Don Quixote rode into Barcelona in the 16th century
An article from Hildy Snow about the wild side of Barcelona literature.
Most discussions about Barcelona as a literary city inevitably end up with people mentioning two books: Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind and Ildefonso Falcones’ Cathedral of the Sea. Not to knock these books – they’re good reads – but there’s so much more to the city’s literary universe than these bestsellers and their Barcelona literary brand of Gothic mystique and historical weightiness. The Catalan capital’s literary life goes back much, much further. Beyond the post-war struggles of Mercè Rodoreda’s La Plaça del Diamant, beyond the Civil War battlefields of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. All the way back to Cervantes, whose Don Quixote and Sancho Panza rode into Barcelona in the 16th century. For eons, Barcelona has served as the literary scene of romance, love, betrayal, adventure, friendship, familial conflict, mystery, crime and war. Read the rest of this article…
App showing your origin and destination
I had a comment this morning on one of the first posts I ever wrote on this blog. The post was about the Barcelona Metro iPhone app. And the comment was regarding a new rival iPhone app. I certainly don’t mind a bit of self-promotion in blog comments as long as it’s relevant. If I think readers of that post would find value in it then great. And in this instance I certainly didn’t need to worry.
The app in question that was so shamelessly promoted on this very blog was the Enllaç Barcelona Transportation iPhone App. From the website…
Enllaç is an application that helps you find the best route using Barcelona public transportation. All the principal modes of public transportation offered in Barcelona are covered: TMB, Bicing, Taxi, By Foot
By foot?! Yes. And it even tells you how many calories you will burn. Read the rest of this article…
La Mercè 2011 programme cover
La Mercè starts today! Barcelona’s very own annual festival that celebrates the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, La Mare de Déu de la Mercè in Catalan. The feast day is on Saturday but in true Catalan style the festivities kick off a couple of days beforehand.
From the Mercè 2011 programme…
Modernity, tradition, gunpowder, street theatre, circus, dance, music… Just mix them all together, stir, and you have the festive cocktail that is being served up in Barcelona these days. For the city is celebrating the feast of its patron saint, La Mercè, a compendium of Mediterranean festivities, authentic Catalan traditions and the talent of artists from all over the world. No one interested in plumbing the very soul of Barcelona and Catalonia can afford to miss this festival, whose special guest this year is the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.
Read the rest of this article…
The balconies of the Festa Major de Gràcia
The 195th running of the Festa Major de Gràcia starts today (Mon 15th Aug 2011) and runs all week until Sun 21st August.
This Gràcia festival was my first experience of any of the barrio festivals when I arrived in Barcelona just over a year ago. I went to the Poble Sec festival just recently and I have to say, even with their Correfoc, it isn’t a patch on the Gràcia experience. In terms of size, entertainment and all round effort, nothing beats Gràcia. Read the rest of this article…
My friends at Beach Fit Barcelona are organising their first boot camp. I love what they do. Even though I am yet to attend. I want to go. I really do. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. But I might go along to this just for the evening activities. But somehow I don’t think that’s allowed.
Anyway, read what the guys at Beach Fit have to say about it… Read the rest of this article…
The Dancing Egg (L’Ou com Balla)
Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, a Western Catholic tradition. Catholics (and a few other religions) celebrate this day with processions through the streets of towns and cities around the world.
But something that seems to be unique to Barcelona (or certainly Catalonia) is the tradition of L’Ou com Balla (the Dancing Egg).
There are many stories as to its origins. Some say it’s a metaphor for the cycle of life or simply that it was an amusement for the nobles as the processions went by (which I much prefer). But it does seem to have been going on for a rather long time. Since the sixteenth century! That’s quite a few eggs!
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Tom Stade
UPDATE: Venue Change
Now at La Fira, c/ Provenca, 171
I first wrote about the Giggling Guiri back in March. I’d just been to see Howard Marks and had seen Steve Hughes previous to that. Well shortly it’s their last show of the season and if you haven’t been to one of their Barcelona comedy events then I urge you to do so.
Tom Stade is in town for their season-ending show and by all accounts he is worth seeing. And apparently the girls like him though I can’t see it myself.
“TOM STADE: nominated for Best Headliner in the Chortle Awards 2011, people in the UK have finally woken up to this pearl of Canadian comedy who has come and settled amongst them. A comic who likes to do things a little different has won over the British hearts with his brilliant and unique takes on their culture. We catch him on what was supposed to be the end of a total sellout 40 date UK tour which has now been extended into the Autumn with another 30 dates added to meet public demand. The kind of touring reserved only for the very hottest acts in comedy. Sizzling!!”
Read the rest of this article…
