Ed Sheeran VS the comic Llimoo, who satirizes the city in a video clip!

A song that perfectly summarizes the ambiance of Barcelona is Ed Sheeran’s song Barcelona. It has the rhythm, the lyrics, and the voice. When listening to the song, you can’t help but start planning your next trip to Barcelona. Definitely, Barcelona can be considered one of the most popular destinations in Europe, welcoming 32 million visitors only in 2016. However, this has created a frustration among the local residents due to this overwhelming number of tourists.

In contrast to Sheeran’s song about Barcelona, a comedian called Adónde Boy, has also released a song about Barcelona, showing another side of the city and its problems. The opening of Boy’s video shows a wall with “Guiris go home” written on it, where “Guiris” is a negative Spanish slang for tourists. That the locals don’t like tourists visiting Barcelona is a fact and can be seen through street art, demonstrations, and discussions with locals. The song further jokes about the fact that the tourism has increased the prices in Barcelona, showing that a taxi ride costs 300 euros.

With an increased demand of finding a place to stay in Barcelona, partly because of more tourists, this has subsequently made the prices higher. Tourists spend their stays in apartments rented through Airbnb, and political parties in Barcelona have even suggested they ban Airbnb from Barcelona due to problems that have arisen. At one point, a woman’s apartment that was sublet to a tenant was illegally rented out on Airbnb to other tenants at skyrocket high prices.

The comedian, who became famous from participating in the program Crackòvia, RAC1 and more, make a parody of tourists through his song who only see the typical Barcelona through paella, flamenco, and horchata. Pickpocketing is a reality, drugs are constantly being sold at Las Ramblas and Plaza Real and prices are going through the roof. Barcelona might not only be as wonderful as is sung in Sheeran’s song, although this might tell another side of the story.

The video finishes with a concert on a terrace with panorama views over the city, portraying the political statement “Barcelona is not Spain, Spain is Barcelona”. Boy wants to portray the Catalunyan city’s will of independence from Spain and the tensions between the “yes” and “no” side which are constantly in the air. Finally, he wants to give the message that Barcelona is more than sangria, the summer breeze, and the Mediterranean atmosphere; it is a lot more complex.

The song and video are available on Spotify and Youtube and has at the moment reached 134 817 views.

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Source: lavanguardia.com
Photo credits: lavanguardia.com