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Culture Barcelona's reputation as a world centre for art, architecture and design is growing yearly with a plethora of cultural activities on offer. As if it needed confirming, 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, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies permeate Barcelona's cultural scene. Barcelona is also a showcase for home grown Catalan traditions: dozens of festivals, religious holidays and special occasions are celebrated in Barcelona each year, the most important of which are detailed below. The Guía del Ocio provides information on cultural and other events in the city, and contact details for ticket agencies. Alternatively, there is a cultural information desk at Palau de la Virrena, La Rambla 99 (tel: (93) 301 7775). Caxia Catalunya run the central ticket agency Entrada (tel: (90) 210 1212; website: www.telentrada.com). Music: Home grown stars include the cellist Pablo Casals and the 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 - one of the most extravagant music venues in the world. The palace is located on Carrer Sant Francesc de Paula 2 (tel: (93) 295 7200; fax: (93) 295 7210; website: www.palaumusica.org), and Sunday morning concerts here are a Barcelona institution. Tickets are usually still available until just before the concert starts. The palace was designed by the 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 (website: www.obc.es) until they relocated to L'Auditori, Carrera Lepant 150 (tel: (93) 247 9300) in 1999. There are also free musical events in the Town Hall's Saló de Cent on Thursday at 2000 and in various beautiful buildings around the city. Barcelona's opera house, the stunning Gran Teatre del Liceu, La Rambla 51 (tel: (93) 485 9900 (information) or (93) 417 0060 (booking); website: www.liceubarcelona.com), was tragically destroyed by fire (for the third time) in 1994 but reconstruction was completed in summer 1999 and performances have resumed. Theatre: Barcelona's theatre scene does not enjoy the same international reputation as Madrid's, but what it lacks in literary authority, it makes up for in the visual and audio spectacle of its performances. The theatre scene in Barcelona is lively and well attended and includes work by regional and international playwrights. Popular venues include Teatre Lliure, Carrer Montseny 47, Gràcia (tel: (93) 218 9251; website: www.teatrelliure.com); Teatre Tívoli, Carrer Casp 10 (tel: (93) 412 2063), and Teatre Poliorama, Rambla Estudis 115 (tel: (93) 317 7599). A varied programme of drama, music and dance is on offer at Teatre Victoria, Avinguda Parallel 67 (tel: (93) 441 3979); Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Plaça de les Arts 1 (tel: (93) 306 5700; e-mail: info@tnc.es; website: www.tnc.es), and El Mercat de les Flors, Carrer Lleida 59 (tel: (93) 426 1875). 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, Travesera de Gràcia 63 (tel: (93) 414 3133). A more relaxed atmosphere is in evidence on Sunday mornings, in the square in front of Catedral de la Seu, when locals flock to watch and participate in the local dance - the sardana. Cabaret: Music-hall-style shows are very popular in Barcelona; the Barcelona City Hall, Rambla de Catalunya 2-4 (tel: (93) 317 2177), is the main venue. Film: There are a growing number of cinemas in Barcelona that show foreign-language films in the original with Spanish subtitles. The 15-screen Icaria Yelmo in the Olympic Port, Carrer Salvador Espriu 61 (tel: (93) 221 7585), and the more convenient one at Maremagnum, Port Vell, are two of several multi-screen cinemas in the city. Cultural events: General information on events can be obtained from Palau de Congressos, Avinguda Maria Cristina 1 (tel: (93) 233 2000). The Grec-Barcelona festival (tel: (93) 318 8599 or (90) 210 1212 (Entrada); website: www.grec.bcn.es), which takes place every summer from June to August, is the focus of the city's cultural life. Theatre, music and dance are performed at venues throughout the city, including the open-air auditoria at Teatre Grec on Montjuïc and Convent de Sant Augustí. In October and November; the annual Festival Internacional de Jazz run by The Project (tel: (93) 481 7040; fax: (93) 481 7041), takes place. Traditional festivities take place on 23 April in honour of Sant Jordi (St George) and again on 24 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 11 September and the spectacular Fiesta de La MercÉ (the patron saint of Barcelona) on 24 September. Festivities for the latter include parades, traditional dancing, sporting events and religious celebrations. Human pyramids known as castellers are constructed in the streets. Literary Notes La Ciudad de los Prodigios (City of Marvels) by Eduardo Mendoza fictionalises the life of the city between its two international exhibitions in 1888 and 1929. Year of the Flood, by the same author, is set in Barcelona in the 1950s. La Plaça del Diamant by Mercè Rodoreda is the best known Catalan novel and traces the life of Colometa through the turmoil of the civil war (the English version is called The Time of the Doves). 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. |