Barcelona Photos: Saint George's Day / Dia de San Jorge / Diada de Sant Jordi

Here are some photos I took today.

Stalls on Las Ramblas:

A happy young couple at the port, with an unusual blue rose:

Stalls in La Barceloneta:

Read about the holiday in the following post: Saint George - dragon + roses + books = Saint George's Day!

Just in time for summer, Barcelona bans bikini wearers, shirtless men and nudists from its streets

Make sure to wear a shirt if you want to walk around in the stifling heat of Barcelona this summer, or you may pay dearly for it -- up to 300 euros!

Just in time for the tourist rush, the Spanish city known for its beaches and relaxed lifestyle has prohibited not only public nudity, but also the wearing of bathing suits away from swimming areas.

Beset by the hotelier and merchant lobby, who have protested for years that tourists walking around town with exposed torsos give Barcelona a bad image, the city council on Friday approved new legislation to prohibit and punish those who go down the street naked, bare-chested or in a bikini. The measure, which goes into effect next month, was approved just four weeks before municipal elections.

How the law will work

Complete nudity will only be allowed on Barcelona's officially recognized nude beach, Mar Bella, which is the only one in the city that has sand dunes, making it a somewhat secluded spot. Going shirtless or wearing swim-suits will be allowed only at pools, beaches and surrounding areas, such as the Paseo Maritimo stretching along the Mediterranean. Doing so anywhere else in the  city, including while strolling along the emblematic Las Ramblas boulevard or having refreshments at a sidewalk cafe, could result in a fine larger than the 200 euros one has to pay for running a red light: between 300 and 500 euros for going naked, and 120 to 300 for not wearing a shirt. In practice, local police will not fine transgressors immediately: nudes and semi-nudes alike will first receive a warning and an invitation to cover up. Fines will only be given to those who refuse to cooperate or who are caught again for the same violation.

Barcelona's police officers will probably easily recognize nudity when they see it, but how will they determine semi-nudity and its appropriateness? What is the difference between a woman wearing a bikini bathing suit and one wearing a pair of skimpy shorts with a bikini halter top? How far can a shirtless guy walk from the beach before being considered indecent? What happens if while a police officer is fining a bikini-wearing, shirtless couple who wander into a neighborhood near a beach, a sweaty construction worker without a shirt carries a heavy object out of building-site onto the street?

Barcelona on the cutting edge

While at least two other Spanish municipalities have passed legislation banning nudity, none have gone so far as to outlaw semi-nudity. In 2008 Alicante established fines ranging from 751 to 1500 euros for pubic nudity. The city of Las Palmas published an edict in 2004 stating that "nudity, when practiced in places of public transit, practiced en masse, or improperly, is no longer natural and becomes exhibitionism forced on others." Since there was apparently no fine or other punishment prescribed, I'm not sure how nude-free Las Palmas is today. But Barcelona's streets may soon be free of bikinis, swimming trunks and a few tourists.

Maybe next the city council will spend some time and money cracking down on another worrisome group of people who tend to freely wander Barcelona's streets, as well as its beaches: pick-pockets and purse-snatchers.

Cross posted on Newsvine.

Sources:
El destape urbano, non grato (Urban nudity, non grata) - La Razón (with video report)
No es un biquini, es un 'top' (It's not a bikini, it's a 'top') - El País

Interesting results from Spanish surveys, studies, reports, etc.

