The inflationary spiral of diesel and gasoline prices due to political instability in the Middle East has led to significant growth in electric car sales in recent months in Europe. Products like the Raval Plus only confirm this trend, as manufacturers offer mature, serious, technological, and very practical models, with correct power and considerable ranges, at increasingly attractive prices, such as the €29,530 that Cupra is asking for the new Raval Plus, which becomes less than €25,000 if the Auto+ plan aid is added, and which could be significantly lower depending on the brand's commercial promotions.The new Cupra Raval Plus uses a 135 HP electric motor powered by an LFP battery with a capacity of 38.5 kWh, which allows it to achieve an approved range of 328 kilometers, more than enough for a youthful model with an urban focus. Furthermore, this Raval Plus can be charged at a direct current point of up to 88 kW of power, allowing the battery to be recharged from 10% to 80% in just 23 minutes.

In the late 14th century, Barcelona had a network of care centers for the most disadvantaged, but they had become too small and inefficient. The black plague and crop-damaging plagues took a terrible toll: around 1340 the city had about 40,000 inhabitants, but by the mid-15th century the figure had fallen to 20,000; that is, it had lost 50% of its inhabitants in just one century. "More than an absolute degradation, the real problem was the lack of efficiency," explains Antoni Conejo, an art historian specializing in medieval architecture and hospitals. Faced with this, it was proposed to merge six of these small centers into a single institution: the Hospital de la Santa Creu. The first stone was laid on April 17, 1401, 625 years ago. The official foundation took place on September 5 of the same year with the authorization of Pope Benedict XIII. The great hospital was one of the first, if not the earliest, on the European continent to promote a merger of this type. The black plague and plagues that damaged crops caused real havoc: around 1340 the city had about 40,000 inhabitants, but by the mid-15th century the figure had fallen to 20,000; that is, it had lost 50% of its inhabitants in just one century. "More than an absolute degradation, the real problem was the lack of efficiency," explains Antoni Conejo, an art historian specializing in medieval architecture and hospitals. Faced with this, it was proposed to merge six of these small centers into a single institution: the Hospital de la Santa Creu. The first stone was laid on April 17, 1401, 625 years ago. The official foundation took place on September 5 of the same year with the authorization of Pope Benedict XIII. The great hospital was one of the first, if not the earliest, on the European continent to promote a merger of this type.

Gilda Love, considered the longest-lived drag queen in the State, died at the age of 100 this Sunday in Barcelona, according to sources close to the artist. Born in Cadiz as Eduardo Enrique Gustavo, the drag queen became an icon in the seventies in Raval cabarets. In recent years, Gilda Love had appeared little in public, but her legacy remains current in the world of drag.The artist began her career at the Madame Arthur cabaret in Paris, where she adopted the name of the mythical character from the film Gilda, played by actress Rita Hayworth. After her time in the French capital, Gilda Love revolutionized the Raval with her performances in emblematic venues such as El Cangrejo. In a Barcelona of lights, cabarets, and showgirls, Gilda Love defied all the obstacles she had to live through during Francoism due to her dissident sexual identity. The drag-queen also shared the stage with icons such as Carmen Picot, known as La Wernof, or Carmen de Mairena.In 2022, filmmaker Enric Ribes immortalized the cabaret artist in a documentary titled Cantando en las azoteas, a tribute to the artist's long and difficult career, which, according to critic Paula Arantzazu Ruiz in ARA, "elegantly sidesteps nostalgia (...) to address the domestic, professional, and family profile of the elderly drag artist". Ribes himself explained in an interview with Cinemanía that he wanted to give "visibility to old age in the LGBTI community", and that the documentary's objective was "to pay tribute to the many Gildes who have existed, who have always been underestimated".The drag queen Briggita Lamoure has lamented the loss of Gilda Love, stating that "thanks to Gilda and other pioneers," she can now dedicate herself "in freedom to transmitting the values of diversity in art." This year, the artist's hometown, San Fernando, has created the Gilda Love award to recognize the contribution of people who defend the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community; in fact, the award in this first edition has gone precisely to Gilda Love, as was announced just a few days ago coinciding with Pride celebrations."}

The team formed by BAAS architecture and h3o architects has won the competition convened by BIMSA for the rehabilitation of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu de Barcelona complex. The project includes the rehabilitation and expansion of the spaces of the Biblioteca de Catalunya and the future District Library, as well as the rehabilitation of the theater, the chapel, the Icub offices, and various common spaces. The approximate budget for the work is 29.6 million euros.

The Mossos d'Esquadra and the Guardia Urbana of Barcelona have reinforced their uniformed presence in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, especially in the Rambla del Raval area, after two fights in two days have put the police forces on alert. Now there are more public order agents in the area to prevent reprisals of these brawls.

