Barcelona (des)colonial
Activity
(De)colonial Barcelona
Overseas Possessions and Urban Transformation (1835–98)
in progress
Ruta de autor and MACBA leave the Museum to follow this itinerary round the immense fortunes made in America and the way the money was spent on the transformation of Barcelona. An itinerary that re-signifies the participation of the indianos (Spanish colonialists) in the colonial spoils, in order to highlight the tales of pillage and their links to the railways, shipbuilding, finances and property sectors on this side of the Atlantic.
The itinerary offers a decolonial experience by establishing a dialogue with the urban grid and the palimpsest of sugar, coffee, liquor, tobacco… that forms some parts of Barcelona.
Ruta de autor
‘Ruta de autor is an initiative promoting independent tours and itineraries. We investigate and activate the tours from our own experience and from a revision of the extraterritorial thematic typical of journeys. Our common denominator is an investigation into the context and the transits that feed what we look at. We evoke different referents to activate the perception and the knowledge of the wanderer.’
www.rutadeautor.com
participant
Col·lectiu Ruta de autor
Ruta de autor combines archival and historical research from a range of disciplines to investigate the city. Its walking tours through public spaces act as a conduit for bringing people together while generating critical perspectives on official narratives by peeling back the multiple layers of a city’s history from its streets, architecture and monuments. It juxtaposes the archive with the present day by recalling histories and giving new meaning to familiar places. One of its emblematic routes is Barcelona and the Indianos (2014–ongoing), which follows the lives of those who set off to make their fortune in the colonial Americas in the 19th century and examines their impact on the city upon their return. In 2019 Ruta de autor organised Green Flag, a route and exhibition which explored the impact of a water treatment plant and the rerouting of the River Llobregat.
Ruta de autor are Aymara Arreaza R. and Lorena Bou Linhares, who pool their rich backgrounds in comparative literature, visual cultures and critical theory. Green Flag (2019) was presented in and around the Centre Cívic Jardins de la Pau, El Prat de Llobregat, with /UNZIP Arts Visuals. Their recent routes include Calippos of the World, with Larre (2020); Barcelona and America Tour: A Cartography of the Colonial Narrative (1835–1888), with MACBA (2019), and The Port ‘in Sekula Saeculorum’, with the Fundació Tàpies and The Green Parrot (2017).
More information: rutadeautor.com
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(De)colonial Barcelona
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