Bodega La Riera, an emblematic cooperative space in the neighborhood of Vallcarca, has launched a call for solidarity to avoid closure. After more than thirteen years of activity as a popular, anti-capitalist space committed to the social and solidarity economy, the project is going through its most critical moment: a series of fines imposed have put its economic viability in check.
The total of sanctions amounts to more than 10,000 euros, many of them, according to the cooperative, for “questionable or directly inaccurate facts”, such as noise or nuisance to neighbors. The intention was that the payment of the fines would not hinder the normal progress of the winery (payment of salaries, suppliers, etc.), but now it has reached a point where it is necessary to undertake this crowdfunding campaign to avoid this.
More than a bar: a neighborhood shelter
La Riera is not just a bar. It is a meeting place, a community space, a stage for cultural activities, neighborhood struggles and celebrations. Beyond its function as a bar, the place is one of the last popular and vindicative spaces in a neighborhood that has suffered some of the most relevant urban gentrification operations in the city, and that lived, a few days ago, a tense episode of evictions.
In fact, from La Riera they affirm that the fine affects the normal development of the project because the business model does not seek to make a profit, but to be sustainable for the cooperative members who maintain it and for the customers of the neighborhood.
The team is made up of five cooperative members and two workers, all with personal and militant ties to the neighborhood. “We have created eight decent jobs and built a project without subsidies, with no subsidies, open to all the neighbors, with popular prices and social commitment,” they explain.
With a diverse menu, vegan options, local products and vermouth in bulk, it has been for years a point of reference in Vallcarca for those who are committed to another model of city.
How it has come to accumulate 10,000 euros in fines
The fines arrived at the end of 2023, after two marked nights: one in August and another during the neighborhood festivities. In one of them, according to the minutes, tables had been cleared and only people were left in the street saying goodbye. In the other, it was alleged that the door and windows were open and that noise was generated, something that La Riera categorically denies. “We know very well how to act so as not to disturb the neighbors or put us at risk,” they say.
In total there have been seven fines. After considering whether to appeal, they decided to pay some of the fines to avoid losing the right to reduced payment . But the rest (around 8,000 €) are still pending and they can no longer benefit from any discount or file an appeal.
This campaign is not only an economic petition, but a political cry . La Riera denounces the accelerated transformation of Barcelona’s neighborhoods, where community spaces are being replaced by franchises, souvenir stores, English bars and places designed for tourists or expats: “There is less and less city left for those of us who live here”, they point out.
That is why this call is directed not only to the neighbors of Vallcarca, but to all those people who want a lively, combative Barcelona with neighborhoods with soul. “We are not asking for money to refurbish the premises or to buy them. Only to be able to continue opening the shutters and offering what we have built for more than a decade”.
How to support the campaign
You can support the crowdfunding campaign here or write to the winery to propose collaborations at solidaritatriera@gmail.com