English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Español
ONLY BE BARCELONIAN
Only-Be Barcelonian
The Fábrica Moritz in Barcelona
On December 12, 2011, after seven years of restoration, the doors of the Fábrica Moritz Factory have once again been opened. But let´s start from the beginning. Louis Moritz of Pfaffenhoffen, a beer region of Alsace, came to Barcelona in 1851. His older brother was a master brewer, so he followed in his footsteps and started making his own beer in 1856. In 1862, thanks to an increasing demand for his product, he bought a farm in the Ronda de Sant Antoni, one of the first buildings of the Eixample after the demolition of the city walls. Thanks to his success, he was able to turn what started out as a single building into an architectural complex after he bought neighboring buildings (from 39 to 43 of Ronda de Sant Antoni) to open the Cevercería Moritz in 1897. Two years after the death of Louis Moritz in 1920, his heirs created the brewery Fábrica de Cervezas Moritz, S.A. In the 1930s they had record sales, controlling over 30% market share of Catalonia. In the 1960s, and after years of success, the production plant was too small so they moved out. But the oil crisis of the 1970s was difficult and Moritz Beer, SA disappeared from the market until the last generations of the family Moritz brought it back to life in 2004. Their offices are located in the former factory in the Ronda de Sant Antoni. Now this great space is a gastronomic center, which also offers cultural activities and entertainment. After a long rehabilitation, promoted by the CEO Alberto Castellón and carried out by the renowned architect Jean...
Designer shops in Barcelona
Designer shops in Barcelona
The beach bars in Barcelona
The Beach “Chirniguitos” in Barcelona are an institution that is part of the trio: beach, sun and fun. You should not miss these cool beach bars with cold drinks, meals and very good music. Although starting as stalls for selling season, and being remodeed that over time. Today they do not only sell patatas bravas, olives and tapas, a more sophisticated model has emerged and there are more elaborate preparations, with cocktails and international cuisine. But what is fashionable and attracts tourists is music, the opportunity to experience the festival in the full light of day or night in the warm sands of the Catalan coast. Many people are enjoying these proposals and we´ll tell you where you can locate them and have fun. Relevant is a bar on the Mar Bella beach that has the best of music, culture and urban art nothing is missing here, they have a very nice menu with a gourmet touch . There are pastas, salads, tapas and cocktails. In addition to this great dining offer , music is what gives it an extra special flavor The Sand Squid is one of the best known beach bars outside Barcelona for lovers of electronic music. Each year and in parallel to the festivals that take place in Barcelona, this beach bar located on the beach about 15 km from Barcelona in Prat , brings the best DJs ofthe international scene. Memorable are Sonar with the likes of Miss Kittin and Ellen Allien, with hundreds of followers. Sand Sea is a unique beach bar, sophisticated in all aspects. It has a excellent novelle cuisine menu , as...
The best horchata in Barcelona
There are drinks that have that scent of childhood that chase us our whole life. Horchata is one of them. It reminds us of those warm summer afternoons with the family with our mum giving us that elixir of freshness in the afternoon after playing. Perhaps that´s the reason that we´re always after the information that leads us to the places that prepare the best horchata. Because we want to make that search easy for you in Barcelona, here are some places that you´ll enjoy drinking horchata in this summer. Horchata is a white drink that´s drunk very cold and therefore is a summer classic. It´s prepared with tiger nuts, chufa, that they only grow in Valencia, where they arrived from northern Africa in the 8th century, a product of Islamic migrations. Obtaining the horchata is a process that has four stages: washing and soaking the chufa for 8h, crush and macerate, press it so that it lets go its extract and finally add sugar to it. With time and the scientific investigations that have taken place regarding the nutritional properties of the chufa, it turns out that it´s beneficial to have a glass of horchata every day because it´s high content of oleic acid helps bring down bad cholesterol levels and increases good cholesterol levels, preventing senile dementia and cardiovascular problems. Also, it has a hight content of Vitamin E, doesn´t contain gluten, is rich in minerals such as phosphorus, iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium, it´s low in sodium and it´s perfect for people with heart problems. For all of these reasons and those that connect us to the...
