75 years ago: a coup attempt that led to civil war

On July 16 - 18, 1936, a group of officers attempted a coup against the republican government that initially failed and led to the Spanish Civil War.

"Today in History" of the Washington Post: "In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as right-wing army generals launched a coup attempt against the Second Spanish Republic."

The Wikipedia has an exhaustive article on that conflict that also introduces one to the relevant literature.

Today's Spanish and Catalan newspapers are full of special articles on the topic, some of them accessible for free.

Fully accessible:

El País dedicates one of its Sunday supplements ("Domingo" - generally full of political comment, essays, excerpts of political books, etc.) to the anniversary, here.

And in its Sunday magazine "El País Semanal" an interview with Paul Preston.

El Periòdico offers a day-to-day overview of the war's beginnings.

La Vanguardia has video documentaries, here.

Only headlines or summary:

The Catalan daily Ara only tells us what's in their printed edition, here.

Avui's Sunday supplement Presència lets us see the pictures (pdf dossier here), but not the interview with historian Paul Preston.


Spanish public television broadcasted a documentary on the still open questions about that conflict, they have it on-line here.

It stresses the essential importance of the aid from fascist Germany and Italy to the rebels from the very beginning: e.g. without their planes, Franco's troops from Northern Africa could not have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar as quickly and easily as they did...

One of the leading experts is Paul Preston. The LSE's Who's Who here. He leads the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies. El País offers these articles on the historian and/or his work.

MSNBC has a blog entry on the pictures of that war.

El País on corruption case in Valencia

Will the "Popular Party" head of government of the autonomous region of Valencia, Francisco Camps, finally step down? That is a question for many editorialists today. He was recently re-elected with an absolute majority but if the accusations against him are true, he should go, and quickly - otherwise the image of his party that looks forward to winning next year's general elections in Spain will be tarnished. The article from El País with the headline "Valencian premier to stand trial for accepting suits as gifts" is here.

Addition Aug. 9: shortly after the publication of the entry above, Camps stepped down as the regional premier. El País has more on the subject under the headline "Gürtel tapes show ring bribed PP politicians", here.

Barcelona Design Week, October 17 - 21

Barcelona has so many designers that there's a joke that says that in Barcelona the pick-up line is not "Do you work or study?" but "Do you work or design?".
This week came out the announcement of the next Barcelona Design Week in October, all the details can be found on this page, in English.
Another essential link for Barcelona and design is that to "Fostering Arts and Design", FAD Barcelona.

Madrid Book Fair

Unfortunately, their official website is only in Spanish, but if you happen to be in Madrid [not in Catalonia!] these days, do not miss the chance to pass by the bookseller's huts in the Retiro park. This year's official guest country is Germany.
Open until June 12, mornings and afternoons, - be careful, there is a siesta break...

100: a tribute to Literature

This is my personal post no. 100. It is dedicated to writers that give us great pleasure through their stories and help us to "forget our loneliness" (C.S. Lewis). One of my favourites among the contemporary is Haruki Murakami. I just read "What I talk about when I talk about running" and have "1Q84" before me. The Wikipedia has this on him.
Yesterday the Cervantes, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish speaking world was given to Ana María Matute. Here is the Wikipedia entry on her. As far as I can see, none of her works has been translated into English, though she taught at various universities in the US.
Here you can read what El País had to say (in English) about this year's St. Jordi's Day, April 23, the feast of roses and books in honor of the Catalan patron saint.

Catalan (and Spanish) design at American University

Until May 15, the AU Museum in Washington, D.C., hosts an exhibition on contemporary Spanish design. The majority of the artists exposed are Catalans. Here you find more information, the catalogue in digital format, and an introduction to the program Spain Arts & Culture 2011. It is mentioned on Express Night Out. A review on TBD here.

Miró at the Tate Modern, April 14 - September 11

A great opportunity to experience Catalan culture in London. Here is the link to the Tate Modern's page; if you want to learn more about this painter, the Wikipedia has this to say. The Ramon Llull Institute in London has prepared an extensive programme to accompany this exhibition, look out for press releases here.