GUESS WHICH WORLD LEADER SPANIARDS CONSIDER TO BE THE WORST. If you guessed US President George Bush, you were only off by two. Bush came in third to last, behind Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the pentultimate position, leaving Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez to reign as the international leader held in lowest esteem.
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This terrible trinity of the worst was the result of a poll of 12,000 Spaniards conducted by the Elcano Royal Institute (Real Instituto Elcano), a Spanish think-tank. The survey, which was carried out between November 26th and December 3rd, had Chávez finishing last in the popularity poll with a 1.4 ranking. Next came Castro at 1.9, Bush at 2.2, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega at 2.9 and Russia's Vladimir Putin rounding out the bottom at 3.4. The most respected leaders were EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, with a 6.2 rating, followed by former IMF director Rodrigo Rato with 6.1, German Chancellor Angela Merkel with 5.8, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a tie at 5.3.
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MOST SPANIARDS SUPPORT ZAPATERO'S FOREIGN POLICY, according to the same Elcano study. Of the respondents, 54% view the Spanish Prime Minister's foreign policy efforts positively, while 39% take a negative view.
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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX UP AGAIN according to statistics released on Friday by Spain's National Statistics Institute (NIE). November's CPI was 4.1% compared with 3.6% in October. In addition, the European Central Bank, in its monthly economic bulletin released the day before, noted that inflation has risen in Spain, Portugal and the euro zone in general.
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SPANIARDS UP TO THEIR NECKS IN DEBT according to a study by The General Association of Consumers (La Asociación General de Consumidores), ASGECO. The Study of Family Indebtedness (Estudio sobre el endeudamiento de las familias) released by the organization last week reported that 40% of Spanish households have difficulty making ends meet each month, only 30% have money left over at the end of the month, and nearly 60% face the possibility of having to obtain a second mortgage on their homes.
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BARCELONA HAS THE HIGHEST CINEMA TICKET PRICES IN SPAIN AND CORDOBA THE LOWEST according to a comparison done by FACUA.org Consumers in Action (Consumidores en Acción). The survey of movie ticket prices at 104 cinemas in thirty-three cities across Spain found that the price of admission can vary up to 90% nation-wide. Barcelona, A Coruña and Madrid have the most expensive cinemas, against Jaén, Cadiz and Cordoba, the lowest priced. The average price nationally is 5.41 euros. Ticket prices have risen 3.6% over 2006, when the previous study found an average price of 5.22 euros. The average was 5.05 euros in 2005, 4.80 in 2004 and 4.62 in 2003.
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In the report, FACUA denounced as illegal the practice of prohibiting movie-goers from bringing with them beverages or food from outside cinemas. The association recommends that consumers request a complaint form from cinemas to denounce this irregularity, since it is a violation of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users. (La Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios.)
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TWO OUT OF EVERY TEN RAMBLERS ARE LOCALS according to a study by the Barcelona NGO Friends of The Rambla (Amigos de La Rambla / Amics de La Rambla). Only 2 out of every 10 people who walk along Barcelona's Las Ramblas are Barcelonans, whereas nearly 60% are foreign tourists. Another 20% or so are visitors, too, but from Spain rather than abroad, with about 10% of these from other parts of Cataluña.

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Of those surveyed, 34% said that Las Ramblas' diversity and cosmopolitanism was what attracted them most; 20% felt there were usually too many people on the famous paseo; 15% indicated that they felt insecure and vulnerable to theives and 5% were there in order to get to La Boqueria public market. The most traveresed section is between Plaza Cataluña and Plaza Real. Most people enter Las Ramblas from Plaza Cataluña, whereas the point of access least frequented is Arc del Teatre street.

From the seaside to the hillside - Part 2 (Plaza Cataluña)

Once at Plaza Urquinaona, the center of Barcelona, Plaza Cataluña, is only a block away. And it is from here that the trip from the seaside to the hillside continues.

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Plaza Cataluña (or Plaça Catalunya in Catalan; Catalonia Square in English) covers 50,000 square meters (162,500 square feet) and dates from the end of the 19th century, when the medieval wall surrounding the old city was torn down. Since then it has been the site of everything from a circus at the turn of the century, to gun battles during the Spanish civil war, to political gatherings during the democratic transition, to crowds of tourists in recent years. Along with people from all over the world, it is usually packed with pigeons, sight seeing buses, city buses and taxis. There are also plenty of motor scooters and bicycles parked all around the square. During Barcelona's many fiestas there are often live musical performances held in the plaza, with the square jam packed with revelers. Unfortunately, purse snatchers and pick pockets are often around also.

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People walk through or sit on one of the many benches in and around the square or even lie down on the grass under the fountain and sunbathe! There are only about four sidewalk cafes / restaurants (e.g., Cafe Zurich, Cafe Catalunya, Hard Rock Cafe's terrace and Farggi Ice Cream) and none of them would I recommend for much besides the people watching.

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However, I understand that before the civil war Plaza Cataluña was quite a hotbed of theater and cafe life. No theaters have survived and the only cafe that remains from those days is the Cafe Zurich. It is still a popular meeting spot, but don't go there hoping to glimpse a bit of history, as it has been completely rebuilt to suit the El Triangle shopping center that was built around it.

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For a great aerial view of the plaza, go to the restaurant at the top of El Corte Inglés department store. Food and drinks are not too pricey and if you manage to get a window seat the views are unequaled.

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There is a large ceramic star embedded in the center of the square, which is supposed to mark the center of Barcelona. There is also a large water fountain, some neo-classical sculptures and the ugly, indeed almost scary-looking, monument to former regional president Francesc Macia. (The top of this sculpture looks like it might topple over onto the bust of Macia at any moment. The creator of this modern monstrosity is Subirachs.)

