Showing posts with label Boqueria Market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boqueria Market. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

#1 El Naranjito: Redescubriendo el Mercado de la Boquería



Hoy en día el mercado de la Boquería ya no es lo que era, pero nunca perderá capacidad de sorprendernos. Todos los sábados, algunos de los que vivimos en las Ramblas, mantenemos la tradición de ir el sábado a primera hora de la mañana, empezar con un buen desayuno en el Bar Pinocho, y llenar la cesta con producto fresco.

Aunque últimamente es difícil moverse entre los puestos por tanto turista y muchos se han orientado hacia el turismo, me sorprendió encontrar uno que jamás había visto: El Naranjito. Lo que me llamó la atención fue una caja de aguacates de Granada, de tamaño mínúsculo, que la tendera inmediatamente me dio a probar. ¡Increíbles! Me ofreció también mandarinas, recién llegadas de Castellón, y me contó que la tienda era muy conocida por los cítricos desde que la montó su tío en los años 50. 

Echo un vistazo mientras ella me cuenta la historia de su familia, el por qué del Naranjito del 82, y veo que ofrece también hacer zumos, directamente con la fruta que tiene y en una batidora como la que tengo en casa. Loli, que así se llama, me dice que ella nunca transformaría su frutería en una tienda de de batidos fast-drink. Simplemente ofrece zumos hechos al momento, con su propia fruta, pero sin perder el horizonte de que es una frutería en uno de los mercados más emblemáticos del mundo, aunque ya no sea lo que era.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

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 20th 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

Editorial Entrecomes

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Pinotxo Bar

The best place to have breakfast at 8 a.m. His owner, Juanito, will receive you always with a smile from 6.30am! It's one of the real "tapas" bar, where you can eat "cap i pota", mongetes (white beans), lamb ribs, and lots of other real traditional catalan tapas. The best moment to go, even if you feel you can only have a coffee with ensaimada, is before 9 a.m where you will find local people, market sellers and sometimes famous catalan chefs.

Place: Boquería Market.