Intraduïbles: relats de barcelonin_s que van nèixer fora d’Espanya brings together sixteen stories written by migrant people who have adopted Barcelona as their home. Originally from different Latin American countries, these writers use words as a way of portraying the city where they now live. These are living texts that reflect the fluidity of their migrant identities, as well as their stories of life and resistance.
Together, these stories reveal a layer of the city that may go unnoticed by people born in Barcelona and by unsuspecting tourists. They portray a hybrid territory where language also plays a crucial role. In the city, there are constantly evolving varieties of Spanish that adopt and adapt words and expressions from Catalan, from Spanish spoken in Spain, and from other forms of Spanish. Languages that escape homogeneity and reinvent themselves from within.
The idea is to place these languages in dialogue with Catalan, a language that has resisted state violence and that today forms an unavoidable part of the lives of Barcelonians who were not born in Barcelona. These bilingual pages seek to become a meeting space, demonstrating that the defense of linguistic and cultural diversity is also a shared territory, while inspiring readers to inhabit these alternative cartographies, overcome physical and mental barriers, and embrace the uncertainty of the untranslatable.
About the Authors
The book features thirteen authors from the creative writing collective En Palabras, coming from different Latin American countries: El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. The group is made up of five men and eight women between the ages of 20 and 70. They live in Barcelona for different reasons: to study, to work, to follow their families, and in some cases, fleeing the political, economic, and security situations in their countries of origin.
The form
The form of the book plays a crucial role: dividing the pages into two quadrants — upper and lower — refers to an undefined up and down, a North and a South, weaving and merging languages and life stories into a narrative of the city emerging from the margins. The book also includes an activity guide designed to encourage dialogue around language, stereotypes, inclusion, and diversity.
Technical Specifications
Size: 17 x 24 cm
Pages: 160
Credits
Foreword: Fernanda García Lao
Design and layout: Latitud estudio
Published by En Palabras (the publishing imprint of Fes! Cultura) in collaboration with Trànsit Projectes.
With the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Institut de Cultura of Ajuntament de Barcelona.
Fes! Cultura is a programme of Connectats cooperativa.
