Joaquim Sorolla 148 today

Google, at least in its Catalan version, reminds us of the 148th birthday of Joaquim Sorolla today, a realist painter from Valencia with a sharpe eye for everyday life scenes of his days' Spain. One click leads us to images like the one here, and this article from the Wikipedia.

Potential tourists beware...

Until a few days ago it looked as if this spring and summer would be great tourism seasons for Spain as a lot of northern Europeans changed their plans of going to Egypt or Tunisia for Easter or summer holidays and decided to book vacations in the Canary Islands or the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Now it could become a nightmare for those tourists if public sector unions realize their threat of going on strike during holidays. These unions want to prevent the central government from privatizing AENA, the body that controls Spanish airports, which would mean an end to public sector privileges for its 12,500 employees and more competition between airports; it would also help the government in its efforts to balance the budget.
In early December of 2010, air traffic controllers went on a strike that left hundreds of thousands stranded on a holiday weekend and that led the government to declare a state of alarm in order to force them back to work and prevent them from striking during the Christmas holidays. Now similar chaos is to be feared if ground personnel at Spanish airports during the holiday season decides not to carry baggage, not to clean restrooms, or not to empty the trash cans. This would be a real pain in the neck for the Spanish economy as tourism is one of the few areas that works reasonably well - especially due to the benign climate, not necessarily to its quality - and that gives - often temporary - employment to a lot of people.

Measures to alleviate fuel price rises

The Spanish government announced today that the speed limit on Spanish highways will be lowered temporarily to reduce the general fuel consumption. The fare price for regional and middle distance trains will be lowered by 5% - also temporarily, and the gaz providers will have to mix more biofuels into the gasoline they sell. El País has the full story in English here.
Spain is a country poor in fossil fuels, except for dirty coal the production thereof is only viable with subsidies and coercion of power companies to use national coal for electricity production. On the other hand, it is a country blessed with wind and sunshine but there are few people rich enough for the initial investments, e.g. to put up fotovoltaic panels on their roofs, and the government recently cut the clean energy subsidies to consolidate the budget - but they kept those for coal. But green issues are not very high on the agenda of a country with a 20% unemployment rate, a rather poor education system, and little overall spending in R&D.

Contemporary Music: Sonar 2011

If you like electronic music and Barcelona in the early summer, Sònar is the festival for you. This year it will be held from June 16 to 18, and you can find more information here.

Contemporary Catalan pop

Recent years have seen a remarkable revival of Catalan pop music. The most successful groups of this moment are Love of Lesbian, Manel, Els Amics de les Arts, and Antonia Font from Mallorca. To get an idea watch this video or look for others on youtube.

Remembering 23 F

Yesterday - and the days before - the media were full of remembrances of the 30th anniversary of a failed coup attempt of some militaries unhappy with the young Spanish democracy that took place on February 23, 1981; therefore its colloquial name "23 F". The daily El País even offers articles in English, here. Interestingly, a lot of the leading historians on contemporary Spanish history are British, such as e.g. Paul Preston of the LSE and Hugh Thomas.
The Wikipedia in its English verision is not really helpful on this topic but introduces the protagonists, here.

Jordi Savall won a Grammy

As I ramble at times to promote Catalan culture beyond the frontiers of the small "principate" where I live, I have to mention the Catalan master of "early music" Jordi Savall who recently won a Grammy award. Though according to the Washington Post's critic Anne Midgette, here, the Grammys should be ignored, she helpfully links directly to amazon's offer of Savall's Dinastia Borja.
The Wikipedia has this to say about Savall.

Mercè Rodoreda in English

Open Letter Books, the University of Rochester's publisher for literary translations into English has recently taken up Catalan writer Mercè Rodoreda into its catalogue with a collection of 32 of her short stories and the novel Death in Spring. The Wikipedia's entry on one of the leading Catalan authors or maybe the most important Catalan novelist of the 20th century, is here.

Electric cars: buy ZEVs not SUVs !

