All the Best Events in Barcelona, May 2012

Labour Day 1^st

The 1^st of May is a national holiday known as ‘Labour Day’ in many countries and Spain is one of them.  There will be some demonstrations in and marches led by trade unions in the city centre.  They will usually be around Placa de la universitat and passeig de Gracia.

Barcelona Poetry Week 8^th – 17^th may

Barcelona’s international poetry week is one of the many Cultural Barcelona events that take place each year.  There are poetry readings in many places around the city and most of the poetry is in Catalan or Spanish.   Check out the website for more details.

Website

Sports Film Festival FICTS (2012) 10^th – 12^th

This year is the 3^rd edition of the Barcelona international FICTS festival.  It is part of the world FICTS challenge, which is a collection of sport film festivals in countries all over the world.  There will be 70 films, based on a variety of different sports, competing in this year’s festival.  The main venue for the festival is in the heart of park de montjuic at the ‘The Museu Olímpic’ and ‘de l’Esport Joan Antoni Samaranch’.  For more information see the website.

Website

Spanish Gran Prix 11^th – 13^th

Formula 1 is coming to Barcelona! The Spanish Gran Prix is held just outside Barcelona each year at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmelo.  28km North of the City.    There are many covered stands around the track and ticket prices for the weekend go from over €3,500 (paddock club ticket) down to just above €200.  So if you want to watch Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton race round a track at unbelievable speeds then check the Gran Prix website for more info and tickets.

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Tibidabo Race, 19^th

La pujada al Tibidabo is an annual uphill race that goes all the way to the top of mount Tibidabo.  The race is 9km long and is part of the Up hill Series.  The race goes through the beautiful Collserola Park and throughout the route you get amazing views of the city.  So if you like running and a bit of a challenge then this is not to be missed.

Website

Route Map

Museum Night, 19^th

This is a great event each year in Barcelona where more than 50 museums throughout the city remain open during the night until 1 am and they are all free to visit.  Last year over 100,000 people took advantage of this great opportunity.  There will also be activities such as concerts and performances.  This is a night of fun you can’t miss.  For more information check the website.

Website

Spanish Cup Final (Copa del Rey) FC Barcelona Vs Athletic Bilbao, 25^th

FC Barcelona will compete in the Spanish Cup final in Madrid.  This means the city streets will be empty and the bars full as all the local football fans watch one of the most important games in Spanish football.  It’s always fun to watch Barcelona play in a local bar because the Barcelona fans get so into it, making the atmosphere electric.  Try watching the game in an Irish pub in Barcelona, which will be full of locals and expats all cheering and shouting.

Dilluns de Pasqua Granada (Public Holiday in Catalunya) 28^th May

It’s another Public Holiday in Barcelona. Why not go to the beach.  Read our free E-book all about Barcelona beaches to help you decide which one.

Primavera Sound, 30^th May – 3^rd June

Primavera Sound is one of Europe’s biggest and best Festivals.  With over 100,000 visitors last year and this year will be even bigger.  There is a great mix of genres such as, Rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, jazz, electro and more! There will be more than 150 artists and lots of big names too! For more information read our Primavera Sound 2012 Bolg.

If you have any questions or know of any other great Barcelona events, we would love to hear about them. Please leave a comment below.

Cheers

Matthew Rutter

The Man Behind the Feast

We recently celebrated Sant Jordi Day here in Barcelona, the day we venerate Catalonia’s patron saint, Saint George, or Sant Jordi. This special holiday in Catalonia is a romantic day in which romantics across the region exchange presents, a rose for a woman and a book for a man. Sant Jordi Day is Barcelona’s equivalent to Valentine’s Day. In my last blog I wrote about the story of Saint George slaying the dragon of Montblanc before he ate the beautiful princess, saving her from her fate. Due to this romantic and chivalrous act Sant Jordi Day is celebrated as a romantic occasion.