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Sitting in the reflecting pool behind the monument is a statue with an interesting history. It is “La Diosa” (La Deessa in Catalan, The Goddess in English), which was sculpted by Josep Clara (1878-1958) between 1908 and 1910. It depicts a nude woman bathing herself. In the early 20th century it was deemed obscene by the then dictator Primo de Rivera and therefore was removed during his rule. (I'm sure he must be spinning in his grave at how much Spain has changed -- now real women and men bathe nude at beaches!)

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In the plaza there is also an attractive little statue by Pablo Gargallo (1881-1934) -- El Pastor de La Flauta (Shepherd with Flute). This is actually a reproduction of the original, which stood here from 1927 to 1986. The original is now in the Pablo Gargallo museum in Zaragoza to protect it from environmental damage.

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Another statue overlooks the square from on high, this one from the face of the building at number 21. (The Hard Rock Cafe is in the same building.) I do not know the history of this statue, but like to think of him as the legendary medieval knight Roland. (Rolando in Spanish, Rotllà in Catalan.) Roland's legend, so significant throughout Europe that most cities have a statue of him, is given a unique twist in Cataluña, where he is often portrayed as a giant in local fiestas.

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Some of the more notable architecture includes the Banco Español de Credito from 1941, the Telefonica building, from 1928, and the Banco de España building from 1948. Walk along the Northeastern side of this building and you can look up to find a guardian angel looking down on you. Sculpted by Madrid artist Angel Ferrant y Vazquez (1890-1961), it commemorates the legend that an angel appeared to Saint Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) as he stood near this spot outside one of the ancient city gates and reassured him that Barcelona would always be protected by God.

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While you're there, you must stop in next door at one of the best -- and best priced -- ice cream parlors / sweet shops in town, Planelles - Donat. Aside from incredibly delicious ice cream, shakes, chilled drinks and hot drinks, this gourmet shop, which has been in business since the end of the 19th century, also makes and sells its own brand of two very popular Spanish treats -- horchata and turrón. Horchata is a creamy cold drink made from tiger nuts. Turrón is a chunky candy bar filled with nougat and nuts.

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Back at Plaza Cataluña, two of the most prominent edifices are modern buildings -- the El Triangle shopping center and the large El Corte Inglés department store. El Triangle houses various stores, including the large FNAC book/music/electronics store and the aforementioned Zurich Cafe. El Corte Inglés is similar to Macy's, except that like other European department stores, it has a supermarket in the basement. Since it bought out the Spanish division of Marks and Spencer, El Corte Inglés is just about the only department store chain in Spain.

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Protruding from the stark Southeastern side of El Corte Inglés is the ornate remnant of a window from the building that once stood there. The intricate facade depicts several women playing musical instruments, including a drum, an accordion and a flute. I suppose it was just to pretty to demolish along with the rest of the building and, so, it hangs there, "en memoriam."

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To me, the most captivating structure on the square is the one I have not been able to discover much about: the Catalana Occidental Insurance building on the corner of Paseo de Gracia and Ronda San Pedro. This castle like structure dates from the end of the 19th century and today houses offices and apartments. I have learned that it was financed by banker and politician Manuel Girona Agrafel (1818-1905) and was originally called "La Sud America." (If anyone knows anything about the history of this building, please leave a comment.)

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Several important commercial streets converge on Plaza Cataluña: Rambla Cataluña, Las Ramblas, Paseo de Gracia, Puerta del Angel, Ronda San Pedro, Ronda Universidad and Calle Pelayo. (In Catalan, these are all: Rambla Catalunya, Las Ramblas, Passeig de Gracia, Portal de l'Angel, Ronda Sant Pere, Ronda Universitat and Carrer Pelai.) All of these streets make the area a shopper's paradise.

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In addition, there is a lot of life under the plaza, including the main City of Barcelona Tourist Information Center, two metro lines (the Green and Red lines), a Spanish rail (Renfe) station, a Catalan rail (Ferrocarril) station and a few little cafes, shops and newsstands accompanying them.

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To get to our hillside destination, we will head under Plaza Catalunya to take the Ferrocarril. More to come in Part 3.

