Raval(s). Fet per la gent del barri (Made by its locals).

 

The Raval(s) Festival, which has been running for more than twenty years, is a socio-cultural and artistic creative process driven by over 100 organisations, associations, cultural and educational centres, collectives, groups and public services in the Raval neighbourhood.
One of its main goals is to promote networking and community participation to collectively use art and culture to respond to the common challenges and objectives that we face within our territory.

We set up working spaces with the neighbourhood’s organisations, which are co-creators of this process driven by Tot Raval. And in via the festival November, we opened up all the proposals developed, bringing visibility to the vast plurality within the neighbourhood.
We set up working spaces with the neighbourhood’s organisations, which are co-creators of this process initiated by Tot Raval. And in November, via the festival, we opened up all the proposals developed, bringing visibility to the neighbourhood’s vast plurality.

On this trail presented by GRAF, you will discover stories shared by people connected to this year’s Raval(s) Festival proposals. A small sample of a much broader community network that sustains its lively activity all year round.

 

Artifici(s) – Plaça de la Gardunya.

It just so happened that we moved to the Raval neighbourhood in March and this year, for the first time, Raval(s) opened a commission for its programme called Artifici(s) (Artifice(s)), which consists of art spaces and artists from the neighbourhood co-creating a joint action in the public space.

From Cordova we invited Cácerin Houc, a dancer who we saw perform for the first time at the CCCB’s Furiasia festival in 2022. For this first edition of Artifici(s), we co-organised the event Narratives in migration together with Revive Social Art Project, with their artist Sagrada and Migratoria, and L’Occulta, with their artist Vhandha. Cácerin presented a 25-minute performance in which she mixed different dance styles, such as hip hop, heels and kathak, to talk about her own experience as the daughter of migrants. The performance is divided into different stations, in which the artist goes through processes such as adapting vs. resisting, pain, vulnerability and empowerment. The piece also includes several costume changes, with garments created specifically for the piece by Sebastián Guzmán, as well as a section where the music stops completely and only the ghungroos that Cácerin wears tied around her ankles can be heard, with a brutal result.

– Jonah Kawri Ramírez Sturzenegger (coordinador de Cordova) –

The experience that I have lived – that the Revive association has also experienced – is a union between the artist and the space. It’s a collaboration of three artists in three spaces coming together to create an event, so the experience has revolved around how we create something together. So that’s the experience and that’s what we want to generate, and that’s what you’re seeing now. And personally that’s what I’ve been wanting too, because there are so many entities, so many spaces, so many associations, so many artist collectives with that need, all in the same struggle but fighting alone. And it was like: ‘No, let’s unite. OK, let’s see, if I’m in the same situation as you, what can we do to create something together’.
At first it was hard, we didn’t know how or what to do, because we’re used to doing things individually, apart from each other. Instead, now we’re like, ‘’Oh, that’s right, we can come together!‘’ It’s really astounding, we were banging our heads together without realising that deep down it’s really easy.

– Mercedes de Jesús (Revive Social Art) –
Artifici(s) is a meeting point for cultural organisations from the neighbourhood, artists and spaces that specifically seek to bring the public closer to what is going on and things that are happening in the neighbourhood. It was born out of a collective process in which we jointly decided both the theme and the activities, the meaning of the exhibition, the form, the installation, the activities to be organised, and everything around migrant narratives, which was kind of the theme of this meeting point. Then, in Artifici(s) itself, there is a textile painting workshop, a contemporary dance performance, a fabric painting installation, and finally a DJ set by a female artist. This is Artifici(s) in a nutshell.
It was devised as a meeting point for migrants, bearing in mind that there are a large number of migrants in the neighbourhood. But it really aims to be open to anyone who feels free to come, paint, enjoy and get to know a little more about all the cultural activities.

– Mishelle Maldonado Hernández (Cooperativa Cultural l’Occulta) –
This evening we invite you to contemplate and dive into the vision of three artists, three bridges that come straight from another landscape, another music and another way of life. We want to share this otherness with you, we want to feel part of it, to belong, without leaving aside our identity, without silencing the stories of our land. We want to show how diversity flourishes and all the good it brings us if we are willing to receive it, without prejudice, without fear.

Today we are here, in the Raval, encouraging each other to share what is ours, having gone through the challenge, be it happy or sad, but a challenge nonetheless, that migration entails. Whether it is chosen or not, whether it is a decision or a constant uncertainty, migrating is always a challenge, a challenge to start again, a challenge to not understand and to surrender, a challenge to arm ourselves with patience in order to pave the way, to keep imagining how it could be different, how it could be better.

