The avenue’s long past is highlighted in its name, which comes from the Arabic word ramla, for the riverbed that lay here a thousand years ago. The one-kilometre stretch has evolved over the centuries, and recently there has been a slew of updates as it continues to adapt itself. Sound-reducing asphalt was laid on the roads last November, and the main pavement will soon be renewed. The Liceu metro station is being modernised, while this month sees the start of a traffic-restricting system on one side.
“In the past 24 months, 20 existing establishments have been renovated and 15 to 20 new ones have opened,” said Ramón Lamazares, president of the Associació d’Amics, Veïns i Comerciants de La Rambla. Additionally, the city has proposed that the human statues along the promenade be required to undergo some kind of quality control to restrict their numbers. Details have yet to be worked out.
However, the future of the ocellaires (from the Catalan for bird, ocell) is the change that has attracted most attention. The sellers argued that they have history on their side and that their creatures are not mistreated. As Mónica Trias, one of the animalerias noted, the stands have been on La Rambla for over 150 years. “They started in the Rambla de Canaletes and for the 1929 Universal Exhibition, became a fixed feature. Officially, it’s not a public way here, we’re part of the Boqueria market.”
Although the birds were originally sold inside the market, it was decided to move them outside in the mid-19th century. Over time, the range of creatures on sale expanded. Today there are turtles, hamsters and iguanas to name but a few, while Trias’s stall holds exotic-looking versions of familiar birds such as huge king pigeons and silkie chickens.
For the Ajuntament, the history of the stands is secondary. Rather, the city council is concerned with finally enforcing a by-law that has been in place for some time, prohibiting animals from being displayed in this way, as if in a shop window. It is a regulation that all establishments selling animals have to adhere to. What the Ajuntament is seeking to avoid is the spontaneous purchase of animals. “The animals deserve more than ‘product status’ and shouldn't be bought just because someone sees them in a shop window,” said Ajuntament spokesman Steven Guest. “The law has to be applied, otherwise the council can be held liable.”
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