Dani Alegret's recommendation involves "one of the best comic book writers" and two Catalan artists. The Barcelona musician, keyboardist forFriends of the Arts, he was quite clear about it when he was asked to recommend a read for this summer. "A comic called Friday, and that can also be read in Catalan," he said. It is a series by the American Ed Brubaker, comic book writer for Batman, Daredevil, Captain America and X-Men, among others, and winner of three Eisner awards. The drawings are by Barcelona-born Marcos Martín, an illustrious and illustrious Muntsa Vicente, who also has a solid career as an illustrator for Marvel and DC. I had read a lot, but you get older and you don't read as many anymore," Alegret admits. That said, in Friday, has been hooked. The Mai Més publishing house, with translation by Ernest Riera, has published three volumes: The first day of Christmas, On a cold winter night and It's Christmas againAs Alegret explains, it is a "mystery comic that mixes fantasy and thriller purest". The Friday The title character is about a young college student who, upon returning home for Christmas break, discovers something strange is happening in that New England town, a geographical setting connected to the history of literary mystery and horror.

"It's a deeply emotional book, written from the heart... and the greatest favor I can do for the future reader of this book is to say nothing more," explains musician Joan Enric Barceló, of the group Els Amics de les Arts. He recommends the novel. Only rain, only earth, only mud, by Montse Albets (Mataró, 1977), a debut endorsed by the Periscopio editors' keen eye, as Jordi Nopca noted a few months ago in itNow We ReadIn fact, it is the same publishing house in which Barceló published the book of stories Dying knowing few things (2023).

A pastry chef dressed as a dog, an actress, forty singers, a string quartet, a wind trio, and the unwavering enthusiasm of the audience that filled the Poble Espanyol. With these tools, the Friends of the Arts celebrated twenty years of their career. Or, as Joan Enric Barceló said, "this miracle of twenty years as a group." Barceló, Dani Alegret, and Ferran Piqué appeared on stage like entertainment stars, all three wearing pastel-colored dresses and in a pop musical staging that can go from grandiosity to intimacy in a second. Opposite them were the 5,000 people who had sold out their tickets in a couple of hours when they went on sale in October 2024. The goal for all: to return home satisfied after two inevitably sentimental hours, but without the feeling of having participated in a farewell. In fact, there's nothing to suggest that it was, despite the retrospective nature of the evening.

The Friends of the Arts have chosen Casa Batlló to address the press. "It's a Catalan heritage site, but it's hard to see Catalan people. Sometimes we struggle to appreciate our heritage," says Ferran Piqué, one of the three members of the group, along with Dani Alegret and Joan Enric Barceló. 20 years of Friends (Pistatxo Records, 2025), an album in which they combine their own songbook with around twenty collaborations with bands and artists as diverse as Tomeu Penya, The Tyets, Lluís Gavaldà, Judit Neddermann and Roger Mas. The celebration also includes four special concerts: on June 25 at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona (sold out), on August 30 at Sueca, on September 19 at the Trui Teatre in Palma and on October 10 at the Sala Prat del Roure in Escaldes Engordany (Andorra).