To be here today is to honour the place we come from, but also where we have settled. This is our home too, with all the responsibility that implies.

We are very grateful to be able to hold this event, which is both a celebration and a ritual, with both an internal struggle and looking forward, searching for new horizons and new colours.

– Manuel Bergallo alias Vhandha (guest artist) –
 

The Raval Tour of Women Entrepreneurs – (The Raval Viu Project from the Drassanes Civic Centre).

 

At the Drassanes Civic Centre, as part of the Raval Viu (Living Raval) project, we work to raise awareness about inspiring experiences in our neighbourhood, with a special focus on 25N, and at the Raval(s) Festival we programmed a circuit of entrepreneurial women who have overcome barriers in predominantly male dominated areas. An outing was organised to discover the work of these women in craft trades, and the first stop was the Taller de Forja (Forge Workshop), a project in which creativity and manual skill come together to transform metal. The experience enthralled the participants, and many of them shared their surprise and admiration for the skill and dedication it takes to work in this craft. Next, we visited the Mujeres Carpinteras (Women Carpenters) workshop, a space enabling these professionals to challenge stereotypes by working with wood and proving that skills have no gender. Finally, we were introduced to the Creadoness project, which addresses various aspects of migrant women’s lives and struggles to adapt and claim their rights. Creadoness offers a platform to support and recognise these women, in the professional sphere and to stand up for dignified working conditions.

This outing provided a unique opportunity to acknowledge and bring visibility to the determination of the women of the Raval, women who drive change and inspire the community. Through projects like Raval Viu, we continue to support the exchange of experiences and the connection between neighbours in the Raval, from a position of diversity and inclusion.

– Rosa Cadevall (coordinator of the Centre Cívic Drassanes)

Presenting the Podcast: «Espai la Talaia» – Fundació Surt.

The day was a real success and was full of emotional and thought-provoking moments. The podcast focuses on the experiences of migrant women in Barcelona, providing a platform for their stories to be heard and valued. During the presentation, we had the opportunity to listen to some of the women who participated in the podcast sharing their experiences, challenges and hopes in this vibrant and diverse city. What is more, enriching discussions were held on the importance of inclusion and diversity in our society.

– Annalisa Spinazzola (Technician for Migrated Women, Coordinator of Xantal Genovart, Fundació Surt) –

La Putiruta (Whore Tour) – A tour of trans Barcelona.

I am Violet Ferrer and as a trans woman I decided to create this Whore Tour to call out violence and to talk about this nonconformist Barcelona that nobody talks about. Because since the 17th century, when the Whore Tour begins, you can see the impact of whorehouses in Barcelona. The expansion of Barcelona, and the liveliness of its neighbourhoods, is inconceivable without prostitutes. But, nevertheless, we have been erased from history and we have been overlooked. So, girl, if you want to know stuff about whores, like proverbs or things like that – ‘Puta mojada, puta forrada’ (A wet whore, is a rich whore), which is a very popular saying-, if you want to know things about history, why a rentboy is called a “chapero”, and loads of other things that will blow your mind, which are pure fantasy, based on history, based on protest, you’re going to have the best afternoon!

In fact, today’s tour, this afternoon, has been wonderful: people were involved, I was hypnotic talking, and above all there were many things that surprised them. In the end, that’s what it comes down to: as whores don’t talk, a collective imaginary is created and we all resort to it, because basically the brain takes these kinds of shortcuts. In the absence of references, I take from the collective imaginary. Well, if you really want to hear the voice of a whore in the first person, come to The Whore Tour. I’ll talk to you about the street, about prostitution and about things that haven’t changed in centuries. We can’t go on like this!

– Violet Ferrer (actress and equality technician, creator and initiator of the Putiruta project) –
 

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This tour is the result of a collaboration between Santa Mònica and GRAF with Tot Raval. The Santa Mònica and GRAF teams entered into a dialogue based on the route proposed in the exhibition Después del vendaval (After the whirlwind), bringing together seven collectives that, through their political and poetic practices, deal with invisible areas where systemic violence is exercised and rights are disregarded. From these shared perspectives and reflections, we propose a journey through some of the projects involved in the Raval(s) Festival, proposals that question contemporary creation, dedication and trades, the fabric of the neighbourhood, sustainability, resilience and mutual support.

*Translation from text to English by Victoria Macarte