Between Banyuls and Portvendres, in the Roussillon, there is a coast that has lived for more than a century with its back to tourism. The Costa Vermella, the continuation of the Costa Brava towards Northern Catalonia, displays one of its most well-preserved landscapes. There are no second homes, nor sports ports. But rather a protected area on the seafront and vineyards that merge with the water. It is the bay of Paulilles, a collection of beaches saved from the tourist massification of the 60s and 70s thanks to dynamite.

What does Homer teach us about the human psyche? This is the starting point of Mental Odyssey (Kitaeru), written by Dr. Sam Akbar. The book stems from her dual experience: that of a classical philologist trained at Oxford and a clinical psychologist who has worked for years with survivors of extreme violence.

Why does a family continue to work with centuries-old fabrics when everyone consumes new clothes that may not even last a year in the closet? In an era dominated by Shein and Temu – among other fast-fashion giants – there is a shop in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter that defies this logic and works in the exact opposite direction. At L’Arca, sheets, bedspreads, and curtains from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are transformed into wedding dresses or pieces of ready-to-wear. Its raw material is not just quality cotton, silk or linen: it is time. “It is part of a history and we are only writing a new chapter,” summarizes Carmina Pairet, one of the current managers of the space she shares with her sister Nina Balmes.This way of understanding fashion is not a recent trend, but the result of two family lines – one with roots in Maresme and the other in Garrotxa – that have revolved around lace for almost two centuries. The exhibition Treasures of L'Arca, which this year is hosted by the Museum of Arenys de Mar, recovers this history and shows how lace was much more than a decorative element: it also constituted a powerful industry, a business with international projection and a heritage that has managed to reinvent itself. But to understand why a family continues to work today with centuries-old fabrics, we must go back to Catalonia in the mid-19th century.When the tip was luxury, culture, and merchandise

In 1856, at the height of Barcelona's industrial boom, Casa Vives was founded, one of the companies that best understood the commercial potential of Catalan lace. Beyond the romantic imagery that surrounds it, lace was much more than an ornament: it was a prosperous industry, a business with an export vocation, and a product capable of competing in major international markets. The firm's participation in the Universal Exhibitions of Barcelona (1888) and Chicago (1893) is a good example of this. "Lace was luxury, culture, and merchandise," summarizes Carmina Pairet.

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Few people set trends in Hollywood as much as Zendaya, who always makes daring and personal stylistic choices. The actress has once again proven she is unbeatable on the red carpet by appearing at the premiere of The Odyssey in a dress that left no one indifferent. In the film, she plays the goddess Athena, and Zendaya has decided to dress in keeping with her role: she chose a sculptural design from the firm Schiaparelli that surprises with a white breastplate-like upper body that accentuates her breasts and ribs. The corset, in fact, can be reminiscent of an ancient Greek sculpture, undoubtedly a nod to the film in which she participates, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem.

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For decades, talking about menopause and the changes it causes in women has been a taboo and neglected topic. Fortunately, from that "women's issues", we are moving towards a new era where importance is beginning to be placed on this vital stage. This stage involves, beyond the often-caricatured hot flashes or the better-known osteoporosis, a whole series of hormonal changes that affect women's overall health and life. A physiological transition discussed with rigor and in a very didactic and understandable way by Laia Blanco, Inés Ramírez, and Stéphanie Kauffmann in the book "Placer en la menopausia" (Plataforma editorial), a guide that proposes women face this stage of life with well-being, pleasure, and fullness. These goals can be achieved if it is understood and managed appropriately. As Inés Ramírez explains, "there are a whole host of symptoms linked to menopause that are underdiagnosed and are still very taboo. Hence the need to talk about this topic. And we do so from the observation and experience of all the years we have spent in consultation, seeing women who suffer from all these symptoms associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause".

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When María José Alier first crossed the doors of Elisava, in 1961, design was still an emerging discipline in Catalonia. The school had just been founded, the classrooms were exclusively for women, and there was only one specialization: interior design. Sixty-five years later, Elisava celebrates its anniversary as an international university center with dozens of specializations and students from all over the world. The trajectory of the Alier-Botey family allows us to explain, almost as if it were a timeline, how design has evolved over these decades.

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As soon as he opened his eyes, Nil felt he had had too much white wine. He also felt a terrible heat. He is sweating profusely. Pol lies unconscious on the cot nearby. Jan and Roc, in the other cabin, are also sleeping.

