La palmera

Adela, a young architect, juggles the contradictions of her work—designing luxury homes for international clients in gentrifying neighborhoods—with her own struggles to access decent housing. Through conversations and stories from her family about their past in the shantytowns of Can Valero in Montjuïc, she decides to investigate a small family mystery: the disappearance of a transplanted palm tree that became a symbol of memory, dignity, and belonging for the community. Adela embarks on a research journey through historical archives, libraries, and family memories to reconstruct the story of that palm tree. In her quest, the graphic novel draws an essential bridge between the historical shantytowns of 20th-century Barcelona and current forms of precarious housing and poverty, inviting us to reflect on urban speculation, the right to housing, and the collective memory that endures in cities.