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SegwayCAT in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

SegwayCAT proposes an innovative way to get to know the city of Barcelona.

Esotericism Fair in Barcelona: Magic International Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

You might not believe it but crystal balls are becoming digital. And if it´s about good omens for the future, ask the big companies who dedicate themselves to cultivate esotericism as a market good how well it´s gone for them. The King Midas of esotericism isn´t in the witches and wizards who deal the cards in their individual consultations, but in the large spanish chains, like La Sexta, Antena 3, Cuatro, Nova, FDF, Veo and others. Every year, this business totals, only in Spain, 2,800 million euros, of which 2,000 million are from telephone tarot. To size it: that sum is very similar to the sale of 200 combat vehicles that Spain negotiated with Saudi Arabia last year, which cost 3,000 million euros: one of the biggest business deals of the Spanish army industry. CEPSA, the second biggest Spanish oil company, was valued in 7,500 million euros by the emirate of Abu Dhabi last February. I don´t believe in wizards but I do believe in the euros in this business. The Catholic Church is associated for its TV broadcasts with a esoteric programme producing company for different televisions: Canal Català. The thin line between religion and esotericism fades in the world of superstition and popular belief. The director of the fair and one of the makers and pioneers of esotericism since 1966 in Spanish media is the journalist Sebastián d´Arbó, who has dabbled in TVE, Cadena Ser, Antena 3 TV and many more. He founded and directed magazines such as ´La Magia´ and ´Karma7´ among others, and his active participation in the legendary encyclopedias of hidden sciences and parapsychology...

Enric Sagnier in Barcelona: Count Dracula of Modernism

Mónica Boixeda

Just like the Samoan writer Albert Hanover proclaimed the magnificent film ´Ed Wood´ by Tim Burton as perhaps one of the greatest films of all time, one of the reasons of the quick diminishing fame of the unique Transylvanian actor Béla Lugosi (despite the love and the admiration that his figure has always generated among certain sectors of the less conventional culture, of which not just the film by Burton gives proof but also, for example, the chilling song of Bauhaus which announces its death. Time doesn´t forgive anybody, it passes relentlessly and quickly, all over us, throwing illustrious bodies to the sombre crypts of oblivion surrounded by more and more shrouds of amnesia) was the fact of having turned down the role of the Frankenstein monster, a role which made Karloff into the new star who had to be eclipsed, for not being able to appreciate in him -there was the Central European dandy who the image of Count Dracula popularized for the first time – either romance, nor glamour nor voice presence, nor drama nor mystery. So in a probable related manner, part of the fame of the Catalan architect Enric Sagnier (1858-1931) – for the amount of family pantheons built, by the dandy dress of mirrors of his design of the legendary bar of the creepy disappeared Hotel Colón which occupied the corner of Plaça Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia, for the noble condition which was given to him due to the number of schools and churches (we suspect that possibly with their respective crypts) which he made for free or for the sepulchral symbolism of...

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

As an example of the peculiar, that some may prefer to call strange or bizarre way of being and work of Will Oldham, also known by the stage name Bonnie “Prince” Billy, one of the most prestigious, reputable and interesting creators of the American popular music, in the last twenty years, we may cite, among countless examples, the fact that at some point he cited Russ Meyer and Robert Duvall as two major influences on his work. Not surprisingly the future Bonnie “Prince” Billy (only created the heteronymous apparently for purely phonetic reasons, but ended up having hidden meanings and unpredictable ramifications gradually revealed, in the penultimate year of the twentieth century) began his artistic career playing the role of a teenage preacher in John Sayles´s film Matewan (1987) when he was seventeen. Duvall has declared, admiring especially his presence as a performer, this special ability with certain actors (and actor is every singer, especially on stage) to convert all of what they are into something interesting by virtue only of their ability to find ways to make personal and unique look. The reasons why he seems to admire Meyer can perhaps be traced to the touching song I See a Darkness which in 1999 was named to his first disc, os the time of Bonnie “Prince” Billy and was memorable version one year later, with Will Oldham on backing vocals, perhaps the best part of the sublime subject, the way in which the two voices intertwine by Johnny Cash on the album, American III: Solitary Man Starting with a reminder of the many times they got drunk together...

