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April 2006: PAUL SMITH’S DEVIANT’S DIARY - Beaver Espania!
Having two extra days in Barcelona after the 3GSM Global Conference, profiled elsewhere in this issue, I allowed my natural curiosity to get the better of me. How does continental European/Spanish adult retail differ from that of our little overcrowded island, I wondered? With no more equipment than my digital camera, a pen, a notebook, being able to say 'Hola' and two copies of ETO to prove I wasn't a nutter, I went to find out.
My first surprise was that a Sex Shop in Spain is a Sex Shop and not a Tienda Del Sexo, or similar. My hotel manager summed it up for me while he tried to find me some likely addresses. "It's like Whisky", he said. "It's just a name". Of the three shops out of 10-15 in Barcelona that I found on my travels, one was closed when I visited. However the other two were both open and happy to talk to me about the trade when I'd explained who I was and what I wanted.
In 'Magic America', at Paral.lel 52, (opposite the chimneys, should you ever visit. If you do, I recommend the underground funicular that starts near by. It'll take you up the mountain for some great views over the city from the castle) I met the manager, who introduced me to Nicky (her stage name. Any spelling accepted) who dances there and in Barcelona's other adult venues. Her English is much better than my Spanish, which I demonstrated for her: "Fuego! Fuego!" Ah, the power of Fawlty Towers. She said the neon outside does cause problems…
"Clients see the sign, and come in expecting something we don't do. Internationally, sex shop does sound like a shop for sex, and that's not what we have here. We sell toys and films, and have the video (€1 per minute) and peep show (€2p/m) booths for dancers and strippers. For €20 minimum we have a private (€3p/m) booth for shows also. Now Barcelona has four peep shows, we're not allowed any new ones, and they try to make us change the name to 'Erotic Spectacular' or like this."
I wanted to know if Spain being a Catholic country caused any friction. I mimed an angry nun holding a placard ('Down with this kind of thing!') to get my point across. "Oh no, it's not a problem", she assured me. When I said religious pressure groups were a force elsewhere, like America, she summed the different situations up perfectly: "Ah yes. But they are Americans." Good point, well made.
In Spain adult films have to be approved by the European equivalent of the BBFC, the GÜFA. Nikki confirmed the shop needed a licence to sell them but couldn't put a price on one, even after a quick discussion with the manager. "The price isn't so much the problem. It's the location. We can't have a shop here near a school." I confirmed it's the same in the UK before going on to ask how long the shop had been there. "Nearly 15 years, but things have changed a lot. Now we see many women as well as men. Because we're away from the main tourist areas this shop isn't as busy as some I work in, but we still get English lads coming in, having a laugh. Especially when there are big… how do you say it? Forums? Ah, Expos here. With the films, many are German or American, but we have Private here in Barcelona making films of course, and Baghdad TV productions around the corner make movies in Spanish too. Baghdad's very famous. The woman who owns it is always on television and in the papers here, talking about porn. Some foreign films are revoiced into Spanish, but not that many."
Taking my lead from ETO's Mystery Shopper, I made some notes on prices. VHS films, which I were told for display only now, were labelled €17 and DVDs were €15-30, depending on content, studio, stars, etc. I saw big butt beads for €44, plugs at €14, Smartballs were €15 and Funfactory's Twist'n'Shake vibe was €49. Zigotti Lingerie in boxes was €29-39. Knock about a third off to give you a Stirling price. Unusually (if this shop was in Britain) everything was behind glass, meaning you'd need to see what you want before calling the manager over with his key to buy it.
After I thanked her for all her help, the lovely Nicki went back to work, pulling her silky dressing gown cord tighter as I re-stuffed my bag. Before I left I noticed a label on a shelf: Zoophilia. Now, if you were paying attention to my February feature, you'll know this is porn featuring German Shepherds who aren't shepherds from Germany, and spotty Dalmatians who aren't teenagers from the coast of Croatia. 'Animal Tales 13' was one title I remember. Since I was left with the manager who didn't speak much English and I didn't want to have to try miming 'Are films of girls having sex with dogs legal here?' to him, I shook his hand and thanked him for his help before making my exit.
The following morning, across town on the very busy La Rambla thoroughfare, I found Sala X, which is one of Barcelona's oldest adult shops. This street's the heart of the tourist area and is known as the 'Most exciting street in the world' - at least it's known as that in Barcelona. Which must make this the most exciting sex shop in the world, surely. Lots of street artists were plying their curious trade as I waited for the shop to open, one hand on my wallet, one on my passport.
