This Monday, the Catalan town of Vilafranca del Penedès hosted the Sant Fèlix festivity, the human tower day of excellence. Various human castle groups surrounding towns wowed the crowd with their towering formations.
Amnesty International has released information suggesting that over 114,000 families from the Spanish state still have no solution to the disappearance of their loved ones as a result of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime. They have asked the Government to take responsibility on this “gross violation of human rights”.
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Barcelona Mayor Jordi Hereu visited the Barcelona Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo this morning. The Pavilion presents two projects this year regarding the transformation of Cituat Vella and the 22@ industrial project.
Today was the last day for the Catalan President to dissolve the Parliament and announce if the Election Day would be in October. He has not done so and therefore the most likely election date will be the 28th of November. The last legal possibility would be the 16th of December.
The sector has widened its offers, projecting itself both nationally and internationally in recent years. Only 15% of the cheese produced in Catalonia is consumed by Catalans. The sector produces 10,000 tons of cheese a year and has grown in recent years both in quality and international recognition.
The future is here. Digitalisation in school classrooms is now a reality. This summer, a large step has been taken in order to provide Catalan high-school students with laptops and digital books. Catalan Minister for Education Ernest Maragall says it is “an extraordinary step in changing our educational system”.
Internationally recognised thinker Panikkar was expert in interreligious dialogue. He wrote more than 50 books and 1,500 journalist articles and directed the Fundació Vivàrium Raimon Panikkar. He died in Tavertet, a small village in the Catalan county of Osona, where he was living since 1987 when he came back to Catalonia.
Catalan wine cellars sell their products abroad in order to compensate the large difficulties they find in Catalonia. However, it is not always easy for small wine producers to make their way onto the big market. So how can they do it?
Construction companies have agreed to receive loans for some 3,000 million euros to develop what the Catalan Government considers “strategic” infrastructures. The Catalan Minister for Public Works, Joaquim Nadal, announced this agreement this morning and listed some of these works.
Catalan chef Ferran Adrià is stepping out of the kitchen to lend a helping hand to tourism. He has proposed a new touristic project for the Costa Brava town of Roses, where his world-famous restaurant El Bulli is located. The project includes a natural and gastronomic route through the village.
Barcelona’s Versus Theatre will present a spin on the classic English story “Lord of the Flies” with its “2.0” version. The play is directed by Abel Coll and, among other changes, features post-adolescent protagonists.
The Catalan Minister for Innovation, Universities and Businesses, Josep Huguet, has called out to tourist agencies, asking them to develop more creative touristic offers. His plea comes at a time when the tourist industry is rising. The month of August shows a 90% occupancy of the hotels along the Catalan coast.
The Programme for Maternity Health’s birth registry has published data that shows that 30% of newborns in Catalonia have a mother with a foreign nationality. Also, 52% of teen births between 14 and 17 years old were of mothers from a foreign nationality.
The number of pensions has grown in Catalonia by 1.7% in comparison with August of last year. The pension statistics were published this Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Immigration.