There are stories that remain buried in the depths of the sea, not just under tons of water, but also under a thick layer of secrets and litigation. The galleon San José left Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) on May 29, 1708, with tons of gold, silver, and precious stones that the Spanish had extracted from America. The destination was Cádiz, and the Bourbons were anxiously awaiting its arrival because the coffers were quite empty due to the War of Succession. The ship, with 600 crew members, never reached its destination: the British, who also coveted the gold and silver, were lying in wait and sank it near the Rosario Islands, in the Caribbean. The treasure, which is not documented, went to the bottom of the sea with all the crew and has since fueled a host of legends. Even Gabriel García Márquez mentions it in Love in the Time of Cholera.

After September 11, 1714, the Bourbons decided to build a massive citadel in Barcelona to control a city whose population lacked strength and resources, and could barely feed itself or rebuild the houses destroyed by bombs. In fact, as he explained Albert Garcia Espuche in an interview at ARAThe people of Barcelona thought the victorious military wouldn't be capable of what they ended up doing: demolishing a thousand houses and wiping out 17% of Barcelona's surface area. One of the neighborhoods they erased from the map was La Ribera, where mainly fishermen and sailors lived. More than 300 years later, one of the streets swallowed by the rubble has resurfaced: the old Caldes Street (now Antiga de Sant Joan Street). Four of the cannonballs fired by the Bourbon army at the houses have even been found. The construction of the new sewer system has uncovered a twenty-meter stretch and up to nine houses that stood on both sides of the street. They are quite humble houses. Closer to Passeig del Born, there was likely an inn. The dining room and even the location of the fireplace can still be seen. It was in this house that four cannonballs, about thirty centimeters long, were found. Next door were probably taverns where sailors went to eat and drink. Towards the area of ​​the present-day Avenida del Marqués de la Argentera, there were salted fish shops, cod fishmongers... Archaeological work has uncovered some evidence of this activity: large ceramic tongs and some cooking grills. Archaeologists have also found many coins, many kaolin pipes, a ring, spoons...

After forty thousand bombs and bullets, no home in Barcelona remained unscathed. That ruined and silent Barcelona that continued to resist is the one described, with his characteristic precision, by Albert Garcia Espuche (Barcelona, ​​1951), in After (Símbolo Editores). Through the eyes of a notary, the historian, architect, and novelist wanders the streets, enters houses, and sifts through inventories to discuss what happened after September 11, 1714. Without the historian's research, which has produced a vast body of work on the 16th and 17th centuries, and his interpretation of social, economic, and cultural life, the Born archaeological site would have been preserved. Garcia Espuche explains that he cannot stop writing and continues to delve passionately into the city's past. For the first time, he co-authored the book with his wife, the art historian Núria Rivero, who died in 2024.