This Sant Jordi, give your #RosaSolidariaStJordi2020 designed by Cinta Arribas

Turisme de Barcelona gives you the chance to give someone a solidarity rose designed by the illustrator Cinta Arribas, which will also include a donation to Barcelona's Hospital Clínic.

Who would have thought that in 2020 we would be celebrating Sant Jordi in self-isolation? This year, the traditional, eagerly anticipated rose and book stalls will be virtual ones. But great initiatives can arise from unusual circumstances and at Turisme de Barcelona we'll be committing to a different kind of Sant Jordi showing solidarity for our healthcare professionals and patients. The illustrator, Cinta Arribas, who has designed the poster for Sant Jordi 2020, has drawn our virtual, solidarity rose. All you have to do is choose who you want to send it to and pay 1€. This amount will be donated to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona so it can continue with the wonderful work it’s doing to fight COVID-19.

Click here and give your #RosaSolidariaStJordi2020. You can also download a booklet featuring Barcelona's Literary Trails, so you can plan your visit to the places closely linked to Barcelona's literary history when the lockdown is over. We'll also give you a free poster for Sant Jordi 2020, designed by Cinta Arribas, so you'll always remember this different celebration.

We've spoken to Cinta about her design, which is part of an initiative launched by Turisme de Barcelona in 2019 with the Catalan illustrator Magoz. Every year we'll be selecting a different illustrator to create a design for Sant Jordi rendering their own personal interpretation of this traditional Catalan festival.

In the year of #imstayinghome, Turisme de Barcelona has invited the illustrator from Valladolid, Cinta Arribas, to design the rose and poster. Last year she visited the city and experienced Sant Jordi "in the street" for the first time, soaking up the spirit of this special day.

Cinta Arribas describes herself as an illustrator and fine artist and her career is closely linked to children's illustrations. It's interesting to see how she perceives our most beloved festival. Cinta loves the fact that "there's a day to celebrate the importance of books and, at the same time, discover the authors behind them."

When Arribas was signing books in Barcelona, she couldn't escape the magic in the air: "Above all, I loved the festive atmosphere in the street and how people experience it."

A different Sant Jordi. The magic of roses and books through the universe of illustrator Cinta Arribas.

Cinta Arribas was really thrilled and appreciative when she was selected to design the poster for Sant Jordi 2020.

Cinta's enthusiasm for the celebratory atmosphere is perfectly reflected in her interpretation of the day designed for this year's poster. "While I was working on the sketches for the poster I came up with several concepts associated with Sant Jordi: the street, festivities, the legend of the knight and the princess, the book, the rose and the dragon... but I had to simplify these ideas and I chose two concepts: reading and the rose."

Designing a poster that is featured at the Catalan Book Festival is certainly a wonderful showcase for an artist's work, although illustrators and graphic designers often feel underrepresented. In this respect, Cinta Arribas thinks that "in general, people keep associating this day with the most traditional forms of reading. But as I was walking back to my hotel [last year] I found a street market set up by illustrators, selling T-shirts, fanzines, prints... I thought it necessary to show off our work and be part of Sant Jordi, because we are authors too, and an important part of the literary market."

And just like authors, designers and illustrators also suffer the effects of piracy and the damage it can cause: "It's very sad that there are people who not only copy or steal a drawing without your consent, but they also use it quite happily without even thinking they're doing anything wrong." she says. "On the one hand, there's a lot of ignorance about intellectual property laws and, on the other, these kinds of acts often go unpunished."

Cinta has captured one of the most important Catalan festivals with her personal, dreamlike and colourful style. She considers it "an honour" and has one piece of advice for the illustrator Turisme de Barcelona will be choosing to design next year's poster: "Have a good time, enjoy the experience."

This year we'll be experiencing a very different Sant Jordi at home, but we're sure to enjoy it and have a great time celebrating the central themes of Cinta's poster: reading, love and imagination.