Under Lock Down: Life in Barcelona During a Global Pandemic
By: Christa Adams
Tags: Covid 19, Culture, Barcelona, Spain, Life

Typically, I’m greeted by tourism and life the moment I step out of my door, but for the past week it’s been quite the opposite. I walk out of my door to take out the recycling and I pass one person tightly wearing a mask and walking with his head down.

On the other hand, I take the long route to the grocery store to catch a glimpse of an unfamiliar empty plaza and the Barcelona Cathedral behind it, where there’s typically a long line of tourists waiting to go inside. A couple of locals are crossing the plaza but only one person is seated on the benches where life usually flocks.

A homeless man sits with pigeons in front of an empty plaza at the Barcelona Cathedral.

That person happens to be a homeless man. He’s sitting down among pigeons with a cart of his belongings. I can’t help but wonder what considerations have been taken in for the homeless during this pandemic. Has the man even a clue to what degree with virus is affecting the rest of the world?

While heading back home, I see a group of police officers. Instantly, I’m filled with fear — what a complicated thought to be filled with fear at the sight of those who are here to keep us safe. During the lock down, police officers have been given permission to fine or arrest anyone who is out without ‘a good reason’. Instead of passing the officers, I decide to take a different route to avoid them all together out of fear that having my camera and taking the long way home was going against ‘good reason’. For a split second the moment felt like a scene from The Handmaid’s Tale.

What’s worse is the effect this pandemic is having on small businesses in Barcelona and around the world. Some have closed their doors entirely as they can’t financially afford to stay in business any longer while others have been improvising by offering online alternatives.

For example, local art studio Arte Bar may have had to close its doors, but the studio is now offering online art classes for the foreseeable future. Some yoga studios and other similar businesses are now doing the same.

There’s hope for these businesses, but it’s the small bars and cafes that I’m most worried about. Many already struggle to make decent profits, meaning this lock down might result in several permanent closures throughout Barcelona.

Usually bustling with shoppers and tourists, The El Born neighborhood has quieted down drastically since the lock down.

Though our world has been turned upside down, many of us are still living life in high spirits.

People are spending more time on their balconies playing guitar and singing or inside working on projects they’ve been too busy to finish. Others have taken to the internet to spread positive messages, make uplifting videos, and purchase gift certificates to support struggling businesses. These human actions indicate that though many of our countries may not have been prepared for this kind of pandemic, we as people will get through it — together.

And here in Spain we haven’t forgotten about those fighting against this virus on the front line. Every night at 8 p.m., we all step out onto our balconies or open our windows to cheer and clap for the healthcare employees who are working hard 24 hours a day to beat this pandemic.

With every action, we are saying “we are all in this together.”