The pleasure of your company

He was so warm and charming, projecting such elegance and good nature, that his human side, in this moment of farewell, comes into sharp focus, almost overpowering his cultural and journalistic work. But that decades-long work has been of great importance, and it deserves to be discussed.

Lluís Permanyer was a great chronicler of Barcelona, ​​becoming a true institution of the city; people recognized him and stopped him on the street to comment on his writings and opinions. His decision to write about the city for La Vanguardia in 1975, as the path to democracy began to clear, led him to compile a specialized library of 2,000 titles and, above all, to interview witnesses of urban life in a wide variety of fields, from literary culture to business, hospitality, confectionery, taxidermy, candle-making, and music halls. He compiled these accounts in various books, complemented by his indispensable "biographies of urban streets": from Passeig de Gràcia, Plaça Catalunya, and Diagonal, to chronicling the Eixample as a whole.

He finishes the definitive edition of his 'Cites i testimonis sobre Barcelona'

He wrote frequently about modernism, which he helped to revalue, and excelled as a biographer and author of essays on artistic and literary figures—from Miró to Sagarra, including Tàpies and Clavé. He is credited with important memoirs and documents that would not have been published without his intervention.

He was one of La Vanguardia 's great contributors and one of its most beloved staffers, as well as a lover of the newspaper's history. He often recalled his beginnings in the international section with Carlos Nadal and José Casán, and the discussions that arose there. He often dragged his colleagues from the editorial staff to the Molino, whose genuine character fascinated him; he was the master of ceremonies, wearing a top hat and false beard, at the farewell ceremony on Pelai Street, and on one occasion he was chosen—quite deservedly—as our most elegant journalist.

I began meeting him when I moved into this house in 1987, and I've had the privilege of maintaining a good friendship with him over the years. We've met with Assumpció and Mey in his memorabilia-filled apartment on Carrer Casp. He asked me to give a speech about his work when he was awarded the Catalan Book Week's "Trajectòria" award, which allowed me to delve more deeply into his published work. Last Thursday, in his "Album" section, I had the privilege of having him speak fondly about one of my novels, which gave him the opportunity to recall two anecdotes, very much his own, about Gothic Barcelona.

Lluís, who suffered an accident months ago that left him partially immobile and slowly recovered, signed his recent emails as "The One-Armed Man of the Eixample." He leaves us with the elegance and discretion that characterized his life. And I believe with the satisfaction of a job well done: he recently announced to me that in November the definitive edition of one of the works to which he has dedicated the most years, the compilation Cites i testimonis sobre Barcelona (Cities and Testimonies on Barcelona), would finally appear, with more than 500 new additions. In his heartfelt words, "the immaterial monument that I dedicate to my city."

Dear Lluís, we will enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed your writings and your always stimulating and delightful company, which we will miss so much.