Diverting Discord in Barcelona

One of my favorite spots in the Barcelona has a rather awful sounding name, despite being a thing of beauty. I'm speaking of La Manzana de la Discordia (The Block of Discord) at Paseo de Gracia numbers 35-45. Here the dramatically clashing styles of the three great architects of Catalan Modernism are on display in buildings that stand practically side by side: Lluís Domènech i Montaner' s Lleó Morera, Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Casa Amatller, and and Antoni Gaudí's Casa Battló. Directly in front of the latter is a tile with km. 0 embedded on it to mark the beginning of the European Route of Modernism, also known as the European Route of Art Nouveau.

The Barcelona Modernism Route is an itinerary that takes you through the Barcelona of Gaudí, Domènech i Montaner and Puig i Cadafalch, the architects who, together with others, made Barcelona the world capital of Modernism. This Route enables you to get to know thoroughly impressive palatial residences, amazing houses, the temple that has become a symbol of the city and a huge hospital, but it also includes humbler and more everyday buildings and items such as chemists’, shops, lampposts and benches - 115 works in all which show that Art Nouveau put down strong roots in Barcelona and today Modernism is still an art that is alive and part of life in the city.*

There is an official Modernism Route Guidebook available at Barcelona tourist offices and in many local bookstores. The book includes discount coupons for sites along the route that charge entry fees. If you aren't interested in getting the book, you can find a list of the 115 sites included on the route here, as well as a briefer list of the thirty most recommended modernist monuments here.

Discord has never been so much fun!

Chao amig@s,

Carloz

*From What is the Modernism Route?

Spain behind the eight-ball in 2008

It looks like eight is Spain's number lately, for better or for worse. On the better side, that number was Spain's "well-being" ranking among 22 European countries the New Economics Foundation's 2008 National Accounts of Well-being report. Indeed, Spain and Cyprus were the only Mediterranean countries to make the top 10.

According to the NEF, governments should directly and regularly measure people’s subjective well-being: their experiences, feelings and perceptions of how their lives are going, as a new way of assessing societal progress, instead of only focusing on economic indicators. So according to this measure, Spain is not doing too bad. Well, that's good to know, especially in view of the worse side of number 8.

Spain's unemployment rate rose to an eight-year record at the end of 2008 -- at 14%, the highest rate in the European Union. Spain's high unemployment rate, helped to bring the the overall Eurozone unemployment rate up in December to ques what -- 8%.

I think these statistics sum up 2008 in Spain, a mix of better and worse -- as in much of the world. However, people here seem generally positive and hoping for a better year without so much time "behind the eight ball."

Suerte amig@s,

Carloz

Spain joins the world in celebrating the inauguration of President Obama

The photo on the right can be found on the El Pais web site with the words: "El sueño americano accede al poder," or "The American dream comes to power." And today I have found Spaniards to be optimistic about President Barack Obama and expressing good will towards the USA.

An American friend and I took time off from work this afternoon to come to my apartment for a "multi-media" observance of the inaugural event. We watched Spanish television, saw an American web-cast on my computer and listened to NPR's live radio broadcast. We cheered, laughed, teared up, clapped and felt hopeful for our country and the world.

At the same time, in Madrid Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reportedly watched the inauguration and listened to the new American President's speech in his home -- Moncloa Palace. The media reported that he claimed to believe that the ascension to office of President Obama "opens an opportunity" that the Spanish Government will not "waste." The PM, who did not exactly have a good relationship with former President G. W. Bush, was quoted as saying that Spain and the United States are "on a good road for a smooth and and fruitful relationship."

Zapatero described the American President's inaugural speech to reporters as something "very positive, that corresponds to the project that he advocated during...his campaign. A speech...that keeps alive the hope to achieve a more just international order, and for peace and dialogue to find a place in the conflicts that exist in the world today, and that the distribution of wealth is fairer."

Obama and Zapatero spoke on November 7, when the then President-elect returned the PM's congratulatory telephone call. On November 17th the then Vice President-Elect Joe Biden telephoned Zapatero to inform him of Obama's intention to tour Europe, and stop in Spain, sometime in early 2009. Zapatero and Obama will also have a chance to meet at the international economic summit to be held in London next April, and then again a few days later at the NATO summit in Strasbourg that will mark the 60th anniversary of that North American-European organization.

Meanwhile, I joyously join Spaniards and people around the world in saying "¡Bienvenido y buena suerte Presidente Obama!"

Carloz

P.S. Almost immediately after Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the USA, the White House web site reflected that change had come. Visit the site's home page here -- and the site has a blog! That's right, A BLOG!!

Is Pedro Solbes misreading, or misleading? That is the question.

In case anyone who follows this blog hasn't guessed by now, I have very little faith in Spain's Economy Minister, Pedro Solbes -- not that I have much faith in any of his colleagues, either. However, he holds a special place in my disdain because of what can only be his misreading of, or misleading about the economy

When he served in Brussels as European Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs (1999-2004), he denied that the introduction of the euro contributed to inflation. Then in December 2007 he said, "When I was in Brussels, I said the opposite, but now I can say that the euro has had an inflationary effect on low cost items." Was that a misreading, or was he misleading?

