Ara Balears in English - relations

If we get bored together, it means we understand each other.

Alba Tarragó — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 16:44:24 +0000

In general, there are two groups of people: those with whom we can simply be, and those with whom we necessarily have to do something. If you don't believe me, take a quick look at your friends and family (or even partners). The people with whom we always have to do something are those with whom—intentionally or not—we make plans, those with whom we always have something to do, making them feel somewhat incomplete. I have nothing against a friend who goes for a run, a friend who goes to the movies, or a parent who finds a shared hobby with their children to spend time together. But allow me to doubt that these are the people who truly know us.

Sensitive matter

Sebastià Portell — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 06:30:54 +0000

"Without knowing exactly how, you end up with a house overflowing with water": that's how it begins The magnet and thingsThe unclassifiable first book by artist, teacher, and philologist Mateu Coll (Pollença, 1962). Not surprisingly, objects and the idea of collecting (or accumulating) are some of the central themes of the volume, which explores the relationship we have with the things we own or want. "You go after them, the searches, the objects," says Coll. "I've bought and collected like crazy, as if the world were ending, an ark in the middle of a flood, a pair and more of every kind." And so he draws us into a discourse that oscillates between a highly personal memoir and an essay, between deeply personal thought and almost poetic prose.

Why don't we talk about shitty relationships until they break up?

Alba Tarragó — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 15:05:49 +0000

One of the moments I've felt most desperately vulnerable was during a relationship drama. And not just because of the drama itself—which was good to handle—but because a friend had found out about everything firsthand. It's not that I couldn't hide it from her, but I just couldn't tell her my way, omitting the details that made me most uncomfortable. I felt naked, unprotected, out in the open. How could it be that what made me feel most in danger about the whole situation was the fact that my friend knew what had happened?