June 2014 by Catalonia Today

Coming of age Catalonia Today celebrates its 10th anniversary with a look back over an eventful decade

June 2014 - Nยบ 0376

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CONTENTS

20. A HOME OF MY OWN

The house Nicole built Nicole Millar with the last in her series of articles recounting the highs and lows of building a house from scratch in Catalonia.

10TH ANNIVERSARY Marcela Topor: A decade of covering Catalonia in English ..................................................................................................... 4 Miquel Berga: A long, worthwhile journey ..................... 6 Germà Capdevila: A quality magazine for a worldclass city ................................................................................................. 7 Neil Stokes: Our baby's all grown up ................................. 8 Matthew Tree: Knife edge ....................................................... 10 Martin Kirby: It has been an education .......................... 12

OPINION Letters to the editor ..................................................................... 14 Barney Griffiths: Shopkeepers ............................................... 15 Àlex Furest: Leaving Spain to become part of Europe ........................................................................................................ 42 Brett Hetherington: The way we are ................................ 43

16-17. MY SPACE

Terry Parris: Life expansion ..................................................... 43

Meet the team

Neil Stokes: The motorcycle kid who just can't stop winning ................................................................................................... x

A rundown on who is who in the magazine’s Girona newsroom

MY SPACE

4-8. OPINION

Catalonia Today, the team ......................................................16

A decade of Catalonia Today

CATALANS ABROAD

Catalonia Today team-members reflect on the 10-year history of the only Catalan magazine published in English

Montse Casado, Wellington ................................................... 18

A HOME OF MY OWN Nicole Millar: The end is nigh ............................................... 20

IN THE NEWS What happened: May ................................................................ 22

FEATURES Photo competition ....................................................................... 25 A look back on 10 years............................................................ 30 Write on! short story competition...................................... 44

BOOKS Travellers in Catalan lands: Not fit for a lady .............. 50

THE EYE Germà Capdevila: Silent speed ............................................ 52

ECCLUB Walking with Vinyoli in English ............................................ 54 Living in a different world ....................................................... 56

ENTERTAINMENT Word pool, sudokus, quizzes, etc ....................................... 60

Contact us: contact@cataloniatoday.cat Join us: facebook.com/cataloniatoday Follow us: @cataloniatoday (Twitter) http://www.cataloniatoday.cat

30-40. FEATURE

A look back on 10 years A year-by-year review of the news highlights over the past decade

Cover: LLUÍS ROMERO

FROM THE EDITOR MARCELA TOPOR mtopor@cataloniatoday.cat

Celebrating the past and the future

his month’s magazine has a common denominator: Catalonia Today’s first decade. On the occasion of our 10th anniversary, we provide you with information about the publication since the start and how it has evolved up until now. You can also read a comprehensive summary of the most important events at home and abroad during those 10 eventful years (see pages 30-40). Nor should you miss out on the personal accounts of working on Catalonia Today in that time, by some of the original members of the team. At the same time, we offer you the winners of our short story contest, as

well as a compilation of the best images from our regular photography contest. Looking back, the past decade has been one of great change, for our publication and for society. These changes have taken place between the impact of new technology and the wounds left by the crisis. This period has also seen progress on an issue of great importance for the country: the right to decide its future in the November 9 referendum. The past and the future, it’s all in our anniversary issue. Enjoy reading about it and many thanks for all your support during the past 10 years and for making it possible in the first place.

Published by CATALONIA TODAY SL. Carrer Santa Eugènia, 42, Girona 17005 Tel. +34 972 18 64 00 / www.cataloniatoday.cat / contact@cataloniatoday.cat. Advertising: +34 972 18 64 38 advertising@cataloniatoday.cat. Subscriptions: +34 902 456 000 subscription@cataloniatoday.cat Letters to the editor: letters@cataloniatoday.cat. Editor: Marcela Topor. Chief editor: Miquel Berga. Advertising Manager: M.Àngels Ribas. Staff and Contributors: Neil Stokes, Matthew Tree, Martin Kirby, Terry Parris, Nicole Millar, Pere Gifra, Barney Griffiths, Anna Vicens, Brett Hetherington, Joe Hogan (text editor). Consultant editor: Germà Capdevila. Design: Jordi Molins, Florentí Morante. Deposit Nº GI-322-2004 Printed by Rotimprès. Catalonia Today SL has a co-operation agreement with Grup El Punt on the use of content.

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FEATURE

CATALONIA TODAY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY MARCELA TOPOR EDITOR mtopor@cataloniatoday.cat

A decade of covering Catalonia in English O

n June 15, Catalonia Today is celebrating its 10th anniversary. When the first issue of Catalonia Today was published, things were very different from the way they are today, 10 years later. It is hard to even recognise the country back then, when we started the brave (and for many, crazy) adventure of setting up a Catalan newspaper in English. Since then, in a relatively brief period of time, the world has changed in ways we would not have dreamed of a decade ago.

There is one thing that has not changed: the need to master English, today’s de facto international lingua franca. For example, there is now almost three times more unemployment (from 207,521 people in 2004 to 611,822 in April this year). The impact of numbers like this help us to understand the magnitude of the changes that have taken place in the country, as well as the consequences, which will leave an indelible mark on the coming generations. We have covered many of these changes in the pages of Catalonia Today. Over the past 10 years, we have tried to describe and analyse these events, from a local point of view, but also from a distance, through the perspective of the English 4

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Catalonia Today team and the newsroom in Girona./ L.S./M.LL ADÓ

Catalonia Today in numbers After the free daily stage, the “first Catalan newspaper in English” printed 10,000 copies every Thursday. The monthly Catalonia Today currently prints 15,000 copies every month and has 5,000 subscribers on all five continents. The English Culture Club, founded three years ago, already has 1,000 members who enjoy the great variety of reading groups and other cultural events in English across Catalonia.

language, addressing a wide family of readers that is heterogenous in its make-up and its interests. Ten years ago there were no tablets or apps, and it would take another three years before iPhones appeared. Other smartphones were merely concepts and digital TV had still not been introduced. Meanwhile, Facebook only began in February of our first year, with Twitter still two years away. Today the world is digital, smart and mobile. As the host of the Mobile World Congress, which every year attracts millions of people from across the globe, Barcelona has become a digital capital in a way unforeseen 10 years ago. All of these changes have coincided with the first 10 years of Catalonia Today. At the same time, the social and political status of the country has undergone a change that puts Catalonia at the gates of independence, with a referendum on its future relationship with Spain set for November 9. However, there is one thing that has not changed, and in fact is something ever more necessary and present in our lives: the need to master English, today’s de facto international lingua franca. During the recent explosion of technology, English has become an authentic operating system of global human communication. The need to improve knowledge of English, the need to acquire linguistic skills in a language synonymous with the technological revolution of the

for it target readers. From its initial stage as a daily free newspaper, to a paid-for weekly and finally, since 2008, to its present monthly format.Our content is specific to a magazine that aims to help a better understanding of Catalonia in a language that makes it relevant and accessible.In this sense, our alliance with Grup HermĂ¨s has matured into complete integration within the group, providing us with stability and access to diverse and varied content. Ten years on, the continued existence and permanence of a Catalan publication in English has a small part to play in the

We have tried to describe and analyse events from a local point of view, but also through the perspective English, addressing a wide family of readers that is heterogenous in its make-up

First cover of Catalonia Today as a newspaper, then a weekly and two recent covers as a monthly.

past 10 years is one reason why Catalonia Today exists. Today, we know more than ever that the future progress of a society in a global world relies on its competitiveness, and English is a major contributing factor in that. Better English means more opportunity. The need for a good English level is greater than ever, and

the economic crisis has merely intensified this trend. Thousands of young Catalans feel forced to look for work abroad, where English is indispensable. A high level of proficiency in the language is essential which, unfortunately, the education system is still unable to provide. Real effort is required from anyone who wishes to ad-

vance in the language, and we hope that our magazine can help some people achieve their much-desired goals. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, Catalonia Today has been able to adapt to the evolving situation around it. The publication has existed in a variety of formats and with changing content until finally finding the best possible model

process that the country is undergoing. Every day, more people from around the world become more aware and interested in what is going on in Catalonia, a country where tourism and foreign residents are key factors. A publication in English that can shed light on the country is not only useful, but necessary. There is still a lot of work to do, especially as new formats and ways of communicating appear. It is the challenge facing any publication right now, and Catalonia Today wants to continue bearing witness to the changing times, while also being part of them. June 2014

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OPINION CATALONIA TODAY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY MIQUEL BERGA CHIEF EDITOR mberga@cataloniatoday.cat

A long, worthwhile journey

Barcelona was full of Catalonia Today readers, on the buses or the underground, looking pleased with this new free token that had brought a daily dose of English into their lives

ur anniversary brings vivid memories memorable occasion! of those first hectic days in 2004. We did survive against all odds, and here Was Carles Puigdemont (now mayor we are still. Marcela Topor has shown her of Girona, but then a restless spirit in journalstrengths as an efficient editor and has asism) serious? Were we to produce a free daily sembled a wonderful group of regular connewspaper in a matter of days, or was he just tributors. Catalans like Josep-LLuís González mad? Apparently, everything had been aror Pere Gifra give us fascinating accounts of ranged, except for the small detail that a Catalan culture, past and present. And we bunch of journalists with a full command of English and proficient Catalan were required in a few days. According to Mr Puigdemont, I’d better find them quickly otherwise the whole project would be put into jeopardy. I still wonder how, but the journalists did materialise and, best of all, we got a brilliant, experienced man at the helm: Stephen Burgen. I stayed on the sidelines, but Carles was there managing the whole enterprise. And Marcela, our present editor, was also Magazine’s launch at the Gran Teatre del Liceu./ A.PUIG there from day one. Others came along: Neil Stokes and Braden Phillips were to have the valued voices that have been with us become just as crucial continuing the project all along: Matthew Tree and Neil Stokes. And as Stephen had been in getting it off the more, Martin Kirby, Barney Griffiths, Nicole ground. Soon Barcelona was full of Catalonia Millar and Brett Hetherington keep us posted Today readers, on the buses or the underon their views and concerns. Not to mention ground, looking pleased with this new free our own wise lady of the mountains, Terry token that had brought a daily dose of English Parris, who keeps us connected to nature with into their lives. her delightful stories and reviews. Sadly, it was too good to last. Soon financial It’s been a long and winding road, but a difficulties emerged, but somehow we carried worthwhile journey. Ten years on we are still on. As is often the case, necessity brought here, ready with news and stories that use about a new product that – however different English to provide insights into this country from the initial project – seemed to fit the bill. for Catalans, residents and the wider nterGermà Capadevila was instrumental in develnational community. Whether calmly or not, oping the new monthly, as well as the very we will carry on. However, today is a day for a successful ECClub, which was launched with big Thank You and a huge Congratulations to the blessings of the late Tom Sharpe. It was a everyone involved with Catalonia Today.

Congratulations! 110220-1088282V

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 606, 4t 2a Despatx F-G · 08007 Barcelona Tel. 933 170 137 info@apac.es · www.apac.es

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OPINION CATALONIA TODAY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY GERMÀ CAPDEVILA CONTRIBUTING EDITOR gcapdevila@cataloniatoday.cat

A quality magazine for a world-class city

130711-1090734®

Barcelona, as an European leading capital, also deserved an English language publication to explain the news to the world in the de facto lingua franca.

arcelona is nowadays one of the most in a language they can understand. beautiful cities in the world to live in: On the other hand, Catalonia Today has become a phenomenal tool for Catalans to keep a competitive economy, a well pretheir English rust-free. When we at the magapared workforce, a magnificent landscape and nice weather. It was like that 10 years ago, but until 2004, it lacked something that you can find in every top capital around the world:a general information English language publication. The Tokyo Times, The Jerusalem Post, The Buenos Aires Herald, Beijing Today, The Copenhagen Post, The Egyptian Gazette, Bangkok Post, Helsinki Times, The Jakarta Post, The Korea Times, and many more, are the kind of newspapers that define a group of cities around the world with an international outlook. They are capital cities with a strong connection to the rest of the globe. Barcelona, as a leading European capital, also deserved an EngA “paper boy” delivering Catalonia Today in 2004 at the Liceu lish language publication to explain the news to the world in the de facto lingua zine realised that Catalans were gaining share franca. Thanks to Catalonia Today, Barcelona among our readers and subscribers, we took a joined this “major league” of world-class step forward and created the first English lancities. guage culture club in the country, the ECCatalonia Today was created with this amClub, another wonderful initiative that today bitious goal, and 10 years later we can see that runs more than 40 reading groups in more it has achieved it two ways. On one hand it than 20 cities around Catalonia and Valencia. succeeded in making its motto a reality: The ECClub offers a wide range of cultural acmonth after month, Catalonia Today brings tivities to its members, from theatre to cinnews in English from a Catalan point of view. ema, from city walks to chats with authors, all Thousands of expats have grown accustomed in English. Catalonia Today and the ECClub to a full package of quality content from news are two success stories, and there is only one to in-depth articles that explain this country thing left to say: Happy anniversary!