At that same time he predicted that Spain's inflation rate, which was 4.1%, would go below 3% by March 2008. Solbes was wrong again, as by April it had risen to 4.6%. By May it was 4.7%. Misreading, or misleading?

Solbes continued to deny there was an economic crisis through the first half of 2008, as people lost jobs, the cost of living soared, the real estate bubble burst, and the economy just generally went into the toilet. In May Solbes equated "crisis" with "recession," and added, "To talk about recession is exaggerated." Misreading, or misleading?

It seemed like he might be ready to admit the truth when it was leaked to the media that he used the word "crisis" in a June 10th closed door session of parliament. However, on June 11th he qualified that by saying, “Yesterday, the only thing I said was that we need to prepare for a crisis, but I never talked about 'the crisis.'” The official line from the Socialist Party spokesperson, José Antonio Alonso, was that Solbes had had a “slip of the tongue.” Misreading, or misleading?

Then to muddy the water further, he said on June 13th that while the Spanish economy was experiencing an “abrupt adjustment” he didn't use the word “crisis” because that would be "abusing a false affirmation. Crisis means that everything is going badly and that every other thing is going well, neither one thing or the other.” Misreading, or misleading?

By July he had finally started using the "C" word publicly, even declaring in one interview, "For me, this is the most complex crisis we have ever experienced because of the number of factors that are on the table." But around then he had moved on to avoiding the "R" word. In an interview in August he said, "We think there will be very low or flat growth in the coming quarters, but we are not thinking of a recession." Misleading, or misreading?

Last summer Solbes and Company forecast that Spain would avoid recession and that the GDP would actually grow a full 1%. This was very different from what most other economists were saying. Then yesterday he and the Government belatedly acknowledged the country is in a recession when he announced that his ministry was changing the forecast from one of GDP growth to one with a 1.6% drop. Misreading, or misleading?

Of course, there are still many non-government economists who are not as confident as Solbes, with some predicting the Spanish economy will contract as much as 3% this year. Neither the dire views of others, nor his lousy performance so far, seem to have given him pause. Indeed, while finally admitting he was wrong yesterday, he also had the temerity to make yet another prediction. According to his crystal ball (which must be what he uses in lieu of economic theory), 2009 will see the worst of the crisis, 2010 will witness GDP growth of 1.2%, and 2011 will experience a jump up to 2.6%. Misreading, or misleading?

Of course, people here say that Solbes is only delivering the information Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero wants him to, and I don't doubt it for a second. Certainly the buck stops with Zapatero, but it would be nice to have an Economy Minister who told the PM and the people what they needed to hear.

Instead what is it exactly that he offers? Is it misreading, or misleading? Double-speaking, or misspeaking? Denying, or lying? Call it what you will, but it does not often resemble the truth.

Finally, one more question: if you were running a business, would you hire someone with a track record like this?

Dios nos ayude, amig@s,

Carloz

Mexican food in Barcelona? Pues, claro ¡a Casa Mexicana!

As I've written before, Barcelona's cosmopolitan nature is reflected in the menus on offer in the city's many and diverse restaurants. In addition to dining establishments serving the richly varied cuisine of Spain (Andalusian, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian, etc.), there are many places offering food from other parts of the world; this includes more than a few Mexican restaurants. My favorite of these by far is Casa Mexicana.

Located in the Porto Olimpico, Casa Mexicana is right next door to the Chinese restaurant I wrote about in July 2007. Like that place, there is a comfortable interior dining room filled with lots of natural light, as well as open air terrace where diners can enjoy a harbor view while eating.

The reasonably priced menu includes a wide range of items such as nachos, tacos, quesadillas, flautas, tamales, chilaquiles, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, chimichangas, chicken mole, BBQ chicken, grilled steak and even Tex-Mex lasagna. Vegetarian varieties of many dishes are also available. For dessert choose from buñelos with whipped-cream and/or chocolate sauce, a slice of the cake of the day, or fresh fruit.

Interestingly, Casa Mexicana is the only Mexican restaurant in Barcelona that serves breakfast, Every weekday morning diners can enjoy either huevos rancheros with bacon, huevos a la Mexicana, huevos con papas, huevos con chorizo or a Mexican omelet. And serving sizes are very generous, whether its a breakfast, lunch or dinner dish.

From Monday through Friday Casa Mexicana offers excellent lunch specials for only 8.95 euros, plus tax. As an example of these mid-day specials, let me tell you about what I frequently order -- creature of habit that I am. Usually I begin with a tasty starter of nachos with cheese and guacamole. For the main plate I typically choose one of their huge beef burritos, which bulge with meat, veggies, cheese and sour cream. This comes with a fresh green salad, half of a baked potato and pico de gallo. For a follow up to this hearty and scrumptious meal I almost always go with a helping of their delicious buñelos, which I prefer with whipped-cream, but sans chocolate sauce. Of course, like most "menus del día" in Spain, the price of the lunch includes a choice of wine, beer, water or soft drink. It all amounts to a delectable deal, indeed.

