If Mayor Ada Colau is re-elected, Barcelona could well be the first city in Spain to dedicate a street, alleyway, garden or square – the squares are already more coveted – to the footballer Vinícius, the latest victim of racism in our country.
In this case, as an exception, a street in Barcelona can be dedicated to Vinícius while he is still alive, a golden opportunity to reestablish affective bonds with Brazil and demonstrate that racism has no place in society, especially in Barcelona, prodigal in updating the gazetteer with a high moral dimension.
The only thing I would ask of the Barcelona City Council, if the proposal is successful, is that it please review its official notifications in this regard and correct a grammatical error that condemned generations of Spaniards to suspense. Writing "Barcelona City Council has approved, with date x, giving the new name..." (see the municipal website) damages the eyes, hurts the sensitivity and makes one think that communications in Spanish matter a fig.
In the last 18 official notifications, in the Spanish version, our City Council has communicated –with such a misspelling– the new denomination, and I say 18 and not 50 because after reviewing the last 18 I have had enough.
From the goalkeeper Cristina Fernández Pereira – shot for red – to the soldier Juli Busquets Bragulat – retaliated for being a democrat –, everyone is dishonored by that preposition “has approved” instead of the auxiliary “has approved”. We already know that these things happen and they are not the fault of the mayoress, but someone should give an explanation even if it is to argue that where social justice is, the Spanish grammar should be removed, so fascistoid.
That there are plenty of personalities waiting on the street, garden or passage? As a resident of Taxdirt street in Barcelona, I offer you a way out. The name is withdrawn – it was a military victory in the Rif region! – and is dedicated to Vinícius, whom the ironies of history and the 21st century equate with all those immigrants who are yelled at to return to their country and they have no choice but to play Swedish.
