torres

Territory awarded 69 stars in the 2023 edition of the prestigious gastronomic guide

ABaC, Lasarte and Celler de Can Roca continue in gastronomy elite, as eight more establishments maintain their two stars

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York inaugurated this Tuesday 'Joaquín Torres-García: The Arcadian Modern', a retrospective of Torres-García's works in painting, sculpture, fresco, drawing and collage. The exhibition, composed of 190 pieces, is the first of this Catalan-Uruguayan artist to be displayed in the US in the last 45 years. One of the most renowned artworks included in the retrospective is one of the four large murals that the artist designed for the 'Saló de Sant Jordi' one of the most iconic rooms in the Catalan Government's headquarters, 'Palau de la Generalitat'. The mural has been dismantled and moved to New York especially for the occasion.  The exhibition on Torres-García is set to go to Madrid and Málaga after its run at the MoMA.

Second-half goals from Neymar and Messi eclipse Torres icebreaker and keep Catalans perfect with three wins in three tries. Diego Simeone’s team went up 1–0 in the 52nd. Torres received an unexpected pass out of the midfield and slipped the ball past blaugrana goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. But just three minutes later Neymar, after being taken down 25 metres from the Atlético goal, dusted himself off and converted a textbook free kick that curled up and over the four-man wall and broke back down into upper left corner, the only spot where the high-flying Oblak couldn’t get to it. Lionel Messi came off the bench in the second half and scored less than a quarter-hour from time to hand FC Barcelona a 2–1 comeback victory.

José Manuel Lara Bosch, President and partial owner of the Barcelona-based Grupo Planeta – the world’s largest publisher in Spanish language – died on Saturday in the Catalan capital aged 68, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. His funeral was held on Monday in Barcelona and it brought together top representatives from Catalonia’s and Spain’s political, business, media and cultural worlds. Grupo Planeta owns many publishing houses as well as TV channels, radio stations and newspapers. It also grants each year the biggest prize in Spanish literature. In the late 1960s, Lara Bosch started to hold top positions in the family’s publishing house Planeta, founded by his father. In the 1980s, he was behind the business’ expansion, buying many publishing houses. His brother’s early death in 1995 made him become the group’s ‘number 2’ after his father, who passed away in 2003. In the 1990s and 2000s, Bosch transformed Planeta into a multimedia giant.

Just 10 days after their last meeting at the Camp Nou, Barça and Atlético Madrid face each other once again on Wednesday night at 10.00pm (CET) in the first leg of the Spanish Cup quarter-finals. Lifted by their performance in the 3-1 win last time out, Luis Enrique’s team have hit a good patch of form as they go into the match. However, the boss is well aware of the danger Atlético pose, warning at his pre-match press conference: “Atlético are a fearsome side over two legs … We are going to need a better attitude than them and to make the most of every footballing resource we have”. Xavi is coming back into the Barça squad after his injury lay off and Tiago and Ansaldi are the visitors’ only injury absentees.

Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) has stated that there are “signs” that the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas; the Vice President, Joana Ortega; and the Education Minister, Irene Rigau, “did not obey” the Constitutional Court’s ban on the symbolic independence vote, which took place on 9 November. On Thursday, 3 weeks after it accepted all the criminal complaints filed against Mas, Ortega and Rigau for having authorised and co-organised the non-binding vote, the TSJC issued the notifications justifying its decision. The Court considers there to be evidence suggesting they may have committed disobedience, perversion of the legal process and embezzlement offenses. Therefore, the high judicial body is launching a corresponding investigation, which will focus on the vote’s preparation between the Constitutional Court’s ban and the day of the vote itself.

Hundreds of citizens have pled guilty in solidarity with the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, Vice President, Joana Ortega, and Catalan Minister for Education, Irene Rigau, who are being prosecuted by the Spanish authorities for having authorised and co-organised the symbolic vote on independence that took place on 9 November. On Tuesday morning, citizens queued to plead guilty in front of Catalonia’s Supreme Court. This comes a day after the Court launched a judicial investigation on the criminal complaints against three members of the Catalan Government filed by a few individuals, extreme-right organisations and the Spanish Public Prosecution Office, whose Director is directly appointed by the Spanish Government. The solidarity campaign is organised by the civil society association that organised the largest pro-independence rallies of the last 2 years, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC). Many leading politicians are also pleading guilty and all the parties in Catalonia, except the Spanish nationalist ones, have come out in protest against the penal prosecution of the Catalan Government on account of a political issue.

Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) has accepted all the criminal complaints filed against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, Vice President, Joana Ortega, and Catalan Education Minister, Irene Rigau, for having authorised the non-binding and symbolic vote on independence that took place on 9 November. However, it rejected all the complaints filed against other politicians and civil servants, such as mayors and school directors. The TSJC will finally launch a judicial investigation for “alleged disobedience” after charges were pressed by several individuals and organisations, including the Spanish Public Prosecution Office, whose Director is appointed by the Spanish Government. In fact, the official prosecution of members of the Catalan Executive by the Spanish authorities has been extremely controversial. Pro-independence civil society organisations are organising a solidarity campaign, through which individual citizens will plead guilty for participating in November’s vote. Meanwhile, the Catalan Government insisted they acted in the correct manner.

Spain’s Director of the Public Prosecution Office, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, has announced his resignation “for personal reasons”. However, it is well-known that Torres-Dulce has had several arguments with the Spanish Government, run by the People’s Party (PP) and chaired by Mariano Rajoy. The latest argument was about prosecuting the Catalan President and other members of the Catalan Government for the symbolic vote on independence held on 9 November. Several PP members announced the penal actions before Torres-Dulce had given the instruction to press charges. At that time, Torres-Dulce denied having been pressured by the Spanish Government, but many voices criticised the absence of a separation of powers. On top of this, the main public prosecutors in Catalonia initially rejected the criminal complaint, but Torres-Dulce – appointed by the Spanish Government – obliged them to file it. Furthermore, he has also had many arguments with the PP on account of the numerous corruption scandals being investigated.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, confirmed before the Senate that he had “not given any instruction to the Public Prosecution Office” to press charges against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, for having authorised and organised November 9’s symbolic vote on independence. Rajoy was answering a question from Mas’ party, the centre-right pro-Catalan State Coalition CiU, which had accused the Spanish PM of hiding behind the courts in order to avoid giving Catalan citizens a political answer regarding their self-determination demands. Besides, the CiU Senators showed banners in which they pleaded guilty for November 9’s vote as well. In the morning, the Catalan Government announced it will ask to testify before the court and to do it “en bloc”, if the criminal complaint from the Spanish Public Prosecution Office is accepted.

On Friday, Spain’s Public Prosecution Office filed the criminal complaint against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas; the Vice President, Joana Ortega; and the Education Minister, Irene Rigau. They are being prosecuted for the symbolic vote on independence that took place on November 9. Such a complaint has come with great controversy, as the Spanish Government and the People’s Party (PP) have been accused of putting pressure on the Director of the Public Prosecution Office, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, to press charges against the Catalan President. Despite the main prosecutors in Catalonia having stated there was not enough legal basis for such a complaint, Torres-Dulce announced he would press charges anyway. In response, the 6 parties that agreed to organise the original consultation vote on independence, which represent almost two thirds of the Catalan Parliament, sent a letter to Torres-Dulce and plead guilty for the organisation of November 9’s symbolic vote. 

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, reacted on Thursday to the announcement that the Director of Spain’s Public Prosecutor Office will press charges against him and 2 other members of his cabinet for having authorised November 9’s symbolic vote on independence. Mas stated that “it is disappointing and pitiful” that the Spanish authorities’ reaction to the peaceful mobilisation of 2.3 million citizens is acting “though courts and prosecutors”. Despite the judicial complaint, Mas emphasised that Catalonia “will go on” with its “intentions, in a civic-minded, calm, democratic and firm way”. Besides, the Public Prosecutor Office’s show continued on Thursday, when the main prosecutor in Barcelona Province denied the fact that Catalan prosecutors were all against pressing charges against Mas. On top of this, she will try to re-open all the cases against Mas in relation to November 9’s vote. After this statement, Catalonia’s main prosecutor organised a meeting with the 4 provincial heads in order to set shared criteria regarding this issue.