The owners of Casa Mexicana are a friendly couple named Miquel and Carina. If you ever visit the restaurant, ask for one of them and mention to him or her that you learned about their restaurant from Carloz's blog and you may just get a free tequila!

Buen provecho amig@s,

Carloz
.

Casa Mexicana

C/ Marina 16-18

08005 Barcelona

Hours:

Breakfast Weekday Mornings 8h - 12h

Lunch Weekdays and Weekends 12h - 17h

Dinner Weekdays and Weekends 19h - 24h

Reservations accepted:
Email info@casa-mexicana-bcn.eu
Phone (+34) 932 215 645

A White Kings' Day = Un Día de Reyes Blanco

Incredible as it may seem, it has been a white Kings Day (aka Epiphany) here in Barcelona! Although it was more like heavy sleet than snow, enough of it accumulated on local sidewalks, streets and plazas to cover the city in a dazzling white blanket. Drivers panicked and pedestrians tread carefully, but children may have interpreted it as one more gift from the Three Kings. All in all, it's been a nice holiday for this big kid, too.

Yesterday evening I walked in near freezing temperatures down to the most central of Barcelona's marinas to see the Magi arrive. To cheering crowds of children, parents and tourists, the Three Wise Men disembarked from the historic schooner Santa Eulalia, and accepted the keys to the city from Mayor Jordi Hereu. After various speeches, the Kings and their Pages walked through the throngs to collect letters from the little ones, so that they would know what gifts to deliver that night.

Eventually Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar split up into separate cream-colored convertible Rugby's from the 1920s that had been waiting to drive them to another location, where they were to meet up with Father Christmas (Papa Noel), and get on their respective floats so that the official 2009 Parade of the Kings (Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos) could wind through the city's avenues. I read in the newspaper today that nearly half-a-million people lined the streets to see the Three Kings, Santa and various other holiday luminaries roll by -- and throw candy and/or "coal" at the kids.

Today I headed out in the snowy cold to a Norwegian friend's for a Kings' Day get together. After stuffing ourselves with a scrumptious meal of homemade Mexican food, we settled in for a good Japanese film on DVD -- with Spanish subtitles, of course. (Talk about an international observance of the day!) We also enjoyed a colorful and sweet King Cake (Roscone de Reyes) for dessert -- and this year I got the piece with the King!

Feliz Reyes amig@s,

Carloz

P.S. You can see a colorful photo slide show of the arrival of the Kings and the parade on ElPeriodico.com.

P.P.S. For more on Holiday Season traditions in Spain, see my Dec. 23, 2007 post, Christmas, New Year and Kings Day Traditions in Spain.

Hispanic Film: the blog

I started a new blog today! It is about movies that have a connection to the Hispanic world. For the most part it will focus on films in Spanish, but occasionally will also have have information about English language films made by Spanish-speaking directors, starring Hispanic actors, filmed in Spain and/or Latin America, etc. It will include reviews of pictures currently on release in cinemas and DVD, history of Hispanic cinema, news about upcoming productions, reports on film festivals, sample movie trailers and other relevant items from the world of Hispanic cinema. Today I wrote two posts: an introduction to the blog, and a brief film review of El Nido Vacio (The Empty Nest), which includes a short video clip. Check it out at HISPANIC FILM: The Cinema of Spain, Latin America and more.

Happy movie watching, amig@s,

Carloz

P.S. I will, of course, continue my ramblings on this blog, as well as my rather infrequent additions to the somewhat tongue-in-cheek Spanish Phrasal Verbs.

Welcome 2009 with Carloz' Broad Beans and Sausage in Wine

In the part of the USA I come from, the Deep South, it is a tradition to welcome in the New Year with a heaping, hot dish of black eyed peas. Aside from being sturdy fare that is attractive in winter, it is supposed to bring good luck in the year ahead. Here in Spain, and in other Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Greece, another legume is traditional in New Years recipes -- lentils. They are supposed to bring luck, prosperity and health.

Is it just a coincidence that such starchy items are New Year's food staples in various places? I doubt it. As Nigella Lawson noted in that NPR program I referred to in my previous post, it makes perfect sense on a winter holiday, when many people drink late into the night, to have a meal that is largely made up of carbohydrates.

Since I could not find any black eyed peas here in Barcelona, and I am not crazy about lentils, I took inspiration from Lawson's recipe for Italian Sausages with Lentils, as well as a common local plate, Catalan Broad Beans (or "Habas a la Catalana") and prepared the following for a friend and I to welcome in 2009:

Carloz' Broad Beans and Sausage in Wine

Spicy chorizo sausage
Broad beans
Chopped onion
White wine
Water
Olive oil
Teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Thyme
Paprika

Put the sausage in a pan with a little water, cover and bring to a boil over a high heat. Then lower the fire and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Drain and cut the sausage.

Put the olive oil, broad beans, and sausage in a pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, salt, pepper, thyme and stir. Then pour in the wine and water. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes.

Add paprika and serve.

I thought it was delicious, but I was the cook, after all. However, my friend agreed. I think she was being honest -- especially as she went back for seconds, and cleaned her plate.

Feliz 2009 amig@s,

Carloz