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OPINION CATALONIA TODAY’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY NEIL STOKES nstokes@cataloniatoday.cat

Our baby's all grown up

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After 10 years of working for Catalonia Today in a variety of capacities, I have witnessed the publication’s birth, teething, adolescence and maturity

few parents dream of seeing their child address the United Nations or win an Olympic gold medal. Most, however, are content if their offspring grow up to be reasonable people capable of making some sort of decent life for themselves. Life is hard and, while there is nothing wrong in reaching for the top, in a world with potential pitfalls at every turn, success begins with surviving harsh reality in good order. For print publications, the world is a particularly harsh place at the moment. The advent of digital technology has smashed the monopoly that the printed press had on information, while globalisation has provided the public with more choice than we know what to do with. That a modest magazine in a foreign language can exist, and even thrive, in this hostile new environment is hard to fathom but nevertheless cause for celebration. After 10 years of working for Catalonia Today in a variety of capacities, I have witnessed the publication’s birth, teething, adolescence and maturity. More often than not, what has been demanded of me has been to help provide the practical attention that all growing things need. Through writing, translating, editing and correcting, I have many times changed the publication’s metaphorical nappy, wiped its nose, fed and clothed it and driven it home from the disco late at night. Like many real world youngsters, especially those who belong to families with limited resources and those lacking the privileges that only the lucky few get to enjoy, life has not been easy for Catalonia Today. Strangely in a society that has traditionally doled out public money on cultural and linguistic projects like

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there was no tomorrow, Catalonia Today has been granted relatively little financial support in the past decade. At the same time, few with the power to do so have offered it a protective wing, which may be a failure of the publication to inspire, or a lack of vision on their

Catalonia Today in a film shot in Barcelona./ G. MASSANA

part, perhaps a little of both. However, what Catalonia Today has never lacked for are people willing to go that extra mile, often for little in return, to ensure the publication gets what it needs. Apart from those of us still here, many other names also come to mind – Stephen, Michael, Braden, both Alexes, Joseph, Birgitte, Gabe, Josephine, Barbara, the list goes on. It is thanks in large part to the efforts of these people that Catalonia Today has reached maturity in fairly good order. Along with our stubbornly loyal readers, we minions behind the scenes have the pleasure of knowing that, while our charge may never win Olympic Gold, all our efforts have been worth it.

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OPINION LONG-TERM RESIDENT MATTHEW TREE mtree@cataloniatoday.cat/ ww.matthewtree.cat

Knife edge

There are signs, however, that slowly but surely, people abroad - the English included - are noticing that what is happening in Catalonia is something quite new

ver the last ten years, this magazine has had some tricky moments. It started life as an optimistically precrisis free daily, which quickly metamorphosed - just before going irrevocably bust into a weekly with a price tag. When the crisis really got into its miserable stride around about 2009, Catalonia Today’s holding company decided to ditch it as potentially noisome ballast, but its editors saved the day by turning it into the successful full-colour monthly it still is. All told, though, Catalonia Today’s financial situation has been the least of its problems. Indeed, perhaps the biggest challenge it has had to face is simply that - not being a politically neutral expats’ rag filled with little more than restaurant tips and property investment ads - it has been obliged, in some measure, to provide information on what Catalans often refer to as “el Tema” (“the Subject”): the ceaselessly burgeoning independence movement. A risky business, because for many English readers this is tantamount to making Catalonia Today an outlet for nationalist propaganda; and in England, at least, nationalism is a virtually a synonym for ultra conservatism or worse. There are signs, LLUÍS ROMERO however, that slowly but surely, people abroad the English included - are noticing that what is happening in Catalonia is something quite new, whose roots share no soil with those of the often murderous European nationalist movements of the last two centuries. In April, the linguist and (pro-anarchist) political commentator Noam Chomsky, addressing an audience at the Google offices in Cambridge, USA, made it clear that he sees Catalan secessionism as part of an on-going process of pro-

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gressive cultural and political renovation in Europe. (In March, the veteran left-wing journalist Tariq Ali, writing for The Guardian, said something similar about the Scottish pro-indy campaign). Which is perhaps why, in Catalonia, independence is backed by liberal or leftwing parties - together with a massive grassroots movement which includes plenty of Spanish-speaking Catalans and ’New Catalans’ (residents born outside Spain) - and is mainly opposed by parties which are ultra-

conservative (or worse). In short, the Catalan push for self-determination could be defined, by and large, as socially concerned, culturally open-minded, internationalist in ambition and - I would dare to add - post-nationalist. Catalonia Today’s Romanian, Jamaican, American, Australian, New Zealand, Argentinian, Catalan and English staff will be doing their best to keep you posted about it, well into the future.

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OPINION HEADING FOR THE HILLS MARTIN KIRBY mkirby@cataloniatoday.cat/ www.mothersgarden.org

It has been an education

A damning, alarming fact of the system failing young minds: Spain has recorded the highest number of school dropouts in the European Union for the third year in a row. 12

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hat? No way. Really? Ten years? An incalculable volume of life has passed beneath the bridge in the past decade, but it doesn’t feel that long. I (maybe you) don’t feel ten years older. I conveniently fail to accept my true context. People who are ten years senior are, well, old. But people ten years younger are, of course, almost the same age. Where the passage of time smacks us in the conscience is in the faces, hopes, aptitudes and attitudes of children. Only they are not toddlers or children any more. Babes in arms are set to move from junior to high school. Eight-year-old free spirits are suddenly giants, round-shouldered from carrying ten kilo school bags bulging with textbooks up the steep incline to adulthood. These new adults now look us in the eye, having complied with the educational demands spelled out by elders from a different age. They emerge, perhaps instilled with a valuable work ethic but more often than not unclear of the relevance of the trauma other than to see who can thrive, survive or who will fail under duress. Learning that life if no picnic is an early lesson. You must pick a path, unsure or not, and knuckle down or accept your lot. With the bold, underlined caveat that I think teaching is an incredibly challenging, vital and persistently undervalued profession, I’m firmly of the view that the system, particularly at senior level, fails to offer both teachers and students the time and support for fundamental issues that need to be addressed in close collaboration with parents and community. Naturally it serves society to set young minds on a course that conforms to the need for educated, committed, responsible people – the next generation of law-abiding consumers keeping the delicate economic balances and peace in an unstable world. But this is not an industrial process and teachers and students are not machinists, nuts and bolts. It serves society equally well to have young minds that are positive, curious, compassionate, creative and fulfilled. We have to stop and take stock.

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Over the years I have dipped into both junior and senior school classrooms here in Catalonia, trying to help impart some understanding of English, and know some extraordinary teachers, particularly at senior level who, goodness knows how, find time from nowhere to break from the books, to nurture self-worth whatever the grade, to listen, to impart the life-long lesson that accumulating knowledge and understanding is so much easier when you are inspired. That sort of wisdom is contagious. Are we teaching children to conform to our generation’s dated perception of the world and at the same time failing to give them the security, curiosity, moral compass and wisdom to have fulfilling lives? It is a truly bewildering age in which to be a teenager. They are conditioned by adult profiteers to be passive consumers in a high-tech world of mass information and communication, some of it deeply dark and depressing – a shocking reality that, I believe, has long had the upper-hand in their attention and education. This all has a profound psychological and often deadening bearing on their view of themselves, the world and their potential within it. A damning, alarming fact of the system failing young minds: Spain has recorded the highest number of school drop-outs in the European Union for the third year in a row. Nearly a quarter of young Spaniards grow tired of the education system and quit before reaching the compulsory age. What does that teach us? How has education evolved in the last decade? We all, schools, parents and communities, must reflect and react to the changing needs of all young people. Education, said poet William Butler Yeats, is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

Write to us! How has education evolved over the years? Your opinion is important! We invite you to send us your feedback and comments to letters@cataloniatoday.cat

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OPINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

letters@cataloniatoday.cat

Catalonia Today reserves the right to edit readers’ letters.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

10 years reading

learnt on your Facebook page that Catalonia Today is celebrating its 10th anniversary. How time flies! I can remember back 10 years when every day I would go to the Barcelona tourist office to collect my copy. Later, when it became a weekly I continued to get it and since 2009 I became a subscriber and look forward to it arriving in my letterbox each month. I love your monthly reports and they help me with my English. Reading about things close to home makes it easier to understand. I look forward to spending at least another 10 years with you! GEMMA DALMAU Manresa.

Liliput

onathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels to satirise the Whig party and the prime minister, Robert Walpole, because he was a Tory against George I of Hanover taking the throne. What this Anglo-Irish writer did not foresee was that his own Lilliput (Great Britain) would become an immense empire that would take over half the world. Those Spanish politicians of a certain age, who read the censored and abridged

Happy Anniversary

I discovered your publication some years ago. It was a fine day and I had to take the train. In the station kiosk I saw the magazine and bought it. On the front cover, there was a small tomato stuck on the end of a fork; I liked the image a lot. This issue was the first monthly issue. Since then I never miss it. When I spoke to other expats who live in Catalonia, I was surprised to learn that they were all subscribed to the magazine. I did the same a few months ago. Every month I like reading the articles by Neil Stokes, Martin Kirby, Matthew Tree and more recently Barney Griffiths. And all of the others, of course! I have also recently come round to the views of Josep-Lluís González. However, my favourite section is My Space, which always has interesting people every month. Catalonia Today is, in short, a great way to learn about how things work in Catalonia. DEBRA SMITH Lleida.

versions of the novels of Swift and Daniel Defoe would do well to re-read the full versions and thus realise that quoting

CARTOON OF THE MONTH. SALLY POULSON

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Europe needs a new direction

these authors is merely a way of shooting yourselves in the foot. SALVADOR TARRADAS Gualta (Baix Empordà)

he European elections are approaching. It is hard to find incentives to take part: there is little connection with social needs, the policy of austerity has been severe and foreign policy is just about meaningless in conflicts like those in Ukraine and Syria. All of this creates discontent and, as a result, the far right parties benefit with a populist discourse that blames the “immigrant” when the main blame for our predicament should go to the financial system that, paradoxically, has recovered best from the crisis. We should not be swayed by the xenophobic argument because it is during difficult times that people are more susceptible to the manipulation of drastic and easy solutions. We need new policies which put the interests of the general public first, so that people can live with some dignity, and that can be extended to the rest of the world. As Churchill said, the problems of democracy are solved with more democracy, which means that tolerance, civic values, respect for others and empathy are the order of the day. MONTSERRAT AVEDAÑO ORDÓÑEZ. Mataró (Maresme).

THE CULTURAL TIGHTROPE BARNEY GRIFFITHS bgriffiths@cataloniatoday.cat

Shopkeepers

apoleon famously labelled Britain (or England at least, it’s hard to know how precise he was being with l’Angleterre) “a nation of shopkeepers”. I’ve always found it a strange categorisation, probably because I associate shopkeepers with long hours and hard work, something I don’t associate with my compatriots at all. The 24hour corner shop phenomenon that has changed the face of Britain over the past few decades has been brought about by immigrants rather than natives. Of course, what Napoleon was really saying, you would assume, was that Britain’s

I’ve met plenty of gorrones - or of my own native culture, where stories of those who live off the state fill certain newspapers on a daily basis. No, Catalans have an extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit, evidenced by the huge number of family businesses and PYMEs (or SMEs in English) that comprise the country’s economy. And when it comes to personal examples, I have plenty. Take the reaction of the families around me who, when the recent recession hit and they saw their work disappearing, started up a new business. More precisely, they opened shops and turned themselves

LLUÍS ROMERO

After nigh on twenty years in the country, it’s hard for me to think of a Catalan I’ve met who I would label a scrounger.

source of power derived from its great ability to trade with the rest of the world. I don’t think he really meant my ancestors were all shopkeepers. Although you never know, he was French. And of course Britain still does a fantastic trade with the rest of the world, especially in weapons. But let’s overlook that frankly unpleasant and hard-to-digest fact for one moment and get to my point, which is that, curiously, I feel that I’ve ended up living in a place it would be much more accurate to label a nation of shopkeepers: Catalonia. This time, however, it’s the natives rather than immigrants who are doing all the hard work in that respect. After nigh on twenty years in the country, it’s hard for me to think of a Catalan I’ve met who I would label a scrounger. In fact, I’ve never even heard the word used in Catalan and my wife insists there isn’t one. Well, she would. This is not true of Spanish, however -

into shopkeepers, with all the long hours, bureaucratic paperwork and hassle that go with it in this country. And what’s more, in a climate of no help whatsoever from the financial institutions. What a massively impressive response to adverse circumstances. As a Brit, it makes me tired just thinking about it. As a Britalan, it makes a small part of me proud. Anecdotally, I remember seeing a Korean woman resident of Barcelona speaking on a TV3 talk show a couple of years ago saying that Catalans did not know the meaning of hard work. Well, that just makes me dread to think what it must be like to live and work in Korea. Let me end with a statistic: the number of small and medium-sized family businesses in Catalonia is truly impressive – over 600,000, by far the highest of any autonomous region. How many are shopkeepers you ask? That, I’m afraid, I do not know. June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

