Life in the Times of Coronavirus: Lockdown Day 17

An encouraging sign posted somewhere in Cerdanyola. Loosely translated: “Keep your chin up, neighbors. We’ll beat it.”

It’s raining today. In fact, it’s supposed to be raining all week. It tends to rain a lot in Barcelona in the early spring, and that same water that seeps into the dry earth, floods rooftops, and runs in thick braids into the Mediterranean seems to rise again as humidity in the angry July sun. The summer feels uncertain now, as if it too could be cancelled. Because the bad news keeps coming out. Fernando Simón, the official in charge of leading the Spanish response to the coronavirus pandemic, tested positive for coronavirus. All non-essential workers were ordered to stay home to avoid spreading the virus even more, adding even more people to the list of the unemployed. As of this writing, there are 85,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain, with 16,000 cases in Catalonia.

But, you know, as I mentioned in previous posts, I’ve pretty much stopped watching the news. I keep up to date with the latest restrictions and statistics for informational purposes, but I really do my best to not fall down a vortex of panicked research. (Will it kill me? What do you mean a baby died of COVID-19? Elderly being found dead in their beds all over Spain?) I don’t mean that I do this out of willing ignorance (like the proverbial ostrich burying its head) but instead prefer to focus on things that are in my control. Otherwise, I feel the crushing sense of anxiety over me, like nothing I’d ever felt before.

One of those aspects that is in my control is learning about the community that’s around me. Since February 2013, I’ve lived in a town of about 60,000 people called Cerdanyola. Named after the Cerdanya region in northern Catalonia, our town is located on the outskirts of the city of Barcelona itself. And even more specifically, we live in a middle class neighborhood called “Les Fontetes” – literally, “the little fountains.”

Several neighbors around me have also decided to make the most of the lockdown to be able to build community. (The word here is “solidaridad” which means the concept of being aware of others and doing your best to help everyone in need.) Just today, I saw that someone in my building decided to throw an online party exactly at 8:05 p.m.

I heard music coming from somewhere on Friday night, and now I know why. This same individual also hosts watch parties where he streams local comedy shows and stand-up to make people feel like they’re not entirely alone. I’ve seen people all over Spanish networking sites taking up similar initiatives wherever they are. I think this is wise.

Much like in other parts of Europe, people here in our town have also taken to their balconies to serenade their communities in these trying times. One of these singers, a neighbor named Jaume, takes to his balcony every evening at exactly 7:30 p.m. to sing classics. The audio below isn’t very clear, but it definitely transmits his spirit. His smooth, melodic voice fills the evening air, for a moment making our common journey through these dark times more tolerable and full of light.

And, there are message of hope, such as this which depicts my neighborhood and the word SORTIREM which, loosely translated, means “WE’LL SURVIVE.”

I’ve been reaching out to local friends and neighbors as well to see how we can help make the fabric of our community even stronger. The load is heavy indeed, but if there are many of us, it makes the burden that much more bearable.