El Raval is one of the liveliest neighborhoods in Barcelona, with a density of restaurants that can overwhelm anyone. Between the establishments geared towards passing tourists, the chains that have occupied street corners, and the businesses that have been feeding the neighborhood for decades, choosing where to sit is not as easy as it seems. Those who live here know it: the options have multiplied, but finding places where the cuisine has soul and the service is genuine requires a bit of discernment.

Can you imagine that today, in 2026, at a newsstand or a Good Coffee shop, amidst the array of magazines, collectibles, tourist guides, city maps, trading cards, and toys—newspapers still clinging to a corner—you could buy a board game to beat in a row, a game designed to stimulate the user, instead of encouraging them to wander through the Raval district to solicit sex, dodge pimps' knives, and pay to avoid contracting syphilis? Can you imagine that today, in 2026, you could find an erotic guide to Barcelona there, showing you the best areas and establishments to find prostitutes? Well, that, which seems like science fiction, was a feasible reality in Barcelona in the late seventies and early eighties.

Barcelona is laying the foundation for addressing the lack of sports facilities in the Raval district, aiming to foster "cohesion and community building" among residents and encourage young people to stay connected to the area. Mayor Jaume Collboni announced on Monday that the city council plans to transform the existing Drassanes municipal court—located in Raval Sud—into an indoor sports center with stands and changing rooms, covering an area of ​​2,094 square meters. The project, representing an investment of €11.7 million, is slated to begin in 2028—the bidding process for the preliminary design will start immediately—and the City Council estimates that construction could take approximately two years. The facility is not expected to open until at least 2031. Currently, the municipal court on Drassanes Avenue is an open-air facility managed by the Ciutat Vella Sports Association and is a popular venue for futsal and basketball. In fact, it's the only sports court in the neighborhood where teams like CFS Nou de la Rambla (men's and women's) can play in official league matches. The project to transform it will create a new multi-sports pavilion that can accommodate a wider range of sports, including handball, futsal, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. The stands will have seating for 250 people. "We want to ensure that residents who wish to can continue living in Ciutat Vella," Collboni stated.

In 2021, after more than 90 years serving lunches and dinners in Barcelona's Raval, Pol Rodríguez's parents had to close their family restaurant, Can Lluís. They were evicted by the investment fund that owned the building, with whom they had been negotiating to buy the premises for seven years. Rodríguez, who was then writing a film about homeless people, felt that "reality was entering the project" and turned his family's experience into the starting point for a fictional story about the housing conflict, the predatory voracity of capitalism, and the resilience of people who feel betrayed by ineffective laws.

Virginia Cierco has been managing the San Pablo - Santa Cruz Library in the heart of Barcelona's Raval district for three years. She began her internship at a high school on Meridiana Avenue, where the library was a rather dreary room. Now she dreams of expanding the facility, located next to the Library of Catalonia, and approaches each day with passion.

Our beloved Pitu Cunillera Gustems (1938-2026), shoemaker and activist from the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, ​​has passed away. You left without receiving a proper tribute. You, who were the driving force that brought together the residents of what was then Barcelona's Fifth District. El Chino. El Raval. And who, after several attempts thwarted by the local government, founded the Fifth District Residents' Association in 1973, which was approved a year later. A curious association: first the children and the elderly. And of course, there had to be a Fun Committee, because for decades street parties had been what maintained solidarity and morale.

The Cupra Raval will be one of the most important cars of 2026, and the Baix Llobregat-based brand has already confirmed the price of the entry-level version of its electric model, which will be the cheapest in the Cupra lineup. The Raval shares the electric platform debuted by the Volkswagen ID. Polo, which will also be manufactured in Martorell, but unlike the latter, it will have a slightly sportier setup (15 millimeters lower body, stiffer suspension, electronic differential on the front wheels, and more responsive steering) that should justify its aspirational price.

The story of Succulent dates back to 2012, when chef Carles Abellan And his partner Javier Coto opened it at number 43 on the Rambla del Raval, bringing on board chef Toni Romero (Nules, Castellón de la Plana, 1986) in the kitchen. El Suculent was such a success that it soon had two adjoining restaurants: Taverna del Suculent (specializing in small plates) and 4 con 5 Mujades (vegetarian cuisine). Three restaurants, side by side, of which only El Suculent remains today, with Toni Romero as its sole owner. He has been at the helm for seven years and has managed to become a benchmark for good Catalan cuisine, with nods to dishes and preparations from other cuisines that the chef enjoys and that he learned from his experience in restaurants like El Bulli, where he was a chef de partie. Toni Romero It reaffirms the difficulties of having a licensed restaurant in Barcelona.which aren't just economical. We interviewed him on a Monday at midday, a day the chef had been expecting calmly, but which suddenly found every table full. Suculent is open Monday through Friday. And anyone who's never been should know that it's located in the middle of a busy promenade, full of all kinds of shops, and that it has a double door: the one that leads to the first room of the restaurant opens after pressing a button. "The double door allows us to isolate ourselves from the noise and, in winter, from the cold," says the chef.

