Culture

From July onwards Barcelona’s music museum will give visitors the chance to view 50 guitars from their collection which is considered to be one of the best in the world according to experts. The collection includes historic guitars such as that of internationally renowned Catalan guitarist Miguel Llobet. The museum has undertaken an extensive restoration and research project in order to restore the original sound of many of these unique instruments. The Museu de la Música is part of the L’Auditori complex hall and entrance into the exhibition includes a guided tour of the collection as well as a concert in which two of the historic guitars will be showcased.

MACBA and CaixaForum unveiled their first joint exhibit on Thursday, which shows one of the most important contemporary art collections in southern Europe. The project is called 'Art dos punts. Barcelona viu l'art contemporani' (Art in two sites. Barcelona is moved by contemporary art) and contains a selection of 400 works by 125 artists with a focus on modern and post-modern art. The collections of both institutions contain up to 6,000 pieces. The Director of MACBA, Bartomeu Marí, explained that the aim of the project is to create a story “that challenges recent history and puts us in a better position to understand the contemporary world.”

After Francisco Goya, Marià Fortuny is considered the greatest Spanish painter of the 19th century. He was deeply influenced by Goya and by his trip to Africa. His pictures are characterised by bright colours and intense dynamism. He also began to show elements of Impressionism in his work.. The exhibition contains 45 paintings that pay tribute to his 175th birthday. It is a project organised by the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) and the local museum of the artist’s hometown, Reus, near Tarragona.

The Catalan band Delafé y Las Flores Azules is one of the most unclassifiable groups in Spain. Their style is a mix of hip-hop, pop, indie and rock, and their concerts are an exhibition of movement, music and colour. After ten years on the stage Delafé y las Flores Azules release their fourth album, “De Ti Sin Mí/De Mí sin Ti” (You Without Me/Me Without You). The disc has two CD’s in which the band performs the same songs in two different melodies. Compared to their latest albums, this record is a more melancholic, nostalgic and less electronic product.

Not many Catalan writers present the complexity and multiple facets that Salvador Espriu can offer. An intellectual committed to his nation and language, Espriu (1913-1985) was one of the greatest writers of his time. He left an extensive literary legacy, characterised by his deep words and reflections concerning death, pain and personal identity. His poems have a foundation in Cabalism and Jewish traditions, which is what makes his work so universal and what probably lends him a huge international recognition, even by writing in a minority language. This year has been called ‘Any Espriu’ (Espriu Year) in order to celebrate the centenary of his birth.

With the Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, 2 ManyDJs, Jurassic 5 and Laurent Garnier as guaranteed crowd pullers, the 20th edition of the Sonar Festival was a success waiting to happen. But the record-breaking attendance figures and the smooth transition from downtown Barcelona to the Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuic venue went way beyond organisers’ expectations. More than 121,000 festival-goers attended the electronic music event, which represents a 24% compared to last year’s figures. Furthermore, around 55% of the attendees were foreigners, with a great presence of people from the United Kingdom, France and Italy, but also from the United States, Australia, Russia and many other countries.

An exhibition, with documents dating from between the 10th century and 1493, displays the oldest preserved copy of the ‘Capitulations of Santa Fe’. This agreement was signed by the Catholic Kings in April 1492 and accepted Christopher Columbus’ terms to undertake the trip after which Europeans would become aware of the Americas. The document granted Columbus the titles of Admiral, Viceroy and Governor-General of all the lands he would discover and set that he would keep a tenth of all future profits. The copy dates from 1493 and it is only rarely on display. It has been kept in the Archives of the Aragon Crown in Barcelona and now is on show along with 42 other documents showing the symbolic conception of travelling in the Middle Ages.

The Catalan capital hosts the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, which delivers this award with the European Commission every two years. Reykjavik’s new Concert Hall and Conference Centre ‘The Harp’, designed by Henning Larsen Architects, Studio Olafur Eliasson and Batterrío, won the 2013 Mies van der Rohe Award, which comes with €60,000 and a small sculpture reproducing the pavilion created by the German architect in Barcelona. In addition, the Spanish architects María Langarita and Víctor Navarro won the Special Mention Award for Young Talent for their music academy in Madrid’s former slaughterhouse (Matadero). The award ceremony took place in Barcelona’s Mies van der Rohe pavilion, in Montjuic.

The world-famous English satirical writer, author of the ‘Wilt’ series and the novel ‘Porterhouse Blue’, died in the Catalan coastal village of Llafranc, where he had been living since the early 1990s. The writer’s doctor and secretary unveiled that Sharpe had left an unfinished autobiography with 30,000 words already written. The British author died from complications of his diabetes while he was sleeping in his house during the early hours of Thursday. He passed away “in the most peaceful way”, his widow Nancy told the press. Nancy Sharpe thanked medical services for the attention received in the last few days and stated that the family will keep the Costa Brava house, which was so dear to the writer. She explained that her husband “fell in love with the sunlight and the Mediterranean sea” of the Costa Brava.

Carmen Amaya is considered the best flamenco dancer in history whose passionate and wild style changed the conception of flamenco. Born in Barcelona in 1917, Amaya travelled around the world and triumphed in Latin America, United States and South Africa. This year marks the 50th anniversary of her death and the Catalan Government has proclaimed 2013 Carmen Amaya Year, with the intention of recognising the career of one of the best-known Catalan artists.

The 16th edition of the DocsBarcelona festival increased audience figures by 40% compared to 2012. The festival organisation thinks that one of the reasons for such an increase is the fact that they have moved the event from winter to spring. Furthermore, the improvement in the festival’s communication and image management as well as the higher number of movies shown and sessions held could also be behind the positive 2013 figures. Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Act of Killing’ received the best movie award for its work picturing Anwar Congo’s death squads in Indonesia. Catalan Eva Vila’s ‘Bajarí’ received the jury’s special mention.

The Palazzo Fortuny presents an exhibition that explores the Catalan artist’s work as well as his own private collections. The exhibition, ‘Tàpies. Lo sguardo dell’artista’ (Tàpies. The view of the artist), opens in June and visitors will be able to enjoy it until November. The show is part of the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Venice, and is curated by the son of the artist, Toni Tàpies, along with Natasha Hëbert, Daniela Ferreti and Axel Vervoordt.

The British band met all expectations as headliner of the festival with a macro-concert crammed full of well-known hits. The younger sister of Beyoncé, Solange, the post-dubstep king James Blake and the eclectic quartet Django Django were also the main acts of a very intense night.

The independent music event held in Barcelona occupies 20,000 square metres, has a budget increase of 7% (reaching 7.5 million euros) and an estimated public of 150,000 only on its main stage, the Parc del Fòrum. Nick Cave, Animal Collective, Blur or My Bloody Valentine are just some of the leading indie figures to play in the Catalan capital between the 22nd and the 26th of May.

The XX performed last week at the Poble Espanyol in Barcelona. The band from London played songs from their hit albums ‘xx’ and ‘Coexist’. Besides their great performance, Barcelona-based producer John Talabot also put on a great show with his first album ‘ƒIN’. Talabot’s music can be labeled as melodious techno, with a dark and creepy atmosphere. The Catalan producer played for less than an hour after which the stage was rebuilt for The XX.