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Building a career sometimes involves great sacrifices. Balancing personal and professional life often seems an unattainable challenge, but the fact is that we must move forward on this dual vital scale and, most importantly, we must do so by giving each of the areas the time and attention they deserve, understanding, from the outset, that we cannot say yes to everything. Starting from this premise, Joris Van der Schoot and Agustín Peralt have collected in their book Work like a northerner, live like a Mediterranean (Plataforma Editorial) what they consider to be the ten essential commandments to better organize our lives and achieve balance between work and personal life.

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The ascent to Mount Fuji does not begin at the summit, nor even at the trail that climbs up the mountain. It begins much earlier, when it is still pitch black at the fifth station and the air retains that dry, biting cold that surprises those who have just left behind the mugginess of midsummer in Tokyo. At that hour, groups form almost in silence. Headlamps are adjusted, backpacks are checked, and the final preparations are made before starting the climb.

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The art of not complicating life. The title of the book by writer and essayist Alexis Racionero, although not what he initially intended, is a whole declaration of intent of what we find in this editorial proposal published by Arpa. An essay that deals with the importance of simplifying life and living with more authenticity and serenity. It delves into the main philosophical and cultural practices of the East and West in search of guidelines that allow fostering disaffection and betting on presence and austerity to achieve greater happiness and well-being.

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They sat down in front of the enormous window, in the only two armchairs in the room. Two white leather and wood armchairs, matching the footrest. The views were spectacular. They had recently moved into the house of their dreams. A moving company took care of everything. In fact, with the move they took the opportunity to clean up and get rid of weight, both physically and emotionally. Neither travel guides nor dictionaries made sense, everything was already on the internet; nor were the books they had already read. Nor the CDs. Suddenly, no dust, no silverfish, no mold. They would live in a space of glass, wood, and concrete. Energy efficiency A.

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In an era marked by screens, artificial intelligence, and hyperconnectivity, more and more people are dedicating part of their free time to manual activities such as ceramics, embroidery, crochet, furniture restoration, or clothing making. This phenomenon, known as DIY (Do It Yourself or “Do it yourself”), has ceased to be an activity exclusively associated with specific generations to become a widespread practice among people of all ages.

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One day, when Sergio was a teenager, he realized that his mother had aged. He hadn't seen those wrinkles on her face before. Time passed inexorably, without him being able to do anything to prevent it. For the first time, the idea that time in this world was finite struck him forcefully, even though his friends hadn't even bothered to think about it. When you are young, time seems static and infinite.Since that day, Sergio C. Fanjul (Oviedo, 1980) suffers from what is known as chronophobia, the fear of the passage of time. An experience that this astrophysics and journalism graduate has captured in essay form in the book Cronofobia (Arpa, 2025), in which he also explores a society that he believes suffers from the same ailment as him: “There are many problems, not only in dealing with dying, but with aging and the fear of the future. The acceleration of time makes us become patients of nostalgia,” he assures.If we stop to think about it, there are billions of people who have preceded us and nothing remains of their passage on earth. Fortunately, we know some names that have achieved something important, but not much more. There are even figures like Shakespeare or Cervantes, who are often little more than a name, perhaps even a pseudonym of another person.This feeling, according to Fanjul, makes many people uncomfortable. “We are very hungry for transcendence and to overcome death compared to previous societies”, he assures. The author believes that societies used to be more communal and more connected with their town and family, so when you died they knew they would live on in others. On the other hand, today's individualistic society makes us feel that if we die, the world ends.The fear of death is inherent to the human condition. “That is why a large part of our culture is related to beliefs and religions that help us understand why on earth we are here for such a limited time,” Fanjul continues. During his research, he has even met people who cannot bear the idea of not having existed before being born.In fact, chronophobia is not easy to digest. He himself admits that he spends every day calculating the years lived and those that, if all goes well, he has left until he reaches death. Even when he goes on vacation, he spends his time calculating how much time has passed and how much is left to finish them. “The idea often strikes me that time has slipped through my fingers, this feeling of 'that's it, this party or dinner is over,' and I think that when I die I will have the same feeling after a lifetime,” he reflects.'Tempus fugit'