MY SPACE

Catalonia Today

The whole team, 10 years after MARCELA TOPOR mtopor@cataloniatoday.cat

he Catalonia Today team got together for a photo at La Farinera, El Punt Avui’s headquarters in Girona, to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Clockwise from left, beginning with back row: Martin Kirby: UK journalist and writer who has lived at Mother’s Garden in Priorat for nearly 14 years, an organic farm he runs together with his wife, Maggie Whitman. Martin is the author of three books, including Es pot beure te amb porro´?, and two screenplays. More than 1000 people from around the world have stayed in the family’s farm holiday cottage (www.mothersgarden.org). Brett Hetherington has lived in Catalonia (in the Penedès region) since 2006. Born in Australia, he is the author of The Remade Parent, a recently published non-fiction book and is a journalist and teacher. Brett started writing for Catalonia Today six years ago and is also the team leader of our English Culture Club. Barney Griffiths was born in Manchester and has lived in Catalonia for 19 years. He works mainly as a teacher trainer and also translates academic articles from Catalan to English for publication in international journals. He is also a group leader of the ECClub. Jordi Molins:Design director with El Punt Avui since the beginning. Florentí Morante:Head of art and design of Presència, Barça kids and Catalonia Today. Miquel Berga teaches English Literature at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and is the president of APAC (Associació de Professors d’Anglès de Catalunya) and chief editor at Catalonia Today. He also has a column every Sunday in El Punt Avui. Anna Vicens: Sommelier and wine correspondent for various publications and TV channels. Germà Capdevila: Argentinean journalist and editor of digital magazines, he is contributing editor at Catalonia Today. He also has weekly columns in El Punt Avui and L’Esportiu newspapers and a daily space in El Punt Avui TV. M.Àngels Ribas. Marketing and advertising manager since 2009. She lives in Girona and has been at El Grup El Punt since 1992. Neil Stokes: Born in the UK, Neil moved to Catalonia in 1991 and now lives in Alt Penedès. He has been with Catalonia Today since the beginning and was the magazine’s editor from 2006 to 2008. Matthew Tree moved from his native London to Barcelona in 1984, when he was 26. He has published 10 books in his second language, Catalan, and two in his mother tongue. He is now promoting his new English novel, SNUG. Matthew regularly appears on TV and radio, and has a column in El Punt Avui newspaper. Terry Parris has lived in Catalonia for 40 years after spells in England, South Africa, England, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), Cyprus and Jamaica – a life of travel and change. Despite having six children, Terry has found time to act, write, broadcast and teach. Marcela Topor. Involved in the magazine since the start, before becoming editor Marcela was previously the Review editor. She was born in Romania and has lived in Girona since 1999. Pere Gifra: was born in Barcelona and teaches English language and literature at the Faculty of Humanities of Universitat Pompeu Fabra. One of his hobbies is collecting antique travel books, which he usually buys in book fairs, flea markets or on the net.

Nicole Millar

Martin Kirby

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Aniol Najera

Barney Griffiths Brett Hetherington

Neil Stokes Matthew Tree

Not in the photo: Nicole Millar, author of A Home of My Own and previously, of Out&About. Nicole is British and lives near Girona. Joe Hogan, our text editor and at times translator is a Catalan Kiwi who has lived here since 1985. When not working on Catalonia Today he teaches and is a passionate photographer and chef. Aniol Najera lives in Girona and is an intern with Catalonia Today this year. In his free time Aniol composes music and studies English.

Joe Hogan

Photo: MANEL LLADÓ

Germà Capdevila

Florentí Morante Miquel Berga

Jordi Molins

M.Àngels Ribas

Anna Vicens

Pere Gifra

Terry Parris

Marcela Topor

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

CATALANS ABROAD

MONTSE CASADO Married to a Kiwi 20 years ago in Barcelona, the couple soon moved to Wellington, where she takes care of a family of five.

Non-stop from Barcelona to Wellington W

hy did you leave Catalonia? Well, it’s the same old story: Love! I met this English professor from New Zealand at a friend’s party. We got married a couple of years later, and decided to give New Zealand a try. How long have you lived there? We moved to New Zealand right after the Barcelona ’92 Olympic Games, so it’s more than 20 years now. I have to say that I always dreamed of living in another country, but New Zealand wasn’t on my list until I met my husband. Are you happy in your adopted country? After so many years living here, I can say that this is my home now, though I do feel homesick when visiting family and friends in Catalonia. This is a small, beautiful country, and my three children were born here. I can totally say that I am very happy living in New Zealand. What do you think is the best thing about living there? Well, nature is simply stunning here. Not only the landscape, but also the plants and the animals that you can only find in New Zealand. And Wellington, while it is the country’s capital, it’s still not a huge city, so you can have a quiet life with all the benefits of a capital city: theatres, cinemas, shops, restaurants, museums, and so on. We live in a suburban area called Hataitai, which is very near to the city but just far enough away! And it’s a five-minute walk to Evan’s Bay, a beautiful place to enjoy the sea. What would you most like to change? The weather, absolutely! Winters are rainy and foggy. And the fear of quakes, too. Wellington has high seismic activity, since we have our very own “San Andreas Fault” running through the centre of the city. People here are used to living with several small earthquakes every year, but I’m not! Do you plan to go back to Catalonia? I don’t think so. I am a kiwi now! I love going back to Catalonia to visit my family and my old friends, and to enjoy the food and the weather, but as I said before, I feel that New Zealand is my home.

Some suggestions Can you recommend a place to have lunch with friends? If you are not looking for an equivalent of El Celler de Can Roca or el Bulli, I’d suggest visiting Fidel’s Cafe. The atmosphere is fantastic, and you will get great service and tasty food. Try the pasta salads and don’t miss out on the nachos! What is the best time of year to plan a visit? Avoid the winter if you can. Spring and summer are both perfect options to come and enjoy this beautiful city. What is the area’s best kept secret? At the top of the cable car in the Botanical Gardens there is a tree. Some people call it the tripping tree, I’ll let you work out why. It’s very easy to climb and the top is almost like a floor. You get an amazing view of Wellington at night or on a nice sunny day.

A HOME OF MY OWN

BUILDING A HOUSE IN CATALONIA Nicole Millar nmillar@cataloniatoday.cat

The end is nigh W

henever I watch Grand Designs, an English TV programme that shows people building their dream homes, I am always amazed at their naivety. Can they not see that it is going to take longer and going to cost more than they originally thought? Well, I’ve fallen into the same trap. If I had been filmed believing my builders when they said I would move into the house in September, a year after work started, then viewers would be entitled to shout the same accusations at the TV! I suppose that when you are the one immersed in a project, it is hard to take a step back and see the overall picture. In my defence, I would just say that this is my first build and in the hands of the workforce: if they told me it would be ready by a certain date, I had no reason not to believe them! The day after the Mayday bank holiday, we drove down to have a look at the house but it was locked up with no one working on site. This was a turning point for us. The architect had a strong word with the builders and everyone is now working flat out to get everything finished. It is a tricky situation; we like the builder and have a lot of respect for him and we don’t want to fall out with him. We need to keep them focused and get to the end. It is the same story with anyone who has built a house; it slows down towards the end, with workmen looking towards their next job. Though progress seems slow, there are constant changes still and it is exciting seeing the house grow with every visit. Each week the meetings with the architect are full of detailed decisions to be made. By the time this article goes to print the wooden floors will be going down, which, amazingly, takes almost two weeks. Once that is done, then the bathrooms and a few other things can be finished off. At least my kitchen is in, and so is the oven and fridge, which I am just itching to start using. It looks wonderful and really

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

brings the house together and makes it look more like a real home. There is still work to be done on the outside but that really will be the final touch. As of now, the builders are saying six more weeks and we will be in. The question is whether I can believe them. In short, the answer is ‘no’; I’ve learnt my lesson. Yet, to be honest, it really does not matter much now if it takes six weeks or three months. We will have to be patient, knowing that one day very soon we will be there and looking back on this exciting journey of building a house, wondering what all the worry was about. At least I can imagine the end result now and can picture us living there, which is something I haven’t been able to do until very recently. Last month, I was lucky enough to be up in a gorgeous place called L’Avenc, close to

Rupit, where I was given a tour of the main manor house. What the owners went though to create a home for themselves was quite extraordinary and extremely brave. What we have done with ours is not a patch on that. Nevertheless, it has been an incredible journey, a lot of, as well as frustrating, nerve-racking and stressful rolled into one. Yet, I am relieved it wasn’t a bigger project; I am not sure I would have the guts for that, and I am pleased that we have something that we can now call our home for many, many years to come. So on the 10th anniversary of Catalonia Today, I bring this series about ‘Building a House in Catalonia’ to a close. Perhaps I will do a Grand Design Revisited in a year’s time and let you know how life is in our little castle that we bought almost three years ago.

Mastinell wins “Best tourist establishment award in Spain" by the prestigious Spanish Association of Wine Cities and Turespaña

Cava & Hotel Mastinell gives you the authentic experience of being a winemaker for a few days

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Cava & Hotel Mastinell, which includes 12 exclusive rooms, features a wide range of wine tourism services within the world of wine and cava as reference. An innovative and exquisite design features latticework on the windows resembling cava bottles horizontally placed (in a riddling rack) and a ceramic tile roof typical of Gaudí artworks.

xperience yourself to feel as an enologist or winemaker for a few days by learning and participating in the cava and wine grape growing process. Additionally, enjoying tastings, gourmet wine-pairings, Wine therapy benefits and a wine bar are just some of the possibilities offered by Cava & Hotel Mastinell which includes a unique spectacular design with clear references from artist Antoni Gaudí. Recently Cava & Hotel Mastinell received an award for “Best tourist establishment" by both the prestigious Spanish Association of Cities of Wine (ACEVIN) and Turespaña.

of Penedès region (Barcelona – Catalonia), an architectural work that has been awarded the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Interior Design in Shanghai 2011. Its spectacular design respects the modernist spirit so characteristic of Catalan architecture with clear allusions to the master Antoni Gaudí. A five-star hotel with cur ved design architecture reminiscent of large bottles of cava while resting on a vineyard that invite travellers to go into it and discover the whole Mastinell Experience. “Managing the vineyard plays the major role in our Cava & Hotel Mastinell. Our wine and cava are created using a careful process of har vesting the best grapes at optimum ripeness. Since Phoenician times, the land of Vilafranca del Penedes had a strong tradition of wine production and we wish to make it available to all travellers who want to

experience it", explained Olivia Valderrama, managing director of Cava & Hotel Mastinell. With a limited production of 220,000 Mastinell bottles of cava and 80,000 Mastinell bottles of wine, both cava and wine have the highest quality recognised by national and international awards, including Gold Medals at the World Wine Competition in Brussels (Belgium), Silver Medals at the Decanter (United Kingdom) and the Mondiale du Rosé (France) along with Bronze Medals at the Wine & Spirit Competition (United Kingdom) and at the Challenge International (Hong Kong). Thanks to a typically Mediterranean climate, summers are long -moderately hot and dryand winters are mild; which provides suitable temperatures for vine cultivation and tourists also can enjoy this climate at any time of year.

"We are very proud to have been chosen by Turespaña and ACEVIN as best tourist establishment with wine tourism services in Spain", said Manuel Valderrama, president of Cava & Hotel Mastinell. "For us, the excellence of our hotel as well as our wine and cava is vital; therefore we personally manage all processes in order to ensure the highest quality in both our products and services." Cava & Hotel Mastinell rises from the centre

h t t p : / / w w w. h o t e l m a s t i n e l l . c o m / e n / June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

What happened May

IN THE NEWS CATALONIA

Nissan to invest 110 million and hire 1,000 workers

apanese car manufacturer Nissan has launched the new Pulsar, a new five-door version of the existing compact car, at Madrid’s Automobile Fair. The new vehicle will be assembled in Barcelona’s Zona Franca plant, located next to the city’s harbour. In order to build the new Pulsar, Nissan will invest 110 million euros in the Catalan plant and will hire up to 1,000

Spanish government plans to halve Catalan Public TV channel frequencies The Catalan executive raised the alarm on May 19, saying that the Spanish industry ministry is planning to take away one of the two multiplexes run by the Catalan public television broadcaster (TVC). By halving the spectrum available for Catalan public television — which traditionally has the highest audience share in Catalonia — the Spanish government will force the broadcaster to reduce its number of channels to a maximum of four (since there are four channels in each multiplex). The Spanish government’s

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

workers by 2015. Nissan’s Barcelona plant was already in the news in May as it began production of the new eNV200 electric van for the global market.The new Pulsar will start production in July, so as to be on the market from October this year. Nissan is planning to produce 80,000 units of this model per year. According to the Director General of Nissan Iberia, Marco Toro, the assignment to build

the new Pulsar endorses the competitiveness and projection of the Barcelona plant. Nissan decided to allocate further cars to the Catalan plant after the company and the unions reached an agreement by which salaries were reduced in order to increase competitiveness and ensure the arrival of new projects, such as the eNV200 and thenew Pulsar.

decision would mean a reduction in TVC’s channels, making the broadcaster either cut its HD emissions, decrease the presence of cultural content, eliminate its sports channel or no longer offer TV channels from other Catalan-speaking areas, mainly the Balearic Islands and Valencia. This would decrease TVC’s audience and therefore its influence, as it would lose content and competitors would continue to broadcast in HD. Therefore, this might also bring a reduction in advertising income and a consequent weakening of public service broadcasting and the presence of Catalan language and culture in the media. The Catalan government sees “an undoubted” political motivation in this decision,

which its says aims to decrease the influence of Catalan-speaking media by rendering TVC “residual” in the current self-determination debate.

