Barcelona Metropolitan Magazine Podcasts

This month we speak with Tarek Fresno, a Barcelona native, music aficionado, world traveler, and bartender at the historic Bar Marsella in the neighborhood of El Raval for seventeen years. Founded in 1820, Marsella is the oldest bar in the entire city; generations ago, it was Ernest Hemingway's favorite hangout, and a hot spot for artists and intellectuals of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Dalí, Gaudí, Picasso and many more were known to stop by for a drink or three. The bar's signature cocktail — absinthe, the star drink of 19th-century Parisian bohemians — has remained the same despite the passing of the years.

Welcome back to the Metropolitan Culture Corner after our summer break! We start off the 2024 fall season with an interview with film producer and visual artist Mara Adina. Born in Transylvanian, Romania, she now splits her time between London and Barcelona. Together with her sister, director Ilinca Calugareanu, she started the film and documentary production company Vernon Films in 2012. Their film projects have been screened at major film festivals such as Sundance and the Clermont Ferrand International Film Festival, and on platforms like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max, among others. Aside from her success in the world of cinema, Mara is also an accomplished abstract painter. Her work is characterized by intense colors, layered textures and broad brush strokes. Mara's first solo exhibition was here in Barcelona this past spring, titled Feel with Abandon, and she has another in the works as we speak.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we go behind the scenes with soprano and musicologist Dr. Patricia Caicedo, whose academic and creative work centers on Latin American and Iberian art song. She regularly gives lectures and master classes at music conferences and universities around the world, has released 11 albums, and has published multiple books as well as scholarly editions of scores. She is the founder of the Barcelona Festival of Song, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. Patricia is also the creator of Mundo Arts: a music publishing house, independent record label and online store which supports various projects in Spain, Latin America and the US. But her mission to get the word out about the music she's passionate about doesn't stop there: she hosts a podcast, Latin American and Iberian Art Song, in which she interviews composers, musicologists and other international experts, and she is the creator of EYECatalunya, an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to promoting Catalan artists internationally.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview soul singer Clarence Bekker, known as one of the most dynamic and explosive front men in all of Spain. Over the years, he has been a part of a number of notable musical projects, from Swinging Soul Machine to Barcelona's own 08001, to the international musical project and non-profit organization Playing for Change. This last one took him on the road all over the globe, and the project's videos have racked up over 200 million views. But even before that, he had singles on the UK charts back in the 1990s; today, he's known as the face of the Clarence Bekker Band, which has toured Brazil, Morocco, Japan, Italy, Spain, Australia, and beyond.

Our guest this month is singer, songwriter and guitarist Carlos Mendoza. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, he has been a Barcelona resident for several decades. He moved here with the other members of one of his bands, a rock group called Luz Verde. Since then, he has been nominated for a Latin Grammy for his work with them; they have released seven albums, and have legions of fans around the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Latin America. And for the past decade, Carlos has also been an integral part of rock and rumba band Alma de Boquerón, which started out as a fun bar band but has since grown to a six-piece powerhouse that regularly plays clubs and festivals. He's equally at home on big stages as on small ones—or in an ER clinic, tending to a patient's illness or injury. Yes, Grammy Nominee Carlos Mendoza is also a clinical immunologist, and is currently also getting a master's degree in emergency medicine.

Our guest this month is Ukrainian artist Natalia Revoniuk. While she splits her time between Ukraine and the UK, she was just in Barcelona, exhibiting her work as a part of the 2024 Woman's Essence international art showcase, where she was one of the recipients of the Woman Art Award, which highlights notable female visual artists from all over the world. Natalia was born in Lviv, Ukraine, and moved to the UK in 2022. Her world travels have taken her to 85 countries; she has carved a distinctive artistic path with her paintings that combine traditional painting with concepts ranging from the modern to the ancient, from graphic design to dot art similar to the Cucuteni-Trypillya people, and what she calls Transformational Energy Art and Visionary Art. Natalia has had or participated in over 35 solo or group exhibitions in Italy, the UK, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Spain; she is also the art curator of the platform Forum Ukraine. Her motto is to leave the world better than we found it, reflecting her commitment to using art as a catalyst for positive change.

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.

In this episode of MCC we interview model, actress and stunt woman, Helena Mankowska. Originally from Sopot, Poland, she has made her home in Barcelona for the past several years. Since then, Helena has appeared in commercials and ad campaigns, as well as various short films and music videos. She was the stunt double for actress Mila Jovovich of The 5th Element and Resident Evil fame in Jovovich's latest movie, Paradise Hills, but it was Helena's latest role as a face model for the character of Lady Dimitrescu in the Resident Evil Village video game by Capcom that brought her international recognition, and fans from all around the world.

