Josep Vallverdú (1923-2026) did not consider himself a specialist in children’s and young adult literature (LIJ), for which he was so recognized, but preferred to speak of “adventure novels.” And although in many cases this was true, what was an adventure was his life, which ended on Tuesday and which is not easy to approach with much perspective given the relevance his figure gained in recent years.

On March 7, 1999, just four days after delivering the final cut of Eyes Wide Shut to Warner, Stanley Kubrick died in his sleep from a myocardial infarction. His sudden death, the decade that had passed since his previous film (Full Metal Jacket, 1987), and the morbid curiosity that Hollywood’s fashionable couple, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, starred in the posthumous film, gave the premiere a certain testamentary aura that exponentially raised expectations. Critics and audiences disagreed. A stroke of genius? A blunder? Or was the message simply not understood? Be that as it may, the film has aged remarkably well, features some memorable scenes, and, above all, contains not one but two succulent parties, two distorting mirrors of the same elite.

For decades, Carmen Burgos-Bosch opened the doors of her apartment in La Pedrera to the curious, architects, scholars, and admirers of Antoni Gaudí. She showed them the undulating ceilings, pointed out details that went unnoticed by others, and shared anecdotes of a life spent among some of the most celebrated forms of modern architecture.