But, what is time really? Augustine of Hippo said that he knew what time was, but that if you asked him, he couldn't explain it. "This is the feeling we all have: we function with time, we make an appointment with someone, days and weeks pass, but no one can explain to you what it is," says Fanjul. Many theories have been developed, and the author explores them throughout the essay. Those he likes best are the externalist ones, that is, those that say that past and future are real at the same time, that everything is happening at the same moment. “We are a consciousness that goes through different moments and now we perceive what we live in this moment in time, but at the same time we are being born, living our childhood, old age, and even dying,” he continues. For him, this theory comforts him: “It means that, even if you die, your whole life will be happening and will be eternal, happening all at once,” he clarifies.Be that as it may, as we get older, time passes by faster and faster, and it seems we can do nothing to prevent it. Many studies have been done on this and it is known that for children and young people everything is new, and therefore their brain must always be processing information. This is how time passes more slowly for them. As one stops learning new things and being surprised by things, time begins to accelerate. “If you notice, when you travel the first few days pass slowly, because you have to explore the city. On the other hand, the last ones, when you already know everything, start to get faster and faster,” he points out.However, many people live trapped by nostalgia for the past. For Fanjul, this feeling is very characteristic of our times, when future prospects are very unpredictable. “Between totalitarianism, the climate crisis, and the advance of technology, young people do not see a clear future and look back,” he considers. In fact, the author believes that we live in a society that is both youth-loving and youth-hating: “Youth is idolized and desired, but young people are also considered “useless” and things are not made easy for them,” he criticizes. Finally, the author points out that many philosophers, like the Stoics, have preached that happiness is neither in the past nor in the future, but in the present. Therefore, the ideal way to learn to live in a world where time slips through our fingers is to seize the moment and have a life rich in experiences. "But not the ones they sell now, which are going to a trendy restaurant, but small, enriching everyday things, like being with the people you love, walking, resting, eating well, and taking care of yourself. This makes life more pleasant and time slows down a bit more," he concludes.

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Meritxell and Toni were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. At first, their tastes, however particular, were very similar: they both liked patatas bravas, burrata, Andalusian-style fried squid rings, and fricandó. When they were on their second spoonful of the tiramisu they were sharing, they opened up to each other.

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The hat shop Mil (Fontanella, 20, in Barcelona) has become a hopeful exception among Barcelona's emblematic businesses. While in recent years real estate pressure has forced some owners to close, Núria Arnau, fourth generation of the business, reached an agreement with the building's owner company, Catalana d'Occident, for them to renew the lease and avoid moving. Arnau and her two sons, Sergi and Jordi Creus, were not confident since the COVID restrictions ended, and had started holding public activities in their workshop, but Occident not only renewed their contract at an affordable price, but also financed the renovation of the premises.

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More than 140 years after the laying of the first stone, even today, what is considered Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece continues to take shape. In the final years of his prolific career, he poured all his efforts into building a temple that has today become Barcelona's main tourist attraction. Thousands of people visit it every year, and there seems to be a widespread consensus on its architectural and cultural value. However, the building has not been without controversy, starting with the fact that some question whether what we see today is what Gaudí would have done.

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We live in an era marked by immediacy. We answer messages while walking, constantly check notifications, and often end the day feeling like we've been busy all the time without really connecting with ourselves. Speed, hyperproductivity, and the need to always respond immediately are part of a culture that leaves less and less room for emotional rest. Gaby Hostnik, a specialist and trainer in applied neuroscience and emotional intelligence, author of the book The future is what you do today (Bruguera, 2026), talks about this contemporary malaise.

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Lifting weights has become very fashionable in the world of sports. If a few years ago running became the trend of the moment, now more and more people are signing up for the gym to do strength training. However, unlike aerobic training, which is known to have good consequences for health, until now there was little evidence of the benefits of lifting weights. But that has just changed: a new study has shown that doing moderate strength training, between 90 and 120 minutes a week, reduces mortality.

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Lola Casademunt, one of the benchmark Catalan fashion brands, celebrated its 45th anniversary this Wednesday with a fashion show at Barcelona's Llotja de Mar, where it presented the spring-summer 2027 collection, a proposal greatly inspired by the city's spirit. "La Joya [collection name] aims to pay homage to Barcelona, the city that is part of our DNA and has inspired us for 45 years. The architecture, the light, the colors, and this unique blend of tradition, art, and modernity have guided the entire collection," explains Maite Casademunt, president and creative director of Lola Casademunt.

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Imagine for a moment that you are in a room and you close the window because it is cold. You leave for a few minutes to get something and, when you return, the window is open again. Surprised, you tell your partner what just happened to you and they tell you that you are not well in the head, that you are making it up and that it has always been open. And now imagine that not only have they called you crazy, but that the one who actually opened the window while you were out was your partner.This manipulation technique is called gaslighting and was powerfully depicted in George Cukor's film Gaslight in 1944. In the film, a man manipulates his wife and makes her believe she is going crazy because she claims the gaslights in the house are dimming for no reason, unaware that he is behind this mystery. "He denies doing it to create doubt and terror in the woman's mind and, literally, to extinguish her reason," explains philosopher Hélène Frappat in Gaslight, or the Art of Silencing Women (Paidós, 2025). In this book, the author analyzes the history of this phenomenon, which she claims has transcended the boundary of personal relationships to reach historical revisionism itself. But, above all, she focuses on how gaslighting is a form of physical and psychological abuse towards women. A concept that, as early as the fifties, became a psychological category in the United States: "It is defined as a maneuver intended to manipulate someone into doubting their perceptions, experiences, or understanding of events," explains Frappat.The concept of gaslighting appeared shortly before Betty Friedan wrote her famous 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, in which she spoke of the "nameless" malaise that housewives living in the suburbs of the United States had. According to Friedan, this "mystique" was based on modeling the lives of these women according to an image that transformed them into "puppets". "The mystified woman comes to doubt her personality, her intelligence and her existence as an adult human being", explains Frappat.Psychological trap

