Art, Dance and Theatre

Everything to do with artistic activity.

What’s in a Name?

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

 

Prada de Conflent (Prades) is also famous for being the town which sheltered Pau Casals the world famous cellist who was also known as Pablo Casals. Many Catalan people were obliged to use the Spanish version of their names and it is important to realise that this name changing is political and not just a personal choice.

Is the language we know as Spanish, the only Spanish language?  Or is it better called Castillian in order to differentiate it from Catalan and Galician or Basque?   It is actually the language of Castille even though it has come to be the language spoken all over Spain.

If I write Catalunya I am using the Catalan spelling. If I write Cataluña I am using the Spanish spelling.

My partner’s name is Josep shortened to Pep. But in Spanish this would be Jose or Pepe.  He is used to it and doesn’t react but I notice when friends in the UK call him Pepe.

There are a lot of possible mistakes if you don’t understand the background and the history.

Of course it is possible to be over sensitive – I no longer get upset if someone calls me English but I do give a gentle reminder that Scotland is part of the UK not a subsection of England.  But sometimes I don’t bother.I came to live here with a very minimal knowledge about the history of Catalunya.  I make many mistakes and put my foot in it all the time, but it is wonderful to learn about what has happened here, how people feel about their country and language and to find new ways to expand my understanding.

It is worth knowing if you visit this region that Catalan people do not consider themselves Spanish. The language of Catalunya is Catalan and that the language commonly known as Spanish is actually Castilian or Castellano.  Spain has four official languages – Castellano, Català, Gallego(Galician) and Euskera(Basque) You can see it is a bit complicated!To return to Pau Casals – he refused to return to Catalunya while Franco was in power and this sadly meant he never lived to see the return of democracy nor was able to come back in his lifetime.

I found this wonderful recording of his music.

And here he is playing El Cant dels Ocells (the song of the birds) a popular Catalan song

Chatting in the wash house

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

 

There is a town near here called Caldes de Montbui.

I went there when my sister and my nephew were visiting, to bathe in the hot mineral baths in one of the spas. The one we chose was a beautiful building with modernist interiors called Broquetas. The water comes from the ground at more than 70 degrees and has to be cooled before you can comfortably get in. There are various places in the town where the water spurts out of fountains and I’ve heard that some houses have their own supply.Last weekend we went back again, this time to see our friend Paula Kramer doing a dance performance as part of a project called Miau I first met my partner on one of Paula’s workshops in the Pyranees – her speciality is dancing creatively in nature and in so many ways it was a healing and life changing weekend. It always feels special to see her and the other friends that I met on that workshop.
Some of these photos are a bit misty and dark but if you tilt the screen you can get the picture and I like the way they are rather mysterious and watery.This performance took place in a Safareig – a communal wash house that uses the natural hot water and has a large central stone tub where women used to come to wash their laundry and talk. There is a Catalan phrase ‘fer safareig‘ which means to gossip – a word that in English has some negative associations but which I think also describes a vital and caring way of passing on news about your friends aquaintances and family. Womens communications – so many words that are pejorative – nagging, bitching, gossiping….
This town now also has a large community of people from Mali and some of these women have begun to use the Safareig as a meeting place and for washing clothes again. There are three Safareigs in Caldes and one of them seemed derelict and sad although as part of the project it was being used as a grafitti house where you could write your desires on the walls.
At the end of the performances people were invited to have a hot bath in the tub – I dangled in my feet and legs but wasn’t tempted to plunge in when it started to fill up with hot steamy bodiesBut it was an incredible scene.

Festa Major II

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To be honest I haven’t seen much of the Feste and when I have gone to take a look it is getting dark and all my photos have been useless. The best thing that happened was that after I wrote the post with photos of Blaus and Blancs I received an email from someone who I didn’t know (always a pleasant surprise for a blog writer with a small readership) saying that he had taken the same photo as me, standing near me but without either of us knowing each other. Strange coincidence that we had a mutual contact who sent him my blog so he saw my photo. I liked it because it was one evening when I walked into town alone and had the familiar feeling of being among strangers – not expecting to see anyone I knew to say hello to. It’s something funny in Granollers – I am more likely to bump into someone in Barcelona! Or it can feel that way…
Last night we went to dance in the square in front of the church – a band played rumbas and walzes and salsa and swing and it was very nice to just dance together with a few hundred other people, after midnight, in the warm darkness.
One image I caught was of the group called the MacHaguns (a play on the words ‘ma cago’ meaning ‘ I shit on….something) who wear kilts and affect some affinity with Scotland???? This one is interesting – a man in a kilt with a fan! Not often seen in Glasgow.Note the shoes – they are traditional Catalan espardenyes – made with cannabis plant and cotton and once manufactured in the family factory here at home.

snapshots

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

At busy times it seems I move like a butterfly landing on first one flower and then moving to another. It makes it hard to write about my life in little chapters as if I am experiencing things in a very structured way. But the last two weeks have been dominated by the rhythm of the summer school so each day has started with four hours of artistic activity in one way or another and then the afternoons and evenings have provided different variations on the theme of relaxation.AcrobaticsClayCave artBack stagePerformanceThe cave dwellers
At the beach Duna waits patientlySwimming with my friend from school days in Troon – the water is bliss

The common cormorant or shag
Lays eggs inside a paper bag
The reason you will see no doubt
It is to keep the lightning out
But what these unobservant birds
Have never noticed is that herds
Of wandering bears may come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.
Christopher Isherwood

Family party with barretines i mantellinesButifares – negra, blanca i d’ou ( sausage – black, white and eggy)Fuet, tomàquet per sucar pa, vi i síndria ( raw pork sausage, tomato for soaking bread, wine and water melon)Day trip to Barcelona – Orxata cafe Mountain swimming pool in Montseny – Xof!!!!

Summer school

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

 

Schools here stop after Sant Joan ( June 23th) but many parents continue working until the end of July.  So it is common for children to go to summer schools or summer camps this month. I think I mentioned before in another post that at the back of our house is a building that used to be a textile factory run by the parents and grandparents of my partner. Just as in the UK old churches often change into pubs (something he found very strange when we visited Scotland) here many old factories turn into Art Centres.

Here in Granollers there is La Troca, in the old Roca Umbert factory which was built in 1904 and is now a large Arts Centre with cafe and library and spaces for performance and rehearsal and courses.

And here at home, what used to be a small family run textile business has now transformed into Llançadora Association of Artists.  The name Llançadora comes from the word for the shuttle which was used in the  textile industry.
There are three areas – upstairs a beautiful light room with a wooden floor for dance classes, circus and theatre workshops, movement, singing and exercise

 

There are trapezes

and silky ropes of material called Teles for climbing and performing incredible aerial feats

And lots of interesting things like spinning plates and clubs to juggle with.

Downstairs is a work in progress.  There is a small stage for performances and a space with tables and chairs for parties and meetings and musical jam sessions. Alongside this is a separate area for art workshops – for painting and sculpting and making masks and theatrical props. There are lots of materials available – some which were originally produced or used in the factory. Some of the old machinery is still here.

It is an interesting place full of history and memories and dreams.

And there is a Summer School

For three weeks in July, children from 4 – 10 years old come to Llançadora to enjoy a summer school of artistic activites. I have been helping – a new experience in every way as I have never worked in theatre or circus, I can’t juggle, I don’t speak Catalan beyond the very basic and I have had almost zero practice in working with children. But it has been great fun and the children are lovely and full of ideas and energy.

How I would have loved this when I was young!