Tourist notes: Kolya, Lesya + Primavera Sound Festival
Lesya, 26 years old, from Minsk, lives in Moscow.
Kolya, 33, from Yekaterinburg, lives in Moscow.
At the time of the interview, Lesya was in Barcelona for the third time,
and Kolya's fourth.
What do I need to know about you?
Kolya:
I work as a journalist and at the same time I make a video blog with my buddy called Vpiska. We travel a lot. We visit artists and prominent contemporaries. We've been to Barcelona once before, to shoot an episode about the rap singer Kizaru.
Lesya:
I'm on the other side of the barricades. I work as a PR person in a big international agency in Moscow. I work with cool companies like Airbnb and Ebay. I love traveling and often go on business trips.
What did you come here for?
Kolya: We came to the Primavera Sound Festival. I've been to a few Spanish festivals before. Like Sonar in Barcelona. This is my first time at Primavera Sound. I was very surprised by the scale with which the festival was done. Both in terms of space, and in terms of the line-up, and in terms of the artists that are brought here. It really is a gigantic festival. And it is difficult to cover even a tenth of it.
Lesya: We have quite an interesting relationship with Barcelona. Kolya had been here before, either in a wild heatwave, or for work, or he was burnt out, or he didn't like the line-up at the festival. He had a complicated attitude towards the city. And I convinced him that he was here at the wrong time and with the wrong people. And finally it all came together. There was unity with Barcelona, when Kolya is satisfied with everything and likes everything. Now we have a full-fledged family vacation. This visit to Barcelona is imbued with happiness and pleasant emotions.
We have been accredited to Primavera Sound by The Flow portal. The festival is really something out of the ordinary. It's huge. And yet everything runs like clockwork. Huge food court. Lots of places for you to sit down and eat. Even at Flow (note - annual music festival in Helsinki), which we always set as an example in terms of organization, there are no places to eat. You just sit down on the grass. There are no queues anywhere at Primavera Sound. The restrooms are clean. There's an area for people with disabilities.
And even a place where you can get psychological help if you've been discriminated against on any basis. There is a unique sense of freedom at the festival. Everyone respects each other: they apologize for any little thing. Everyone is joyful. No one is judged for their appearance. The artists are great. True, the line-up is moved to a later time. But even at three in the morning, you get a second wind when you see your favorite artist.
What surprised you the most in Barcelona?
Kolya: Street markets. I really liked this theme today - a neighborhood festival. It's like the weekend markets that used to be in Moscow. But now there are fewer and fewer of them. People cook food, put out tables, there is a cultural program, activities for children. And that's just good!
Lesya: I like that in Barcelona the boundaries that many post-Soviet people have in their minds are erased. In our country, you can't avoid society's judgment. But here everyone understands that everyone is free to do as they wish. For example, to dress. And no one pays attention to it. Here you don't make an effort to abstract yourself from other people's opinions. I don't like wearing a bra. It makes me uncomfortable and uncomfortable. I usually wear tank tops. And all the time in Moscow I am faced with comments from outsiders who think I am being uncultured.
A feature of the city that caught your eye?
Lesya: A sense of endless celebration.
Kolya: I agree. It's like people here are constantly on some nice chill vibe. It's like they're moving from one party to the next. All the people who live in the tropics - they have that.
What do you think is a must-see in Barcelona?
Lesya: If it's trivial, it's the beach. I also really love the Ciutadella Park. And then, of course, you have to go to any local market.
Kolya: And I would recommend going to the city's main beach, Barceloneta. It gives the best cross-section of the city's inhabitants. Everyone gathers there. It's a very diverse place.
What didn't you like?
Kolya: Hustle and bustle and noise, which is a lot here as in any tourist city.
Lesya: Pakistanis who sell pareos on the beach all the time. And very expensive accommodation. But these are all side effects of tourism.
What will you take home from Barcelona?
Lesya: Banned jamón. I bought it for all my colleagues in the team, in the office and at home. This is the third day we've had jamon for breakfast. It's wonderful! If we were with luggage, we would bring sangria as well. Plus we will take away some very good memories of these days. They were as full of good emotions as possible.
Kolya: A lot of new music that I discovered at the festival. For example, I got a kick out of a woman named Rosa Pistola. I just saw her in the program and realized that a woman named Rosa Pistola is definitely cool.
BARCELONA IN A WORD OR PHRASE
Lesya:
Freedom. I saw the sign "created in Barcelona" at the festival and thought that the word freedom was missing. Freedom is created in Barcelona!
Kolya:
A resort in every good sense that the word implies.
