Remembering la Carmeta, Boqueria market

The Boqueria market has always been more than a market; a place where you could find not only food but also people trying to sell whatever they could, such as paintings, clothes, whatever that could help feeding the family in times of crisis. “Històries de la Boqueria” by Àngela Navarro i Abad, introduces us the world of this ancient market from the 20s to the 50s of the 20^th Century throughout her mother, la Carmeta.

During the difficult period, where a war was about to occur and the post-war decade where hunger was the main critical factor, la Carmeta and her husband managed to bring up a family and a vegetable shop in the market. Buying every morning the goods in the old Born market (nowadays restored as a museum) and working full days trying to sell the vegetables in the Gardunya square, where the car park is. That entire square was, in those times, part of the market and the farmers came there to sell their fresh products. 

La Carmenta explains day life in the market and people that where and still are part of it, such as Juanito from the Bar Pinotxo, whose mother managed a bar close to Carmeta’s shop and then her children, Juanito and her sister, decided to continue. We learn that the name Pinotxo is dedicated to a dog Juanito had when he was a child. She shares the concerns of that period, mainly hunger, how every day, after one o’clock, w

omen came to the market to find bargains in food and other products (L’hora dels cabassos) but also happy events, such as the multiplayer chess games that took place in the Gardunya square during the celebrations of St. Josep, who names the market.

The book is a good chance to understand an important period in the history of Barcelona, la Rambla and one of the most relevant markets in the world.

Històries de la Boqueria

Vivències d’una dona de mercat (1918-1952)

Àngela Navarro i Abad

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