For her part, North American researcher Jennifer Freyd analyzed the roles of the victim and the aggressor, and how they come to be exchanged between them during a process of gaslighting. "The aggressor is keen to give the impression that they are being unfairly attacked and that their victim is the real aggressor," she explains. In other words, a double strategy is carried out: "I destroy you, while convincing you that this destruction never existed, except in your sick mind," she qualifies.Suffering a gaslighting situation can be very detrimental to the victim, who can be subjected by their aggressor not only from a psychological point of view, but also sexually, and end up engaging in practices they would not really want to do. Doctor David W. Wahl discusses this in Psychology Todaymagazine, where he explains the case of a study analyzing a couple having sex under the influence of alcohol. Although she, under normal conditions, would not consent to anal sex, he ignored it, taking advantage of her state. The next day, if she complained, he would assure her that, in reality, she was the one who had asked him to do it. In this way, he distorted the victim's reality, making her believe his version and even making her feel guilty for having drunk.Knowing whether one is suffering or has suffered a gaslighting situation is not always easy. At the University of Michigan, there is The Gaslighting Project, where victims are invited to share their experiences to further investigate this process, whether in the context of romantic relationships, family, or even work. Detect danger

Toxic relationships have always existed. Fortunately, we now have many more tools to detect them and escape in time. Silvia Llop talks about all this in her new book Ahí no es, Mari Carmen (Plataforma Editorial, 2025). The psychologist assures that, of all the manipulations that can occur in a couple's relationship, gaslighting is one of the most destructive, because it is not always seen. “You don't always realize you are being manipulated, that the tables are being turned, or that you are being deceived, and then you end up not trusting yourself”, she laments.According to Llop, behind a person who gaslights, all sorts of traumas and emotions that they don't know how to manage can be found. “Most of them learned it at home, where they saw or directly experienced a situation of gaslighting,” she assures. It is possible that they are not even aware that they are practicing this, but it is a tool they have learned when faced with situations or feelings they don't know how to confront. On the other hand, to understand a person suffering from gaslighting, it must be taken into account that, previously, there has been a history that has been gestating. “You don’t see these attitudes on the first date. At first, 95% is magical and perfect and there is a 5% conflict that, over time, will grow larger,” explains the psychologist. In this way, at first you fall in love with a person who appears charming, and it is this that hooks you little by little, without realizing that you are falling into the trap of a toxic relationship. “Since at the beginning they have been such a wonderful person, later, when they get angry or have bad behavior, you excuse them thinking they are having a bad day,” Llop continues.Focus and self-esteem

So, how can we realize that we are entering a destructive spiral with our partner? “We have to learn to separate between feelings and reason: we cannot control the feelings and the attraction that a person generates in us, but there is another more mental part that we can evaluate, such as what kind of relationship they offer us and how they make us feel”, reflects Llop. Some of the questions we could ask ourselves are: What kind of dynamic do they offer us? Some days they make us feel good and others we spend crying? Is this what we want in life?Of course, leaving a toxic relationship where practices like gaslighting are practiced is not easy, but it is not impossible either. According to Llop, before taking any step, you have to start working on your self-esteem. “Do activities that fulfill you, go to therapy, connect with yourself, and don't allow the other person to distance you from all the people you love,” says the expert, who assures that it is very common for the abuser to isolate the victim from their entire environment. Rebuilding self-esteem is basic to being able to realize the abusive situation you are in and to be able to face the aggressor. “When you start focusing on the red flags is when you can start to get out of it,” she continues. Once out, it is important to maintain zero contact with that person to avoid falling back into the relationship, a situation that becomes complicated when children are involved.Even though a toxic relationship may have ended, it can take the victim some time to recover psychologically. For this reason, Llop advises them to undergo therapy for a while. “There has been such great destruction that it is as if a bomb had been dropped inside you. You have to rebuild yourself, understand what happened and, above all, not allow yourself to feel guilty for having “allowed” it, but rather understand where you came from and why you got involved. Only then will you be able to ensure that it does not happen to you again,” she concludes.

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