Steampunk: In the footsteps of time travelers

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If you look closely, you will see that there are other realities that coexist alongside yours.

These are alternatives to your present that remind you that parallel futures are a lifestyle with their own rules and, of course, their own inhabitants.

It may be that details give them away, such as a complement to a common outfit, an accomplice greeting between them or that obsession with everything old that is hidden, less and less, in second-hand object markets.

They are treasures to discover.

What is clear is that they are there to remind you that passion is a way of relating and that they have more sense of aesthetics than you could have ever dreamed of.

Only if you are restless like them and observe with all your senses the details that surround you will you be able to follow their trail, more and more perceptible as other time travelers settle in this present and in this space.

Those that converge in a

converted into the Spanish capital of

, a movement born about 40 years ago in science fiction literature and that has gone beyond books to become a sociocultural reference.

The term was coined by science fiction author

who was trying to differentiate his writing and that of other fellow writers, such as

or

from mainstream cyberpunk and its dystopias.

Therefore, they are genres that present an alternative reality usually set in the English

and

of the 19th and early 20th centuries and that are characterized by the mixture of their costumes and accessories along with artifacts and machinery propelled by pulleys, wheels, electricity or steam (

in English), long before the appearance of fossil fuels.

The novels and stories presented a particular vision of that time, characterized by the industrial revolution in its maximum exponent, and its evolution in the future, always respecting that technology had those principles of steam and electricity.

Without a doubt, a challenge that shows that time travelers have always been anxious to adapt to the elegance of the classic.

The origin of steampunk occurs within literature, drawing inspiration from authors such as Jules Verne or HG Wells, but from there it jumps not only to the cinema, series or video games but also to culture or the street.

Thus, like someone who is entering the labyrinth, you can follow his footsteps walking through Barcelona.

The first thing would be to get the right styling and for that reason nothing better than going to the 'Uchronic Time' store, located in the

since 2019 where you can get clothes, accessories, canes, glasses and even figures with a retro-futuristic aesthetic, in addition of advice.

Its managers, María Ángeles Guisado 'Alassie' and Víctor Plata, are in charge of this. They decided to turn their passion for steampunk into a business, since they had a stand at the fair that is held annually in the city with this theme.

They have another craft clothing store, 'Costurero Real' in the same galleries and where they sell clothing and accessories related to fairy tales.

However, its 'Uchronic Time' store has a multitude of faithful who come to see the latest news and stock up on products, both their own and those exported from Europe.

"I was scared at first, since I didn't know if it was going to work. Steampunk is very 'niche' and has its faithful" explains 'Alassie', although three years after opening his shop he has followers and curious people who come to find out.

'Uchronic Time' store in Barcelona

Víctor is in charge of that, who recalls that steampunk is a young cultural and social movement, with "very clear" literary and audiovisual references, so whoever approaches this world must have carried out an important historical exploration and from there "experiment with freedom and creativity.

"As it is, it is very limited to a historical period, Edwardian and Victorian, and you cannot get out of there, it requires research and knowing these years before creating the fantasy," explains Víctor, who guides the people who come to the store starting with the creation of a character.

"You have to think about the character you're going to wear and from there you mount it", he explains while 'Alassie' details "it must be related to that aesthetic and the literary references reinforce it".

In this way, you can be a vampire hunter, an explorer, a soldier, a pilot of retro-futuristic devices, a detective, a scientist or an English nobleman, or a real character like Marie Curie, among many others.

The limit is your imagination, your creativity and your budget.

From there you design your style, such as clothing, and then the accessories that range from guns, glasses, hats (of all kinds and sizes), jewelry (many and varied), canes, umbrellas or even masks.

In this sense, they remember that during the pandemic they sold many octopus head masks, a true

"about 60 a week", since there are those who wore them to cover the mandatory mask.

Quite a demonstration that the followers of steampunk adapt to publicly show their passion.

For this reason, they detail that many faithful to the store fill their homes with decorative figures and candle holders of this style to complement bookcases or furniture.

For those who want to bring a steampunk touch to their daily lives, they have watches, bags and even poker cards.

Old clothes

There are those who start in steampunk adapting old clothes that they find at home or go to flea markets or second-hand shops, where they also used to find accessories such as hats and shoes.

Víctor and 'Alassie' remember that in winter they sell more clothes since that is when the events are held, in which they usually go with many layers.

It is in these events that all the costumes and the character created with great imagination are usually shown and that allows you to "learn a lot of general culture within fantasy" such as protocol and etiquette rules or the symbolism of hats and umbrellas.

“In the end we played on what the people of the Victorian era imagined the future to be like, those who came to the world exhibition in London in 1851 in which all the inventions of the future were based on steam and electricity”, comments 'Alassie' and details what his "technology" was and how he tries to revert from steampunk.

In addition, variants begin to appear since the nineteenth century occurred throughout the planet and allows to develop the imagination of the Victorian explorers who went to Japan, India or China to "get out of the English archetype", explains Víctor.

The steampunk community has its meeting point at the Eurosteamcon Barcelona fair, which has been held for years and was only stopped due to the covid pandemic.

The organization of the Associació Retrofuturista Nautilus and its president, Vany Miranda, explains that this year they are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the first steampunk event they held.

Thousands of attendees pass through this fair, although the last one was in 2019, and visitors come, correctly dressed, from the rest of Spain and Europe as well as artisans.

"Our association is actually a historical recreation, but steampunk is still how people imagined the future in the 19th century, so we recreated that retro-futurism that has us in love," she highlights.

Steampunk object for the Barcelona fair

"We have calculated an average of about 3,000 people per event, including the last edition. Although the attendance figure has not increased, we have detected that not everyone can come to all editions, so attendance is rotating. That is, those who can't come one year come another. This makes us think that if everyone could come one day, there would really be a big increase in attendance," Miranda points out.

Although the largest community of followers is in Catalonia, they maintain contact with others who also have their meetings

The tenth anniversary edition, which will be held on October 8 and 9 at Nau Bostick in Barcelona, ​​comes with new features.

The first is the change of location "which will allow us more space to carry out new activities", since there is more and more interest in steampunk.

Miranda assures that the movement has gained adepts and recognition in recent years: "People love the romanticism of old clothes mixed with that technology that writers like Jules Verne liked to relate so much and today there are many new writers who have ventured to use this framework, so the offer is expanding".

All in a very familiar and educational environment, with crafts, exhibitions and even characterization contests.

The steam experience

He points out that there are more and more audiovisuals on this subject and even music groups have opted for this more industrial aesthetic and sound.

That is why he indicates that it is increasingly a "culture that is not so niche and more recognizable" as evidenced by the outings that his entity makes with photography associations to record his passion.

To do this, they promote "do it yourself" with recycled clothes and accessories to adapt them to the time, although there are always those who sew their entire suit, since "there are not many specialized shops" together with some artisans.

The trail of retro-futurism lovers is easily found in the center of Barcelona.

Precisely the charm of this historic center is what led Facundo to open the first themed barbershop of this sociocultural movement under the name of 'Mr.

Braz Steampunk barbershop'.

He assures that he created the business related to the literary genre that mixes steam and gears and his place has a lot of that, with a mirror that is lowered with a pulley, old armchairs and a specific decoration with old armchairs, suitcases, canes, hats, taps , pipes, "many clocks" and some tentacles coming out of the mirror.

Facundo in his steampunk barbershop Mr. Braz

However, he does not wear specific clothes for cutting and shaving, other than glasses and a hat, since "it is delicate and it is ruined, since the hair does not go away".

Facundo wanted to take advantage of the "creativity" of the city to offer an "experience" to those who go to the barber: "that they feel that they shouldn't be in a hurry, that they put down their cell phones and relax, that they don't see it as a waste of time. I offer a haircut or a shave, with a head wash, hot towels, lotions... it's time for one, it's a way of loving oneself and putting problems aside".

He points out that, unlike clothing, there is no specific steampunk styling for beards or hair, although they tend to take great care of it, and that is why it is important to "offer the barber service experience."

In the few months that he has been open, his place has had a large clientele, although he is surprised by the number of tourists who come to get a haircut while on vacation.

"There are a lot of foreigners and I like to wonder where they come from when I see them at the door," says Facundo, who explains that he also has clients who go to take a picture with him after the haircut or many who take pictures from the street as they pass by.

Between world's

Sometimes the labyrinthine paths of steampunk take you to the most unexpected places, places where you believe that this culture is overshadowed by another dominant one but that, equally, knows how to flourish in fair doses.

A vestige was in the edition of the

held in Hospitalet de Barcelona a few weeks ago, almost hidden between so much manga and anime.

Alma Mínguez, author of the retro-futuristic novel 'Between Worlds', was there. She considers that this fair "attracts a type of public that I consider to be very akin to the taste for fantasy, science fiction and adventure themes, both in its literary format and in the audiovisual. After all, most anime moves back and forth between these themes. "

Mínguez considers that "fantastic, adventure and science fiction literature drinks directly from the human spirit, from their desire to perceive a larger world than the one they glimpse every day, when they get up in the morning to face their day. They are genres capable of fill their hearts with fantasy, and give free rein to their emotions, often too muzzled by daily life".

For this reason, he remarks that "this type of literature breaks down all barriers. Any other genre can be developed within a fantastic or science fiction novel. I have read the best love stories, the most disturbing thrillers within the framework of novels of this genre.

'Between Worlds' is his first novel, after having written three other non-fiction books.

He defines steampunk "as a type of setting" for which he framed the argument of his book in "a world evolved to its Victorian version" since it was "neither very archaic, nor too advanced. The right level of technology for what wanted".

In addition, he adds that steampunk "is a fantastic, dystopian reflection of the time of the historical industrial revolution. The entrepreneurial, scientific and exploratory nature of humanity in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries is something that has always fascinated, and that allows to unleash the imagination and an unparalleled 'adventurous' panorama".

"A large part of my characters are scholars, historians, scientists or philanthropists. People with an enormous desire for knowledge, and with the iron will characteristic of their time", explains the author who incorporates drawings and plates into her work to embellish it and give it a "added value" to the novel: "I consider that a physical book is a treasure that can be smelled, admired, touched and felt, and that the more care is taken in its edition, the more joy it can bring to its owner. For this reason, I drew the characters myself, and prepared the art prints, notes, and maps. I love creating beautiful things in all their manifestations, and I firmly believe that my audience deserves nothing less."

Alma Mínguez at the presentation of her book 'Between Worlds'

About the novel, he points out that it is "a fantastic dystopia, with touches of science fiction, which takes place in

, a world different from ours, but with many similarities that the reader will be able to appreciate. Adventure is the driving force of the narrative, and in based on it, practically all the subplots will evolve, very varied, which will tend to converge at some point in history. From the hand of fantasy and science fiction we will be able to find characters with psychic abilities, civilizations and ancestral vestiges, unknown races, and even travel between dimensions".

Beyond its plot, Mínguez's book, published by the Titanium publishing house, demonstrates creative solidity in its documentation and setting: "I have worked hard to create a consistent historical past, a realistic geopolitical background, and a set of societies that have evolved at their own pace, victims of their own internal conflicts, and of the international scene in which they live".

Although it is a dystopia, the author demonstrates a mastery of 19th century technology as well as an overflowing imagination to develop her hypothetical future evolution: "Much of the time I spent was spent documenting, studying, and reading, sometimes even to give a simple scene. As an anecdote, I even devised the type of fuel that my beloved characters would use in their devices and vehicles, the

, a derivative of direct coal liquefaction, based on a type of technology that in our own world has fallen into disuse."

"The novel takes place in a context in which archeology, anthropology, biology and many other sciences have undeniable weight, and every step along the way had to be well founded. I consider that, precisely when writing fantasy or

, it is It is essential to have credibility, and for this, nothing better than offering anchor points in which the reader will feel comfortable; his own reality" he points out to make it clear that his literary references, from

to

are present in the work.

"I consider that Spain is also a great consumer of fantasy and science fiction literature (not as much as other genres, of course). The problem is that this demand, not small at all, is supplied mainly with works translated from abroad. In our country there are few publishers of the genre that dare to publish national authors, and that there are real gems", highlights Mínguez who believes that steampunk has "an incredible potential projection".

Now her next step is to continue with the second part of 'Between Worlds', which she doesn't know if it will be the last since "I want it to have an outcome that lives up to expectations" and adds that "a writer never knows how far will drive its own story.

the steampunk poet

The road never ends for those with the spirit of time travellers.

Everywhere there is a corner that takes us to another world that deserves to be told, including an "elegant, modernist and adventurous steampunk Barcelona, ​​full of inventors in search of new steam-based systems where armillas, corsets, long skirts, top hats and mechanical contraptions would shine under a sky covered with zeppelins", as narrated by Vany Miranda.

They are alternative realities that are close, at a stroke of creativity and fantasy, with just the right touch of passion and daring.

said in his verses :

"To be reborn it is not enough to dust off the soul, pull the pulley and activate the mechanism. We must know how to wind up the gear of our heart. It is enough to give ourselves to whoever has the key" .

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