This month on the MCC, we go behind the scenes with performer, singer, composer, songwriter, producer, musician, writer, poet, activist and more, Adriano Galante. Galante is an interdisciplinary creator with the ability to express himself while simultaneously fomenting a collective curation of creative influences in his projects, creating a feedback loop between himself and his many collaborators, his projects and his audience, music and society. He has recently presented both theatrical and poetry projects at the Theatre Lliure, at L'Auditori and Palau de la Música. This year he also released his first book, Mediante, and his first solo album Todo una alegría. Galante is also known for promoting and creating socially-oriented projects, such as the campaign for freedom of speech No Callarem, and for working with nonprofit organizations such as Artists at Risk. He also is the founder of free song collective Seward, and has collaborated with countless acclaimed musical and performance artists ranging from musicians Silva Perez Cruz, to Za!, to Judit and Meritxell Neddermann; or playwright Denise Duncan; Javier Gallego from Carne Cruda Radio; many more.

We go behind the scenes with sound engineer Andrés Giraldo. Andrés was born and raised in Panama, where he learned a love of music and of hi-fi gear from his father. Andrés became interested in music production around the age of 16, specifically electronic music. A few years later, he moved to Barcelona to study audio engineering at SAE Barcelona. He then immediately dove into the competitive world of recording studios and live concerts: doing internships, working long hours at studios such as Aclam, and cutting his teeth on a long list of projects for international clients from Spain, Switzerland, Denmark and beyond. Today, he is a sought-after live and studio sound engineer, and collaborates with clubs and festivals.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we go behind the scenes with Jessica Craig, literary agent and founder of Craig Literary. Her publishing career started more than 20 years ago as a literary scout in New York after having graduated from Columbia University; she later moved to Edinburgh, London and Barcelona, negotiating international contracts as an agent for authors from diverse backgrounds. In 2016, she started her own literary agency in her apartment in Barcelona. She began with just six clients; today, she works with 36 different authors representing all kinds of literary genres, nationalities and backgrounds, each with their own unique stories to tell. The authors she works with write both fiction and non-fiction, and tend to explore, in Jessica's own words: “globally relevant themes; storytelling that dismantles walls and builds bridges, challenging and deepening the reader's understanding of self and other, of society, language, art or humanity.”

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview the creative duo known as Antivaho Cinematográfico. They are an independent production company formed by editor and director Xavier Esteban, and director and producer Èrika Sánchez. After meeting, falling in love, and beginning to collaborate on films at the Facultad Blanquerna de la Universidad Ramon Llull, the two have gone on to create projects ranging from short films to feature documentaries, and from live installations to music videos. Their most notable works include the short film Panteres, which premiered at the Berlinale festival in 2020, and won multiple awards at film festivals around the world. Their work often focuses on social and political issues, and is known for its authenticity and creative approach.

This month, we interview world traveler, activist and president of the Barcelona Women's Network, Karen Holladay. She is also a strong supporter of non-profit organizations in both Spain and on the African continent. Born in the UK, Karen has lived in the Barcelona neighborhood of Poble-sec for the past 27 years and is a familiar face at the American Society of Barcelona. She has a passion for traveling the world, a passion for helping people, and she continually finds ways to give back to and inspire the local community.

On the thirtieth episode of the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview radio presenter, writer and educator Lucas Avram Cavazos. Lucas moved from Brooklyn to Barcelona fourteen years ago, and since then has become a recognizable figure in both the entertainment world and education circles.

This month we interview interior designer and visual artist Kelli Ellis. Nearly a decade ago, Kelli created the Design Psychology Coaching program and co-founded Interior Design Camp and Design Campus, which aims to educate interior designers, decorators, and design lovers from around the globe. She is a regular keynote speaker and panelist at international design conferences, and is the VP of Global Industry Relations for Ronati, a technology platform dedicated to the success of art and antiques dealers worldwide. Kelli has also become a familiar face on television over the past 20 years, both in the U.S. (on HGTV, Bravo, TLC, The Design Network) as well as internationally on Hulu, RakutenTV and Apple TV.

We speak with painter and designer, Pam Marwede. Pam started her career in Sarasota, Florida, then studied printed textile design in London. She has been based in Barcelona since 2017, but works with interior designers and private clients around the world. Her work is recognizable for its highly personal style, and ranges from handmade painted pottery, to transforming old furniture into artistic, colorful pieces, and from wall murals to floorcloths. Her art is designed to be different, but it's also meant to fit into her clients' everyday lives, and to make people smile.