Girona’s Temps de Flors flower festival highest success ever Girona was filled again with thousands of flowers to celebrate Temps de Flors, the most important Catalan flower exhibition and an vital annual social and cultural event for the city. In its 59th edition, Temps de Flors boasted a total of 185 different free exhibitions, including the lovely historic patios and some new sights, such as the Cathedral basement or the Casa Pastors. As usual, most of the

WHAT THE FOREIGN PRESS SAYS ABOUT CATALONIA

Wars of Spanish secession

he more likely outcome is that Mr Mas will call a new election which separatist parties will treat as a plebiscite on independence, in effect making it a referendum. That would shunt confrontation off. But it is unclear when any election might be called. Mr Mas

could wait until 2016, after Spain’s general election next year. But he will be pressed to move sooner. A new separatist government would then come under pressure from hardliners to make a unilateral declaration of independence. (May 3, 2014)

Is Cataluña the Next Crimea?

pain’s governing party must moderate its zeal for false metaphors if they wish to take a seat at the EU foreign policy table as adults rather than petulant children who are myopically focused on their own internal disputes rather than geopolitics. Not only do

these outbursts undermine more sound arguments against Catalan independence but they demean the audacity and illegality of Russia’s Crimean invasion. Not all independence is the same . (May 2, 2014)

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spots were in the open air, so tourists could appreciate them while strolling through the heart of Girona. This year’s edition included an emotional tribute to Maria Cobarsí, the promoter of the festival who died in 2013. The origin of Temps de Flors dates back to 1954, when it was born as an indoor exhibition supported by the city council. Gradually, this floral experience began to spread to other parts of the city thanks to the selfless participation of amateurs and professionals. During the days of the flower festival, the city of Girona also programmed a large number of varied cultural activities. In plaça Independència , a stage was set up where daily musical performances were offered by ’a cappella’ singing groups. For finer tastes, there were up to 41 restaurants with special menus in which flower blossoms were the main ingredient. Suggestive proposals such as salad with shrimp and petals, fruit tartar of mint and violets or beef burger with rosemary flowers, are just some examples of the dishes that could be tasted last month in Girona.

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

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CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

FEATURE

Photography Competition ANNIVERSARY Thank you all for participating in our contest. This month we publish the winning photo along with an overview of the best shots published in the past two years. We hope you enjoy them and challenge you to a new adventure for next month. Theme: BEACHES. Send your pics to photos@cataloniatoday.cat before June 16. Good luck!

The winning photo: A special cake for a special day Paula Sau Figueres The jury loved the photo of this festive cake taken for September 11 last year in a Girona pastry shop. Congratulations Paula! June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

Food (September 2012) by Francesc de Diego

Holidays (October 2012) by Liam O’Brien

Nature (November 2012) by Antoni Portela

Old Christmas (December 2012) by Àngels Ansaldo

Winter (February 2013) Elisabeth Reixach 26

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Carnival (March 2013) Peter Whalley

Flowers (April 2013) by Jasar Garbi

Countryside (May 2013) by John Boliart Romero

Cities (June 2013) by Francesc de Diego.

Flowers (July 2013)

by Joan Torres Nalda

Holidays (September2013)

by Joan Torres Nalda

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

September 11 (October 2013) by Jaume Guillamet Thomas

Animals (December 2013) By Debra Foremsky Strong tramuntana in Begur (January 2014) by Joan Torres Nalda

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Sports (February 2014) by Jordi Fonts

Cooking (March 2014) by Albert Vilaró.

Funny (April 2014) by Inès Tell de Pallejà

Windows (November 2013) by Anna Solà

Spring colours (May 2014) by Andrea Bosch June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

JUNE 15 CATALONIA TODAY IS BORN First Catalan newspaper in English appears, free, daily and available in newsstands across the country

KEY FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR FACEBOOK

FILM OF THE YEAR LOS CHICOS DEL CORO Cristophe Barratier

Èric Bertran

Ronald Reagan

Yasser Arafat

ACTIVIST

US PRESIDENT

PALESTINIAN LEADER

A 14-year old boy was accused of terrorism after demanding that the Dia supermarket chain label products in Catalan. Bertran later recounted his experiences in the book, Èric i l’Exèrcit del Fènix.

Former US president, Ronald Reagan, died at the age of 93. Reagan’s presidency, from 1981 to 1988, was characterised by his radical supply-side economic policies and strong anti-Communist sentiments.

The former Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian National Authority died aged 75. Arafat won a Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres in 1994.

DECEMBER 26 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

Tsunami tragedy in Southeast Asia

JANUARY 23

Some 300,000 people died or went missing after a tsunami assaulted the coasts of various countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The giant waves, as high as 30 metres, were caused by an earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean. Measuring 9 points on the Richter scale, the tsunami became the deadliest natural catastrophe of modern times.

JANUARY 27

Effects of the tsunami in Thailand / AP

MARCH 11 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR Les veus del pamano Jaume Cabré

CAR OF THE YEAR CITROËN C2

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Madrid attack causes 191 deaths A total of 191 commuters died and 1,700 were injured when bombs exploded on three trains during the morning rush hour in Madrid. The attack took place three days before a general election. The PP government initially attributed the attack to ETA. However, Al Qaida later claimed responsibility for the attack as a reprisal for the invasion of Iraq.

Europeanspace mission,MarsExpress, findssignsofwaterat thesouthpoleofplanet Mars.

Catalanminister Josep-Lluís Carod-Roviraresigns aftermeetingwith representativesofthe Basqueseparatist groupETA.

MARCH 20 Massdemonstrations takeplaceincitiesall overSpainagainstthe US-ledoccupationof Iraq.

MAY 9 Inaugurationofthe Fòrum Universaldeles CulturesinBarcelona

MAY 22 Spain’scrownprince Felipemarriesformer journalist,LetiziaOrtiz.

One of the trains attacked / EFE

JANUARY 13 CATALONIA TODAY BECOMES WEEKLY A new revamped format and more varied content

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR ELECTRONIC DNI

FILM OF THE YEAR MAR ADENTRO Alejandro Amenabar

Albert Einstein

Fernando Alonso

FC Barcelona

THEORETICAL PHYSICIST

FORMULA 1 RACING DRIVER

FOOTBALL TEAM

2005 was the 50th anniversary of the scientist’s death. Born in Germany but later settling in the US, Einstein is best-known for developing the general theory of relativity, which revolutionised physics.

The Asturian won his first world Formula 1 title to become the youngest racing driver to win the honour at the age of 24. The following year, Alonso would go on to retain his title with the same Renault team.

As many as100,000 supporters took the streets of Barcelona in May to salute the Barcelona players as they toured the city in an open-topped bus after their draw at Levante secured their 17th league title.

JANUARY 25 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

Carmel metro tunnel collapse

APRIL 2

Tunnelling work on line 5 of the Barcelona metro caused a huge cave-in at the station in the Carmel neighbourhood. The accident required the evacuation of around a hundred nearby buildings, while more than 2,000 local people had to be rehoused. The accident became a political hot potato at the time, damaging the tripartite Generalitat coalition.

KarolJózefWojtyla, betterknownasPope JohnPaulII,diesinthe Vaticanattheageof84. Hewasthe second-longest servingpope.

APRIL 14

Affected buildings./ ORIOL PUIG

SEPTEMBER 16 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR A peu per Mallorca sense veure el mar / Josep Maria Espinàs

CAR OF THE YEAR PEUGEOT 407

MAY 28

Agbar tower officially inaugurated Agbar tower, Barcelona’s new landmark is officially open on September 16. Equally admired and criticised, qualified by many as a “vibrator” or “suppository”, it is designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, who described it as a geyser erupting from the Catalan earth, an image he claims first came to him from the rounded spires of Montserrat, Catalonia’s famous mountain.

Approvalofproposed legislationforthe returntoCataloniaof theso-called ’SalamancaPapers’, documentsthatwere confiscatedafterthe CivilWar.

22-yearoldJosepMaria Isantaisstabbedto deathduringthePatum festivitiesinBergaafter beingattackedbya groupof15people.

SEPTEMBER 16 The.catinternet domainnameis approved.

Agbar Tower in Glòries./ ARCHIVE

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

MARCH 9 MARKET LEADER IN ENGLISH Catalonia Today consolidates its position as the country’s leading publication in English

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa

Rafel Nadal

Kofi Annan

TENNIS PLAYER

UN SECRETARY GENERAL

Nadal surpassed Guillermo Vilas’s record of 53 consecutive victories on clay courts. Nadal went on to clock up 81 victories by the end of the season. The following year, he won his second Grand Slam.

2006 was Annan’s final year at the head of the United Nations. His tenure had been marked by an economic scandal, focusing attention on his fight against poverty and starting a reform of the organisation.

F1 DRIVER PRODUCT OF THE YEAR NINTENDO WII

FILM OF THE YEAR THE DA VINCI CODE Ron Howard

De la Rosa became the first Catalan driver to win a podium place after coming second in the Hungary Grand Prix. He has raced with Jordan, Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber, HRT F1 Team and Ferrari.

JULY 3 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

43 deaths in metro accident

JANUARY 1

On July 3 at 1pm, a train on line 1 of the Valencia metro, with 150 passengers on board, derailed causing the deaths of 43 people and leaving 47 others injured. The investigation into the accident concluded that the train had been travelling at twice the allowed speed of 40 kph. Later, the Valencia high court ordered a second investigation into the accident.

APRIL 30 Forthefirsttime,a nuclearpowerstation inSpainisdefinitively closed.

AUGUST 23 The first metro carriage / EFE

DECEMBER 30 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR L’església del mar / Ildefonso Falcones

CAR OF THE YEAR PEUGEOT 1007

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Hussein hanged in public After two years in court, on November 5, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi high court. Hussein’s hanging was broadcast live over the internet on December 30. In the same year, another former dictator met his death when Augusto Pinochet died of a heart attack at the age of 91.

Legislationprohibiting smokinginenclosed publicspacesinSpain comesintoeffect.

NataschaKampusch managestoescape fromahomemadecell inAustriawhereshe hadbeenheldcaptive foreightyears.

NOVEMBER 24 SocialistleaderJosé Montillabecomes Presidentdela Generalitatde Catalunya.

DECEMBER 30 Basquearmed separatistsETAcarries outabombattackon Madrid’sBarajas airport.

Hussein just before his death / AP

NOVEMBER 2007 THIRD YEAR AS A WEEKLY Catalonia Today improves its design and introduces new sections

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR PLAYSTATION 3

FILM OF THE YEAR AMERICAN GANGSTER Ridley Scott

Lluís Llach

Nicolas Sarkozy

Lluís Maria Xirinacs

SINGER-SONGWRITER

POLITICIAN

ACTIVIST

Lluís Llach brought his musical career to an end with two concerts on March 24 and 25. The concerts, in his hometown of Verges, attracted 5,000 spectators each, with thousands watching live on TV3.

On March 6, centre-right candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, won the French presidential elections. Sarkozy took over from Jacques Chirac as president of the French republic, who had been in the post since 1995.

On March 11, The body of independence activist Lluís Maria Xirinacs was found in a wooded area of Ogassa in Ripollès. Initially believed to be suicide, an autopsy showed that he had died of natural causes.

MAY 3 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

Madeleine McCann goes missing

JANUARY 1

The McCann family from the UK were on holiday in Portugal when their four-year old daughter Madeleine went missing. The parents had left Madeleine asleep with her two-year old twin siblings in the room while they had dinner. On returning, Madeleine had disappeared. A long investigation and global search began Madeleine has still not been found.

Lleidabeginsits 12-monthstintasthe newCapitaldela CulturaCatalana.

MARCH 16 TheGeneralitatin Valenciadecidestocut broadcastsofTV3toits entireregion.

APRIL 16 Madeleine’s parents./ EFE

OCTOBER 20 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR El pont dels jueus / Martí Gironell

CAR OF THE YEAR PEUGEOT 207

Maragall makes Alzheimer’s public The former president of the Generalitat and former PSC leader, Pasqual Maragall, announced that he had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some months. Maragall made his announcement at the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona after a visit to the Unitat de Memòria. At the same time, Maragall made a commitment to helping to combat the degenerative disorder.

Some32victimsareleft deadafteraschool shootingbyalone gunmanattheVirginia PolytechnicInstitutein BlacksburgintheUSin whathasbecome knownastheVirginia Techmassacre.

JUNE 6 TheBasquearmed separatistgroupETA announcestheendofits self-imposedceasefire.

JULY 23 Ahugeblackoutin Barcelonaleaves 300,000customers withoutelectricity.

Maragall at the press conference

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

DECEMBER 1 NEW MONTHLY FORMAT Catalonia Today becomes a full-colour monthly magazine, with more pages and in-depth content

PRODUCT OF THE YEA 3G IPHONE

FILM OF THE YEAR VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONAWoody Allen

BOOK OF THE YEAR L’últim patriarca / Najat El Hachmi

CAR OF THE YEAR HYUNDAI I30

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Barack Obama

Marc Gasol

Ingrid Betancourt

US PRESIDENT

BASKETBALL PLAYER

COLOMBIAN POLITICIAN

On November 4, Barack Obama won the US election with more than 62 million votes, making him the first black president in the country’s history. His investiture as president took place on January 20.

Marc Gasol made his debut in the NBA league in November, making a great impression by securing 12 points for his new team, the Memphis Grizzlies. Before that, Gasol had played for Akasvayu Girona.

Politician Ingrid Betancourt was freed by the Colombian army together with 14 other hostages on July 2. Her captivity had lasted a total of 2,321 days after she was kidnapped in February of 2002.

FEBRUARY 20 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

High-speed train gets to Barcelona

MARCH 13

The long-awaited high-speed rail link between Madrid and Barcelona became operative on February 20. The link was originally planned to open in 1995 but the central government gave priority to the Madrid-Seville link. In the end, Barcelona was forced to wait 16 years for a high-speed connection, without any date given for the link from the Catalan capital to Paris.

Thehighcourtthrows outthecaseagainst16 menprosecutedfor burningphotosofthe kingduringaprotestin Girona.

