Exploring the streets of Catalunya, Barcelona can reveal many hidden treasures, and one of these treasures is the “Record Store” located at Carrer Sant Pere mès Alt 43. While walking through the El Born neighborhood, we stumbled upon this record store that displayed many familiar and iconic U.S. artists. Further inspection revealed that this shop included merchandise for iconic Hollywood horror movies, famous actors and actresses, and some of the most popular and well-known bands and musicians in U.S. history.
Entering the shop revealed many more nostalgic and familiar items of U.S. culture. In addition, there were also fun art, posters, and postcards of the Barcelona area, so it wasn’t a shop full of just U.S culture. Behind the counter sat the business owner, who was originally very quiet and a little reserved. He said little words when we first entered the store, but soon that changed.
Trio (a USC student/author) decided to purchase a fridge magnet of a popular American movie. When the shop owner saw this, he began to discuss the movie with him. Then he realized that Trio was very knowledgeable about iconic American movies and quickly began to discuss many interesting and popular movies, and even showed him where those movies were featured within his store. You could tell that he was very enlightened by this topic and was extremely willing to educate us on it. The conversation then expanded to include others within the group when discussing where to watch movies in English nearby. The shop owner immediately pulled out a map and showed us everywhere we could watch movies, from the best places to those to avoid.
After many minutes of conversation with the shop owner, Kaitlyn decided to purchase an item, and because of the conversation and the item’s significance within the American movie industry, the shop owner gave Kaitlyn (a USC student/author) the item for free. Furthermore, he provided his Instagram for his business, which is @thebarcelonaeffect, and wished us farewell. Despite what you may hear about the way that Barcelona locals feels about tourists, the truth is that many shop owners and locals within Barcelona are very willing to help and even inform foreigners; you just have to take that chance and put yourself out there.
About the Authors
Group 1 – Sara Pipa, Kaitlyn Spire, Montana Arp, Lily Fuller and Trio Belton