Día de Brasil Barcelona

I love Brazil! I love the music, the dancing, the beaches and of course the cocktails. But it’s a bit of a trek. With the Olympics over Brazil comes to Barcelona for a day of pretty much all I love about the country. Lots of sexy samba, caipirinha cocktails and great food. I go each year and it’s always a great day out with a top-notch atmosphere.

The event is in it’s 8th year and returns to Parc del Fòrum for the second time. Día de Brasil seems to be getting bigger and bigger and they have some top performers this year!

Latin Grammy award winning, singer-songwriter Lenine seems to be the main man. Music is also provided by the likes of Roberto Mendes, Chambinho do Acordeon, Veronica Ferriani, Caniball Football Club, and MdC Suingue Dj.

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‘Saint George and the Dragon’ by Raphael (1505-1506)

I have written about La Diada de Sant Jordi before when I wrote about Valentine’s Day in Spain. But I thought I could expand on it a little this time around and mention a few other things that might interest you.

Many countries around the world have Saint George as their patron saint and most celebrate it on April 23rd (the accepted date of Saint George’s death in 303 AD).

Here in Catalonia (and a few other regions and cities in Spain) St. George is the patron saint too. And the Catalans certainly need little reason for a celebration. Read the rest of this article…

La Diada Nacional de Catalunya (Source)

The National Day of Catalonia or La Diada Nacional de Catalunya on 11th September each year was first celebrated in 1886. The 11th September is a historic date in the Catalan calendar. The day, simple known as La Diada, commemorates the 14 month Siege of Barcelona, and when on the 11th September 1714, Catalan troops were forced to surrender to the Castilian forces of France and Philip V of Spain towards the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. It was unfortunately all pretty much downhill from there for the next 250 years. All institutions of Catalonia were destroyed and they became part of the Spanish kingdom.

Many Catalans have been battling this repression ever since. Most recently from the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco. The National Day of Catalonia was reinstated after 94 years in 1980, five years after Franco’s death in 1975. Catalonia today is at least an autonomous community. Though this is still far from acceptable for many. Read the rest of this article…

Festa Major de Gràcia 2012

The Festa Major de Gràcia started last Wednesday (Aug 15th) and is on until this Tuesday 21st August. It is one of my favourite events in Barcelona. So beautiful, so incredibly imaginative. 18 streets were decorated this year and they all looked fabulous. The winner for 2012 was Carrer de Verdi, always one of the better ones.

Take a look at the pictures below for a taste of the festival and the street decorations. And if you haven’t been already I encourage you to take a stroll before it closes on Tuesday.

You can check out the festival website at www.festamajordegracia.cat for a list of the streets taking part and a map highlighting them. Read the rest of this article…

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…