Saturday, April 18, 2009

People Watching Late night in the Rambla

I walked all the way up the Rambla to its very beginning next to the Plaça de Catalunya. I had noticed the people selling beer in the street. I was curious to the sight, especially that the majority of the crowds were over age and that stores selling beer were available. So why are they there, I still don’t have a clue. A few things that caught my eye, that it was apparently illegal, since they were watchful of the police and that the scent of weed was in many places, do they have any relation I will never be sure. The majority of these sellers were of Indian original, as their complexion and accent revealed. For some reason they also didn’t offer me beer to buy.

I have always been so curious of this experience, even in foreign countries, that such people avoid me. I have no clue is it because I look serious, or do I walk with a purpose rather than strolling along. I never really know, in addition I always get this thing about people asking me for directions or information while I am not a native of the city I am visiting. In some cases I do have a clue about what is happening, but not always. In all cases, I was experiencing this here and was moving along.

I was in the Plaça de Catalunya, and I noticed African guys selling stuff on the sidewalk. This was non-genuine stuff, and they seem to capture the interest of many people walking. One other thing I noticed is how they lay down their products. The put them on a cloth laid down on the sidewalk, but have all four sides tied with a rope that is collected in a knot in the seller’s hand. They use them to quickly pick up their stuff, as a sack and dash when the police come. And boy do they dash. I had walked past the Plaza and into the “chique” area of shopping. The major names of designer cloth had stores here. As I was walking a few of these street African sellers ran past me, and man do these guys go.

The action was starting to slow down and I was now aware I was out of the activity area. I headed back and watched a band play soft music at the edge of the Rambla. I bough myself a Sunday and took a seat at a bench in the street, doing an activity I like people watching. Amongst the most interesting people were those beer sellers. Some of them had some tricks up their sleeves. A guy got a few six pack and hide them under a manhole cover nearby. This way he has stock close and doesn’t need to go get some when he is out. Another interesting tactic was that of this guy who used to water the cans to probably sell them as being really cold, moist cold, to customers, pretty sneaky guy.
The street was also a place for African women working the streets, again like the beer guys and those distributing flyers and ads about nightspots they didn’t approach me. I was delighted for the fact, it is annoying in itself let alone having something being said in Spanish and I have no clue what it is. In all cases, I spend a good hour there watching people of all kinds walk up and down the street, all looking for a good time. Some had theirs and some were still on their way there. As I was planning to call it a night as the time was 2:30am, the street was still busy with people, but most people had either gone into night spots or gone home. I was going to the hotel to sleep.

No comments: