La Mercè: city festival of Barcelona

Designer Claret Serrahima, the creator of Barcelona Football Club crest, is the artist behind the official image of La Mercè (city festival of Barcelona), for which she engaged some thirty of the city’s key personalities to design a letter.

He used these letters to create as many as five different versions of a poster based on the notion of simplicity, using a plain white background to give prominence to the letters themselves. “La Mercè is a festival of the people, one of participation“, said Serrahima, when explaining the concept behind the poster.

Sol Picó, Tortell Poltrona, Tomàs Molina, Josep Bohigas, Lucrecia, Ferran Monegal, Eugènia Balcells, Ada Parellada and El Delgado Buil are just some of the Barcelona residents whose handiwork is featured in the poster for the upcoming Mercè celebrations.

At the poster unveiling, some of the contents of this year’s festivities were also revealed. The guest city for this year’s Mercè celebrations will be Dakar, and this will be the first time that a city of the Sub-Sahara has ever participated in one of Barcelona’s fiestas.

The capital of Senegal will bring you the contemporary dance group Tenane, percussionist N’Diaye Rose and even fashion designer Cheicka, among others.

Gracia Festival: Barcelona’s biggest and most colorful street party

Probably Barcelona’s biggest and most colourful street party, the Festa de Gràcia gets underway on August 15th and, during one week, seventeen streets will be decorated for the celebrations, on another year of this historical event. The first reference of this festivity dates back to 1817, when Gràcia was a small village, and not yet absorbed as a neighbourhood by Barcelona.

Gràcia was established in 1626, in the surroundings of a convent called Nostra Senyora de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace). Gràcia was an independent municipality until it was annexed to Barcelona in 1897 along with other villages in the plain of Barcelona. The expansion of the Eixample  district in the 19th century eventually led to the northward expansion of Barcelona, connecting Gràcia to the growing metropolis.

Given the confirmation that some two thirds of the event’s visitors will be attending its morning, afternoon and early-evening activities, it will hold its main family-interest shows and cultural events at those times.

Still, the night party may stretch out to 2 am during the week and 3.30 am during the weekend, with concerts and music.

The first event of the Festival was the poster contest. Aina Cordoncillo, local illustrator, has been selected among 268 participants, and her poster will be the Official Poster of the Festival.

Loop Barcelona. Videoart Festival

For eleven days, Barcelona will be the great international showcase of video art. Loop Barcelona - now in its 8th year - hosts its most extensive programme ever, featuring over one thousand videos in some hundred venues located throughout the city. 

In a restaurant, in a bookshop and even in a flat specially rented for the occasion, video art comes to the whole city for eleven days of Loop Barcelona, the most important international event in visual creation in existence.

Artists presenting works include Michael Snow, Perejaume, John Baldessari, Miquel Barceló, Isabel Coixet, Eulàlia Valldosera and Bill Viola.

Among the videoforums that have been prepared, you might find yourself inspired by a meeting with film director Hannah Collins, who has a joint project with Ferran Adrià, or by seeing what television arts presenter Jef Cornelis has to say.

You can also see Miquel Barceló’s live creation of a piece of art at the Museu de Ceràmica de Barcelona.

More inf@: Loop Barcelona

Six million of roses for St George’s Day

The legend of Saint George was written in the 18th century by Jacopo della Voragine in his celebrated work, “The Golden Legend“. Centuries ago, in the medieval period, the catalan nobility organized jousting tournaments in the Born neighbourhood, in the centre of the Catalan capital. During these contests, young ladies were presented wit gifts of roses and other flowers. This year six million roses are expected to be sold throughout Catalonia on St George’s Day, which would mean a 10% increase compared to last year.

The sales forecast, despite the current economic crisis, is based on the fact that the big day will be on Friday and that a bigger demand has come from businesses in several sectors, such as restaurants, old people’s homes and airlines.

At present, 83% of the roses marketed in Mercabarna-flor come from other countries, chiefly from Holland, Colombia and Ecuador, while 10% are from Maresme and the rest from Alicante and the Canary Isles.

This year, the city’s wholesale market is offering personalised roses for each month of the year. That means roses and cereal ears will be arranged with materials, colours and textures specific to each month.

Read the full history of Sant Jordi (St George’s Day)

Roxy Music at Sonar Barcelona

British band Roxy Music will be performing at the next Sonar, thirty years after they last played in the city. Other groups joining the line-up are New Young Pony Club, Cabo San Roque and Aufgang. Find your hotel in Barcelona.
 

Dance pioneers with the song “Angel Eyes”, they made synthesisers fashionable, were the precursors of punk and new wave and the standard-bearers of glamour on stage. Roxy Music is a band ahead of their time, which is why they are going to play at Sonar.

Sonar, the advanced music and multimedia art festival, takes place in Barcelona every year during three days in June. Sonar’s diverse artistic offer splits between the Sonar by Day activities and Sonar by Night, together with some simultaneous gigs like the performances at L’Auditori.

Together with Roxy Music, Sonar 2010 will also feature The Chemical Brothers, Delorean or The Pinker Tones among others.

Núñez i Navarro Hotels offers you nine hotels in Barcelona, centrally located, next to Sonar by Day venues and well connected to Sonar by Night premises.

More inf@: Sonar 2010 website

“Play me, I’m Yours” at Barcelona

From March 2010, more than 20 street pianos will be distributed across the streets of Barcelona for the International Music Competition Maria Canals. Located in public parks, streets and squares, the pianos are for any member of the public to play, to personalise and to enjoy.

Touring internationally since 2008, “Play Me, I’m Yours” is an artwork by artist Luke Jerram.

The Maria Canals Music International Contest was the first music contest in Spain and is one of the most prestigous all over the world. The Contest will be on from March 13th to March 26th in El Palau de la Música and will organize more than 50 concerts all around Barecelona within the framework of the Off Contest 2010.

Don’t shoot the pianist

The Maria Canals International Music Competition of Barcelona was founded in 1954 by the pianist Maria Canals and her husband, the writer Rossend Llates. This Competition has achieved international prestige since it was accepted by the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 1958.

It is held at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, being endorsed by the World Federation of Music Competitions for the organization of the branches of piano, violin, singing, cello, chamber music, guitar, percussion and flute. Since 1954, the Competition has held over 110 branches, with over 7.000 participants from 100 countries and 180 jury members from all over the world.

The 56th Barcelona Maria Canals International Music Competition will bring together 91 pianists from 26 countries between 13 and 26 March. At the same time, the Off-Competition will be taking piano music to the public.

Maria Canals Competition wants to take advantage of the presence of so many prestigious pianists in the city to take piano music out to the public. More than fifty pianos will be spread around the city so everyone who wants to can play the piano in some very unusual places.

Green spaces, squares and streets will provide the setting for concerts aimed at everyone, children and adults, professionals and amateurs, with grand pianos installed so the participants in the competition can take their art to every corner of the city. Rambla del Raval, Plaça de Sarrià, Can Brians prison and the Line 2 metro station lobby in Plaça de la Universitat are some of the improvised “concert halls” for these young artists.

Tradicionarius: International Folk Festival

The Tradicionàrius International Folk Festival takes place for the 23rd time, featuring nearly 50 artists, seven album presentations and four new shows that will fill the CAT stage with folk songs and rhythms while including other city venues.

Once again Tradicionàrius wants to make local traditional music and culture more accessible to city residents, without abandoning its aim to evolve and expand. So, until 26 March, Barcelona will be moving to the rhythm of folk.

More inf@: Tradicionarius Website

La Laia Festival, another festivity of Barcelona

The legend of Eulàlia tells how a thirteen year old girl who lived in a farmhouse in Sarrià rebelled against the Roman Emperor Diocles’ persecution of Christians. Eulàlia, or Laia for short, was sentenced to death but she never gave up fighting for her beliefs.

Today, this girl - Saint Eulalia - is the joint patron saint of Barcelona and star personality of the city’s winter festival. A festival aimed at every child in Barcelona who bears that extremely courageous girl’s spirit of solidarity.

On Friday, 12 February there will be the night parade and the city’s Eagle Dance, inside the Santa Maria del Mar basilica. Remember that giant figures, with Laia herself at the head, will be the special guests of this festival, which will also feature parades and dancing throughout its days.

Plaça Reial will be bursting with frenetic energy from 11am, when the city’s giants and historic mythical beasts take part in one of the most eye-catching and traditional street parades of this festival.

Another must-see event of this festival is the “correfoc” or running firework display. On Sunday, 14 February Plaça de Sant Jaume will fill up with little devils at 6.30pm and, afterwards at 8pm, Avinguda de la Catedral will be the setting for fire and colourful flames at the traditional Santa Eulalia “correfoc”.

The Teatre Poliorama, the Macba and the Museu Marítim are staging music, dance and theatre shows for all the family. You’ll be able to enjoy performances such as “En Joan sense poro Nautilus“, discover the world of dance, take part in workshops, experience the best of hip-hop and relax to music played by ensembles and chamber groups.

Santa Eulàlia Festivity website

All Saints Day: chesnuts & panellets

All Saints is a time to remember those no longer with us, but it also marks the start of a new cycle in Nature, with trees losing their leaves and fields bare after the harvest of summer.

It is a time to celebrate with the popular tradition of eating chestnuts and panellets, the marzipan cakes (sweet potatoes) typical of Catalonia. In Barcelona there are castanyades, chestnuts for the general public, as well as stands on the streets selling them. The classic panellets are with pine nut, almond, potato, sugar, egg and lemon peel. But others contain strawberry, coconut, more lemon, green tea, coffee, and anything else imaginable.

Chestnuts are also an important part of the festivals, typical in autumn, lovely to eat warm with the arrival cold weather. And there’s also sweet potato. And all to be enjoyed with a little sweet wine.

Time to share with the family, around a table full of special delicacies.

We suggest you our special promotion during this special Festivity and autumn time!

Next Page »