A while ago I read about electric cars and the models the different caremakers will bring onto the market soon, i.e. within 2011. I looked around the web and found the ones presented here below; what is often still difficult to find is the date sales will begin and their price.
Because I don't have the time I would like to have for blogging, this article is not really well written and the cars appear without any intended order.
As far as they say on their website, the Norwegian Think is the most widely distributed and used electric car up to now. Its makers plan to built a factory in the US as well. It is not really pretty - the Think looks like those small cars powered by noisy scooter engines, made by Aixam, that one can drive to a maximum speed of 45 km/h without a license in Spain.
Slightly more appealing in its looks but very small indeed is the American made Wheego Whip LiFe that was meant to go on sale in January, more information here.
Renault's Twizy is a very short two-seater, meant as a second car for the journey to work or to gain driving experience; Renault puts its autonomy at 100kms, calculates 3,5 hours for battery charging - and a price similar to a three-wheeled scooter. As far as I know it will be built in Valladolid, Spain, as the facilities there are underused because the Renault Modus never became popular... The Renault Fluence ZE is the very opposite of the Twizy: very long for European standards at 4,75 m and extremely ugly, or to put it differently, ordinary and boring. Its price will be between 21.000 and 26.000 EUR plus a monthly fee for the battery...
The Seat IBE, pictured above and on which an article in Spanish from business daily Expansión you can find here, does not come with a launch date or price yet; one does not even find it on the maker's homepage; it is quite a beauty, similar to VW's Scirocco.
Citröen's C Zero looks like a Smart or a tiny South Korean car but comes with four doors and, like most of its competitors, little extra space for luggage or groceries if all of its four seats are occupied. At 3,48 m it is about as short as this blogger's car, a Suzuki Wagon R+ (=the old Opel Agila) - 7 cm shorter to be exact; but that should be sufficient for the average user who does not want to travel with it. Its makers put the autonomy at "nearly" 150 km. On its Spanish website Citröen does not say anything about prices but offers a quote if one demands it...
The Peugeot Ion made it difficult to be discovered. All the PSA brands' websites are quite demanding as to one's internet connection and take for ever to open their fancy presentations while one would be happy to have a quick look on a few pictures and detailed written descriptions. As with other models, Citröen and Peugeot share a great part of their respective electric cars, i.e. the Peugeot Ion looks like the C Zero, only a little fancier and more expensive. One cannot get a catalogue yet, prices are not offered either, but Peugeot promises an electric bicycle and a scooter, too, for the nearer future.

Opel's Ampera has got thedimensions of a family car, reminding one of a Renault Megane or Opel Insignum but it is not as sleek as these latter. The website is very comfortable for browsing, the model is promised for late 2011, there is no price quoted (- and putting the address here destroyed my text settings; I can't get rid of the italics).
Studying its specifications one discovers that the Chevy Volt, that looks like a Honda Civic, is a hybrid vehicle, not a fully electric car. It is not really pretty, like most modern American cars, and has got a price tag of 41,000 USD. Apart from GM's web, I found this website with more information

The Nissan Leaf might be the closest equivalent to a normal car with an internal combustion engine. It looks like a VW Golf as to size and styling, offers five seats and some luggage room, a very accessible website that even tells one its price: 32,000 USD or EUR (not quite fair to European buyers) or less, depending on local subsidies for the purchase of a zero emissions vehicle.
Unfortunately, Toyota's iQ is still in its study phase, if I interpret this article correctly. As is VW's E Up, according to this website specialized in alternative energy.
As to my taste, I would stick with one of the small European EVs: they look nice and seem to offer good value for the money.

Other articles on electric vehicles I found on Google News:
Why we need more electric cars, here.
Big challenges to EV rollouts, here.

A cartoon on the "revolt" in the Arab world

The Catalan daily Avui publishes this cartoon on its website today. It shows voices behind pyramids that say "Go" (or even "P... off!").

Primavera Sound 2011

If you happen to be in Barcelona between May 25 and 29, don't miss this nice spring music festival.