Julian was the dapper early-shift manager, looking after the shop from 11am 'til 4pm. When my English was too fast for him, Eddy who was working at the counter was roped in as a translator. I wanted to put a value on licences, but here again I was out of luck. I mentioned they could cost something like £10,000 in the UK. "I think it's similar here. There are three managers through the day", Julian explained via Eddy. "The owner could tell you the price, but he's not here until later." Too late for me, it turned out, as I had a flight home to catch before then. The store's open from 11am to 2am (12-2 on Sunday), so it would be a long day for anyone. They also pride themselves on being open all year round; "Even New Year's Eve", Eddy proudly told me. I learned that there are five or more big adult distributors in Spain, with Sibenka and Orion being names I kept seeing on products. Hardcore magazines were behind glass, priced at €9-13 each, with titles like 'Porn' and several Private publications. Below games and dolls I saw a 'Double Bunny' rabbit for €60 and the Deep Mouth sleeve for €65.
Rimba lingerie (€40-60) was a name I knew from this large shop's extensive range, which also included lots of novelties. Eddy gestured towards some new cabinets and carpenters' mess. "We're redeveloping this side of the shop. Here above we'll have poles for the girls to dance with, you know." The top of the new cases was only 5ft from the ceiling supports, and when I pointed this out, Eddy was ready with an answer: "For short girls. Yes. We've been here for 19 years. The shop used to be across the street, but we moved here to expand."
As we chatted a woman came in and headed towards the back of the store, where there was access to the peep show, cinema and bar. I wondered if this was a common occurrence. "Sure. Maybe years ago not so many, but now we often have women coming in, usually in a group. To shop, or for the booths when we have a lesbian or couples show on. It is much more open now. We have a week-long Erotic Festival here every September when all the actors and producers get together too. We also have the Museu de l' Eròtica (Museum of Erotica) across the road."
Eddy, the bearded Julian and myself were getting on well, and when Eddy offered me a free look at the peepshow, it seemed rude to turn him down. I'd never seen one before and as I explained it wouldn't be 'right' for the magazine (although, as you see, I've slipped it in) Eddy smiled and said, "Sure. But for you… If you've not seen before, maybe today is the day, eh?" I can report there was a disco ball, rotating bed and attractive writhing lady. As the shutter in my booth came down after a couple of minutes I waved goodbye and got a moist wave back.
Back in the shop two big bargain bins were in the middle of the floor, and I asked what Caratuls Vacias meant, thinking it might be 'Clearance Specials', or similar. Eddy smiled. "It's Empty Cases. So no one takes them, you see." These cheaper films were €19.50 for two, while DVDs were generally €35-45, including one called My Ass Belongs To You, which looked like fun, based on the cover artwork. VHS tapes were €24-35. I was also shown a film called 'Carmen La Insaciable' from a Spanish studio called IFG. "They are a big producer of porn here in Catalonia. They export to South America and Mexico too. There are also productions in the Catalonian language, which is good for us. For people to be able to buy films in our language is important, culturally."
So is there a difference in UK and Spanish shopper's preferences when it comes to film genres? "No, there's no big difference about what people buy. Visitors from across Europe seem to have fairly similar tastes." Amongst the usual German and US imported anal, interracial and TS movies I saw the not-at-all-euphemistically-entitled Dog Fuckers. I had to ask. "Is it ok to sell this here? Back in Britain, if you sold this sort of stuff…" Using the international language of acting out 'serious trouble', I made the "Gak!" noise and the slit-throat symbol. Eddy and Julian laughed.
"No, this is ok. So long as no one under 18 comes in, it's fine." Broadminded folk, these Catalonians. So what problems do they have? "Because we have a bar as well as a cinema, the peepshow and the shop, we sometimes have someone who's had too much to drink cause a disturbance, and maybe try to get into the cinema without a ticket. But this is very rare. We have our own security and it's not really a problem. On this street there are a few working girls and maybe a little drugs, but in the shop, no problems." Eddy's mention of whores was confirmed when, as I left, I was stopped by one outside with the classic line, "Do you like to fuck?" I said yes, generally, but wasn't looking to party. She pursed her lips, which had been lined with a 2" brush, and sauntered away in search of the desperate.
And so I went to look at the stunning Sagrada Familia cathedral/building site, safe in the knowledge that, our four-legged friends aside, adult retail's not so different in Spain as it is back home in Blighty. I'd certainly been very impressed with the friendliness of the people who'd helped me by answering my probing questions and letting me explore their shops with my camera. A big thanks you to them, and a special playful wink for Nikky.
Paul Smith is still free to a good home. Kinky Job offers to info@snapsandbytes.co.uk please.
Almost 2000 words, and some insights there Dale. I hope you find it informative as well as entertaining. I did say I'd try to get copies of the April mag sent to Julian and Nicky, so I'll talk to Lesley about that. Cheers!
Paul.