The Styrous® Viewfinder: Peluquería Mediterráneo ~ getting clipped in Barcelona

December 4, 2018

Peluquería Mediterráneo ~ getting clipped in Barcelona

The most wonderful hair cut experience I have ever had was eight years ago in November of 2010, at the Peluquería Mediterráneo in Barcelona, España.

Peluquería Mediterráneo

photos by Styrous®

It was not just for the terrific haircut I got from Mustapha, my barber . . .

Mustapha

photo by Styrous®

. . . but the fun time I had with him in the process.

with Mustapha

photo by Tom White

His shop, Peluquería Mediterráneo, is within walking distance from the studio we were staying in on Carrer Carme (link below), well, everything is within walking distance in Barcelona.

I was just walking through El Raval (link below) one day and I took a shortcut down Riera Baixa to get to Carrer Hospital and passed by the shop.

Riera Baixa

I was in dire need of a haircut so I walked in. Mustapha invited me to sit while he finished up the man he was working on. When it was my turn we had a delightful conversation, me with my wretched Spanish, he with his better-than-my-Spanish English. As we talked other men came in and settled in to wait talking with each other; seems they either knew each other already or it's the incredibly friendly atmosphere in the city where everyone talks to everyone.

Anyway, Mustapha and I talked while he cut my hair and we got on to the subject of cooking; I have no idea how that happened. He mentioned a type of rice that is used in the middle east and told me el mercado down the corner sold it. He tried to describe the look of the package it came in but because of my lousy Spanish I couldn't understand what he was saying. He said, "Come, I'll show it to you in the window." There were men waiting for their hair to be cut so I said something to that effect. He said they wouldn't mind and turned to them and asked them. They all said, "No importa."

Sure enough he walked me down to the corner, pointed out the package displayed in the window and explained in detail how it was to be cooked. We got back to the barber shop five or ten minutes later and all the men were still talking to each other as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened; I was totally dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it!

Well, I'd had such a fantastic time that a few weeks later when Tom said he needed a haircut and I did as well, I told him, "I know the perfect place to go!"