Here is the latest press release with the confirmed artists at the end; more information at www.primaverasound.com. If you book your ticket until Feb. 4, there will be a discount.

PRIMAVERA SOUND COMBINES PAST AND PRESENT IN AN EDITION THAT CONSOLIDATES IT AS A REFERENCE ON THE MUSIC SCENE

PJ Harvey, Sufjan Stevens, Interpol and P.I.L., among new bands confirmed for the San Miguel Primavera Sound 2011.

The musical event will have a new big stage, is increasing its perimeter and redistributing its space in order to improve the global experience of all the people who attend.

The concerts of the main programme of San Miguel Primavera Sound 2011 will be held on 8 stages, all of which are on the Parc del Forum site. The main novelty is the creation of a second big stage to host artists who draw large crowds and will be in a space that has never before been used by the festival. The Vice stage will also change position.

Another significant change is the increase of the area of the festival site in the Parc del Fòrum. This increase in the perimeter of the site with the objective of making the site more comfortable, will mean a redistribution of the spaces in order to make movement around the festival site easier and to avoid any masses of people. To this end, there will be improvements in the services available for the public, including a second food area, an increase in the number of toilets and changes in the decoration and style of the site.

As has already been announced, the festival will go back to its original venue the Poble Espanyol for two new days to celebrate the opening and closing of the festival (Wednesday 25th and Sunday 29th of May). These two dates join the rest of the parallel programme that, under the name of “Primavera a la Ciutat” (Primavera In the City) will take over the city of Barcelona during the last week of May this year.

In the artists’ section, an extensive list of names has been presented today, to almost complete the acts that will play the eight stages in the Parc del Fòrum during the last weekend of May. PJ Harvey presenting her new album” Let England Shake", Sufjan Stevens’ new show, the darkness of the New Yorkers Interpol and the post-punk of John Lydon P.I.L. (Public Image Limited), really stand out among the newly announced bands. These confirmations join the earlier announcement of the first comeback concert of the British band Pulp and the visit of big names like Grinderman, Animal Collective, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, John Cale, The National and The Flaming Lips.

As in previous editions, San Miguel Primavera Sound reserves a large space for artists that can be considered as “classics” of their respective styles. This is the case of the sound terrorists Einstürzende Neubauten, the cult British band The Monochrome Set, the guitar experimentation of the mythical Glenn Branca and his Ensemble, the Americans, Pere Ubu will play "The Modern Dance", his most highly praised record, as well as the corner stone of no wave, the New Yorker Arto Lindsay.

Other names that have been much talked about recently will also be here in Barcelona. The Americana of the ubiquitous M. Ward, the post-rock of Explosions In The Sky, the colourful glam pop from the band Of Montreal, the intimate folk of The Tallest Man On Earth, different versions of modern day crooners with James Blake and Perfume Genius, pop with roots by Avi Buffalo, the math rock with hints of electronic from the Battles or the psychedelic rock of The Black Angels will show just why they have won over the specialised press from all over the world.

Electronic and dance music in all its forms will take us into the early hours of each day of the festival. In the next edition the classics will shine as well as newcomers. Influential artists like the master of hip hop DJ Shadow, the crazy mash-up of Girl Talk, the live show by the duo Simian Mobile Disco, the maestro of newly fledged Lindstrom and the two performances by Kode9 (live with The Space Ape and a Dj set entirely based on Burial) will be up against new names that are doing really well like Carte Blanche (the Dj Mehdi and Riton duo), the dubstep of Caspa, Barcelona’s John Talabot, from the DFA label Holy Ghost! and the member of The XX, who will do a set as Dj Jamie XX. Less danceable but just as prominent, we have the rejuvenated show by Gonjasufi and promising newcomers of less accessible electronic music like Gold Panda and Baths.

Hip-hop is once again very much present in this edition. To the already confirmed Das Racist we must add BigBoi, member of the duo Outkast and author of one of the records of the year, the unstoppable collective Odd Future, on everyone’s lips because of nicknames like Tyler The Creator and Hodgy Beats.

