Ferrando, Bartolomé

Place and date of birth Valencia, 1951

Current occupation Performance and intermedia art teacher

Other occupations Writer, sound poet, visual poet, performer

Ideal occupation Drifting walker

Something you cannot do in Valencia Converse with some artists I appreciate very much

Something you can only do in Valencia Walk around, see, smell the Central Market

If you did not live in Valencia, where would you live? Grenoble

Favourite places in Valencia The Viveros Gardens, the Botanical Gardens

Favourite Valencian characters Ausias March

From the poets who have had a street named after them, who do you prefer? Ausias March

Street, square, or corner of Valencia where you see yourself in dreams In the Plaza Redonda

If for whatever reason Valencia had to be demolished in its entirety, what would you save? La Lonja (The Silk Exchange)

Favourite tree One of the magnolia trees from La Glorieta

Favourite window The picture windows of La Lonja

A memorable poster, phrase, or graffiti ‘It is about time that us little boys and little girls go to bed’

With which statue in Valencia would you have a conversation? Disappointed, with the fountain of La Plaza de la Virgen

What is the best time of day to visit Valencia? At sunset

When have you had the most fun in Valencia? Walking along the beach, in the very early morning, when the beach was almost empty

Can one be happy in Valencia? Yes

What is the best place in Valencia for love? Next to the beach

And for crime? The port area

Is Valencia suitable for children? Probably

A childhood memory of the city On top of the Viveros’ stone gates and grabbing with one hand the iron bars while keeping the other one extended, screaming at the top of my lungs, protesting something 

Do you often think about the Valencian sea? Only sometimes

What opinion does Valencia’s horizon deserve? I see it as irregular and fragile

When you walk through the streets of Valencia, do you look up to the sky or down at the ground? Nor to the sky nor at the ground

What catches your attention more, buildings or holes? Holes

Your favourite music associated with the city The music that, as a child, accompanied the giants that walked down the street

Do you notice the presence of the Moon in Valencia’s daytime sky? Yes

If we decided not to call Valencia ‘the city of El Turia’, what new name could we give it? ‘The Tity of El Curia’

What should not be missing from a book about Valencia? Blank pages, where something can be written


Passport picture of the author