Lets look at the real Sant Jordi, the man behind the legend. According to Christian history George was born in Palestine in 275 AD. Both of Saint George’s parents were Christians; his father Gerontius was a prominent official in the Roman army from Cappadocia while his mother Polychronia was from Palestine.  At the age of 14 George lost his father in battle and a few years later his mother died. As a young man George left Palestine to head to the imperial city of Nicomedia, where he asked Emperor Diocletian for a career as a soldier. By his late 20’s George had been promoted to the imperial guard where was given the privileged title of Tribunus.

In the year 302 AD Emperor Diocletian issued a edict that every Christian soldier be arrested and Christian civilians should be sacrificed to the Roman gods. As a strong proud Christian George protested this edict and spoke to Diocletian directly. In front of the emperor and all of the imperial guard George declared himself to be a Christian and refused to change his beliefs. For this reason George endured several tortures such as lacerations on a wheel of swords. Even after his trials of pain and torture George once again refused to renounce Jesus Christ and his Christian faith. On April 23, 303 George was placed against the wall of Nicomedia and was decapitated in front of the city’s citizens. His body was soon returned to Palestine where it was buried.

The legend of Saint George and the dragon has several beginnings in Christian, Eastern Orthodox, and even Muslim writings. The dragon motif became popular with Vincent of Beauvais’ writings entitled Speculum Historale and later in Jacobus de Voragine’s writings entitled The Golden Legend. Historians believe that the slaying of the dragon is a direct representation of George denying paganism and the Roman Empire. In the story George rides in to save the fair maiden from the jaws of death as she is given to the dragon as a sacrifice. George protects himself from the dragon by using the sign of the cross then justly using his lance Ascalon to strike down the evil beast. The citizens are grateful to George and abandon their pagan ways in order to follow Christ and the Christian Church as inspired by Saint George.

Images of Saint George can be found across Europe and even in the Middle East. Countries that venerate the Christian icon and count him as their patron saint include Georgia, England, Egypt, Bulgaria, Catalonia, Romania, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Iraq, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, and Bosnia.

Countries that celebrate the Day of Saint George raise the white flag with the red cross, the flag of Saint George. These countries will hold religious sermons along with celebrations of food and gift giving. The practice of celebrating Saint George Day is beginning to wane in countries such as England, Canada, and Georgia. Hungary marks April 23^rd to also be the Day of the Police, portraying the Saint as a protector similar to those in uniform.

Across the globe April 23^rd is marked with veneration and historical patronage. The Day of Saint George is celebrated in numerous different fashions, but they all have several characteristics in common; unity, patronage, and great storytelling.

Check out our other Suitelife blogs on Sant Jordi

Sant Jordi Day

Sant Jordi Barcelona

Sant Jordi Day Barcelona

Barcelona Film Festival 2012

A great event in Barcelona is coming: the D’A Festival International de Cinema d’Autor 2012. It will start on Friday 27th and lasts until the 6th of May. And if you want more, la Filmoteca de Catalunya will keep showing some of the movies until the 17th of May.

This Barcelona film festival presents some of the best independent movies of the last decade. Directors and actors are not really well known for most of them but they are among the best in the cinema of auteur theory style. There are 5 categories: Direccions, Talents, Special Sessions, Absolut Risc, Autoria Catalana.

Claire Denis Retrospective and my top 3

The festival highlights the French female director Claire Denis by showing 11 of her movies. Escape from Barcelona for a while by watching some of her famous movies shot in Africa.

Here are my top 3 movies that you should watch during the film festival in Barcelona.

Les Bien Aimés by Christophe Honoré

Christophe Honoré is a famous French director and his movies are just amazing. Les Bien Aimés is no exception to the rule! It’s the story of a mother and her daughter (Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroiani, they are mother and daughter in real life!) and their misfortune in love. Don’t be surprised, it’s a musical movie. If you like this movie and Paris, I suggest you watch Love Songs, probably Honoré’s biggest hit.