JUNE 14 Theexpodedicatedto waterandsustainable developmentbeginsin thecityofZaragoza.

High-speed train arrives / ARCHIVE

JULY 30

MARCH 9 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

NASA’sPhoenixMars Landerconfirmsthe existenceoffrozen waterontheRedPlanet.

Rodríguez Zapatero gains relection

APRIL 20

PSOE won the March 9 election, ensuring that socialist leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero remained Spain’s prime minister for another term. With over 11 million votes, the socialists secured 169 seats in parliament, giving the party a simple majority. However, in 2011, Rodríguez Zapatero would call an early election, which the PP centre right party would go on to win.

Franki,ayoungman fromTerrassa,is imprisonedfor removingand damagingtheSpanish flagflyingoverthelocal councilbuilding.

AUGUST 8

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero / EFE

The29thOlympic Gamesbegininthe Chinesecapitalof Beijing.

DECEMBER 1 A POWERFUL MEDIA GROUP El Punt buys L’Avui newspaper and El Punt Avui is born

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR TDT

FILM OF THE YEAR INGLORIOS BASTARDS Quentin Tarantino

Michael Jackson

Pepe Rubianes

Lionel Messi

SINGER-SONGWRTIER

ACTOR AND COMEDIAN

FOOTBALLER

The ’King of Pop’, Michael Jackson, died on June 25 at the age of 50. Jackson had been a leading figure of modern popular culture for four decades. His album Thriller remains the bestselling record of all time.

José Rubianes Alegret, betterknown as Pepe Rubianes, died on March 1 in Barcelona. The actor and director was muchloved for his humourous monologues and was a major popular cultural figure in Catalonia.

FC Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or award in Paris, making him the first Barça player to win the distinction. That year, Messi also received the World Player award and World Soccer prize.

SEPTEMBER 13 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

First local independence vote

JANUARY 19

Arenys de Munt became the first municipality in Catalonia to hold a vote on independence. The ’yes’ option won with 96.2% of the vote, despite attempts by some Spanish nationalist groups to organise a boycott. The initiative spawned a series of similar votes in municipalities around the country, providing an impetus to the cause of self-determination.

Celebrationofthefirst editionoftheCatalan cinemaawardsknown as thePremisGaudí.

FEBRUARY 7 Majorforestfiresin Australiacausesome 189deaths.

MARCH 18

People at Centre Moral in Arenys./ EFE

FEBRUARY 6 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest Stieg Larsson

CAR OF THE YEAR CITROËN C5

Gürtel corruption case linked to PP The Gürtel case was an investigation into allegations of political corruption linked to the PP party. The case began when the high court ordered an investigation into corruption allegations centered around Madrid, Valencia and Costa del Sol. The suspects in the case, including supposed ringleader, Francisco Correa, were accused of moneylaundering, tax fraud and bribery.

Studentsandpolice clashatBarcelona universitywhenthe authoritiesattemptto removeprotestors againsttheeducational reformsknownasthe BolognaProcess.

JUNE 30 Thefirststageofthe processtophaseout analoguetelevisionin favourofdigitalTV beginsaroundthe PaïsosCatalans.

OCTOBER 29 Theso-calledPretoria politicalcorruption scandaleruptsinSanta ColomadeGramenet.

Francisco Camps./ EFE

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

JUNE GROWING AND GETTING BETTER New sections involving the readers appear, such as the photo competition and short story contest

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR IPAD

FILM OF THE YEAR PA NEGRE Agustí Villaronga

Artur Mas

Julian Assange

Baltasar Garzón

CATALAN PRESIDENT

FOUNDER OF WIKILEAKS

FORMER JUDGE

Despite serving as chief minister in the Pujol government and later winning two elections yet remaining head of the opposition thanks to the tripartite coalition, Artur Mas finally secured the Catalan presidency.

In November, Wikileaks began disseminating secret documents on the internet taken from 250,000 intercepted US diplomatic communications. Soon after, Assange was accused of rape by a Swedish court.

The judge and media favourite due to his involvement in high profile cases was suspended in May for overstepping his jurisdiction with an investigation into crimes committed by the Franco regime.

JULY 10 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

Mass Estatut turnout in Barcelona

JANUARY 17

One and a half million people flooded Barcelona’s passeig de Gràcia in an organised protest against amendments made by Spain’s high court to Catalonia’s statute of autonomy, the Estatut. The demonstration, which included many of the country’s leading politicians, quickly became a mass call for the country’s right to self-determination.

JULY 28 Popularlegislationis passedbanning bullfightingeventsin Catalonia.

AUGUST 5 Estelades on Passeig de Gràcia./ J. R.

MARCH 8 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR Maletes perdudes Jordi Puntí

CAR OF THE YEAR OPEL ASTRA

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Heavy snow paralyses Girona A large part of the Girona region was brought to a standstill on March 8 by unexpected snowfalls. While the problems caused to the transport network were quickly dealt with, electricity pylons damaged by ice left some areas of Costa Brava without power for days. The failures in the power infrastructure led the government to fine energy company Endesa.

Thenew Lleida-Alguaireairport opens.Itisthefirst airportunderCatalan jurisdiction.

AminecollapseinChile traps33miners underground,where theyareforcedto remainuntilfinally rescuedinOctober.

AUGUST 19 ThelastUScombat troopsleaveIraq, puttinganendtothe warthatbeganinMarch 2003.

SEPTEMBER 29

Snow in Girona./ MANEL LLADÓ

Astheeffectsofthe globaleconomiccrisis continue,awidespread generalstrikeisheld acrossSpain.

APRIL BUILDING COMMUNITY Catalonia Today creates the first English Culture Club

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR SAMSUNG GALAXY S II

FILM OF THE YEAR BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky

Lionel Messi

D. Strauss-Khan

Gilad Shalit

FOOTBALLER

FORMER IMF DIRECTOR

ISRAELI SOLDIER

Barça forward Leo Messi won the Balon d’Or award for the second consecutive year. Messi was joined by teammates, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández, who were awarded the second and third prizes.

The director general of the IMF was arrested in New York on May 14, accused by a hotel maid of sexual assault. Strauss-Khan was forced to resign and abandon his intention to run for the French presidency.

After five years in captivity, Israeli sergeant, Gilad Shalit, was freed in October as part of an agreement between Hamas and the Israeli government. In return, the Israelis agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

MAY 15 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

’Els indignats’ take to the squares

JANUARY 10

The so-called ’indignat’ movement appeared out of a protest organised on May 15 by a variety of groups. The night of the demonstration, some 40 people camped out in Madrid’s main square, Puerta del Sol, causing a domino effect in other places around Spain, including Barcelona. The main focus of the movement was a call for a more participatory democracy.

BasqueseparatistsETA announcea permanent, self-imposedceasefire.

FEBRUARY 21 Apopularuprising eruptsinLibyaagainst theregimeof MuammarGaddafi, whowouldbefound andkilledbytherebels inOctober.

Indignats in Plaça Catalunya./R.R.

MARCH 11

MAY 2 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR L’arqueòleg / Martí Gironell

CAR OF THE YEAR HYUNDAI IX35

US special forces kill Bin Laden US president Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden, after the Al Qaeda leader was shot by special forces in Pakistan. The world’s most wanted terrorist had been hiding out some 80 kilometres from the capital, Islamabad. According to US authorities, after a DNA test Bin Laden’s remains were buried at sea according to Muslim tradition.

Anearthquakeand resultingtsunamioff thecoastofJapan causesanemergencyat theFukushimanuclear powerplant.

JULY 21 Withthelandingofthe AtlantisintheUS,the eraofthespaceshuttle comestoanend.

JULY 20 FranciscoCamps resignsasthepresident ofValenciaduetohis associationwiththe Gürtelcorruptioncase.

Bin Laden during an interview

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

JANUARY PICK OF THE CROP Guide to the best of the country’s food and drink

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR L’ESTELADA

FILM OF THE YEAR FÈNIX 11.23 Joel Joan/ Sergi Lara

Josep Guardiola

Artur Mas

Antoni Tàpies

FOOTBALL COACH

CATALAN PRESIDENT

ARTIST

Former player and coach, Pep Guardiola, announced in April that he would leave FC Barcelona at the end of the season, after leading the club through the most successful period of its history.

In September, the President of the Generalitat called an early election for November, stating that the moment had arrived for self-determination. The elections would have an unprecedented turnout.

Antoni Tàpies, one of Catalonia’s leading 20th-century artists, died on February 6 aged 88. The Barcelona-born artist has his own foundation known as the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in the Catalan capital.

SEPTEMBER 11 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

IN SHORT ......................................................

Huge independence demo in BCN

JANUARY 1

Some 1.5 million people flood Barcelona’s city centre in a demonstration calling for the independence of Catalonia. The mass protest took place in a festival atmosphere, with many participants arriving from places all over the country. The march ended with a statement read out in a number of different languages.

JULY 22 Twoforestfiresinthe AltEmpordàarea threatenmanyplacesin theGironacounties.

SEPTEMBER 3 The march was huge and peaceful

JANUARY 13 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR Memòria d’uns ulls pintats Lluís Llach

CAR OF THE YEAR PEUGEOT 508

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Cruise ship sinks off Italian coast The more than 4,200 people aboard the cruise ship Costa Concòrdia experienced a living nightmare in January when the vessel began to sink near the island of Giglio, in Tuscany. After hitting a rock, the cruise ship became grounded on a sandbank, complicating the rescue operation. In all, 32 people died in the accident and 64 were injured.

Legislationprohibiting bullfightingeventsin Cataloniacomesinto effect.

TheAjuntamentofSant PeredeTorellópassesa motioninfavourofthe independenceof Catalonia.

NOVEMBER 1 Fiveyoungwomendie inatragicaccident duringaHalloween partyinthedisco, MadridArena.

DECEMBER 14

The wreck of Costa Concòrdia

Ashootingtakesplace intheSandyHook ElementarySchoolin Connecticut,whena 20-year-oldfatallyshot 20childrenandsixstaff members.

NOVEMBER PAU CASALS In the service of peace: Forty years since the death of Pau Casals

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 4K TV

FILM OF THE YEAR GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón

Salvador Espriu

Roca brothers

Margaret Thatcher

Writer

Chefs

British politician

2013 was designated as the official Any Espriu, to commemorate the centenary of the writer’s birth. Cultural events and celebrations took place all over the country celebrating Espriu’s work.

On April 29, in London, Celler de Can Roca was named as the ’best restaurant in the world’ by the prestigious Restaurant Magazine. The Michelin starred eatery in Girona is run by the Roca brothers: Joan, Josep and Jordi.

The former UK prime minister died on April 8. Thatcher made history by becoming Britain’s first female prime minister. She was a controversial figure due to her radical conservative reforms and abrasive style.

IN SHORT ......................................................

Human chain for independence

FEBRUARY 28

The so-called Via Catalana took place on Catalonia’s national day, a 400kilometre long human chain, from one side of the country to the other, in favour of independence. It is estimated that some 1.6 million people took part in the initiative proposed by the Assemblea Nacional Catalana. The event was accompanied by a range of cultural activities around the country.

PopeBenedictXVI announcesheisgiving uphispositionasthe headoftheCatholic Church;itisthefirst timethishashappened forcenturies.

MARCH 8 Venezuela’s controversial president,Hugo Chávez,diesandis givenastatefuneral.

Human chain at Vinarós./EFE

JANUARY 23 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................

BOOK OF THE YEAR Victus Albert Sánchez Piñol

CAR OF THE YEAR PEUGEOT 208

Parliament backs self-determination On January 23, the Catalan parliament passed a declaration of sovereignty on the right of Catalonia to a process of self-determination. The motion was passed with 85 votes in favour, 41 against and two abstentions. On March 13, a parliamentary majority approved a motion for the Generalitat to begin a dialogue on a referendum with the central government.

MAY 19 Disturbancestake placeinStockholm afterpolicecausethe deathofayoung immigrant.

JUNE 14 WhisteblowerEdward Snowdenrevealsthe NSA’sglobaloperation monitoringprivate digitalcommunication.

JUNE 24

The Catalan parliament./ O. DURAN

June 2014

Trainaccidentin Santiagode Compostelaleaves morethan80dead.

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

JUNE 10TH ANNIVERSARY Catalonia Today celebrates a decade of publishing news in English

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR WHATSAPP

FILM OF THE YEAR 12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen

Joan Vinyoli

Killian Jornet

FORMER BARÇA COACH

POET

EXTREME SPORTSMAN

Vilanova, who took over as Barça head coach after Pep Guardiola, died on April 25 at the age of 45. Tito won the league title in his first season in charge, stepping down in July 2013 due to ill health.

This year is the official centenary year of the poet, Joan Vinyolí. He published his first collection, Primer desenllaç (First Outcome) in 1937. In the 1970s he received widespread recognition for his work.

World champion skier and mountain runner, Sabadell-born Jornet was named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic magazine. Jornet describes himself as “a lover of mountains”.

IN SHORT ......................................................

Malaysian airline plane disappears

JANUARY 23

The largest international rescue operation took place this year when a Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on March 8. Flight 370 was a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that went missing an hour after takeoff. On board were 12 crew members and 227 passengers from 14 nations. Despite the huge search no debris or crash site has been found.

SandroRosellresigns asBarçapresidentover allegationsofthe misappropriationof funds.

MARCH 16 Inareferendum,Crimea votestosecedefrom UkraineandjoinRussia

MARCH 23 The military search for the plane.