Hidden in the hall From a hotel, you only have to wait a few seconds to start seeing the parade. The glass is translucent, but leaves a small transparent opening at eye level that allows a clear and unobstructed view of the doorway. It's important to hide. The dealers are on the lookout to see if anyone is watching for too long and, if in doubt, they always choose to abort the transaction. The receptionist doesn't object to the hotel becoming a lookout point, and some tourists curiously watch what a person is doing pressed against a window.

Since 1904. The Italian The door has been open to Carrer del Bonsuccés since 1904. Impressive, isn't it? And even more impressive is what Carla Rivali, the owner and fourth generation of this family-run fresh pasta business, tells us. Almost 100% of its numerous customers are locals, that is, Barcelona residents. In the middle of the tourist hotspot, north of Raval and next to La Rambla. But there are no neighbors here, right? In its immediate area of influence, there are still some, and they are mostly Barcelona residents who work in the neighborhood. They go to La Italiana to buy lunch and choose from the variety of options on its daily menu.

Barcelona City Council is putting the accelerator on the urban transformation of the Raval neighborhood. Almost 10 months after the controversialevictionFrom the old Massana, the municipal government of Jaume Collboni announced this Monday the rehabilitation projects for the façade and cloister of the former Hospital de la Santa Cruz to serve as, along with the area surrounding the Plaça de la Gardunya, the "great gateway to the neighborhood," according to the Ciutat Vella councilor, Albert Batlle. The council will also rehabilitate the former nursery building to house the expansion of the Massana Art School and turn it into a cultural "landmark" for the city.

HeFormer Hospital of the Holy Cross It has a long history. King Martin the Humane witnessed the laying of the building's foundation stone on February 13, 1401. It was a huge, pioneering building for its time, located where the Biblioteca de Catalunya now stands, and it united six hospitals. It was in operation until 1926 and left behind a very important documentary and archaeological legacy.

A 73-year-old man committed suicide yesterday after being evicted from the apartment he was occupying on Robador Street in Barcelona's Raval neighborhood. The eviction took place in the morning, and at that time the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) collected some of the man's belongings, such as his cell phone and ID. They also told him that he could later arrange with the owner how to collect the remaining items he still had in the apartment. However, in the afternoon, the man returned to the apartment to try to collect his clothes. This triggered the alarm that had been installed the same morning after he had been evicted and the apartment returned to the owner. The police arrived immediately, and the man asked to go back inside to collect his belongings. It was then that, while the officers were asking him to leave, he threw himself off the balcony of an interior courtyard from a third floor apartment, as reported by the police. The Country and the ARA has been able to confirm this from police and judicial sources. The same sources explained that the man died from the same fall and that nothing could be done to save his life.

It's part of the collective memory of the residents of El Raval, and soon it will no longer be a memory. Founded in 1929 on Carrer de la Cera, Can Lluís has, over the years, become a living part of Barcelona's history. For several generations, Can Lluís has kept the culinary tradition alive, but it has also experienced historic moments. had stepped into the iconic placeIts closure was a loss for Barcelona's culinary culture. After so much time, the last owners, Ferran Rodríguez and Júlia Ferrer, were forced to close: in 2021, after the pandemic hit, they were facing unaffordable rent and began legal proceedings that ended in eviction.

A new Pötstot (c. Pintor Fortuny, 32) has taken over at the legendary L'Hortet, which closed forever on January 23. Everything has changed, in the decor and the menu, but there's an invisible thread that links the two projects: healthy eating. If L'Hortet was a pioneer as a vegetarian, Pötstot is a pioneer in gluten-free and lactose-free food. Hence the name, which nods to the languages of northern Europe, perhaps German, and others: "We want to say 'you can eat everything,'" explain Manel Forés and Quim Viñas, the restaurant's owners, hours before the first service begins, at which point they'll be able to test everything they've been preparing. This Raval restaurant will be the second Pötstot and the fourth restaurant for Forés i Viñas (The first two were Casa Àngela, opposite the Sagrada Família), and right now they confirm that they run a group of restaurants, with all the respect that the word generates for them cluster, but in any case what they assure is that the Pötstot del Raval makes them very excited.