Walking down the street in Barcelona, I heard the sound of rap music. Looking up, I saw a young black man—maybe 19 or 20—sitting on a small metal balcony next to his speakers. Of all the MCs in the world, the brother was listening to Eazy E! It was old school gangsta rap blasting on the even older school streets of Barcelona. Welcome to Europe circa 2009.


Walking past that old school hip hop fan, I went on in search of 4 Gats, a vintage restaurant that used to be one of the painter Pablo Picasso’s hang outs early in his legendary career. It is an ornate, gilded-age establishment with waiters in black bow ties, white shirts and black vests. As in an old library, there are stairs that lead diners to a second level of seats that encircle the main dining area.

The food was as fine as the decor. I had Fisherman’s soupy rice, which was filled with great slices of fish, while my friends had prawns with mushrooms in cava sauce and barcola (fish) with spinach. After that throwback meal I was thrust forward into the present by the sound of explosions. …

Judi Oshowole has lived in Barcelona for 18 years. She tells BlackAtlas about the city's growing diversity and the community of black women, from countries around the world, she has helped to build.

I finally made it to Spain after years of Spanish classes, plates of tapas and pitchers of sangria. With the choice being between Barcelona and Madrid, I chose the former because I thought it would be more lively, cosmopolitan and multicultural. As it turns out, it may have been the other way around (from what I hear).

It was a little disappointing to see smatterings of people of color rather than the mosaic I was expecting but the city definitely appreciated multiculturalism in the arts. A distinctive characteristic of the city are the many frequented little alleyways featuring numerous boutiques and restaurants. All over the city there were representations of the African diaspora within the plethora of mural-like pieces of artwork on store gates. Since there seems to be no care as to when these places are opened and closed, the gates would be closed during daytime hours.

A must for me was the Picasso museum www.museupicasso.bcn.es. I was very eager to hear about my favorite period of his, the Cubism period which was influenced by the preceding African one. Unfortunately, there was …