anniversary

Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, joined the international gathering this weekend to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, the biggest example of Nazi brutality in Austria. On Sunday, Romeva unveiled a plaque at Mauthausen Concetration Camp to “pay homage to the memory of all the victims of the Nazi concentration camps and to those who survived them”. Around 2,000 Catalans died at the Mauthausen-Gusen camp between [falten les dates aquí]. “We ourselves lived through our own Civil War just before World War II and we are very familiar with the ugly face of fascism and the ravages of violence,” added Romeva. Other associations such as Amical Mauthausen and the Catalan Association of Friends of Israel also participated in paying their respects.

Temporada Alta, the renowned performing arts festival that takes place in Girona, reached this year its 25th birthday. After a quarter of century, the director of the event, Salvador Sunyer, took stock of its history in an interview with the CNA. Girona’s festival is noted for acting as the gateway to Spain, and often to Europe, for many international productions. Polish theatre director Krystian Lupa and British director Peter Brook were some of the big international names that could be seen at the festival this time out. In this vein, Sunyer stated thatencouraging work between companies and directors from Catalonia and international teams is one of the festival’s aims and long-term ambitions. A clear example of this wish is ‘Davant la Jubilació’ (‘Eve of Retirement’), in which Polish theatre director Lupa directs Catalan actors. This spectacle, and ten more, will tour internationally and 2016 is, indeed, the year in which many shows are having a longer trajectory after being released at the event.

The Catalan Government paid tribute last Sunday to the 309 victims and their families that have been recognised as victims of Franco’s regime since 2009, the last time such a ceremony took place. During the event, which took place in Universitat de Barcelona’s auditorium, the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva compared “with due respect to the obvious differences” the justice of Franco’s dictatorship and that of the current Spanish State. “Today there are still echoes of the Francoist melody” he said, referring to the “interference of the Spanish Government in the judicial system”. Moreover, Romeva stated that despite having overcome the Francoist dictatorship, which reigned in Spain from 1939 until the dictator’s death in 1975, it still has to be proved whether Spain’s democracy “is worthy of the name”.

On a day like today, 30 years ago, Barcelona achieved its long-time dream to become the venue for the Olympic Games. It was 1.30 pm on Friday the 17^th of October 1986 when the President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, announced that Barcelona had just won the nomination to host the major sports event in 1992. The proclamation was followed by an outburst of joy in Catalonia and also in the Palais de Beaulie of Lausanne, the venue of the IOC session. Barcelona won the race over five other cities, Paris, Brisbane (Australia), Belgrade, Amsterdam and Birmingham, and by doing so it gained a place on the world map, undertook a major urban transformation and breathed into its citizens a feeling of great pride in their city.  

Barcelona’s ‘Palau de la Música’, one of the most symbolic cultural institutions in Catalonia, hosted the first of the commemorative events to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) this Monday. Besides its cultural content, ‘Palau de la Música’ was the place were worldwide famous cellist Pau Casals carried out his last rehearsal before the outbreak of the war, on the 18^th of June 1936. Thus, and bearing in mind the strong component that Casals has as a symbol of Catalan culture, and also for his pacifist fight, the institutional event, called ‘The Last Rehearsal’, commemorates that day. The event was organised by the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, International Relations and Transparency, and aimed to pay tribute to “all those who suffered war both in a direct or indirect way”. 

Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, staked a claim for Catalonia’s “own voice in the world” to defend “universal values” such as that which Catalan soldiers stood for in World War I. Romeva made this statement this Monday at Belloy-en-Santerre (France) where he paid tribute to the Catalan volunteers who fought with the French Foreign Legion to liberate this region from German forces, on the 4^th of July 1916. Romeva emphasised that those soldiers “fought for these ideals, against authoritarianism and for republican values”. After a diplomatic conflict which nearly banned the Catalan Government from taking part in the homage, Romeva celebrated that Catalonia could finally pay tribute to the soldiers with the Catalan flag and apart from the Spanish Government. 

This year commemorates the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), one of Spain’s most violent episodes which led to the 36-year fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The events will start on the 18^th of July, the same day the war started, with a concert at ‘Palau de la Música’, one of the most symbolic cultural institutions in Catalonia. According to Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Raül Romeva, the aim of the Government is to fight against “the institutionalisation of forgetfulness”, a situation which he considered “dishonest and unfair not only for the victims of the war but also for the present and future generations”. The Battle of Ebro, the longest and largest battle of the Civil War and the refugee camp in Argeles, France, will be at the centre of the commemoration. 

The Commission for Dignity, an NGO that aims to return the documents confiscated by Franco’s troops at the end of the Spanish Civil War to their rightful owners in Catalonia,“urged” the Spanish state and the army to condemn the court-martial that executed Catalan President, Lluís Companys in 1940. The Commission also invited Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and commanding officer of the Spanish military forces stationed in Catalonia, General Boyero Delgado, to attend the commemoration events “as an action of normality”. One of its initiatives to fight for the preservation of historical memory is to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of Companys’ execution. As a tribute, the Commission is also preparing a concert on the 11^th of October, performed by the School of Music of Catalonia (ESMUC) and to be held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).

The Universitat Ramon Llull (URL) was created 20 years ago and brought together several prestigious educational institutions, such as ESADE, IQS and Blanquerna. Over the last 20 years, the university has gained recognition and is now on the European Association of Universities’ board. Banco Santander’s President Emilio Botín, the Spanish Minister for Education and the Catalan political class gathered for the 20th anniversary celebration.

The famous Barcelona jazz venue Jamboree commemorated its 50th anniversary last night as part of the Mas i Mas Festival. The musical event took place in the city centre’s Plaça Reial, where local jazz musicians captivated crowds.