AdolfoSuárez,Spain’s firstdemocraticPM afterFrancodies.

869536-1079045w

BOOK OF THE YEAR The Analphabet Who Knew How to Count Jonas Jonasson

Tito Vilanova

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

118076-1075928V

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

OPINION TRIBUNE ÀLEX FUREST Member of the Economy Section of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC)

Leaving Spain to become part of Europe

t is evident that the efforts deployed for almost two years by the Spanish foreign minister have been useless against some thousands of Catalan activists spread around the world. The aim of Catalan people to vote for their collective future cannot be stopped with rhetoric and old fashioned arguments. The sovereignty process in Catalonia will reach its goal based on the passion and effort that Catalans put into it. Repeating an extraordinary Diada national day with La Via Catalana (The Catalan Way) in 2013, a year after the mass demonstration of 2012, made some governments see that the process is real, not just a flash in the pan. Everything is in the hands of the Catalans. In our hands. Any country that counts for anything in the world knows what the situation is in Spain very well, and privately they admit that Spain cannot continue as it has done. The image of Spain in the world is not a very good one: widespread corruption, economic collapse, huge debt, skyrocketing unemployment, the monarchy in dispute, new laws undermining basic rights, such as abortion, education, human rights. The Anglo-Saxon world (UK, USA) is quite clear about its priorities. The key point is democracy. But neither the UK nor the USA make the decisions in the EU, so their support is important, but not enough. France, with regard to geo-politics, and Germany with regard to the economy, will decide in the end how the question will be treated if Catalans go all the way. France can see Catalonia as a potential ally, if viewed as a “southern Belgium”, as the French mentality includes Catalonia in the same way that it includes Belgium. In fact, Napoleon annexed Catalonia to the French Empire in 1810, the only territory he annexed from Spain. He pursued the geographical inheritance from the time of Charlemagne. If France considers Catalonia part of Charlemagne’s inheritance, we

VERBA DOCENT, EXEMPLA TRAHUNT

The human chain passing through Avinyonet del Penedès./ JUANMA RAMOS

could get French support if we give them our unconditional support in return. Of course this would not mean being annexed by France, just as Belgium is not part of France, just the commitment to be a good ally. France sees Spain as a corrupt copy of their Jacobin system, ruled by a bureaucratic and hereditary caste system. Germany recognises that the Catalan situation with Spain is untenable. The Süddeutsche Zeitung talks about “Five centuries of anti-economic decisions”, and they know about fiscal balance, but their biggest concern is the Spanish debt. Their second main concern is that 55% of the German corporations on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal) are located between Barcelona and Tarragona. And this is no

joke. Germany won’t allow any action that could damage its corporations. In fact, the German government leaked a report from Kai-Olaf Lang where the issue about the acceptance of Catalonia within the EU is resolved. The criteria for Catalonia would be that the “flight” of Catalonia (a resource from the Roman law) will enter the EU, but not the soil. In all events it is most likely that Catalonia will be in the EU in the case of independence. In the implausible event that a net contributor to the EU budget with a population already under EU laws were to be rejected from EU membership, EFTA is the alternative to be “in Europe” as in the case of the Swiss or Norwegians. Not a bad alternative.

GERMÀ CAPDEVILA gcapdevila@cataloniatoday.cat

"A debate between a man and woman is very complicated, because if you abuse your intellectual superiority,you end up looking like a male chauvinist." Miguel Arias Cañete (Spanish MEP) Old-school machismo should have no place in the European Parliament. With his witless comment, Mr. Arias Cañete buried his chances of becoming a new European commissioner

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

TRIBUNE BRETT HETHERINGTON Journalist and writer. www.bretthetherington.net

The way we are

was a reader of Catalonia Today before I was a writer for Catalonia Today. My first memory of it (at that time published as a weekly newspaper) was being impressed by (now Editor) Marcela Topor’s wonderful interview with the Catalan novelist Vicenç Pagès Jordà in an edition from October 2006. “Bad readers make incomplete citizens” was the title of the article and I kept it filed away. I also continued archiving all the editions when my own work began to be published. Last week, at random, I pulled out a copy and, as it it turned out, this one from November 2008 was the final weekly edition before the newspaper became a monthly magazine. In it I had an article about Barcelona teenagers’ addictions to mobile phones (which is maybe even more timely today) but it is the content of the other pieces in this thirty two page publication that really impresses me still. Catalonia Today then had such a great variety of voices, news stories and current information. In that particular issue a reader could open up the paper and be greeted

tion, anyone with decent English could learn about the situation of homeless people here or they might also read an update on the saga of Judge Garzon and his efforts to allow the opening up of mass graves from the Civil war times. Equally, this issue also gave the opportunity to get well-informed about pollution and Co2 emissions in the Tarragona region or to try and understand the reasons for 30,000 Valencians taking to the streets over the use of

English in schools there. A special doublepage report by Gabe Abeyta Canepa delved into the world of the Mormon church in this part of the world and detailed the work of the 132 missionaries who walk their shiny black shoes across Barcelona’s streets. Towards the back of the newspaper in the Review section Joseph Wilson did some fine work in the arts, culture and language areas. Apart from the original interviews also there, I was always struck by the page which gave a round-up of the fairs, festivals and other events across the whole of Catalonia. This made an impact on me because it showed that -there was life and even cultural life outside Barcelona– a fact that is largely overlooked by both visitors and English language media. Catalonia Today was, and still is, the only print publication that routinely acknowledges the existence of a wider Catalonia outside the capital. It does this in a magazine that you can touch. It was the first Catalan newspaper in English and I am proud to be a regular part of it. Catalonia deserves at least another ten years,...if not more.

cooking and household chores. Suddenly, on retirement, the days might appear blank, repetitive, without meaning. And this is where the unexpected opportunity occurs to ask themselves vital and interesting questions: “What have I sometimes wanted to do that is not familiar, something that I’d be good at and which I could use to enthuse not only myself, but give help to someone else?” And here the answers may arise: become a prison visitor, become a volunteer working with children in hospital, visit house-bound older people for tea and a chat . . . Help others and you’ll help yourself!

And here’s another idea, the idea for life expansion. Think of making a subscription to an enlightening magazine. For ten years Catalonia Today has been “opening windows” for a vast variety of different subjects: sport, politics, Catalan culture, art, books – you name it and they have produced it. But more than all these material subjects to open windows, the magazine, by its dedication to its readers, has opened the soul-faculties, the ability to see behind apparent downturns in materialism, and to shine the light on understanding and knowledge for the future of Catalonia.

with ’Long Term Resident’ Matthew Tree railing against Franco or caressed with a softer story about the comeback of local Catalan donkeys (and here the focus was the beast of burden, not any political asses.) Flicking through “The Week” sec-

It was the first Catalan newspaper in English and I am proud to be a regular part of it.

RANDOM THOUGHTS TERRY PARRIS tparris@cataloniatoday.cat

Life expansion

f someone is thinking of writing a book the advice often given is “write about something you know, something you are very interested in, something familiar in your everyday life”. A reworking of this advice might be equally useful for retired people who are wondering how to fill their days in purposeful, enjoyable living. Many have had hobbies alongside their work: photography, bird-watching, searching for rare orchids or for ancient fossils. But not everybody. Some have devoted their whole lives and their whole days to a business, trade, or profession, or to caring for their children with

VERBA DOCENT, EXEMPLA TRAHUNT

GERMÀ CAPDEVILA gcapdevila@cataloniatodday.cat

"I think I’d prefer the academy to being a coach." Carles Puyol, (recently retired FCBarcelona player) It’s good to hear this from the great Barça captain. Not every great player can be a good coach, and everyone can see that Puyol has a lot to teach to the players of the future.

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE

SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Write on! And the winners are... A great deal of stories were submitted to our short story competition, giving the jury a real headache in selecting the first ten entries: the top three prizes and the finalists

CATALONIA TODAY

ur Write on! competition has proven to be a huge success among our readers. Many short stories arrived on our desks and it was a real challenge for our jury to select the seven finalists and the three top prizes. Choosing a winner is never a easy task. As announced, Catalonia Today is publishing the first 10 short stories: the three winners and the seven runners-up, wonderfully illustrated by the masterful work of Lluís Romero and Jordi Soler. The first prize went to Ivan Buck from Girona, the second to Michelle Courtright from Barcelona, while the third prize belongs to Lluís Bach from Artés. The finalists include Carles Solé from Girona, Ðominique Heathcote from Sant Cugat, Francesc Vidal from Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Troy Dagg from Barcelona, Brian Brennan from Barcelona, Montse Catulí from Barce-

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

lona, and Carla Massó from Viladesens. Congratulations to all! The winner of the first prize will get a two-night stay for two in the luxury hotel, Mas Tinell in Vilafranca del Penedès. The second and third prizes will receive electronic dictionaries, hampers of wine and cava thanks to Freixa Rigau and Mas Tinell and free subscriptions to

Catalonia Today magazine.

It was a real challenge to select the seven finalists and three top prizes All the winners and finalists will receive hampers of wine and cava

FIRST PRIZE IVAN BUCK

JORDI SOLER

nd not one of the doom-laden predictions had come true. Not a drop of blood shed, no rubber bullets, no tanks on the street, no military rule. From the shores of the turquoise sea to the snow-tipped peaks, nature pursued its eternal cycle. Spring still followed winter and the summer gave way to the autumn. Following the customs of centuries, the farmers bent their backs and toiled in their fields, like the reapers of old. There had been no economic miracle, but also no plunge into terminal decline. Some citizens were still doing well, many were struggling to make ends meet. What had become of the threatened boycott of everything they produced and of the flight of capital? Swimmers and sunbathers flocked from afar before reluctantly returning to make room for skiers and snowboarders. Office-workers still spent long

There had been no economic miracle, but also no plunge into terminal decline

hours at their desks, but more joyfully, as they now knew where their taxes were going. Children studied hard in their ancient language, free of complexes and confident in their bright future. Unfinished projects had been completed, new ones started, motorway tolls had disappeared. A single striped flag fluttered above every town-hall. After three centuries of darkness, at last there had been one decade of light, faint but unflickering. Ten years earlier, on a cool November day in 2014, millions had queued patiently to wait their turn. Some said “no”, others “yes, but...“. The vast majority, however, said “yes”, not once but twice. The next day the President in Brussels recognised the result. At a hastily convened summit, the Heads of State welcomed the new member of the club. Despite all the campaign rhetoric, no veto was imposed. A new democratic state in Europe had been born.

SECOND PRIZE MICHELLE COURTRIGHT

inally, the 10th anniversary had arrived. Looking across at Núria, James couldn’t believe a decade had already slipped through their fingers. A fateful wait at a train station in Bern, followed by hours of rambling conversation through the dark French countryside and then an awkward good-bye in the bright morning light at Estació del Nord… they

Fate threw them together in a dank underground disco in Plaça Reial were meant to have crossed paths. And although there were no cell phone numbers to exchange back then, fate threw them together in a dank underground disco in Plaça Reial only three months later. James didn’t know Núria had been frequenting every club where guiris gathered, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tall lanky blonde in a baseball cap. Núria had no idea

LLUÍS ROMERO

that James had signed up for an “intercanvi” hoping to woo her with a few more words of her own language. Neither admitted how much that night of conversation in the dark had haunted their every waking hour. No, that night they just celebrated being reunited. They flirted, they

laughed, they drank, she danced while he bopped along looking like a fool – and in spite of it all, they finally kissed. Looking at the toddler playing on the floor and the baby in her arms, James simply smiled. 10 years goes by in a heartbeat. June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE THIRD PRIZE LLUÍS BACH

JORDI SOLER

oger and Carla were driving somewhere in The Pyrenees to celebrate their ten years of living together. Neither of them spoke. Carla was looking at the mountainous landscape and Roger was enjoying his driving without the stressful cries of their beloved kids, who were left behind with the children’s beloved grandparents. Carla didn’t know exactly where they were going to spend the weekend, but she didn’t mind much. What she really wanted was some relaxing days. However, she was a little curious to discover Roger’s surprise. Everything had been planned by him. When they were in La Cerdanya region, they left the main road which runs along the valley and parallel to the river Segre and took a rough track. They started going up the mountains and they could start enjoying the magnificient views of the Serra del Cadí. At last, Roger stopped the car in front of a cosy chalet opposite the im-

They could enjoy the magnificient views of the Serra del Cadí

pressive mountain range and showed Carla the keys of the small wooden house. Carla couldn’t believe it and stared in astonishment at him. “We can’t afford this…”, she said seriously. “Oh, dear, we can’t, but my boss can…” Carla hugged and kissed him and they went quickly inside the chalet because a cold winter wind pushed them into it. Later in the evening, in front of the blazing flames of the open fire, Roger whispered to Carla: “Tomorrow you will get my real present…” Carla’s eyes brightened like the stars in the dark sky and Roger smiled at her. When Carla woke up next morning, Roger was opening the window. “Carla, this is for you”. Outside it was snowing heavily and everything was white and quiet. The present was a great snowfall. “And don’t worry, my boss can afford it. Even if we must stay the whole week...”