On the final Metropolitan Culture Corner of 2022, we speak with author and journalist Toni Castarnado. Toni has written about all kinds of topics, ranging from basketball to film, but his main passion is music. His books Mujer y Música, Mujeres y Música, and Ellas Cantan, Ellas Hablan, specifically focus on notable women in music. He has also written interviews and articles for El Pais, Ruta 66, Rockzone, MondoSonoro and other publications, and is always in the middle of at least half a dozen projects on any given day

To celebrate the 30th episode of the Metropolitan Culture Corner, Tori Sparks sat down with journalist, author, creative consultant, activist, feminist and so much more, Dr. Angels Bronsoms. Over the years, she has worked as correspondent for publications such as Popular1 and El País; as program director and DJ for Catalunya Radio; as an anchor for TV3; and most recently, as a freelance reporter for Radio4, where she offered an inter-sectional perspective on women in the entertainment industry on the Iberian peninsula.

The Metropolitan Culture Corner, goes behind the scenes with luthier Alex Alonso, founder of DHR Custom Guitars. Located in El Prat de Llobregat, DHR specializes in adjustments, maintenance, modifications and repairs of guitar and bass instruments, both electric and acoustic and even makes custom guitars in its workshop. DHR, which started in 2013, is known for taking really good care of its customers, and for personalizing each instrument so that it's configured precisely to the needs of each player. Its client list includes everyone from amateur players to high-end instrument collectors, and from established artists to famous producers.

In this edition of the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we go behind the scenes with Alex Garrido and Rafael Laprea, partners in the boutique sparkling wine producers Mevalonics by Garrido Essences: Melavonics creates artisanal wine experiences, offering an original concept that captures the aromas of nature in the form of natural essences called terpenes, combining them with grapes from old Spanish vineyards in the tradition of the Garrido family.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we spoke with multifaceted musician and local business owner Eduardo Benatar Sánchez. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, he has made his home in Barcelona for the past 20+ years. Eduardo is a founding member of the Latin-Grammy-nominated rock band Luz Verde as well as glam punk trio Side Chick. He is also co-owner of vintage cocktail bar Foxy in the neighborhood of El Raval, and the unique 1980s-themed Polaroid Bar in el Barri Gòtic. In a world where so many are a carbon copy of the latest trend, Eduardo is one of those guys who starts the trends, with his own vision and a lot of hard work. He has a masters in corporate communications, and is also a vinyl records collector, an avid concert goer and a film aficionado.

In this edition of Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview certified make-up artist and photographer Nina Piippanen. Born in Finland and a resident of Barcelona, her experience over the past twenty years has brought her into contact with people from all walks of life, from celebrities to corporate clients. Nina organizes courses and training events for international beauty professionals, and specializes in “empowering photography” which is designed to empower people through makeup and special effects techniques combined with image art. She has collaborated with GrisArt photography school in Barcelona and is currently preparing a book.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner we interview author, translator, lecturer and researcher, Dr. Carme Font Paz. Her research explores the marginalization of women's thought in the early modern period (1500-1770), when the newly invented printing press allowed widespread dissemination of printed materials throughout Europe. Her work is particularly focused on habitually neglected intellectual contributions of female writers during this period of time. Dr. Font has collaborated with academic institutions and various research projects in countries including Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States, and received research grants both from UCLA and Harvard University. In 2018, she was awarded a prestigious Starting Grant from the European Research Council for Project WINK which stands for “Women's Invisible Ink: Trans-Genre Writing and the Gendering of Intellectual Value in Early Modernity.”

Welcome back to BCC. In this opportunity we interview trumpet player, composer, arranger and producer, Raynald Colom. Born in Vincennes, France, he began studying music at age four, and took up the trumpet at the age of eight under André Spelich the renowned soloist of the Orchestre de Paris. Colom went on to study with big names in jazz music and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, but his true musical education took place on the streets and stages of New York, Barcelona and other major cities around the world. He has collaborated with a long list of acclaimed artists in the world of jazz, pop, world-beat and flamenco, and has racked up numerous accolades and awards along the way. His sixth album A Million Dreams comes out on the 20th of May. When Colom is not recording or touring, he also teaches privately in Barcelona, giving his students not only a solid musical background, but also practical advice on how to find their own voice and make their mark in the profession they've chosen.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview ballet dancer, choreographer and co-founder of professional classical and contemporary dance company Ballet de Barcelona, Chase Johnsey. Originally from the US, Chase is a gender fluid ballerina, and known as a pioneer in the dance world when it comes to challenging gender roles. He has performed at some of the world's most prestigious venues, including New York's Kennedy Center and the London Coliseum. Ballet de Barcelona was founded in May 2019 and has already performed well over 50 shows for nearly 50,000 spectators, in Catalunya and other parts of Spain, as well as in France and Andorra. The company now includes 49 dancers of 23 nationalities, and currently has five productions running.

