Looking to the future
As we enter the year 2000, it may be necessary to ask a question. What is the present and, above all, the future of the main artery of the city? Ignasi Torralba, owner of the popular Amaya Restaurant, has been the president of the Association since 1996. The current president has no doubt when it comes to answering the question:
"Regarding the present, we must say that we are in a good moment," says Mr. Torralba. "The city's insecurity that existed at night in the streets has largely decreased. That is to say, the trend of recent years has been reversed, when it was scary to go out late after shows. Now people go out at night. The increase in security is also evident in the turnover of commercial premises. A few years ago, you could get any at a low price. Currently, you look for premises and can't find any. However, in terms of security, we must not let our guard down. We must remain vigilant."
"It is necessary to highlight," Mr. Torralba continues, "that La Rambla cannot go on its own. It is an indispensable part of an urban fabric. La Rambla is linked to Ciutat Vella, and if there are problems there, they are problems that affect La Rambla. In fact, the foreseeable improvement of our promenade will be determined by the Central Plan of El Raval, which is already being implemented. In the heart of El Raval, full of dark buildings where the sun had never touched, a large avenue the size of Passeig de Gracia is being opened, which will be another authentic Rambla. Many of us were skeptical when Dr. Clos, as a city councilor, told us that the solution was architects and excavators. But he was right. And indeed, El Raval is being rehabilitated by applying a remedy named Rambla. The bright and wide main artery of El Raval will precisely be named Rambla del Raval. The truth is that in the initiatives taken by our ASSOCIATION, there has been good harmony with the corresponding Municipal District. Good harmony with the City Council has allowed changing, modernizing, the streetlights, newsstands, flower shop stands, and pet shops stands. It has also allowed widening the sidewalks, which has revitalized our main artery and has given it more commercial potential."
The entity that now turns forty is known, in shortened form, as Friends of La Rambla, although the complete historical denomination is the Associació d’Amics, Veïns i Comerciants de la Rambla i la Plaça Catalunya. We ask Mr. Torralba if this long name is still valid, and he tells us: "We are, indeed, an association of friends, neighbors, and merchants. But all together, we form an enthusiastic group both for the present and for the future of our Rambla. And I am convinced that the future does not lie anywhere else but in returning to its glorious past."