Puzzled Love

This movie has been made by 13 young Spanish directors from Barcelona. Sun and Lucas are Erasmus students in Barcelona. They fall in love and want to enjoy this year to the max. But everything has to come to an end…
The assembly of the 13 different parts should lead to something very interesting. The soundtrack seems almost perfect! If you want to know about more movies shot in Barcelona, have a look at this blog on the top 5 movies set in Barcelona.

Snowtown

Probably THE Australian movie of 2011, Snowtown is based on a true story. This thriller has won 3 prizes and has been nominated 11 times. Are you ready for one of the darkest movies about one of the most famous Australian serial killers ever?

Info

Where? The movies will be shown in Aribau Espacios Cine Club (Gran Via 565-567) and at the Filmoteca de Catalunya (Plaça Salvador Segui 1-9).

When? From Friday 27th April, to Sunday 6th May. You can check the program here.

Prices? An individual ticket is 7€ (6€ for students, Jove card, retired people); pass for 5 entries is 25€ (only at Aribau Espacios).

Which movies are you gonna watch? Any good plans to share where we can watch this cinema d’author in Barcelona? Let us know! Check this if you’re looking for VO cinema in Barcelona.

Caroline

Art In Barcelona

“Architecture + Interactive Art”: this is how they describe their project. Corretger5 brings together architects that want to experiment with art in all its forms: photo, design, architecture, theatre…

When I went there last Saturday, I didn’t know what to expect. A friend took me there because she heard about it from someone, who heard about it from someone else, who… you get the picture!

The place is charming, it’s an old stable transformed into an atelier that becomes a gallery during exhibitions or a venue for shows. The neighborhood is great as well, as it is located in el Born, in Barcelona.

La Folie Condal: a Cabaret in Barcelona

Barcelona’s Valentines Day with A Twist of Culture and Storytelling

Barcelona lovers hit the streets and buy your novio or novia a book or rose as today is Catalonia’s most cherished day; Sant Jordi Day. Sant Jordi or Saint George is the patron saint of Catalonia along with a dozen other countries around the world. It is accepted that the chivalrous knight died April 23^rd, 303 AD. Many other countries tie the day of Saint George in with Easter Celebrations but here in Barcelona and Catalonia the day deserves it’s own recognition and celebration.

The streets across Barcelona will be radiating with the beautiful color and smells from roses along with the colorful designs and displays of books as sellers show their wares for all to enjoy. Flower and book stands will be draped with Catalonia’s red and white striped flag. Roses will be died in these colors, while other roses will be died red and blue in recognition of Barcelona’s famous football club. It is the tradition here in Barcelona for men to buy their lovers a flower and women to buy a book for their men. As time has gone by it is no longer gender qualified as men can buy women a book and women can buy their novios a flower if they choose to. Just don’t forget to bring your love one of these gifts.

Today is recognized with several different names. Saint George Day, Sant Jordi Day, the Day of Roses, and the Day of the Book. Today alone Barcelona will sell over 400,000 books and over a million roses. More books will be sold today then the rest of the year combined.

April 23 has been the Day of Roses since medieval times. The famed Saint George was once a knight in the Roman empire. The famous Catalonian tale speaks of George traveling through the Catalan town of Montblanc. The small town of Montblanc was plagued by a dragon who required a daily sacrifice every day of a villager. One day the village lottery had chosen the princess of Montblanc as the sacrifice. Before the beautiful maiden could come to her demise Saint George came to her rescue and slew the dragon, piercing it through the chest with his sword.  Upon the ground in which the dragon’s blood spilled grew a large magnificent rose bush shining bright crimson red. To this day Catalonian’s give their lover a rose to symbolize romance and chivalry.

The Day of the Book began in 1923 when a sales savvy book store dealer in the region combined Sant Jordi Day with books as a means to honor the deaths of two world renowned authors; William Shakespeare and Miguel Cervantes, both who had died on April 23^rd, 1616. The giving of books to a lover has been a part of Catalonian culture ever since. In 1995 UNESCO declared April 23 to be International Book Day.