In the music made in Spain section there are two clear focuses of attention: the reunion of the band from Asturias Nosoträsh playing their record "Popemas" and a special show by El Guincho, both of which will play with special guests at the festival. Apart from these bands, great revelations from last year like Lüger, Toundra and The Suicide Of Western Culture, who will share the line up with well established artists and fresh newcomers: Ainara LeGardon, Thelemáticos, Dúo Cobra, Les Aus, Berlinetta, La Célula Durmiente, Kokoshca and Ornamento Y Delito. The reunion of the Barcelona band Cuzo and the ex member of the legendary Can, Damo Suzuki deserves a special mention.

The line up is made up of different types of bands from different places. From The United States comes the folk of DM Stith, the lo-fi garage of Ty Segall, the dark noise of The Soft Moon, the girl band Cults, the pleasant drones of Ducktails, the synth pop by Glasser, Bart Davenport’s new project Incarnations, the psychedelic indie-blues of Kurt Vile & The Violators, the mixture of rock and electronic that Matthew Dear is making nowadays, the freak folk by tUnE-yArDs, the experimental pop by the hyped Warpaint, the indie folk of The Annuals and the post rock of Del Rey. From the neighbouring Canada come Julia Kent’s folk and the experimental rock of Sunns. The Finnish Rubik will represent the North of Europe and we round off the line up with Connan Mockasin from New Zealand and Field Music from Britain.

CONFIRMED ARTISTS SAN MIGUEL PRIMAVERA SOUND 2011

Aias, Ainara LeGardon, The Album Leaf, Animal Collective, The Annuals, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Arto Lindsay, Autolux, Avi Buffalo, Baths, Battles, Belle & Sebastian, Berlinetta, Big Boi, The Black Angels, Blank Dogs, BMX Bandits, Caribou, Carte Blanche, Caspa, Cloud Nothings, Comet Gain, Connan Mockasin, Cults, Cuzo + Damo Suzuki, Dan Melchior und Das Menace, Darkstar, Das Racist, Deakin, Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500, Del Rey, DJ Shadow, DM Stith, Ducktails, Dúo Cobra, Echo & The Bunnymen performing Heaven Up Here & Crocodiles, Einstürzende Neubauten, El Guincho, El Mató A Un Policía Motorizado, Emeralds, Explosions In The Sky, Factory Floor, Field Music, The Fiery Furnaces, The Flaming Lips, Fleet Foxes, The Fresh & Onlys, Games, Gang Gang Dance, Girl Talk, Glasser, Glenn Branca Ensemble, Gold Panda, Gonjasufi, Grinderman, Half Japanese, Holy Ghost!, Incarnations, Interpol, Islet, James Blake, Jamie XX, John Cale & Band + Orchestra perform PARIS 1919 live, John Talabot, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Julia Kent, Julian Lynch, Kode9 And The Space Ape + Kode9 Burial Set, Kokoshca, Kurt Vile & The Violators, La Célula Durmiente, Las Robertas, Les Aus, Lichens, Lindstrom, Low, Lüger, M. Ward, Male Bonding, Matthew Dear Live, Me And The Bees, Mercury Rev perform Deserter's Songs, Mogwai, Money Mark, The Monochrome Set, My Teenage Stride, The National, Nisennenmondai, Nosoträsh "Popemas", Odd Future, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Ornamento Y Delito, P.I.L. (Public Image Limited), Papas Fritas, Pere Ubu plays "The Annotated Modern Dance", Perfume Genius, Phosphorescent, Pissed Jeans, PJ Harvey, Pulp, Rubik, Salem, Seefeel, Shellac, Simian Mobile Disco, The Soft Moon, Sonny & The Sunsets, Sufjan Stevens, Suicide, The Suicide Of Western Culture, Suuns, Swans, The Tallest Man On Earth, Tennis, Thelematicos, Toundra, Triángulo De Amor Bizarro, tUnE-yArDs, Twin Shadow, Ty Segall, The Vaccines, The Walkmen, Warpaint, Wolf People, Yuck.