Culture

The 5th edition of the Catalan capital’s music festival ‘Cruïlla Barcelona’ kicked off with Iggy & the Stooges, Nneka, Gogol Bordello, Julieta Venegas, La Pegatina, M.I.A, The Specials, Cypress Hills, 2manydjs, Sharon Jones, Amadou & Mariam, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Gustavo Gordera being some of the 35 artists who will play their music from Friday to Saturday night.

Catalan and international painting from 1870 to 1970 will interact to show the relation between people and landscape. The exhibition ‘Landscapes of light, dream landscapes. From Gauguin to Delvaux’ kicks off the activities at the Espai Carmen Thyssen, in Sant Feliu de Guíxols Monastry, on the Costa Brava. This will be the first of many exhibitions in this Catalan coastal town, said Carmen Thyssen. In fact the Baroness and the town’s City Council are planning to build a permanent Thyssen Museum in the town. Thyssen also stated that it would be “wonderful” to show more paintings in her collection at Catalonia’s National Art Museum’s expansion.

The ‘Gaudí Experiència’ offers the visitor, in 9 different languages, an interactive experience, diving into the work of the Catalan genius who designed the Sagrada Família, La Pedrera, the Casa Batlló and the Parc Güell. In fact, the new museum is located next to the famous park. It shows how nature’s elements including cypress trees, water and the Montserrat Mountain inspired Gaudí.

Catalan-singing band Antònia Font is preparing a new album. According to band sources, the group has all the material ready and is aiming to record it before the end of 2012. Antònia Font is continuing to tour with their last album, Lamparetes, but they are currently combining stage-shows with the task of creating another outstanding album.

This year’s ‘Grec ‘Festival offers 68 plays, dancing, music and circus performances from July 1st to the 31st, 30 of them from international artists. Ramón Simó, the new director of the event, considers that this year’s Grec is more international, contemporany and multidisciplinary than ever before and its objective is to bring to Barcelona the best shows from Europe and the world.

Lana del Rey, New Order and The Roots star at the three day advanced music festival attended by almost 100,000 people. Visitors from 80 different countries filled the festival with a thousand different colours as Sónar Barcelona was the culmination of the Festival's travels for this year, which have taken it to Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Cape Town.

Sónar 2012 electronic music festival is underway and Barcelona’s CosmoCaixa has invited its visitors to hear the sounds of meteorology at the ‘METEOlab’ exhibition. It is a selection of works by some of the most prominent artists in the field of audible and multimedia contemporary creation, such as Thomas Köner, Chris Watson and Geir Jenssen, all inspired in meteorology and climatic phenomenology.

The festival offers more than 150 proposals in its program, including music, exhibitions, screenings and activities for professionals based around the technology applied to artistic creation. For three days, from June 14th to the 16th, Sonar brings electronic rhythms to Barcelona. This year, the MACBA square, in the centre of Barcelona, will be the venue for Festival’s day programme while the Fira Gran Via, at l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, will be the night venue.

This weekend, 14,500 people rocked at the Palau Sant Jordi, in Montjuïc, in a charity concert that brought together the most famous Catalan singers and bands. Singer songwriter Lluís Llach interpreted a poem with former F.C. Barcelona Manager, Pep Guardiola, who finished with the verse: “Everything is to be done, and everything is possible”. 20 more artists participated in the concert, which turned into a cry against AIDS and for the independence of Catalonia.

How can you reach out and touch the sky with your fingers? Is it better alone or together with others? Ram Devinevi and Cano Rojas give a clear answer to this question in their documentary which shows how three different cultures -the Catalan, the Indian and the Chilean- all with a common aim: to build the highest human constructions. A formidable challenge which can only be achieved thanks to the huge effort of three hundred bodies climbing and the technical guidelines of an experienced coach.

Band such as The Cure, Franz Ferdinand, Wilco, Beirut, Saint Étienne or The XX play in a consolidated music festival with the Mediterranean as a backdrop. The most international music festival in Catalonia came to an end this weekend after three days and nights at the Parc del Fòrum, in front of the Mediterranean sea, as well as in other spots in Barcelona. The Primavera Sound Festival has in fact been active since May 8th with the culmination taking place this weekend when a solid roster of successful bands came to perform in Barcelona.

Savall is awarded the world’s most prestigious prize, offered by the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation in Denmark, for his entire artistic career. The jury recognised Savall as “one of the most important forces behind the renaissance of early music and the discovery of forgotten music”. The Catalan musician is one of the world’s most important researchers of ancient music and interpreters of viol. He developed his career with his wife, the soprano Montserrat Figueras, with whom he founded several ensembles and carried out research. Savall dedicated the prize to her, who passed away in November. Savall told ACN: “When I’m performing at a concert it’s when I am at my most happy”.

The family version of the Sónar music festival will take place this year in El Port de la Selva, 170 km north of Barcelona on the 26th and 27th May. In this fourth edition, the audience will be able to enjoy the music of Miqui Puig, the Pioneer Dj Kids and Barbara i els Morenos, among others.

From May 17th to June 2nd video art invades over 150 spaces in Barcelona during the 10th edition of the Loop Fair and the Screen Festival. The first showcases the latest ideas in International video art. The second, Screen, offers close contact with audiovisual creative practices including the brightest ideas and latest developments, all in very different places. Moreover, this year’s new addition is the first ever Screen Forum Pro, an International Symposium under the slogan: “What about production?” The annual video art festival attracts numerous professionals from the world of art, including representatives of leading museums, artists and galleries worldwide, as well as an audience eager to discover the latest trends in video art.

National Geographic chose Girona and the flower exhibition as one of the best world destinations for this spring. Thousands of visitors visited the city these days enjoying floral exhibitions and other art works. ‘Girona, Temps de flors’ has increased its exhibitions from 27 to 32 and its historic patios from 82 to 85.