Tapas and Graffiti

This week we've had the pleasure of doing an array of activities furthering our immersive experience in the vibrant city of Barcelona.

Our students' palettes were tantalized in a cooking workshop where they learned to prepare traditional tapas: empanadillas de atún (tuna empanadas), montaditos de ensaladilla de cangrejo (crab salad tapa), and the famous tortilla española. Students were busily creating these delectable plates by chopping red and yellow peppers and onions, cracking eggs, stuffing empanadas, cutting artisan baguettes, and whipping up a pimento cream foam. After trying their hand at the art of flipping la tortilla, students packed up their tapas and headed off to a nearby park to enjoy them al fresco. 

After experiencing the culinary arts, we turned our focus to arte callejera (street art) in the Poblenou neighborhood—a post-industrial area that artists have reclaimed as a cultural hub of creative expression.  A local artist and skater delighted us with a tour of the ever-changing graffiti landscape. She gave us an introduction to various street art styles and techniques such as wild style, throw up, block and bubble letters, stencil, and paste-up. Through street art, marginalized counterculture youth have historically vied to express themselves politically, socially, and individually.