Barcelona, on a winter day, I love the afternoon light and stopping by the Ciutadella Park. There is a group of acrobats inside the pergola. Matilda fills the whole space with her dance. Her mother Pamela and I chat for a while; I explain to her how much Matilda reminds me of myself when I was her age. I used to play in that same pergola while waiting for my father. He used to work at the secondary school close by.
Silveta is working at home today and I call her as soon as I make it to Sants. I know I am going to convince her to meet for a quick coffee. “There is a very beautiful square around the corner, I think you’ve never been”. As I get close, I can hear someone calling out the seven times table. “We do this every morning”. “Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do”.
There are two stories behind every picture; mine and theirs, and for some instances, they merge. I love these short encounters, they bring me joy, the joy of life passing by. I am back in the city that saw me grow and I photograph scenes that happen every day, ordinary frames that I would like to store in a box below my bed for my grandchildren to find one day. I want them to realize that ordinary life is, in fact, extraordinary.