Irie Révoltés in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

Possibly one of the most curious and interesting happenings on the European musical scene in the last ten years has been the appearance of the always surprising and refreshing band Irie Révoltés, who after nearly five years of elaboration, will present their latest album, ´Mouvement Mondial´, at the Apolo Theatre in Barcelona, on the upcoming Thursday, November 4th. (http://www.sala-apolo.com/localizacion.asp). The fact that it´s a band from Heidelberg made up by nine people, although the original band members were four, which makes vibrant music located in the genres which go from reggae/ska to dance hall going through ska and hip-hop, without excepting touches of punk and R&B, shouldn´t strike us as strange, as it shouldn´t their intense and heartfelt social commitment, especially in relation to the situation in Africa (their support for organizations such as Wheelchairs for Africa is well known), declaring as such in a series of rebel and libertarian lyrics as well as their constant appearance in festivals and concerts for solidarity and against racism. What makes them even more peculiar is the fact that, despite being a German band, most of their songs are written in French, a circumstance which goes to show both their multicultural nature as the rich and deep influence that the vigorous and prolific music and culture from the French banlieues has on them. French is also of course present in the name of the band (´Irie´ makes reference to the Jamaican word which designates a feeling of happiness and goodness identifiable with the connexion with divinity, and ´Révoltés´ is the plural for the French word for protester, angry or rebellious), whose members like...

The Kooks in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

The Kooks were born in 2004 and soon became extremely famous, they filled stadiums with fans and sold thousands of copies around the world. All this was thanks to their song called “Naive” which was part of the InsideIn / Inside Out album. Then time made things happen, the boys became more and more famous and, after launching their second album, which bore the name of Konk, the third arrived, which was released only a few days ago(September 12) . Luke Pritchard, Hugh Harris, Paul Garred and Peter Denton will be present themselves as those who currently are part of the group after one of its members left due to drug problems. Their first album left no less than 6 singles in the top 40 charts in Britain, and as it is known around the world, besides having one of the most important charts in the world, it is also one of the most complicated one to achieve success due to a more informed public. The second album, received a welcoming that few bands have had throughout the history of rock, and placed them first in the list of best selling albums in Britain with more than 65 000 copies sold in the first week. This time the group from Brighton, England, is touring to promote their third album and under this framework will be presented in Barcelona on October 23 at Sala Razzmatazz so all European country fans can enjoy of Junk the Heart, which is the name of their new album. More information:http://www.salarazzmatazz.com/op/conciertos/442 Razzmatazz: Carrer dels Almogàvers 122, 08018 Barcelona, España MiLK If you want to enjoy...

Concert of Architecture in Helsinki in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

One thing is certain in the world of music and that is that indie pop is booming. Many promising bands are appearing and, over time, demonstrate that they deserve a place in the world of entertainment. One of these bands, which is already among the best since its formation in 2000 is Architecture in Helsinki who were born in Melbourne, and is formed by Cameron Bird, James Cecil, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildred, Sam Perry and Kellie Sutherland. One of the most interesting features is that virtually all its members are multi-instrumentalists and for that reason, you may hear the members playing, for example, guitar on one song and on the next song drums and this is one of the reasons which the music of Architecture in Helsinki is so diverse and has so many styles passing through electronic, indie, rock and others. Another feature of the Australian band is they often play experimental instruments or brass instruments or flutes invented by them, as well as analog synthesizers, samplers and more. All of this, as expected influence their particular sound. The band, although formed in 2000, it became known little by little, over time and after long tours they shared with already established groups like Death Cab For Cutie or artists like David Byrne became part of the mainstream. Today they are one of the most relevant indie pop bands The opportunity to see them live presenting their latest album Moment Bends released last April and promoted by a tour around the world is now. This time the band will play in Barcelona on October 26th at Sala Razzmatazz 3.:...

‘La maleta mexicana’, photographic exhibition in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda

The National Art Museum of Catalunya (Museu Nacional d´Art de Catalunya), also known as MNAC, will present an exclusive exhibition in the city of Barcelona which will be open from October 2011 until January 2012. The exhibition is called ´La maleta mexicana´ (The Mexican briefcase), an it´s a set of photographs taken during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour, better known as ´Chim´. Robert Capa and his colleagues were the most famous war correspondents in the 20th century. They were the ones who registered the whole Spanish Civil War in images, although their set of photographs were never published. Their files were lost when they had to flee the country because of the same war in mid-1939. The exhibition has the name ´La maleta mexicana´ because it was in Mexico where they found, in 1995 (after being lost for over 50 years) , all the photographs of these correspondents. The box contained unpublished negatives and files of unique historical and cultural value. In 2007, the files arrived to the ICP (International Center of Photography) of New York and, since then, they´ve been processed to be exhibited to the public. The interesting thing about this exhibition is that famous people of the time, such as Federico García Lorca or Ernest Hemingway, appear in it. Also, thanks to the investigators and restorers of the found material, the photographs can be seen in the chronological order in which they were taken and that brings valuable information to universal history, showing the hard reality of a bloody war. You can also admire how photojournalism began and the relevance...