Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine Podcasts Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine

We go behind the scenes with documentary film and television director, producer, editor, cameraman and much more, Marcel Llorens. Born in Barcelona, Marcel’s love of all things cinema was sparked by watching old movies with his father. He studied audiovisual communication at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the Institut Ramon Llull, and went on to work on publicity shoots as a freelancer for companies such as Levi's, HP, Samsung, Puma, Ticketmaster, Nokia, Garmin, and others. He would later work as cameraman and editor for various television programs for TV3, Interzona.tv, Movistar+, but discovered his true calling when he started directing and filming documentaries.

His current project, a documentary about the iconic Mexican song "La Llorona," has not only gained him international recognition even before it’s been officially released—it just won the CaixaForum+ and IN-EDIT music documentary film festival competition this year—but it also changed his life completely. Marcel now splits his time between Barcelona and Mexico City, where over the past four years he has worked on a documentary for Mexican television station Canal 22, music videos for artists such as La Malinche, La Bruja de Texcoco, Antonio Hidalgo and more, as well as his project La Llorona El Documental. Marcel and his family are also involved with the non-profit organization Ni Una Menos, which works to raise awareness for the thousands of women who have been murdered or gone missing in Mexico.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview publicist, music journalist, author and poet Alicia Rodríguez. As a music publicist, she has represented some of Spain's top artists (Nat Simons, Elefantes, A Contra Blues) and has promoted tours by world-renowned international artists such as Van Morrison, Simple Plan, The Jayhawks, Jackson Browne, Yes, Lucinda Williams and many others. Alicia has also worked in production and communication for festivals (BBK Bilbao Music Legends, Rock Fest, Primavera Sound, Sónar) and cultural exhibitions such as David Bowie Is at the Barcelona Museum of Design. As a journalist, Alicia has contributed to some of Spain's leading music magazines—Ruta66, Rockdelux, MondoSonoro, Popular1 and more—as well as radio stations, television stations, newspapers and other publications.
Besides her talent for promoting others, Alicia is a published poet, and is planning the release of a book of short stories later this year or early next. She also teaches summer classes at music production school SAE in Barcelona, organizes the annual educational sessions School of Rock for the Universitat de Barcelona, and is involved with numerous programs for La CIBA, a women’s resource center in Santa Coloma de Gramenet.

Born in Russia and based in Barcelona for the past seven years, Julia Buruleva's work combines photography, videography, installation and performance. The way she plays with the scenery, props, lighting effects and other elements creates a surreal world filled with contrasts and symbolism. This is true whether she’s setting up a fashion shoot or a commercial shoot for an advertisement for a major brand, or if she’s planning one of her eye-catching personal artistic projects.

Her work has been published in magazines such as Elle, InStyle, Latest, Rolling Stone Argentina and more, everywhere from the US to the UK, from France to China, from Italy to Malaysia. Her projects over the past several years include “Beach is a New Theater"—a series of improvised, open-call, participatory photo shoots on Barcelona public beaches—to “Synchronization,” a series of complex shoots on international locations which combines elements of photography, land art, performance and digital art.

In this first interview of the new year, we go behind the scenes with visual artist and jewelry maker, Stéphanie Barbié. Born in Ages, in France, she has lived in Barcelona since 2004 and opened her current studio space in Gràcia in 2016. A jeweler by training, but a lover of interior decoration, design, art and anthropology, she decided to combine her passions by creating “jewelry” that goes beyond the limits of the body—unique decorations for the interior spaces where we spend much of our lives. Whether it’s a custom wedding ring or a wall hanging, each of her pieces is one of a kind, and is made with the idea of bringing light, color, and a touch of extra happiness to the everyday lives of her customers.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner we’ll be exploring a different facet of what makes up human culture: health and overall wellness with naturopath, acupuncturist and nutritionist Laia Bramona.

Laia’s work involves helping her patients relieve their physical pain, digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, as well as manage stress, depression and anxiety. In 2002, she began her training in traditional Chinese medicine and naturopathy at the CENAC (Centro d’Estudios de Naturopatia y Acupunctura de Catalunya) and studied nutrition at the IFPS Roger de Llúria institute. She works with the trauma unit of the Remei Clinic and with the Osteopathic Clinic of Dr. David Ponce, and has her own private practice. She is also a neuropathy teacher at ISMET (Higher Institute of Traditional Medicines).

We interview blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Santos Puertas. Originally from the Catalan town of Sant Just Desvern, he spent time in Texas, North Carolina and other parts of the US, absorbing the language of blues, country and folk music. He has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of American roots music, and has gained the respect and admiration of top musicians in the genre.

While he has collaborated with a number of well-known names, his main projects include his trio, Triple Santos, and The Suitcase Brothers: a duo with his brother Víctor Puertas, also a singer and a virtuoso harmonica player. The two have attracted international attention for their live performances as well as their songwriting; they composed the soundtrack for multiple Goya Award-winning documentary film El Bola by director Achero Mañas. They just released their fifth album, Love, Truth and Confidence, a tribute to the Piedmont Blues duo Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, to whom the brothers have often been compared.