In this edition of MCC we interview DJ, singer, songwriter, producer, activist and businesswoman Reyes Torío. Originally from Bilbao, Reyes has been a familiar face around Barcelona since the 1990s. She is known for her inimitable style, and for being one of the co-founders and singers of the Spanish cowpunk band Dinamita Pa Los Pollos, which had a gold record in the 1980s. She would later go on to produce other artists and even found an independent record label. She fought for change in international copyright law with the International Federation of Independent Labels in Brussels and has appeared at clubs and on festival stages as a DJ Reyes is also a champion of women's rights and their visibility within the entertainment industry.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner we interview Miki Ortilles. He is a professional drummer as well as the co-founder of the music production and promotion company Aupamusic. From touring in rock and rumba bands to organizing food truck festivals; from working with city halls and major brands, to coordinating with non-profit organizations on projects to supporting young musicians in the community; from running a gastrobar to booking bands — Miki does it all.

On the first Metropolitan Culture Corner of 2022, we interview food and lifestyle photographer Margaret Stepien. Margaret has been a food and lifestyle photographer for the past decade, shooting campaigns all over the world for brands such as Pepsi, Almarai, Freixenet, Danone, Kraft, KFC, Lonely Planet, Netflix and many more. She is also the creator of the Foodie Lookbook and owner of Fat Cat Studio in Barcelona.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we speak with fashion designer, personal stylist and private chef, Philissa Williams. From her very first trunk shows in Washington DC to African Fashion Week and solo runway shows in Barcelona, her handmade, one-of-a-kind dresses and upcycled pieces are unique, easy to wear, and impossible to confuse with any other designer's work. Her brand is called Thembe Fashions, and over the past 15 years she has left her mark on the both the worlds of independent fashion and food. She is also the head stylist for the new series You Make Me Feel Lonely.

This month Tori interviews flamenco and classical guitarist, composer, session musician and record producer Pedro Javier González. He has produced and collaborated with a who's-who of Spanish and Catalan musicians as well as sharing the stage at festivals with numerous international guitar heroes, such as B.B. King, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Paco de Lucia and Tommy Emmanuel. From winning top honors at national competitions in the 1980s to touring as a part of several the top-selling acts in Spain in the 1990s, from producing other artists to writing for commercials and even appearing as a soloist with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra in Moscow, Pedro Javier González is a multifaceted artist whose musical range only continues to grow with time.

This month on the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we interview world traveler, internationally accredited yoga master and teacher trainer Eleonora Trani. Originally from Rome, Trani has lived, studied, and taught all over the world—in Spain, France, Italy, England, Egypt, Nepal, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Mexico, Guatemala and the United States. In her travels she has studied under a number of teachers, including the Dalai Lama. She currently offers private and group classes in Barcelona as well as online and specializes in training other yoga teachers. She is a mental health advocate and has also worked as an assistant director on several documentaries about Tibetan Buddhism in India. But she's not your typical yoga teacher, and is as well-versed in old-school hip-hop as she is the Yoga Sutras.

This month Tori Sparks speaks with filmmaker, journalist and singer Neus Flores. She has a postgraduate in digital journalism, is an independent radio show host, and is a familiar face at Cannes, Venice, Locarno, San Sebastian, and other film fests. She not only specializes in covering film festivals for various publications but is also a screenwriter and filmmaker herself. Flores' most recent short films Ride and Sub Ads were selections for the Incorto Film Festival (Mexico), the Clermont-Ferrand online market, and others. In her free time, Neus is also a singer, performer and songwriter.

In this episode of Metropolitan Culture Corner Tori Sparks hosts musician, author and storyteller extraordinaire Carlos Romagosa. He was one of the founding members of one of the very first live modern music groups that ever existed in post-war Barcelona back in 1958—they were called Las Estrellas Fugaces, or the shooting stars—and six decades later, he's still an active part of the local music scene with his eight-piece Cuban band Son de la Rambla. Romagosa has also been a journalist, an actor, a clown and has recently released his first book, Cuando el Ocio No Existía, which translates literally to “When Leisure [or Fun] Didn't Exist.” It chronicles the adventures he and his young bandmates had while struggling to create something new and inspiring during the Franco dictatorship.