Spend the day with a loved one and walk around the city. La Rambla and Plaza Catalunya will be especially festive as the concrete pathways will be adorned with flowers and books. Happy Sant Jordi Day to everyone.

Let us know how your Sant Jordi Day is and check out these other Suitelife blogs on Barcelona’s day of lovers and books.

Sant Jordi Barcelona

Sant Jordi Day in Barcelona

Valentine’s Day in Barcelona

Cheers,

Brett

Design Barcelona: Studiostore has got it all!

One of the hottest spots for design Barcelona that promotes culture, art and creativity is Studiostore, the lively multi-purpose open space in the heart of the Born area.

Calle Comerc was always one of my favorite streets. There is the Chocolate museum with the best chocolate pralines and probably the best hot chocolate in town and when you enter you feel as if you’re taking a tour of Charlie’s chocolate factory (only without Oumpaloompas, unfortunately). Then you cross the street and you have the Mutt Gallery and Iguapop (a cool clothing store) and the new and original concept store Studiostore.

We visited a few days ago and were lucky to be able to talk to its owner and idea maker Lafede, who told us some “behind the scenes” information about her interesting concept.
The Studiostore was born recently, but it has already won high praise in design Barcelona. Lafede and her team opened the doors of this store in January 2012 and by doing this she also opened the curtains of a cool space, which hadn’t been used in over 20 years. She told us it was all a lucky coincidence how she found the place; I would say the street called her, because Studiostore totally fits into the neighborhood. Studiostore is 300 m2 divided into studio space and the store, which has two floors. Big neon lightning saying TOGETHER all over one wall of the store represents one of the Studiostore mottos – being together and Back to basics.

Lafede is primarily dedicated to furniture design, lightning and retail spaces but as she said, she didn’ t want to be closed in her studio without the opportunity to meet her possible clients. By mixing her studio space with a 2 floor showroom she creates just that, the ability to meet with existing clients and the opportunity to turn window shoppers into new clients.

Studiostore collaborates with some well-known designers such as Woouf!, Sheriff & Cherry and Paco Rueda and together they release a collection of items that are sold in the front store. Besides all of this there are many events, conferences or pop-up stores happening in Studiostore as well. The lastest event that has recently finished was called The Gran Bazzar, where one can find original pieces from about 50 Barcelona artists including clothes, accessories, furniture, or design gadgets.
The next event will start in May and studiostore will open its walls to talented Barcelona photographers, so don’t miss it.

Lafede (Federica Sandretti), Italian designer and architect, specialized in retail design, came to Barcelona 12 years ago. She worked with Custo Barcelona, but had an idea of connecting her own studio with an open space that would bring and connect people interested in design and art. That´s how the idea of Studiostore was born and after 3 months of running this concept store we can already tell that it worked out well.

See you in Studiostore!

Sarka

Lady Gaga Presents Her 2012 Tour

Little Monsters will be glad to know that Mother Monster is coming to town on the 6^th October 2012 and she’s going to rock Palau Sant Jordi all night long. It will be the only date for Lady Gaga in Spain and the last one of her European Born this way Ball Tour.

The Born this way Ball

After the Fame Ball and the Monster Ball, Lady Gaga is back with the Born This Way Ball. Be ready for a show

of extravaganzas and craziness. This tour is a sort of extension of the others, with the same crowd of rebel riders and a dark Christmas spirit… Lady Gaga is gonna drive Barcelona crazy!

The concert is on October 2012 but tickets will be on sale on the 19^th of April, so in just 2 days! And when you know that tickets for her concerts in Hong Kong and Singapore have sold out in less than one hour, you’d better hurry! You will be able to buy them on the usual websites. Prices are not released yet, but it will be expensive for sure.

Are you gaga about Gaga? Will you be one of the luckiest people that will meet her backstage and enjoy the show in the “Monster Pit”? Do you know that Lady Gaga will play the role of the Aliens’ Mother in the next Men In Black movie (MIB³)?!

