Barcelona's immigrant mirage

A Spanish-speaking immigrant between immigrants - in Catalan Barcelona

pictures

By Cristóbal Schal. , Leeds. By Cristobal Schal and Nabeelah Shabbir.

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English

07/03/07

Tags : labour, Barcelona, Spain, Economy, Southern EU, photography, Cities, immigration.

In the last five years, Barcelona has seen its 3% of immigrants rise to whole neighbourhoods of 17-20%, such as in the Raval district, which is right next to the famous Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona. (Click on smaller photos to enlarge)

Open for business
Humble existence in the middle of a district where the majority of immigrants are from Pakistan, India and the Philippines
From the outside in	Empty chairs
Hairdressing salons, locksmiths, warehouses, butchers, bars	Corners with snatches of anecdotes and fragments of life exist right in the tourist heart of the city
Signs of faith?	Welcoming smiles
Surrounded by Christian Gods, with the sound of the television, click-clack of the scissors, omnipresent plants and foreign tongues	The barber just about spoke Spanish
Getting groomed
I gestured to him which haircut I wanted, picking an image from a magazine
Reflections
A man entered, combed his hair, then returned to chat with the barber. Some hairdressing salons work like social centres. Long hours, with people coming and going but all the while talking, smoking and drinking tea
Mysterious characters
A mysterious customer who did not speak, just waited silently for his turn
A Ramblas regular	The future generation futura
I have seen him around several times; he sells beers in the Ramblas	The future generation of this small-time business; a young son observes his father at work