Hello everyone! I am Sara WT, The Linguist’s Catalan Editor for this upcoming year. My personal history with the Catalan language is lifelong. I grew up in the UK, but my family is Catalan, and they reside in Barcelona. My cultural understanding of Spain was therefore somewhat restricted to the Catalan region until I embarked on my year abroad in Madrid this previous academic year. My year was truly formative in expanding my understanding of the diverse Iberian culture.

Having gone back and forth between the UK and Barcelona my entire life, it may seem surprising that one of the most impactful cultural and linguistic experiences for myself was in the very same city I would call home. In 2020, I, like the rest of the world, was rocked by the cultural reset that was the coronavirus pandemic. A city I had become so familiar with became unrecognisable.

For years, Barcelona has been a site of tension between locals and tourists, as each summer the city would flood with wide-eyed sightseers. One could find themselves walking through the streets of the Catalan city and hear languages from all corners of the world, so much so that without a street sign, one could be anywhere but in Spain. Catalan became a faint whisper amongst the international hustle and bustle.

Following a decision to be with family during the pandemic, I flew to Barcelona in July of 2020. I had thought that despite the devastation caused by the coronavirus, the city would, for the first time, have an aura of tranquillity that many had been so desperate for. Instead, I found the silence throughout the streets deafening. There was not a tourist in sight, and the remaining residents were silenced by their personal protective masks. The Gothic Quarter, once a site for local markets, independent shops, and open-air restaurants, was empty and closed for business.

I was used to spending my summers out on the street, chatting over coffee or having a late 10 pm dinner. Much of the Spanish lifestyle that is often spent on the street was, in fact, lost. A common criticism regarding tourism commented on a feeling of cultural dilution as the locals would become a minority within the mass of tourists. And yet, in 2020, with not a tourist in sight, the culture seemingly evaporated.

The culture shock I experienced in my own city was an unforgettable experience. For myself and for many others, it provoked an insightful new perspective on the issue of tourism in our beloved city. Between over-tourism and a complete lack of it, there must be an equilibrium that can be both sustainable and beneficial. However unpopular it may be to say, following my experience in 2020, tourists bring much of the ambience and life to the city that I am so fond of.

Sara Wabhi-Trius