Tori Sparks interviews film composer and music supervisor Toni Mir. He has written soundtracks for award-winning shorts and films and was recently nominated for a 2020 Goya Award for Best Original Song in a film for “Allí en la Arena” from the movie La Inocencia. He is also the founder of Trafalgar 13 Music House, an independent composition and music supervision studio in Barcelona that creates music for television and commercials.

This month we spoke with casting director Luci Lenox of Frank Stein Studio. She has cast over 100 productions either as lead casting director or as Spanish or European casting director for international co-productions, including series (Westworld, The One, Warrior Nun, others), feature films (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Victoria, Perfume and many more), as well as hundreds of commercials. She explains what it takes to transform the written word into living, breathing characters, and why every job or life experience she's ever had has ultimately helped her be better at what she does.

Tori Sparks interviews world renowned lighting artist, set designer, director, videographer and tech wizard Franc Aleu. The Barcelona native has worked in opera houses all over the world—including Barcelona's own Liceu—and created innovative art in uncommon formats and unexpected locations. Is the future of opera virtual reality in three dimensions? Listen to the interview to find out!

This month, we invite you to sit in on a special quarantine edition of the MCC hosted by musician and Metropolitan collaborator Tori Sparks with award-winning poet, author, screenwriter, lyricist, and commissar of the BCNegra literary festival, Carlos Zanón. He tells us the difference between writing a novel and helping rock stars finish a song and explains how the nightlife of Barcelona figures into his particular personal style. (Interview in Spanish)

In this installment of the Metropolitan Culture Corner, we go behind the scenes with award-winning international playwright, director, producer and actress Denise Duncan, whose works for the stage challenge our hidden and sometimes not-so-hidden biases regarding gender, race and society.

Tori Sparks has a conversation with documentary filmmaker, author, animator, screenwriter, activist and composer Miles Roston. He takes us behind the scenes on his travels around the world, documenting social and human rights issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender equality, nuclear testing and much more.

Presenter Tori Sparks chats with actor Oscar Foronda, the only Spanish actor in the cast of the fourth season of the popular Netflix series The Crown. Foronda has appeared in over 85 films and TV series, as well as in numerous commercials. He shares his perspective on life, art, and the importance of following your own path in the face of adversity.

This month Tori interviews internationally sought-after Spanish architect and interior designer Lárazo Rosa Violán. Painter by eight years old, architect by 20, Lázaro opened his design studio in Barcelona in 2002 and has since left an indelible mark on the look of the city and the world with his trademark Baroque-vintage-industrial style

Hosted by singer, songwriter and Metropolitan collaborator Tori Sparks August's interview is with Croatian actor Luka Peroš, who plays the role of Marsella in the popular Netflix series La Casa de Papel (a.k.a. Money Heist). He lets us in on his acting process, shares stories from behind the scenes on set and explains how the global pandemic has affected him both personally and professionally.

In this month's MCC installment, host Tori Sparks speaks with internationally renowned mastering engineer Yves Roussel. He has worked on everything from Woody Allen movie soundtracks to commercials, from Grammy-winning pop records to local bands' latest radio singles and he shows no signs of slowing down after 20+ years in the business. (Interview in English)

This month, we invite you to sit in on another special quarantine edition of the MCC with rock photographer and co-founder of Enderrock magazine, Xavi Mercadé, a.k.a. “The Man Who Is Always There.” Over the past four decades, he has photographed everyone from local bands to the Rolling Stones, and yes, he has been known to sneak a camera into a concert disguised as a sandwich. (Interview in Spanish)

Tori Sparks interviews Palencia-born actress, poet, director and the current “Madame” of Barcelona's own Prostíbulo Poetico Sonia Barba. Ever wondered what Prostíbulo Poetico, or “poetry brothel” is? Listen to September's episode of MCC to find out. (Interview in English)

Our first interview is with Irish-Catalan singer-songwriter Núria Graham, the golden child of the summer music festival circuit and the prodigal daughter of the national press. She lets us in on her songwriting process, explains her thoughts on Joni Mitchell, and tells us how the local police are some of her biggest fans. Núria plays an acoustic version of a song from the album, titled “Another Dead Bee.”