinces where we find the most. Because it's such an uncommon name, "any fluctuation attracts attention, such as the concentration of several Rosalías in the municipality of Capçanes, in the Priorat region. Could they be from the same family?" wonders Francesc Calafell, a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology CSIC-UPF, who adds that it's also a name that is sometimes spelled Italia (Italy).

On November 16, 2003, Leo Messi made his Barça first-team debut at just 16 years old, and in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or. Immediately after, between 2010 and 2019, the name Leo skyrocketed among babies born in Catalonia. Last year, it was the seventh most popular name, although by 2022 it had risen to second. Until 2000, there were only 38 children named Leo in Catalonia, but now there are 5,849, 64% of whom were born between 2010 and 2019. The average age of boys named Leo across the country is 6.7 years, according to data from the INE (National Institute of Statistics and Census). "It's a name clearly linked to the Leo Messi phenomenon; the children's ages indicate this," says Francesc Calafell, a researcher at the CSIC-UPF Institute of Evolutionary Biology. "It's still early, but perhaps we'll also see a surge in Alexias and Aitanas," he adds.

A doctor in computer engineering and former dean of the Faculty of Computer Science at the UPC, Núria Castell was one of the first women to graduate in computer science at the UAB 40 years ago. She is also the driving force behind Digital Woman, an independent communications platform working to address the gender gap in the technology sector in Catalonia. We spoke with her about technology, education, and the gender gap.

Lia will turn three on December 28th. She doesn't walk independently – she crawls a lot, of course – but she's close to it, and although she communicates in her own way – she points and makes herself understood – she still doesn't speak beyond a few words. She's had multiple tests, and she's being monitored by specialists of all kinds, but they still haven't found the disease that explains the causes of this global developmental delay, although they suspect it could be a rare disease of genetic origin, explains her mother, Laura López Crespo, 39.

For four years, from 14th to second grade, Martí had the same tutor at the public school where he attends. The boy formed a strong bond with the teacher, but his mother—and indeed most families—believed a change was necessary, mainly so the children would learn other ways of teaching and interacting. However, the truth is that it was fortunate that he was able to make the transition from preschool to elementary school with the same teacher, since the change of grade took Martí's strength, and maintaining this familiar figure made it less burdensome. Marc's daughter, Aurora, attends a Montessori school. There, students have the same tutor for three consecutive years, but several situations led to a loss of trust from the family toward the teacher, which ended with the demand for a change of tutor.

There is names clearly associated with the territory, such as Tura in Olot, Gil in Osona, Vinyet in Sitges, and Mercè in Barcelona. But is Mercè really a popular name in the city—with Eulalia's permission—that is the patron saint? If we look at the statistics, we could say that the Mercè festivities are more popular than the name itself.

Dermatologists make it clear: there is no such thing as a healthy tan. "A tan is always a consequence of the damage caused by ultraviolet radiation to our skin, and therefore, the best thing we can do to care for our skin is to prevent it," explains Francesc Alamon, a dermatologist at Hospital Clínic. Prevention involves adequate sun protection, physical protection with clothing, hats, and sunglasses, as well as avoiding the hours of greatest sunlight, which "is key to mitigating the effects the sun can have on our skin," adds Alamon. Photoaging and many of the spots and wrinkles that appear on the skin, especially on the face, are a consequence of the photoexposure we have accumulated over the years.

Getting water in your ears isn't serious, this is the first thing Fran Fernández Segura, a family doctor at the CAP la Paz in Barcelona, ​​makes clear, but it can be annoying. "The external ear is like a tube, and when water gets in it at the beach or in the pool, it will come out naturally," he explains. If it takes a while or bothers us, we can use a towel to dry the ear or move our head. However, under no circumstances should the ear be manipulated by inserting objects or cotton swabs "because it can become inflamed and we can introduce bacteria."

In Perfectly imperfect (Universo), writer and screenwriter Carla Gracia constructs a fictional narrative to address very real issues: life with a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the lack of shared responsibility in parenting, and the complexity of family relationships. A theatrical adaptation is already in preparation. And this September, she will publish the children's book. The Adventures of Capybara and His Friends.

Viruses don't take vacations. "They're present all year round, but the protagonist changes depending on the temperature and the climate," explains Fran Fernández Segura, family doctor at the CAP la Paz in Barcelona. Viruses are not, therefore, exclusive to winter. And the most common in the respiratory system are enteroviruses and rhinoviruses. The coronavirus also circulates. "It's true that summer climatic factors aren't the most suitable for them to survive, but viruses do," he adds.