Barcelona’s
reputation as a world centre for art, design and architecture is
growing yearly, with a plethora of cultural activities on offer.
In 1999, the entire city was awarded a Royal Gold Medal
for Architecture, from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
The seminal ghosts of such artistic luminaries as Antonio
Gaudí, Joan Miró, Pablo
Picasso, and Antoni Tàpies permeate
Barcelona’s cultural scene. Barcelona is also a showcase for
homegrown Catalan traditions with dozens of festivals, religious
holidays and special occasions are celebrated in the city each year.
The Guía del Ocio booklet, available from
newsagents and news stands, provides information on cultural and
other events throughout Barcelona, as well as contact details for
ticket agencies.
The free seasonal guide, See Barcelona, which is
available in hostels, is also very helpful. Alternatively, there
is a cultural information desk at Palau de la Virrena,
La Rambla 99 (telephone number: (93) 301 7775).
Caixa Catalunya run the central ticket agency, Entrada
(telephone number: (902) 101 212).
Music
Homegrown stars include the cellist, Pablo Casals,
and the famous international opera singers, Josep Carreras
and Montserrat Caballé. The latter celebrated
her native city in a highly theatrical duet, Barcelona,
with the late Freddie Mercury of Queen.
The main concert hall is the Palau
de la Música Catalana, Carrer Sant Francesc de Paula
2 (telephone number: (93) 295 7200, fax number: (93) 295 7210).
A UNESCO World Heritage building and one of the most extravagant
music venues in the world, Sunday concerts here are a Barcelona
institution. It was designed by modernist architect Domènech
i Montaner, as a showcase for the Catalan renaissance and
was the main venue for the Orquesta
Sinfónica de Barcelona y Nacional de Catalunya , until
they relocated to L’Auditori, Carrera Lepant 150 (telephone
number: (93) 247 9300, fax number: (93) 247 9301; e-mail: obc@auditori.org),
in 1999.
There are free musical events in the city hall’s Saló
de Cent, Rambla de Catalunya 2–4 (telephone number:
(93) 317 2177), on Plaça del Rei, on Thursday at 2000 hrs,
as well as in various beautiful buildings around the city. Barcelona’s
opera house, the stunning Gran
Teatre del Liceu, La Rambla 51–59 (telephone number: (93)
485 9900, fax number: (93) 485 9918 ), was tragically destroyed
by fire, for the third time, in 1994. Reconstruction was completed
in summer 1999.
Theatre
Barcelona’s theatre scene does not enjoy the same international
reputation as Madrid’s does, however, what it lacks in literary
authority, it makes up for in the visual and audio spectacle of
the performances.
The theatre scene in the city is lively and well attended, including
work by regional and also international playwrights.
Popular venues include Teatre
Lliure, Carrer Montseny 47, Gràcia (telephone number:
(93) 218 9251), Teatre Tívoli, Carrer Casp 8 (telephone number:
(93) 412 2063), and Teatre Poliorama, La Rambla 115 (telephone number:
(93) 317 7599). A varied programme of drama, music and dance is
on offer at Teatre Nacional
de Catalunya, Plaça de les Arts 1 (telephone number:
(93) 306 5700, fax number: (93) 306 5713, e-mail: info@tnc.es),
and El Mercat de les Flors, Carrer Lleida 59 (telephone
number: (93) 426 1875).
Music-hall-style shows are also very popular in the city, the Barcelona
City Hall, Rambla de Catalunya 2–4 (telephone number:
(93) 317 2177), is the main venue.
Dance
The city’s main venue for ballet and contemporary dance is
the L’Espai de Dansa I Música de la Generalitat
de Catalunya, referred to simply as L’Espai, Travessera
de Gràcia 63 (telephone number: (93) 414 3133; e-mail: espai@qrz.net;
website:www.gencat.es).
A more relaxed atmosphere is in evidence on Sunday mornings, in
the square in front of Catedral de la Seu, Plaça
de la Seu, when locals flock to watch and take part in the local
dance, the sardana.
Film
There are a growing number of cinemas in Barcelona that show foreign-language
films in the original language, with Spanish subtitles. The 15-screen
Icaria Yelmo Cineplex, Carrer Salvador Espriu 61,
Port Olímpic (telephone number: (93) 221 7585), and the more
convenient one at Maremagnum, Port Vell (telephone
number: (902) 333 231), are two of several multi-screen cinemas
in the city. There are no notable arthouse cinemas located in Barcelona.
Cultural Events
General information on cultural events can be obtained from the
Palau de Congressos, Avenida Maria Cristina 1 (telephone number:
(93) 233 2372). The Grec-Barcelona
festival (telephone number: (93) 301 7775), which takes place
every summer between June and August, is the focus of the city’s
cultural life.
Theatre, music and dance are performed at locations throughout the
city, including the open-air auditoria at Teatre Grec,
on Montjuïc, and Convent de Sant Augustí.
During October and November the annual Festival Internacional
de Jazz, run by The Project (telephone number: (93) 481
7040, fax number: (93) 481 4070).
Traditional festivities in honour of Sant Jordi
(St George) take place on 23rd April and again on the night of 23rd
June, for the Verbena de Sant Joan (St John), when
bonfires and fireworks illuminate the city.
There are two major celebrations in early autumn, Diada
Nacional de Catalunya (Catalonia National Day), on 11th
September, and the spectacular Fiesta de La Mercé,
in honour of the patron saint of Barcelona, on 24th September. Festivities
for the latter include parades, sporting events, traditional dancing
and religious celebrations. Human pyramids, known as castellers,
are constructed in the streets.
Literary
Notes
La Ciudad de los Prodigios or City
of Marvels (1990) by Eduardo Mendoza fictionalises the
life of the city, between its two international exhibitions in 1888
and 1929. Year of the Flood (1996), by the same
author, is set in Barcelona in the 1950s.
La Plaça
del Diamant or The Time of the Doves (1962) by Mercè
Rodoreda is the best known Catalan novel and traces the life of
Colometa, through the turmoil of the civil war.
Manuel Vazquez Montalban’s detective character, Pepe
Carvalho, is a Barcelona native and the city is the setting
for the crime novels in which he stars.
Homage
to Catalonia (1937) by George Orwell is the author’s
first-hand observations of the Spanish revolution in the region.
More recently, Colm Toibin’s The South (1990)
is a startling first novel, which depicts the struggles of an Irish
woman looking for a new life in Barcelona.
Joan
Maragall is the region’s most celebrated poet. |