Don’t forget to read our other blogs about the Sonar 2012 in Barcelona and the Primavera Sound Festival, 2 other chances to enjoy amazing concerts in Barcelona!

Caroline

The Welkin Contest = Free Trip to Barcelona!

Are you an artist? Wanna win a free trip to Barcelona, Spain? Then you must checkout The Welkin ARTBOX project.  The deadline’s arriving quickly so read the info below and get started!

When our friend Rebecca told us about The Welkin ARTBOX Contest we were immediately intrigued.  Basically, here’s the scoop:

The Contest & How you Can Win a Trip to Barcelona

The Welkin Contest presents ARTBOX, a large scale art installation in conjunction with SWAB Barcelona 2012, and is offering the chance to one emerging contemporary artist to be flown to Barcelona to take part in designing and creating this exciting project.

The ARTBOX project showcases the work of a hand selected group of urban-contemporary artists from Spain and abroad. Each artist is invited to customise one ARTBOX, size 1.80 x 1.80 meters. Using mediums such as Montana spray paint, acrylic paint, house paint or found objects; the 3-dimensional wooden boxes will be completely covered on all four sides. The 10 cube installation will be on display at the exterior entrance of SWAB, in Plaza Universo, creating a labyrinth of art to welcome the 20,000 expected visitors. The aim is to introduce SWAB visitors to a new generation of contemporary artists and invite viewers to interact with art in a new way.

The Welkin Contest is offering one talented European artist the chance to take part in the ARTBOX project. Through a competition platform, young and emerging visual artists from across Europe are invited to design one of the 10 ARTBOXES. A panel of judges will decide the winner in early May 2012. The winner will have the opportunity to participate in the ARTBOX project alongside 9 other recognized contemporary painters and the chance to get their work seen by a large array of collectors and art lovers.

More information can be found here: www.thewelkincontest.com
And here: www.facebook.com/TheWelkinContest
And here: www.swab.es/artbox

Don’t miss this chance to have your work seen by over 20,000 contemporary art fans, curators and critics!

Important Dates:

Application Deadline: April 20, 2012
Submission Deadline: May 4, 2012
Winner Announced: May 8, 2012
ARTBOX Workshop: May 19 – 23, 2012
SWAB Art Fair: May 23-26, 2012

Know anyone who might be interested? Pass them the info!

Cheers,

Benny

Art Gallery and Bookstore and Hipster Haven: Mutt Barcelona

Mutt, an Art gallery in Barcelona and a specialized bookstore, is a temple of contemporary art, graphic design, urban design, street art and more. Its spacious white room is hypnotizing and the atmosphere that surrounds you once you enter is friendly and inspiring.

Mutt Barcelona could be seen as a little niche of art galleries in Barcelona in comparison to Macba or CCCB, but it’s not. It´s the soul of this place that makes it special.

If you are an art fan, read the blog on Modern art in Barcelona: visit art gallery in Barcelona to discover unknown Barcelona artists. and you will like the blog about another artist that exhibited in Mutt titled Contemporary art in Barcelona: Sosaku Miyazaki.

You can visit Mutt Barcelona every day from Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s in the Born district on the Carrer del Comerç, 15. As it was already mentioned, Mutt is an awesome bookstore and a contemporary art gallery in one. You can find any book dedicated to art, design, urban art … Every book is presented as a piece of art itself on the bookshelves or the big tables.
The walls of art gallery Mutt change their exhibitors almost every month. If you go there in march or of april 2012 you will see the exhibition of a multitalented author Aitor Saraiba from Toledo. We saw it and love it.

His latest project is the collaboration with the Center of Ceramics Talavera, where he develops a collection of art pieces with the traditional technique of the city Talavera. His first exposition of photography, “Let Me Kiss You”, a documentary about the fans of Morrissey in the city of Los Angeles and his first graphic novel “El hijo del legionario” have been a “personal exorcism”, as the author likes to say, and we are happy that we can see his latest work in person in Barcelona.

