roses

One of Catalonia’s most beloved festivals, Sant Jordi, will be celebrated in a record 50 countries worldwide this year. Although Catalonia’s Patron Saint Day is on the 23^rd of April, there are activities related to books and roses—the main protagonists of the day—scheduled over the course of a few weeks in New York, Bogotá, London, Melbourne, Johannesburg, and many others. The Delegations of the Catalan Government abroad play a key role in exporting Sant Jordi around the world. Also active is the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), which is a public institution in charge of promoting Catalan culture and language, and the University Network of Catalan Studies Abroad. Thus, exhibitions, public readings, stalls selling books and roses, and elements of Catalan culture, such as traditional human towers (Castellers), will deliver the spirit of Sant Jordi all over the globe.

Catalonia’s patron saint, Sant Jordi, celebrates love and literature and joins together books and roses in one of Catalans' most beloved traditions. This year, the 23^rd of April is on a Sunday and therefore wholesalers expect rose sales to flourish the whole weekend, starting on Friday and lasting until Monday. This will allow them to maintain the same sales levels as last year's and reach the figure of 6 million roses. ‘Freedom’ is expected to be the best-selling variety of rose, distributed in more ecological and original wrappings, reducing the use of cellophane. Although some customers may go away for the weekend, florists expect sales to be compensated by the number of visitors to the city, which will exceptionally open its shops on Sunday.

After the 2016 celebrations for Sant Jordi’s festival came to a close, Catalan Minister of Culture Santi Vila announced that the Catalan Government will offer its full support to an initiative to recognise the feast day as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). As opposed to UNESCO World Heritage, ICH safeguarding works to promote and protect traditions, practices, and other living expressions of culture beyond physical sites, objects, and monuments. Until now, the Catalan Booksellers Guild and the Catalan Publishers Guild have discussed the initiative with the House of Books — the same institute that worked to have the 23^rd of April recognised as UNESCO World Book Day. 

The festivity of Sant Jordi, one of the most romantic and anticipated days of the year for many Catalans, was a success. Hundreds of thousands of people headed to the streets this Saturday in search of a book and a rose for their loved ones. Barcelona was particularly crowded, but so were the other capitals of Catalonia, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and all the small towns and villages of the country. Late in the afternoon, the rain slightly hampered the celebration in parts of the country, especially in the north. Book sellers and florists, however, were satisfied with expected sales of about 1.5 million books and around 5.5 million roses. Sant Jordi was also a great occasion for readers to meet their favourite authors, who took part in different book signings. In Barcelona, where the most famous authors were, but also in other cities, there were long queues for a signature. The bestseller in Catalan was 'La filla del capità Groc', by Víctor Amela.

To celebrate Sant Jordi, the patron saint of Catalonia, various cities and towns throughout Catalonia will host a variety of events, including the more traditional vigil of Sant Jordi on the 22^nd of April and the blessing of the roses, but also extending to more than 500 events all over the territory. Such events span staged readings, museum open houses, meetings with writers, dances, open air recitals, and poetry readings. Additionally, more linguistically focused events will take place which will focus on the local language and culture, promoted by the linguistic normalisation centres (CNLs), which aim to promote the use of Catalan in its different forms. Meanwhile, Montblanc, a town which is said to be the home of the legend of dragon slayer Sant Jordi, will host the 29^th edition of the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi festival in conjunction with the day of Sant Jordi itself. 

People all over the world celebrate one of Catalonia’s most beloved festivals, Sant Jordi’s Day, in different ways. This year, over 40 countries have planned well over 100 activities throughout the week of the 23^rd of April through the first days of May. Through a collaboration between the University Network of Catalan studies abroad as well as the Ramon Llull Institute and the Catalan Government, activities celebrating love, literature, and Catalan culture have been scheduled across Europe as well as North and South America. This year, activities including everything from Instagram contests to a project encouraging students across continents to update and extend Wikipedia articles on the Catalan philosopher and writer Ramon Llull, to whom Catalonia dedicates all the cultural activities this 2016, have been scheduled. 