Culinary Tourism: The Ruta del Xató
Tourism is a dynamic element that changes with time. Just like the world of fashion, trends have a lot to do with how people move around the planet to enjoy a pleasant and fun holiday time. That´s why sun and beach tourism isn´t enough for most people who try and find more enriching experiencies. Gastronomical tourism, for example, is growing and if you add it to nature, beautiful landscapes and an attractive and rich socio-cultural environment, the plan is perfect to spend a few unforgettable days. A route that seems very interesting and recommendable is the Ruta del Xató, in Catalonia. This gastronomical route invites us to go to three of the most beautiful regions of Catalonia: Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès and Garraf. And if we´re even more precise, some of the towns that we´re going to visit are El Vendrell, Sitges, Vilafranca del Penedès and Vilanova i la Geltrú. The activities and escapades that these regions offer us are quite varied, so one could say that it´s a route suitable for all, because it encompasses all the leisure options. On the Ruta del Xató there are plans that are quite different from one another, such as visiting the coast, visiting places of natural interest, discovering the rich artistic and architectonic legacy of the area, participating in regional festivals of different towns, enjoying good live music and, of course, sampling the best wines and eating unique dishes. Convinced yet? The plans that we can find out by consulting information on the route´s official website are designed so that we can combine various activities in a day or just a few...
Vermouth in Barcelona
Vermouth is more than a drink in Catalonia. It’s an agreeable custom related to good food and a taste for relaxed conversation between friends. Vermouth means wormwood, which is herbal base of this drink, in addition to other tonic substances that make it pleasant and perfumed and the wine that makes it ideal for cocktails. Red vermouth contains more than forty herbal extracts, among which are flowers, roots and fruit. It is said that its formula is so secret that only four people know it and the actual recipe is stored in a bank safe in Geneva. To make it, the herbs are mixed in a container that is stirred twice a day for two weeks, then sugar and wine are added. Then it is left so that the flavors develop. The quality of the vermouth depends on the wine that is used. The best from abroad are in Italy, but the ones from Catalonia are equally good. It makes a wonderful aperitif for anyone who has a problem with weight, since they contain herbs that produce the sensation of satiety which can decrease appetite. “Going out for a glass of vermouth” was a Catalan custom which was widespread on Sunday at noon after mass ended. While the women prepared lunch, the men ate olives and some snacks while sipping vermouth and commenting on the day. And because of its sweet taste it was also the liquor women preferred for their cocktail hour. Over time the custom began to disappear, Sunday Masses were no longer a family activity and modern life has transformed many of the customs. Today, many...
The Beach Boys in Barcelona
It was 1961. It was the beginning of a prodigious decade for music and arts. A band from California made up by three brothers, the virtuoso cousin and a high school friend became incredibly famous on the radio (back then, TV didn´t have the power that it has now and the Internet didn´t exist, of course) with a few catchy and happy tunes with neat vocals and wonderfully composed songs. These were the Beach Boys: the brothers Brian, Car and Dennis Wilson, the cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine, who wasn´t from the family. Happy and lively songs, magnificent vocal combinations, guitars and a lot of happiness (plenty of it) came out of the Beach Boys. Their albums soon reached the #1 spot on the charts; they sold like hot cakes and were played at all parties. It was the ´official´ music of the surfers from California, of the girls who dared to wear bikinis, a garment that was popularized by Brigitte Bardot a few years before on the Côte d´Azur. Anyhow, that was an authentic revolution, both in terms of music as in the way of understanding life. Plenty has happened since 1961 and the band has been around the block a few times. The younger Wilson brothers didn´t survive time. To that, they added lawsuits related to royalties, image rights and a long legal etcetera but, incombustible to the dismay of the new sounds, the Beach Boys, now ´boys´ in their 70s, are back with a new world tour and a new album. It´s a studio album, just like they´ve always liked it, called That´s why God...