A little slice of life from Barcelona

According to the "always reliable" Telefonica, there have been Internet problems throughout Spain all day today. Which could explain why it's taking forever for me to do simple things, like access my blog. So, I'll keep this short and just say that if you are ever in Barcelona and want a mildly weird experience, go to the Carrefour "Express" (lol) supermarket on Las Ramblas. (It used to be a Champion Supermarket and only recently converted to a Carrefour.) This store is almost always choked with tourists -- mostly young ones buying large bottles of beer and other alcoholic beverages. I mean it takes forever to get in and out of that place! I stopped in this evening on my way home just to pick up a carton of milk. It took me about 40 minutes, most of which was spent standing in an incredibly long line. But while you're waiting you can hear all sorts of languages spoken and see how many Europeans, and others, dress when they are on vacation. Not always pretty, but often interesting. Even though the store is not on the beach, it's not uncommon to see people in bathing suits, with towels around their necks and, of course, there are lots of white folks with newly reddened skin. I'll bet that only one in ten of the shoppers in there at any one time is a local resident -- and probably only one in 20 of those is a Spaniard. So, it's a curious experience, even if a little nerve racking at times. Of course, once you leave you enter the great pool of humanity flowing up and down Las Ramblas, but that's another story for another day...

C u round!

Woody sighting and Woody controversy.

I was "bicing" (bicycling) down Rambla Catalunya today, on my way to a class, when all of a sudden the traffic became unbelievably slow, then essentially stopped. It was even difficult for those of us on bicycles to negotiate our way along. Turned out it was because of the throngs who had stopped on the sidewalks to watch Woody Allen work.

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I didn't sop because it would have made me late, but he seemed to be pacing out a scene. (Is that the correct lingo?) To me he looked like a nice old guy in a fishing hat. He was a little heavier than I expected. (I thought people were supposed to look heavier on film and lighter in person!)

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OK, that's all I saw, so now for the controversy. It's twofold: 1. residents are beginning to complain about traffic jams, crowds of people, special privileges alloted to El Señor Allen. 2. Opposition politicians in Barcelona's city government have accused socialist mayor Jordi Hereu of giving Señor Allen essentially carte blanche in exchange for a photo opportunity when he was in New York not so long ago.

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Well, maybe I'm oversimplifying the second point a little. Apparently, the city has invested in the project, along with the Spanish and Catalan governments. The conservative Popular Party (PP) wants to know exactly how much the city has spent. So far the response from city hall has only been to say it is under a million euros. The PP also wants to know who paid for trips the mayor city council members made to New York City to meet with Señor Allen.

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Hmmm, the plot thickens...

Thursday’s News……………Spain’s World Heritage Sites Increasing & Bubbles in BCN

Originally posted by Carloz on June, 2007 at http://myspainblog.wordpress.com/

Unesco declares Teide a World Heritage Site! Today UNESCO declared Spain’s Teide National Park a World Heritage Site. A national park since 1954, Teide covers 19,000 hectares of the Canary Island of Tenerife. It inlcudes the higgest peak in Spain and is known for its biological variety and its spectacular geology, such as volcanic cones and lava flows. At 3,715 meters (12,188.3 feet), Teide is the third largest volcano on Earth. Its last eruption was in 1909.

Spain now has 40 World Heritage Sites, including 35 Cultural Sites (such as the Alhambra, the Altamira Cave and Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica and Hospital de Sant Pau) three Natural Sites (the Doñana national park in Andalucía and the Garajonay park on another of the Canary Islands, La Gomera) and two Mixed Sites (the island of Ibiza and the Pyrenees Mountains).

Also added to the World Heritage Site’s list today were locations in China, Gabon, Iraq, Namibia, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

Here is a link to the announcement on the official site: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/359

Next on the list? There has been speuclation in the media that Barcelona’s famous stretch of rambling boulevards, collectively known as Las Ramblas, is being considered as a possible nominee to the list of World Heritage Sites.

In addition, El Periodico de Catalunya reported today that the Spanish Government is considering making a proposal that the Mediterranean Diet receive a World Heritage designation from UNESCO. (Natural? Cultural? Mixed? Boiled? Baked? Grilled?)

Well, whatever designation it does, or does not, receive, the food here is excellent. Here is a link to an article on the Mediterranean Diet: http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Reportajes/Dieta+Mediterranea.htm?SubSys=FooGen&language=en

Pep Bou’s Bubbles are back! Peb Bou, the Catalan performance artist who has made an art form out of blowing bubbles, is back in Barcelona with his latest show, Claire de Lune. He and accompanist Jordi Masó produce a symbiosis of piano and bubbles to the tunes of Debussy, Blancafort, Séverac, Donostia, Fauré, Mompou and Turina. Here’s a link to his site: http://www.pepbou.com/eng/eng.htm

Responses

By: Colin on June 29th, 2007 at 9:48 am
The closest I have got to Teide so far is to fly past it on the way to Gran Canaria. I’ll be flying past in December (as usual) for my now annual two/three week break - meet ya there???!

By: Carloz on June 29th, 2007 at 11:27 am

Hmmm, sounds nice! But December is a little too far off for me to plan yet.