It is clear that the reason for the trip is the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and that intense days of work await attendees, followed by dinners organized for months by the companies themselves. But since you have to travel to Barcelona, why not advance the flight date a little and take advantage of the weekend before the rush begins. It is the approach, more common each year, of those first congressmen who since the end of last week have been settling into their respective hotels and who yesterday were seen traveling in black vehicles with tinted windows, strolling calmly through the center, shopping, snacking or in the stands to enjoy the match between Barça and Getafe.
There are those who had decided on the program before landing. Like the Argentine telecommunications engineer Andrés Cardoso, Huawei's EBG account director in his country, who visits the Catalan capital for the first time. He does it on the advice of his mother. “She comes often and she made it very clear to me: 'When you arrive it will be time to eat and the first thing you have to do is go to the Boqueria and have a snack there.' He was obedient and we found him in one of the market stalls buying some papelinas of Iberian acorn-fed ham and Manchego cheese, together with his Brazilian colleague Anderson Porfirio, business manager and client of his, who is also visiting Barcelona and Mobile for the first time. “Many organized meetings and many professional challenges await us, but today it's time to enjoy a little. We landed two hours ago, we approached the hotel, next to the Llacuna metro station; A quick shower and straight to the Boqueria. And the little Barça game.”
They went to the field and others, like some young Chinese congressmen who visit the official store on Rambla Catalunya, will settle for taking a good collection of club shirts to fulfill the orders that their friends have given them.
On the terrace of neighboring Ciudad Condal, yesterday some congressmen joined the usual clientele of tourists, like the group that had just landed on a flight from Istanbul and that shared fried artichokes, sirloin sandwiches and wild asparagus, as well as other dishes of this successful place.
Not only those who have traveled to attend the mobile telephony meeting, but many Barcelona residents, some of them children, were enjoying those hours before the Mobile yesterday. One of the focuses is on Plaza Catalunya, where Samsung has once again set up an attractive stand in front of which a very long queue formed yesterday that covered more than half the perimeter of the square. The reason was not so much the presentation of the firm's latest model (“If you want to see it, you better come another time.” the staff warned), but the presence of the successful YouTuber GoDeik. A group of friends from the Ventura Gassol school, in El Morell (Tarragona) had convinced their parents to take them to see him and stood in front of the entrance to be closer to their idol while one of the mothers kept a position in the line. They said that they are 11 years old, they love playing Brawl Star and they had prepared drawings that they hope to be able to give him.
“We love his videos,” said Luca Muñiz, who praised the Madrid native's humorous tone on one of his channels and the humor of another channel that he dedicates to the reactions of the players. While they waited, they discussed what they will do if they manage to win the championship and get the model that Samsung has just presented. “It's more than 1,000 euros, I would sell it and split the money,” says one of them.
On the Rambla we met chef Óscar Manresa, who was heading to El Altar, a dining room with a private kitchen that he reserves for groups and where he wants to finalize some details for the table that is already ready. He says that at his Torre de Altamar restaurant he has reservations for about a hundred congressmen for each night of Mobile. And he assures that some senior managers who are already in the city are looking for calm outside the urban core. “At the Catalina, in Gavà de Mar, we attended the president of Samsung on Thursday and Friday.” But the vast majority of dinners expected these days will be held in the city.
The Catalan Federation of Associations of Restaurants and Musical Activities (Fecasarm) has estimated the turnover of bars, restaurants and hotels in Barcelona at 105 million euros in this edition and it is expected that each attendee will spend around 300 euros.
Chef Raül Balam, head of Moments at the Madarin Oriental Hotel, assures that every end of February he looks forward to the arrival of Mobile. “It is the biggest restaurant festival in the city and a challenge to ensure that those who sit at the tables of our restaurants enjoy themselves. And when you return to work, at the coffee breaks, talk about what you ate and how good it was in Barcelona. These days he offers his latest tasting menu, inspired by the cycling “La Vuelta” that immerses itself in the culinary culture of the different stages and offers a gastronomic route of haute cuisine ideal for those who come from afar. Balam confesses himself a fan of Mobile. “Technology is part of our lives and this is one of the great conferences in the world. It is wonderful to have it in Barcelona and make an effort to adapt to the tastes and eating habits of people who come from all over the world these days.”