FINALIST TROY DAGG

Iscle and Dolors decided to rent their house during August

heir children had convinced them the money would bolster their pension. It helped knowing the German woman was as old as they were. Theirs was a humble home; they would have felt uncomfortable had it been a modern couple, with a modern JORDI SOLER couple’s expectations. Iscle and Dolors saw her sometimes in the village, in the evening, once the sun had softened. The Vidreres people talked. She bought vegetables from Can Batallé, smelling each one, and then passing them to be weighed as if they were jewels. She spoke little, with a bemused smile, detached. At the end of August, Iscle and Dolors returned from their children’s to their own home. There they found a painting, a portrait of Dolors, hung in the spare bedroom. Dolors demanded Iscle remove it, so Iscle put it in a box. When next August the same German woman came and went, they found another Dolors portrait waiting.

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Thus every August the German woman rented their house. Once they saw her striking out between fields carrying painting equipment. In the evening she sipped mineral water in the Casino’s terrace, bestowing upon all her distant, bemused smile. And returning home every year, hung in the spare bedroom, they would find another portrait of Dolors. And every year, at Dolor’s behest, Iscle removed the portrait to the box. The box contained ten portraits when Dolors took ill. Iscle’s son telephoned, but as always the German woman came. That August, Dolors died. Iscle was full of grief, and in the home that had contained Dolors the German woman cared for him. At the end of August, Iscle burnt all ten portraits in his yard. “Go.” But the German woman stayed, and Iscle mourned Dolors for all his days.

FINALIST FRANCESC VIDAL

e could only imagine it twelve years ago. It was a thought. It was a project, just a conversation between two friends in a terrace of a bar. Neither time to develop it or money to achieve it, and a ferocious number of competitors in the market. However, what differentiated us from others were two things basically: Enthusiasm and Perseverance. It could sound like a fairytale but it is as real as I am breathing now. No matter how many nights I LLUÍS ROMERO was working until late, how many times I told to someone: “I am sorry I have to work today…” the only important thing is that we achieved our goal. Our company is surviving each month since then, and who are mainly responsible of that are us, just us. We struggled hard to conquer our dream and we succeeded. We have the fruit of our effort in our hands and it is worth it. same time that we had to continue our It has been a kind of double-edged push, the effort itself was increasing a little sword during all this time, because at the bit more and more, although as it is said, if

What differentiated us were Enthusiasm and Perseverance

you like the scratching then you do not mind the lice. Therefore, the moral that we could extract from this story I think is clear: try to arrange your objectives in life, prioritize what really makes sense to you, and make it real as soon as possible. Be fierce and at the same time sensitive and above all sensible. Believe in your dream and go ahead with it. We can!

FINALIST BRIAN BRENNAN

riol, 65, locked his door, walked down the six floors to street level, and stepped outside, drawing his threadbare scarf around him against the February chill. Two minutes took him to the metro entrance, where he politely accepted the free newspaper from the smiling woman with high Andean cheekbones. Seconds later, he was swallowed by the metro. Pushing his pink card into the slot, he positioned his hand ready to retrieve it after the two seconds it took the machine to print the line of JORDI SOLER tiny digits. He knew without consulting his watch that it was 7.40. It would take an hour to get to the end of the metro line; by then the number of passengers would have thinned out. Unlike them though, he never made for the exit but crossed to the other platform, and waited to board the next train going back;

He had no need to see the confused tourists stopping dead on the platform

sometimes it was even the same one. At the first interchange he changed onto another line and rode it to its terminus, where he repeated the operation and travelled back towards the centre. Like every day. It was what he did. Now dozens of mid-morning passengers were shuffling in and out at Plaça Catalunya. There he always shut his eyes; he had no need to see the confused tourists stopping dead as they ambled onto the platform and stopped dead, bumping into the faster-moving streams of locals. Or the African youths with their imitation bags and belts displayed on sheets held with strings, ready to run if the police showed up, and run they did, along this very platform, the police in pursuit ten years ago. In the stampede, his Pilar, his wife, knocked off her balance, falling into the path of the oncoming train. Ten years ago today. June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

FEATURE FINALIST MONTSE CATULÍ

All those years of deprivation had hardened those people’s hearts

he place was overcrowded. Nonetheless they made their way through the public and squeezed themselves up near the stage, where the presenter was standing under the bright spotlights. “Welcome everybody!,” he said. “We are at the same spot where that silver urn with the ashes was found. The letter attached to it stated that a theatre had to be built here and a comedy performed every year on the same date the urn was dug up. Today is the 10th anniversary and our cast of actors and actresses are going to perform a tragedy for a change.” The crowd was enthused by the news and broke into a thunderous ovation. There had been some hearsay going round about the company changing their yearly ridiculous comedies and LLUÍS ROMERO now those rumours were confirmed. had hardened those people’s hearts and They looked at each other in disbelief. they realized at once that all their efforts to As it seemed, all those years of deprivation hearten them had been in vain.

The cheer gradually faded when two influential men appeared on the stage. They were signing a deal which would undoubtedly only benefit themselves. In the next scene some people were holding a demonstration against unfair dismissal. “Down with the tyrants! An eye for an eye!,” someone among the public spat out. The audience lost control and began throwing objects at the players and cursing at each other. The sight of all those people arguing was unbearably painful. Therefore, the two spectres decided to leave the place and as they sauntered about among the public, a fine rain of silvery ashes began to fall burying all the people underneath. Their incapacity to face and overcome difficulties rationally had ultimately led to their downfall. None of them would ever know that people’s last will cannot be defied. Would any of them have asked for more comedies to be performed? That was indeed a perfect tragedy!

FINALIST DOMINIQUE HEATHCOTE

LLUÍS ROMERO

hen Mr. John Versary had married, his father had promised him his longed for inheritance as long as he produced 10 heirs. This represented a substantial amount of money so John and his wife Mary had quickly gotten down to business. Not long after, Mary had telephoned John with the good news and nine months later Mary gave birth to her first child. “What shall we call her?” they asked each other and decided it would be nice to call her Annie. And so they did. John celebrated with several rounds of beer for him and his friends although Mary stuck to a small glass of sweet sherry as beer didn’t agree with her. A year later Mary produced another child and again they asked each other “What shall we call her?” For it was another girl.

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

A year later Mary produced another child “Well” said John’ who hadn’t too much imagination “perhaps we should just keep it easy and call her 2nd Annie” and Mary

who hadn’t much imagination either, agreed. 2nd Annie was followed by 3rd, 4th and 5th Annie. At this point John and Mary threw a great party, having achieved half of their goal. John’s father was invited as the guest of honor, he was however a little put out as he had initially imagined an heir meant a male heir, still he had grown fond of all the Annie’s although he was a little taken aback at his son’s and daughter’s inlaw lack of originality when choosing a name and so he had discreetly given them a book titled “Naming your child, 1000 names” as Mary was again, expecting. Along came 6th, 7th and 8th Annie, (the book gathering dust on the shelf) followed by 9th, and then finally, the 10th Annie Versary had arrived.

FINALIST CARLES SOLÉ

LLUÍS SOLER

his was such a remarkable day. Diane looked up at the calendar just above her tidy desk: it had been ten years since that day. Ten years without any greenhouse gases emissions. It was hard to believe. She remembered when she was a researcher at the university. In those days, climate change was a real threat which nobody seemed to be aware of. By then, huge quantities of petrol were deliberately wasted and nobody went to work by foot or used public transport.She looked back on how polluted the air was in the shabby bustling cities and how she loved her calm peaceful walks across the countryside just to escape from the unhealthy contamination. She took back the endless discussions with her university colleagues about the hazardous changes in climate patterns and how global warming was triggering natural disasters in which

How dangerous could have been the alteration of Mother Nature

thousands of people were seriously affected. She thought how dangerous could have been the alteration of Mother Nature: the irreversible consequences of shortage of precipitation in some parts of the world and devastating floods in others, the melting of the icecaps, the effects of unsustainable agriculture… She poured herself more tasty tea and stopped thinking for a while.It was amazing how, despite the selfishness of some human beings, an agreement by the World’s entire population was accomplished.She looked outside: people cycling in car-free streets under shadowy, enormous green trees. Families were hanging out in the wide parks where not far away, the unspoilt ancient woods surrounded the picturesque city, in which the solar-panels of the neighbouring houses were taking advantage of this bright, sunny lovely day. It brought a smile on her face. Planet Earth was breathing again and it had been doing so for ten years. What a fantastic day!

FINALIST CARLA MASSÓ

Thousands of eyes and millions of ears were looking forward to the ceremony

inally, the 10th anniversary had arrived. Hundreds of journalists were engaged on their TV vans and radio stations ready to cover what would be a very special unique event. ThouJORDI SOLER sands of eyes and millions of ears were looking forward to contemplating the wished ceremony, hosted at Barcelona University. All over the World, crowded streets filled with joy wanted to celebrate this hopeful, enjoyable occasion. Screens were spread in every city, radios were transmitting in every remote place. Eventually, Dr. Garcia started her address: “Dear fellow citizens. Since humanity has existed we have been fighting against uncountable adversities, we still do and we certainly will. Mother Nature is a dark horse not always generous neither sweet. But humanity has shown her, once and another, that goodness and relentless desire is more powerful that any problem.

And what is more, the human race is characterized to be virtuous: its written in our condition. Those who are selfish don’t succeed, those who share, who love, live full, colourful lives. Goodness is something we share all. This war in particular has been a really tough one. It seemed that it would never come to an end but our perseverance finally won.” “And now, all together, from grandparents to grandsons, will be able to go hand with hand and beat with the same joy and determination any other adversities the world will have to face. Today, not only we celebrate the day of the hope but a lot more: willingness, life, future, hope, love, charity. We have won, my dear friends.” A great huge wave of applauses suddenly burst. Happiness could be felt in the air. It took long, but at last that day had arrived. It was the 10th anniversary of cancer’s curation. June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

BOOKS

Old picture of Elx with palm trees./ARCHIVE

Not fit for a lady A

pproaching Elche in this calcined landscape, I am conscious of entering a European Africa; each miserable hovel built of mud, with no visible roof, a lean-to of dried arundo leaves, and over-shadowed by palms. Not another tree visible on the horizon. Thicker and thicker they come, also the mud hovels, culminating in one universal palm-wood darkening the road. Of all frightful things in nature, commend me to the Elche palms. When young and well tended, as at Alicante, with noble fronds waving to the winds, and yellow fruit dropping from golden hearts, palms are the king of trees; but at Elche they fall into a dishonoured old age, shrink up, limp and feeble,

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

Elx comes off the worse in this scathing and supercilious description from a prolific Victorian writer

and lean to one side, in the last stage of tree-decrepitude. Not a plant grows beneath, not a weed; scant corn patches here and there in openings, and men like monkeys clinging to the coruscated trunks, attached by a cord, to knock off dried leaves and clean out rusty crevices, just as a barber trims and furbishes an ancient wig; palms of merchandise these, and cut and packed for

traffic, for Elche supplies the Spanish churches for Easter, as Bordighera does those of Italy. Elche itself is a cluster of plaster dwellings, shapeless and void. Not a glass window in the place. Each house on its own dirty hook, with no reference to its neighbour; a break-neck pavement; the entire population a degraded crowd squatting in the sun; foul parti-coloured children with

supernaturally large eyes rolling in the gutter; dogs growling or fawning, according to taste and disposition; pigs and fowls wallowing; heaps of esparto cord lying about, men passing it through their hands to soften it; oranges in piles, and bad unripe dates; tables set with wine and drinks, muddy and unpalatable. Many blind beggars wandering about, also cripples, and a dwarf without legs, screaming for pennies (she, for it is a female, impels herself forward on a chair under our horsesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feet-indeed, but for the intelligence of the little leader, she must have been crushed). The posada a horrible place, with an earthen floor; a great houseplace on entering, like a barn, where Don Quixote might have ridden in on Roci-

Frances Minto Eliott

Landscape with an old hostel in Elx./ ARCHIVE

Women Travellers in Catalan Lands A selection by PERE GIFRA Frances Minto Elliot, Diary of an Idle Woman in Spain (London, 1884), pp 212-214

nante, with Sancho on Dappleleading to the stable, packed at the side with muddy tartanas and dilapidated omnibuses; a wooden gallery overhead running round, and in corners seats of matting. On one side a kitchen redolent of garlic; on the other, a dingy parlour. The entrance a frame for ragged children, who, when too numerous and penetrating indoors, are repulsed by the master flinging out jugs of water. People come and go all smoking; an exhausted woman drops in laden with bundles, lies down upon the stairs, and calls faintly for a glass of aquaforte. Her face is deathlike, but no one gives any

heed, nor would they, had she died. Meddling is no man’s business, also rude; yet the chairs were filled by men solemnly smoking, the housewife goes and comes on her domestic errands, and a bold-faced child kicks its heels and stares complacently. At mid-day two tables were set for dinner, one with a cloth for the masters, called the table d’hôte, another one without a cloth for the servants. Beans, soup, and bread are the viands, washed down by copious draughts of excellent wine, the bold-faced child partaking out of a saucer, dogs in attendance, a cat without a tail, and a whole

drove of chickens. Here for two mortal hours I sat awaiting the coach to take me to Murcia. I advise no one to linger at Elche. Driving through you see the palms. There is nothing to investigate, except you are an archaeologist and inclined to inspect the church. I may say, en passant, there is some talk of making Elche, with its lovely climate and nearness to the sea, a winter sanatorium; all very fine and feasible if the present town be burnt down and a decent one built in its place. Perhaps, too, a few hundred niggers from Africa would not be amiss, and give a better local colour.

