. Barcelona Activa, Barcelona Global, Barcelona Turisme. All of them, organisations you have led, dedicated to working for the city. Proud of Barcelona?

 

So much. For me, it's a gift. I've been fond of Barcelona since I was a child. In '86 they built the Olympic City and I was a fan from day 0. Insane. My aspiration was to work for the city. I did an internship at Barcelona Activa, and when I finished my master's degree I applied for a position and from there I went on to become general manager. Barcelona Global was a very cool process where I built from scratch an organization for the dissemination and promotion of Barcelona. From painting the premises to working from the Starbuck's because we had no wi-fi. Our slogan Make it Happen. And we did it.

Now in Barcelona Turisme the challenge is to attract quality tourism, and this means that the city has to appreciate itself and look inwards in order to project itself to the world.

Barcelona attracts a lot of tourism, it also attracts investment, it attracts entrepreneurs, it attracts designers, it attracts digital nomads and international companies and hubs. It has the best restaurant in the world and the best cocktail bar at the same time! Now we have to manage not to lose the value of a unique proposition. It's time for the "What's next?”.

 

. The 37th America's Cup. Barcelona Global led the talks to align the institutions and private investors and put together a winning bid. What can you tell us that we don't know?

 

The fact that the America's Cup will be held in Barcelona is not only good for our city, but the America's Cup will be better after being held in Barcelona. It will have become more popular, more sustainable, more visible, more feminine and younger, and, above all, more: urban.

These are the attributes that Barcelona will give to the America's Cup, urban, sustainable, popular, feminine and young values that few cities can bring to the oldest sporting prize in the world. Barcelona, with the America's Cup, will also recover the values of hospitality, which we have by nature and which we must also restore.

 

. Some time ago you decided to cycle around the city despite your tight schedule. Mobility in big cities is one of the most difficult and consensual challenges of the future. How to deal with it?

 

I've learned that getting around by bike is a necessity if you have a tight schedule. It is the perfect combination of quality of life and mobility efficiency. People don't know it yet. I am never late thanks to cycling. By bike I know the distances and the route, and I manage my time better.

Mobility is one of the great challenges of cities. There are many actors involved with very different interests but I have to understand mobility as a broader concept, the mobility of the 21st century has to be understood as a metropolitan concept that leads us to a healthier and more sustainable life.

. Silenciosa designs and produces functional clothing for an active life. You are the perfect target. You travel a lot. You like to dress well and you are attentive to trends. A "must" for your suitcase?

 

I've always liked fashion and trends. I wear a suit a lot and I like it. I travel a lot for work and you have to wear two suits, and it makes you angry that suits are not designed for traveling. Folding a suit is complicated enough. How do you fold your blazer? Nowadays, practicality and functionality are the key, a blazer and trousers that allow you to be comfortable on the plane and then, when you arrive, go to dinner without having to go to the hotel to iron.

 

. As the son of artists, you grew up among brushes, art galleries, gatherings and exhibitions. Which city is most active in terms of its cultural offerings?

 

It is a world reference but Paris has renewed its artistic proposal due to the Brexit tragedy, with the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Fondation Cartier, or the Pinalut Collection, new fairs and galleries. Miami has a very powerful art and gallery circuit. Berlin does it very well and works its city proposal from a clearly cultural focus.

Barcelona's big bet has to be on culture. Culture and creativity, a world-renowned creative laboratory, is a way of projecting ourselves in the world of quality that attracts a certain number of visitors who value and appreciate the city. Every cultural proposal is a direct benefit for the citizen himself. And in a city that has to choose who it wants to visit, let's bet that it is culture, our creativity that acts as a magnet for our visitors.

 

. You are an advisor in many European cities, world is moving too fast, proposals are cloned and everything is globalized. Quality vs. quantity?

 

Cities have to be projected from within. Oslo is a clear example. A huge investment to transform a fishing port into a marvelous city, through the Opera House, the Munch Museum, or the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, all surrounded by signature buildings and other functional and beautiful facilities. Quality vs. quantity.

When I travel I often like to do it alone and walk around the cities, an introspective exercise that allows you to understand who you and your city are.

. A city to live in? A city to eat in? A city not to sleep in?

I would live in Copenhagen, it is a city aware of itself, sure of itself and of its proposal. A city that reinforces its identity. Although Copenhagen is also a great place to eat, there is no better city than San Sebastian. You eat what you want, excellent products and innovation. Obviously New York is the city where you don't sleep, I know it directly, New York never closes.

 

. All Day Long is our tagline. Clothes for the whole day and for the day to come. What is your day to day?

I get off very early in the morning, I go to the gym, to Soho House and from there I cycle to work. Meetings, presentations, committees and lunches. If I can, all by bike. If I don't dine out I like to cook dinner. I like to cook a lot. For two or for 50, I don't know if I'm good, people have never complained and repeated. There is always good wine at home. Once a year I have a big party and I cook. Life has to be enjoyed every minute. We have to taste every minute we live and enjoy it.

 

. Where does Mateu find his silence?

In introspection. Walking through Barcelona's Callo, on winter nights. Wet streets and low light. The Plaza San Felipe Neri, all those streets, in February, at 9 o'clock in the evening, on a Sunday when there is no one there. It is a fantastic place.

At Folquer, a family farmhouse, in the middle of nowhere. The nearest village is 15 km away. Landscape and calm, walking or just sitting in the courtyard, doing nothing.

Venice. Paradoxical oi? Late at night, be it summer, winter, spring or autumn, the city is empty. In solitude I walk between alleys and bridges with leather-soled shoes, the ones that ring. The ones that make the sound of closing, closing. That sound that breaks the silence, it's magic.

It is unique.