Art, Dance and Theatre

Everything to do with artistic activity.

A Rose for Love and a Book Forever

~ Kate Wilson ~ 8 Comments

Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalunya…….as well as of England and Palestine and many other places. He is also called Saint George!.. April 23rd is the second most important Feast day in Catalunya and is called El Diada de Sant Jordi or El Dia de la Rose or El Dia del Llibre.
It is the Catalan day for lovers and it is traditional for men to give women a rose and for women to buy books for the menChildren also give roses to their mothers and some mothers give books to their childrenSo it is book, rose and love day!
Several different celebrations have joined together to create this fiesta and it felt a very happy mix.

In Granollers the central streets were full of stalls selling books or roses. Everyone seemed to be on the streets choosing their books, holding their roses or waiting to meet someone special.As it is a national day there were lots of Catalan flags hung from windows and walls and on the stalls. It is four red stripes on a golden background and is called the Senyera.In one small square there was a poetry reading with a large audience and several poets and in the main square a band playing traditional music for people to dance sardanas.
The association of roses with this day goes back beyond medieval times and there are records of a festival of roses but the book tradition seems to have started in 1923 when a bookseller promoted the holiday as a way to commemorate the deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes. Half the yearly total book sales in Catalunya take place on this day.

I went twice to the central square to browse the stalls and mill around with hundreds of other people, most of them holding roses or books or both. It felt much nicer than Valentines Day which for me was always a disappointment – the feeling of failure if a card didn’t come, the imposed coupledom of the restaurants in the evening, a sense of isolation whether alone or in a pair. Sant Jordi however was a social event – like so many things here in Catalunya. People were out in the streets, talking to friends, meeting neighbours, watching the band playing sardanas, dancing sardanas, buying books and roses, sitting not in couples but in large groups in the cafes.Of course it is also nice to get a book as well as a rose!

Tiles

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments
Someone commented here on how lovely the tiles are that you find in modernist buildings in Barcelona. Last week I went back to Carrer Valencia to pick up some last things and took photos of all the tiles I found just in this three bedroom flat. Each room has a different pattern and an individual style. Imagine the work involved, down on hands and knees putting each small tile in place!
The tiles are made of cement and are officially called ‘encaustic cement tiles’. Follow the link I have added to the word ’tiles’ and you will find more information. They are beautiful and practical and decorative and to be found in many houses and shops and bars in Barcelona.

A River Walk

~ Kate Wilson ~ 5 Comments

Recently I took Duna for a walk – locally – not too far from the house. We walked alongside this river, the Congost, which runs through Granollers. This is how it looks close up.
This is the same view when you stand further backIt made me think about how I look at things and how I can miss beauty if I don’t adjust my vision.
On the other side of the river is this soap factoryGranollers is an industrial town so there are lots of factories along this stretch of river and many have been responsible for polluting the water and the land. What probably was once an idyllic stretch of water is now lined with ugly buildings with little thought for their visual impact. It couldn’t be more different from a walk along the coast path at Lamorna.
But Duna and I had a beautiful walk.
Looking up there was a blue sky and signs of Spring on the bare branchesAnd the most wonderful thing was the art gallery along the walls – urban creativity and energyDuna ran free and poked and pottered,sometimes stopping to sniff the airI watched ducks on the riverIt’s hard to photograph them when a Springer Spaniel keeps arriving to ‘spring’ them….
We were alone which is an unusual blessing in this land where people love to be outside and to gather in big sociable groupsWe ignored the rubbish – for such a deserted place it wasn’t too badand when it was time to go we left by these colourful stepsOutside the towns the countryside is beautiful, there are hills and fields and wild flowers and little quiet lanes. Towns in general seem to be blighted by development but here by the river there was a different kind of beauty and many of these rather desolate places provide homes and food for a lot of wild life. There is now in place an Environmental Action Plan to support the ecosystem of the Congost and to offer some protection to the wild life. Green spaces have been created and the plan is to further integrate the river and its banks into the lives of the local population making it more a place to be used and enjoyed than forgotten and abused.
Along the river bank runs a long cycle path which you can take all the way to Barcelona.
I hope to do this one day and will tell you what it was like. Duna loves to run beside the bikes so it will be a great excursion for her!

Safe-keeping

~ Kate Wilson ~ Leave a comment

I am going to Barcelona later today to see friends and dance some tango. Then tomorrow back home to Granollers which is a town about 40 km outside of the capital. (More about this place soon as I want to take a walk with my camera and show some of the beautiful buildings that are here.)
But today I will take the train to ‘the city’ and the buzz.

Last week I did this same journey and when I arrived I went to a cinema, the Alexandra on Rambla de Catalunya to retrieve the clasp I use to keep my hair in order. I lost it on Sunday while watching the film Agorra and was amazed and impressed to find they had kept it for me until Wednesday. Barcelona may be a big city but it hasn’t lost it’s human kindness and honesty.

Rambla de Catalunya has an exhibition of Rodin sculptures at the moment which make it even more of a pleasure than usual to walk along the central pedestrianised pavement. Actually when I first saw them I assumed they were copies but when I was researching it for this blog I found they are actual Rodin sculptures. And they stand there untouched or damaged in the centre of Barcelona.