El Raval Article

"Los inmigrantes siguen ganando peso en el comercio del Raval"

The article entitled "Los inmigrantes siguen ganando peso en el comercio del Raval" by Lluis Sierra appeared in La Vanguardia on November 7th. The article explained the rise of immigrant store owners in the Raval district. It stated that 45% of the store owners of the Raval are foreigners. The rise has occurred in the past decade with the increase in immigration from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Sierra states that Jaume Badia, the president of Tot Raval, is asking why the origin of the owner should be important if it is never looked at in Gracia. The article goes on to talk about how the area has been able to obtain a high number of open shops during the economic crisis. Only 4% of the businesses have closed. However, some of the area of the Raval are not as prosperous. For example, Sierra explains how the Raval South is not very financially stable and a lot of people have said the hardship is due to the Bus Turisic not stopping in the Raval.

I have only been to the Raval once. It seemed very different from the surrounding tourist areas. When I was there, I noticed that there were many shops that sold cellular devices and it seemed people were always standing outside the store. Also, I could tell that there were some parts that were not holding up as well as others. When we ate outside in the Raval, the server kept telling us to watch our things because people get many things stolen around there. However, the food was very good and the area had very unique buildings. All in all, the Raval was a very cool and different place.