Visit the Aitor Saraiba exposition at Mutt gallery Barcelona from 8th of March to 29th of April 2012 and let us know, if you liked it!

Sharka

Events in Barcelona April 2012:

Semana Santa in Barcelona

Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter and is translated to “holy week”.  Semana Santa starts on palm Sunday, the 1^st of April, and lasts a week until Easter Sunday.  All the schools are closed for the week and there are public holidays on Friday the 6^th and Monday the 9^th.   There are processions on palm Sunday and good Friday (6^th) in Barcelona where thousands take to the streets to commemorate this “holy week”. The photo below is of an Easter ceremony in Plaza Real.

FC Barcelona Vs Ac Milan: Champions League Quarter finals.  Tuesday the 3^rd 20:45

Barcelona faces AC Milan for the second leg of the Champions league Quarter Final.  The first leg resulted in a draw 2 – 2.  The Match is at Camp Nou and Barcelona are the favourites.  This is sure to be an exciting match so be sure to get yourself down to a bar for a great atmosphere and lots of excited Barca fans.  When Barcelona plays the bars in the city are always fun.  Bayern Munich and Marseille also play their champions league Quarter Final second leg at the same time, with Munich leading 2 – 0.  You may struggle to find somewhere to watch this game in Barcelona Bars tho.  Irish Pubs are a great place to watch the footy.  Check out our Top 5 Irish Pubs in Barcelona blog to know where to find them.

Barcelona Restaurant week: Friday the 13^th to Sunday the 22^nd

This month there is a great thing called Barcelona restaurant week where some of the best restaurants offer fantastic meals for only €25, €24 for the restaurant and €1 for charity.   There are more than 30 restaurants taking part and on any normal day you could expect to pay on average between €40 and €80 for a meal at these assorted restaurants, so €25 is a great deal.  Follow the link below to see which restaurants are taking part and to reserve a table.

Barcelona Restaurant Week

Sant Jordi: Monday 23^rd

Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalonia and the whole of Barcelona comes alive with red and gold Catalan flags everywhere.  The bakeries even go patriotic by adding red sobrassada pate stripes to their bread.  Sant Jordi is also the Ctalan Valentines day. You can read all about it on our blog on Sant Jordi Day in Barcelona.

The Barcelona Tennis open (ATP world Tour): Saturday 21^st – Sunday the 29^th

Some of the worlds best tennis players come to Barcelona to play in the ATP Barcelona Open.  It’s the second biggest tennis tournament in Spain behind the Madrid Masters.  The tournament is staged at the real club de Tenis Barcelona, which is the oldest Spanish tennis club. Rafael Nadal has won it six times out of the last seven so don’t be surprised if he wins again.

Fira de la Terra: Saturday 21^st – Sunday 22^nd

The Barcelona Earth Fair takes part every year in conjunction with Earth Day, which is on the 22^nd.  This Event is meant to raise awareness about global warming and all environmental issues, to help teach people how they can help save the earth.  Earth day started in America and is now a global event.  On Earth Day famous landmarks across the world will have their lights turned off for one hour to raise awareness about climate change and promote a “greener lifestyle”.  The Fira de la Terra Barcelona is held in Park Ciutadella.

Website

FC Barcelona Vs Real Madrid: El Classico. Sunday the 22^nd

When Barcelona Plays Real Madrid the streets in Barcelona are empty and the bars are full.  It seems like almost everyone in Barcelona is watching the big game.  This El Classico is in Camp Nou, and if Barcelona beat real Madrid, there will be a gathering of Barca fans Celebrating and singing in or near Plaza Catalunya.  If you’re not lucky enough to go to the stadium you should go to a bar for a fun and exciting atmosphere.  A good place to go is one of Barcelona’s best Irish pubs.

If you have any questions or comments we would love to hear them.

Cheers

Matthew Rutter