Since the 15^th century, Catalonia has been celebrating the feast day of Sant Jordi (Saint George) on the 23^rd of April. Each year, people flock to the streets to celebrate this Catalan equivalent to Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, on Sant Jordi’s Day men presented their lovers with roses, while women gave their lovers a book in return. Today, both men and women give roses and books to their friends, family, and partners as a way to celebrate love and literature. More than 500 activities related to Sant Jordi and literature will be held all over Catalonia, although Barcelona is set to be the epicentre, with hundreds of stalls selling roses, bookshops taking their catalogue to the squares and renowned writers signing their novelties and meeting their fans. In the last years, Sant Jordi has also gained international recognition and will be celebrated in more than 40 countries all over the globe.

Illegal street trading, known in Catalonia as ‘top manta’, is an old and complex problem in many tourist towns in Catalonia. But councils feel alone and powerless when they try to deal with it. The recent death of Senegalese citizen Mor Sylla in Salou during a police operation against illegal vending has raised the alarms about a phenomenon that has economic, social and security implications. The mayors of Barcelona, Roses, Sitges and El Vendrell, some of the towns most adversely affected by this issue, have urged the Catalan and Spanish governments to intervene because this “is not a local problem” but a national, and even international one.

Partner and director of El Bulli restaurant for over 30 years, Juli Soler, died Monday morning, Ferran Adrià confirmed with ACN. He was 66. Soler suffered from a neurodegenerative disease for over two years that forced him to abandon the BulliFoundation project to focus on his recovery. Doctors diagnosed the disease in October 2012. Soler was the person who hired the chef Ferran Adrià in the early '80s before El Bulli became the best restaurant in the world. Both always worked closely together and shared the executive direction of BulliFoundation from its inception.

The Province of Girona, in the north eastern part of Catalonia, contains 13 restaurants which among them have 17 Michelin stars, thus making it home to some of the best restaurants in the world. In fact, Girona is the area with the highest Michelin star to population ratio (one star for every 44,000 inhabitants), in the world, ahead of Paris, Rome or London. On top of this, Girona hosts what was awarded Best Restaurant in the world in 2013 by the English magazine 'Restaurant Magazine' and it has been among the top 3 for the last decade: El Celler de Can Roca. In an attempt to raise awareness of its culinary success, all establishments in Girona have united under the brand "Girona Territori d'Estrelles" (Girona Land of Stars).

Beyond Barcelona, other port cities in Catalonia that are also cruise ship destinations are closing the 2014 season with positive results. The Ports of Palamós and Roses in Girona’s Costa Brava (northern Catalonia), and that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita in the Ebro Delta (south of Tarragona Province) will be closing this season having brought a total of 43,000 passengers on 50 cruise ships. This will have generated a total of €3 million for the local economy. The Port of Palamós has had its second best season in history with 38,616 passengers and 36 cruises. The Port of Roses closed the season in October with 10 cruise ships bringing a total of 3,700 passengers, while that of Sant Carles de la Ràpita brought a total of 4 ships and half a thousand passengers to the region. The city of Tarragona, which received approximately 2,000 passengers in 2013, is hoping to double these figures for 2014. Moreover, the Port Authority of Tarragona is planning to build a new terminal over the next four years, with a goal of bringing 40,000 or 50,000 passengers per year when completed.

‘elBulli1846’, the ambitious initiative of acclaimed Chef Ferran Adrià, could well become a reality in March 2016 thanks to a €9 million investment made through the Catalan Chef’s foundation. The Catalan Government described such an initiative as “a national project”. ‘elBulli1846’ is named after the number of dishes created in the 3-Michelin-star El Bulli, which was awarded the world’s best restaurant on 5 occasions. Adrià’s new project is notably looking to establish a unique centre in the world for innovation, research, and training in the field of avant-garde cuisine. Besides, for 20 days a year, visitors will have access to ElBulli restaurant, with half of the available entrances awarded for free through a lottery. The centre will be located in the old restaurant’s venue in the Cap de Creus Natural Park (Costa Brava). 3,000 square metres will be added but built respecting the environment.

The Catalan capital is the world’s 4^th main port for the cruise ship industry, with the first 3 one being all in Florida. This means that Barcelona is the most important port in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in terms of the amount of cruise ship passengers it receives. After a small decline in 2012, this year the Catalan capital is expecting to repeat its all time record from 2011, with more than 2.6 million cruise passengers. Furthermore, the cruise ship industry is increasingly using other Catalan harbours, such as Roses and Palamós. This week, for the first time ever, two large cruise ships docked at Palamós at the same time. In addition, this weekend is one of the busiest for Barcelona’s port, with 15 cruise ships docking in its harbour, transporting a total of 55,000 passengers.

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.