Barcelona Gay Friendly
When it comes to having a good time, Barcelona is without doubt one of the favourite tourist destinations in the whole of Europe. On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, this important city offers many attractions when it comes to summer leisure activities, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and culture. Travelling to Barcelona in the summer is a traditions for many northern European travellers, especially if they´re part of the LGBT community, for example. That´s because Barcelona also characterizes itself for being very open to sexuality and gender options; the gay and lesbian community has an important presence in Barcelona and that´s why there are many options to have fun in Barcelona to the LGBT rhythm. Here are some of the most interesting places for your next visit: Sala Arena Madre: One of the hottest places for dance and euphoria. Arena Madre is a strictly gay place, with sensual dark rooms where anything can happen. D-Boy Club: This club offers great electronic music, dim coloured lighting and an atmosphere that´s really worth experiencing. Recommended for select tastes, it can be a bit expensive but it´s worth it. Discotheque: This club has been going non-stop since its opening in 2008. At Discotheque you can find the best theme parties on weekends. El Cangrejo: This bar has two locations; one in the beautiful district of El Raval and the other in Eixample. If you´re looking for the best cocktails and the best company, you can find them both at El Cangrejo. Metro: This popular club among the Barcelona LGBT community has been recently refurbished and it´s also very close to other gay-friendly bars....
Regina Spektor Concert in Barcelona
Usually compared to ´War and Peace´, ´Life and Fate´ by Vassily Grossman (the first person to show the Nazi death camps to the world, an exhaustive catalogue of horrors that he chillingly documented in ´The Black Book´ along with Ilya Ehrenburg, a book banned by Stalin in order to avoid that the knowledge of the raging antisemitism got out together with the extent of his collaboration during the Jewish genocide) is considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. However, Grossman died in 1964 in Moscow without seeing it published. The Soviet authorities considered it so threatening for the regime that they even confiscated the tapes of the machine that it was written with and it wasn´t until 1980 that a copy of the manuscript finally managed to reach the printer. In it, in an admirable way characterized by a certain emphasis that can only be reached through the highest form of literature, Grossman denounced from left-wing positions the distortion of the communist revolution, which Stalin had turned, at least since the first political expulsions, into a regime along the lines of national-socialism. The Second World War was a turning point in this drift, strengthening Russian nationalism with a patriotism that had been despotically fomented and imposed by the government and, under Stalin´s supervision, increasing the persecution of Jewish citizens, millions of which were repressed in atrocious ways, ways which most of the time ended with their lives. That very same antisemitism, shown more subtly in the shape of quotas, which showed in the need to identify one self as Jewish and other types of restrictions of...
FIRE!! Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
From the 5th to the 15th of July, Casal Lambda is carrying out FIRE!!, the 17th International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Barcelona. The main headquarters of the exhibition will be the French Institute of Barcelona. Casa Asia will be showing the Asian film screenings and FNAC Triangle will be the home of the lectures, discussion tables and open projections. This year the festival is packed with material, ready to mark its territory at a time in which its organizers define it as ´combative´ and in which nobody should stay quiet. It´s all pointing towards the fact that these film and documentary screenings will be a space to raise critical awareness that leads towards a change of an unequal and discriminatory system. Despite these politico-philosophical proposals, the organization points out that the festival is driven by the passion of good films, a discourse which has stood since its first edition. This year, for the first time, a competition for short film creators will take place, ´Filming against violence´, which is related with the promotion of human rights and is taking place with the collaboration of Amnesty International and the Bande à Part film school. Among the films that will be screened is the Teddy Award winning as the best film at the 2012 Berlinale Keep The Lights On, directed by Ira Sachs. It´s a great film that portrays relations of love, sex and friendship between two men of our time. Gun Hill Road, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green, tells us the story of a prisoner who goes back to his home in the Bronx and finds that he´s lost his...Promotions