The abundant literary career of Frances Minto Elliot (1820-1898), like that of other Victorian women writers, was an offshoot of her own troubled life. Born in Swallowfield, Berkshire, as Frances V. Dickinson, at age 18 she inherited her father’s estate and soon married John Edward Geils, with whom she moved to Glasgow to enjoy the apparent domestic bliss of a socialite. However, after giving birth to four daughters and enduring seven calamitous years of connubial life, she left him and pursued a long divorce case that finally ended in 1855. During these years she supported herself by writing journalistic pieces for several London periodicals, and she also began to travel abroad, particularly to Italy. Elliot wrote under several names and pseudonyms. In 1863 she married the Dean of Bristol, Rev. Gilbert Elliot, an old widower, but three years later she also left him and returned to Italy. Despite her separation, she continued to use his surnames to publish her best known works, including several travelogues that expressed the views of the Victorian lady abroad: Diary of an Idle Woman in Italy (1871), Diary of an Idle Woman in Sicily (1882), Diary of an Idle Woman in Spain (1884) and Diary of an Idle Woman in Constantinople (1893). These views often encompassed disparaging comments on foreign cultures and a firm belief in Britain’s superiority (if not a downright racist attitude), as shown in this passage from the journey she made to Spain between 1881-1882. June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

THE EYE

London, May 17, 2014 - Photo: EFE/G.Arche

Silent speed GERMÀ CAPDEVILA gcapdevila@cataloniatoday.cat

ultaco is a legendary name in Catalonia and Spain. From 1958 to 1983 the Catalan company founded by Paco Bultó manufactured motorcycles full of power and personality. Bultaco bikes conquered off-road, motocross, enduro and trials competitions in Europe and the US, with models like the beloved Sherpa, the Pursang, the Astro and the Matador. The grandchildren of the founder are now behind the rebirth of the manufacturer, which will start producing the new model pictured on this page, the Rapitan. Look at it carefully. There is something missing on this beautiful motorcycle. Got it? Yes, it has no exhaust pipe. The reason? It is a fully-electric motorbike. No combustion, no fuel, and no deafening noise when the engine is running. Welcome to the 21st century. Harley-Davison even patented the sound of its engines, as part of the soul of its motorcycles. The future will be something different, a more silent one.

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

ECClub

THE ENGLISH CULTURE CLUB CATALONIA TODAY AND ABACUS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Walking with Vinyoli T

CATALONIA TODAY

he ECClub is joining the celebration of one of the greatest Catalan poets: Joan Vinyoli, who was born in Barcelona a century ago. This month, we will visit the woods and gardens around the city of Santa Coloma de Farners that inspired Joan Vinyoli, while reading the translation in English of 16 of his finest poems with the poet, translator and literary critic D. Sam Abrahams.

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

The poetic route will take place on Saturday June 28 at 10am. Send an e-mail to ecclub@cataloniatoday.cat to book your place and discover the works of one of Catalonia’s best poets. And all in English, of course! Vinyoli first became familiar with poetry by reading the works of Rainer Maria Rilke and at the beginning of his career was heavily influenced by the work of other German poets,

such as Goethe and Hölderlin. In the 1970s, after a decade of relative silence, his work changed to a more realistic style. During this period he received widespread public recognition and was awarded the Generalitat of Catalonia Prize and the National Prize for Literature, among others. He also published translations of Rainer Maria Rilke into Catalan. The work of Vinyoli is that of a self-taught writer. Initially

very much influenced by the poetic language of German symbolism (Hölderlin, Goethe and Rilke, whose verse Vinyoli translated into Catalan), he later leaned more and more towards the sort of realism that is capable of using everyday language to offer a distinctive vision of the human condition. Vinyoli spent the summers of his childhood in Santa Coloma de Farners, a city that inspired many of his best known poems.

in English

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CATALONIA TODAY

ECClub

ECCLUB BOOK REVIEW

Living in a different world Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel confronts the reader with the reality that for some, things aren’t as simple as they might seem

BRETT HETHERINGTON

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n a former life as a secondary school teacher I taught several students with (the then poorlyunderstood) Asperger’s syndrome. One girl in a class of mine almost never did the work I asked her to do and sometimes I would get very frustrated with her. After several months I was casually told that she had this syndrome and of course I felt terrible for badgering her. (This is just a little story to illustrate that in education those with the knowledge – and therefore the power – often do not share it and innocent adults and children get hurt as a result.) In Mark Haddon’s book there is also plenty of hurt. Christopher, the narrator, has Asperger’s. He also has an incredible eye for detail, an acute sense of smell, an impressive general knowledge and a phenomenal memory which he says is like a film that he can “rewind, fast forward and pause.” Christopher is 15 years old. He needs predictability and a high degree of order in his life and his empathetic teacher Siobhan is central to that need. He likes Sherlock Holmes books, University Challenge, mathematics and policemen...except when he has cause to hit them. Christopher is

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

prone to violent outbursts when his senses are overloaded but his regard for the simple affections of animals is clear. When he discovers that a neighbour’s dog that has been brutally killed he puts himself on the case to find the culprit. Meanwhile, he comes across several dozen letters that his mother has written to him over the last few years since separating from Christopher and his father, who

has been hiding these touching, nostalgic letters from him. After an explosive conflict with his father, Christopher decides that he must travel to London to live with his mother and this brings another dimension to his suddenly very mixed-up world. Mark Haddon’s book is purely from the point of view of one teenage boy, as it is experienced directly from his senses and brain. A reader could expect this

to create some problems because of these limitations to the narrative but I found few reasons to not genuinely enjoy this book. Occasionally, I thought the mathematical and logic puzzles included in the text were a bit irrelevant and the insistent selfreferencing of Christopher’s voice was slightly irritating to me but there is a lot to like about the way this story is told. There is a beautiful but accidental poetry to some of Christopher’s descriptions of nature - (Haddon also does write poems) and overall it is a seemingly excellent gradual explanation of the mind and personality of a young person with a syndrome that is more common than we might think. On just the second page for example, we are treated to a simple diagram of facial expressions which provide an insight into how those with this syndrome have great difficulty in “reading” or interpreting other people’s body language or understanding how emotions are typically displayed. As it turns out, we are all apparently operating in our lives at a point somewhere on the spectrum of autism and this gives weight to the idea that we are not so different to characters like Christopher, either real or imagined.

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June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

ENTERTAINMENT

Can you find the six differences between the two drawings?

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE by Soler

PUZZLES BY PAPPOCOM www.sudoku.com

Quotes

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Numbers shouldn’t be repeated in any of the rows. Solutions and computer programmes at www.sudoku.com

No. 3410. Level: Medium

No. 3409 . Level: Easy

SUDOKU

C.T.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965) ” “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

JOT SPOT Use this space to do your working out.

Check www.elpuntavui.cat, (Entertainment section) for more interactive games

No. 3409

No. 3910

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

ENTERTAINMENT WORD POOL Can you find these work related words? STRIKE, EMPLOYER, WORKER, APPRENTICE, TRAINEE, INTERN, SHIFT, LEARN, RAISE, MATERNITY, LEAVE, FIRE,

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

M N

RESIGN, QUIT,

D N

M C

STACK,

W G

U W

REFORMS,

JOB,

R W

WAGE,

R N M E

M T

M E

R M P

A W

M M

O D W A

U C Q U

D H M T

BOYCOTT,

UNION

N N

W O

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N R

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

COLLOQUIAL COMMENTS

Watch the following videos on Youtube and answer the questions:

http://youtu.be/taGf9T7I1h4 1.What is the name of the song? a) Sad b)Angry c)Happy 2.Where they made their video? a)Baghdad b)Tehran c)Damascus What is the hastag? a)FreeHappyIranians b)Free c)FreeThem

http://youtu.be/OFtCxkueTXI Why do Russians shave beards? a)To celebrate b) To protest c) For fun How many talked to the reporter? a) None b) 1 c)5 Was the song a success in Russia? a) Yes, it topped the charts b) Not at all.

Here is a quiz to see whether you picked up the meaning of some of the more colloquial phrases in Barney’s article on page 15 of this month’s magazine.

1. “labelled” means: a) abused b) admired c) defined d) expected 2. a “corner shop” is: a) a shop located on the corner of two streets

b) a small shop selling a variety of goods and serving a local community c) a type of franchise common throughout Britain d) a large supermarket situated on an important corner

time

d) someone who has absolutely no employable skills

7.Barney’s view of his fellow-countrymens’ attitude to work is: a) one of admiration b) he thinks things have changed over time c) not very positive d) the same as Napolean

8.Barney’s

attitude

3.”you never know” means: a) you will never be able to understand

b) a reference to something that changes from one day to the next c) it might well be true but possibly it isn’t d) it’s very confusing

4.”hard-to-digest” means a) an uncomfortable truth that you would prefer not to admit b) bad food! c) facing economical difficulties d) a growth industry

5.”nigh on” means a) a lot less than b) a lot more than c) exactly d) almost or around 6.a “scrounger” is: a) someone who works very long hours

b) a person who abuses the welfare system and lives off others c) a person who has been looking for a job for a long

the Catalan work ethic is: a) one of incomprehension b) one of ambivalence c) one of disapproval d) one of great admiration 9.Barney believes that: a) there are far too many shops in Catalonia b) there should be more shops in Catalonia c) Catalans are in general, very hard workers d) Catalonia needs to change its economic base to overcome to the present crisis

June 2014

CATALONIA TODAY

1. c - b - a 2. b - a - a VIDEO QUIZ

Catalonia Today Santa Eugènia, 42 17005 Girona Tel. 972 18 64 38 You can also write to us at:

1-C, 2-B, 3-C, 4-A, 5-D, 6-B, 7-C, 8-D, 9-C COLLOQUIAL COMMENTS Answers can be found vertically, horizontally and in diagonal. There are forward and backward words. Some letters may be shared. WORD POOL

SOLUTIONS and CLUES

We would like to hear from you! Email your feedback, comments or contributions to us at: games@catalonia today.cat or letters@cataloniatoday.cat. For the English Culture Club, contact ecclub@cataloniatoday.cat. Your interest and support will be much appreciated! GET IN TOUCH!

OPINION EXTRA TIME NEIL STOKES nstokes@cataloniatoday.cat

Vital statistics Again we see that there is something about Catalans on two wheels. Toni Bou, Adam Raga, Laia Sanz, Dani Pedrosa, Catalan names dominate motorcycle sports. Now, in MotoGP, a special talent in Marc Márquez has emerged. Márquez has made quite an impression so far, whether he can keep it up only time will tell. Here is some extra information about Marc. Full name. Marc Márquez i Alentà Date of birth. February 17, 1993 Birthplace. Cervera (Segarra) First season. 2008 Team. Repsol Honda Bike number. 93 Record. Youngest MotoGP world champion (2013). World titles. 125cc/ 2010, Moto2/2012, MotoGP/2013. Recognition. Laureus World Sports Award for Break-

Márquez crosses the finish line of the French Grand Prix at the Le Mans in May.

through of the Year Personal website. www.marcmarquez93.es

The motorcycle kid who just can't stop winning

n May 18, at the Le Mans French MotoGP, Catalan rider Marc Márquez set a new record to become the first rider since 1972 to win the first five races of the season. By the time the MotoGP comes to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 15, it is possible that Marc Márquez will have extended that record to six races (the Italian GP takes place at Mugello on June 1). Márquez, who sits atop the riders’ overall standings with a more than 20-point advantage over his Repsol/Honda teammate and fellow countryman, Dani Pedrosa, is no stranger to breaking records. Last season, for example, the Cervera-born rider became the youngest MotoGP champion after a third-place finish in the final race of the season, in Valencia, secured him the 2013 world title in his debut year. Also in his first MotoGP season, Marquez became the youngest winner of a premier class race after victory at the Circuit of the Americas in April. He also won the most races in a single season as a rookie, with six, and became the youngest rider to win four races back-to-back. Anyone thinking that Márquez just got

CATALONIATODAY

June 2014

lucky in his debut season need only glance at the results for this season. To add to the fact that he has won all five MotoGP races thus far, he also began each of them in pole position. No rider has achieved such consistent success since the legendary Mick Doohan in the 1990s, whose records Márquez is currently smashing. The nearest thing in recent times is the extraordinary success achieved by seven-time world champion, Valentino Rossi, but even the Doctor was only able to string three consecutive wins together, in 2001. Márquez is clearly something special who, at the age of 21, still has plenty of time not only make a name for himself in world motorcycle racing, but to join the likes of Rossi and Doohan in the pantheon of all time greats. While, it is still early days in Márquez’s career, for the moment everything has gone smoothly. Honda recently offered Márquez a two-year extension to his contract, which will provide the youngster with the support necessary to keep winning. With five wins out of five so far, it would be a dream come true for Márquez if he could make it seven out of seven on his home soil at Montmeló on June 15.

Motorcycle racing all over the world The Road Racing World Championship is split into three categories: MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, with the first considered the premier category. Four-stroke engines are used in all three divisions, with 250cc bikes in Moto3, 600cc bikes in Moto2 and 1000cc bikes in MotoGP. June 15 is the date for this season’s annual GP held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló. Each MotoGP championship race takes place at one of 18 circuits around the world. Apart from Montmeló, there are three other venues in Spain: the Circuito de Jerez, Motorland Aragon and the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, which is always the final race of the season. Giacomo Agostini is the most successful all-time GP champion, with 15 titles . The most dominant rider of all time was Mike Hailwood, with 10 out of 12 wins in 1966, while Mick Doohan won 12 out of 15 in 1997. Valentino Rossi is the most successful contemporary rider, with nine world titles, including seven in MotoGP.

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