festival

Victus, the historical novel by Albert Sánchez Piñol, has triumphed on the Catalan National Day of roses and books both in the Spanish and Catalan language. In the category of media-friendly writers, the biggest-selling book has been Brúixoles que busquen somriures perduts by Albert Espinosa, the scriptwriter known for his hit TV series Polseres Vermelles (‘The Red Band Society’). Barcelona’s streets were filled with bookstalls where the most popular authors signed their books in front of huge queues of excited fans. For bookshops it is also a great chance to bring in some much needed revenue as it is estimated that on Sant Jordi’s Day they invoice between 8% and 10% of the whole year’s profits, a figure of around 18 million euros.

The Catalan tradition of Sant Jordi (Saint George) dictates that men should buy a red rose to their beloved and women ought to give them a book in return. That's the theory, but in practice the crowd who fills the centre of Barcelona is buying many other things, such as earrings, T-shirts or even scarlet artichokes… April 23rd is a good day to be in Barcelona. The atmosphere is cheerful and roses tower over thousands of people who stroll down la Rambla, looking for a certain title at the bookstands or just being seduced by the cover of the latest bestseller.

Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Every 23rd April the traditional red roses and all kinds of books invade the streets creating a unique atmosphere. Tradition says that the man gives a rose to his loved one and she offers a book to the man she loves. However, tradition has evolved and people also give books and roses to partners, family members and friends now. Despite the crisis six million roses and a million books are expected to be sold.

The 19th edition of the Latin American Film Festival in Lleida ended last weekend after showing 117 films from 14 different countries. Argentine film director Gustavo Garzón’s movie 'Por un tiempo' (‘For a time’) had its world premiere while honorary awards were delivered to Spanish actor José Coronado and Mexican actor Damián Alcazar. 'Porcelain horse' (Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas), directed by Ecuador’s Javier Andrade, won the Best Film Award. The budget for this year’s edition had been reduced by 24% and the Festival was forced to remove documentary and retrospective sections from the programme.

The Festival ‘Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes’ will take place between the 20th of June and the 8th of July in the Catalan capital. Josep Carreras, Julio Iglesias, Antony and the Johnsons, Natalie Cole, Roger Hodgson, Earth Wind & Fire and Crosby, Stills & Nash are some of the artists that will play at the first event. The private company Concert Studio is behind the initiative, which has the support of Barcelona City Council and the Catalan Government. Public funds will only cover 2% of the festival’s budget. Concert Studio have already organised the Cap Roig festival and the Festival del Mil·leni. According to them, they wanted to fill “an empty space” in Barcelona’s musical season.

The 13th edition of the Festival de Cap Roig will run from the 20th of July until the 16th of August, and it is one of the main milestones of Catalonia’s cultural landscape during the summertime. The music event takes place in the Cap Roig gardens, a green promontory overlooking the sea, located in Calella de Palafrugell, at the centre of the Costa Brava. This year, the budget has been reduced by 20% and the average ticket price will be reduced by 16% due to the economic crisis. The Catalan bands Manel, Gossos, Antònia Font and Blaumut will play at the festival that will be kicked off with a concert by Elton John, making the only stop in Spain of his 'Rocket Man - Greatest Hits Live' tour. Other important artists are Katie Melua, Fito & Fitipaldis, Vicente Amigo, Melendi, Malú, Rosario and Ainhoa Arteta.

The world’s main event of the mobile technology industry, which takes place in Barcelona every year, ended on Thursday. This year’s event broke all records, going beyond all expectations. This was the 8th consecutive year the event has been organised in Barcelona, and this year the GSMA Mobile World Congress moved to a new venue in Fira de Barcelona, which has a much larger capacity. “We are very happy with the record results for the 2013 MWC in our first year in Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue”, stated John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, which organises the congress. Over the four days, senior executives of the world’s main companies of this industry gathered in the Catalan capital. It had an impact of more than €320 million for the local economy.

This week the GSMA Mobile World Congress is in full swing in Barcelona. From the 25th to the 28th of February the MWC has opened its gates to more than 70,000 participants. On Tuesday, the 18th edition of Global Mobile Awards took place in the Catalan capital. The Android system and software was acclaimed for its role in the current mobile technology and in this regard the Samsung Galaxy S III won best Smartphone and Nexus 7 the best Tablet. 32 prices in six different categories were awarded to advances in mobile technology of several companies.

The magic of circus descended on Figueres last week. Over a long weekend, this town in northern Catalonia, close to the French border and the Costa Brava, hosted the second edition of the International Circus Festival. The event is unique due to its global visibility and the performances of artists belonging to the international circus elite, who have never been seen before in Western Europe. The Festival is a special experience for spectators, but also represents a professional chance for artists to become known, as they compete before a jury formed by key personalities in the field, such as Line Giason, the Casting Director of Cirque du Soleil. This year’s winners were Jinan Acrobatics Troupe from China and Troupe Yakov Ekk from Russia.

The 17th edition of the International Animated Movie Exhibition of Catalonia, Animac, will take place once again in the Catalan city of Lleida, in western Catalonia. From the 28th of February to the 3rd of March, Lleida will become the capital city of international animated cinema once again, playing host to a large number of conferences, presentations, workshops and related activities about this entertainment industry. The exhibition’s program was announced in Barcelona at the CCCB, where the documentary maker Hanna Heilborn was invited to talk about her anti-slavery work ‘Slavar’. More than one hundred movies will be shown over five days in Lleida’s Animac.

The GSMA Mobile World Congress, the main international trade fair and congress for cell-phone-related industries, is being held in the Catalan capital from Monday the 25th of February until Thursday the 28th. 70,000 attendees, half of which are senior executives from 200 different countries, are coming to Barcelona to develop new business opportunities and discover the sector’s novelties. With 94,000 square metres of exhibition space, 1,500 participating companies and 300 speakers, the 2013 MWC will break all previous records, and it will be the 8th consecutive year it has been organised in Barcelona. In addition, Barcelona will unveil its new Mobile World Hub by June, aiming to become the world capital of the mobile industries in its own right.

The platform, which is aiming to become one of the world’s main hubs for companies working within the mobile and cell phone-related industry, will start its activities in the Catalan capital in June. The Mobile World Hub aims “to transform Barcelona and Catalonia into the best mobile framework” to enhance entrepreneurship, develop business projects, attract talent, create knowledge and become one of the main world centres of the mobile industry. In addition, it will also work to make of Barcelona an international lighthouse hosting the regulation and standardization bodies for the mobile industry. The Mobile World Hub will be located in the MediaTIC Building, a high-tech venue in the Catalan capital’s Poblenou neighbourhood. The announcement comes five days before the Mobile World Congress kicks off.

Barcelona plays host each year to the world’s largest cell phone-related technology event, the Mobile World Congress, and the Catalan city is becoming an international hub in this field, concentrating several platforms, business initiatives and cultural projects. In fact, Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital, in order to act as a global meeting point and platform for mobile related industry. The Mobile World Centre was unveiled on Thursday in Catalunya Square, in the heart of the city, and will become a permanent lighthouse for mobile technology. It will display human stories of how this technology can help in everyday life, explaining the latest developments and also the history of this industry.

The Sitges Carnival is one of the best-known in Spain. Its spectacular nature, alongside with the crowded parades and the dedication of the entire city to this festival, make thousands of tourists and people from all over Catalonia visit the city and enjoy its Carnival. For a week, the whole town dresses up and organises activities that include parades, parties, races or balls, where adults and children have fun together. This year, more than 300,000 people joined the villagers in the celebration of Sitges’ most important holiday.

The 63rd International Film Festival in Berlin is taking place at the moment through to the 17th of February. This year a film made by Catalan production company El Kinògraf is on show: ‘La Plaga’ (‘The Plague’ in English), a film shot by Neus Ballús, had its world premiere in Berlin. It is a combination of reality and fiction, presenting five different characters living around Barcelona at the time of the economic crisis. Ballús explains that the film is based on true life stories, real emotions, situations and genuine characters.