Joan Oro, effort and intelligence

By Dolors Marí

Joan (John, in English) Oró Florensa was born in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, on October 26, 1923, the youngest of five children and the only male. 

He studied at the University of Barcelona, where he obtained his degree in Chemistry in 1947. He decided to take a risk and go to the United States. Four of the universities that answered his request offered him free tuition. He chose to enroll at the Rice Institute in Houston, Texas. 

Oró demonstrated that molecules essential for life can be synthesized from other very simple ones, as was the case of formate, which has only one carbon. Oró suggested that cometary collisions with the Earth might have contributed to increasing the amount of carbon compounds in the early planet. He also suggested that comets had brought water to Earth. 

In fact, even if the young planet Earth was assumed to have had water, it probably escaped to outer space along with some mass of the planet as a result of a collision with a body the size of Mars. 

Oró participated in the NASA Program of Organic Cosmochemistry until his retirement in 1994. Before his retirement, and even afterwards, Oró was committed to the world of research both in the United States and in Catalonia. In Lleida, his hometown, he set up his own foundation Center of Astrophysics in the Montsec (Fundació Joan Oró).

Ferran Adrià our catalan chef

Ferran Adrià our catalan chef

By Dolors Marí

When we think about Ferran Adrià, we wonder if he is a chef, an artist or even a researcher.

Ferran Adrià has revolutionized the culinary world with his food deconstruction techniques.

Ferran Adrià Acosta is a Catalan chef born on May 14, 1962 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona, Catalonia). He was the head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava and is considered one of the best chefs in the world.

Ferran Adrià began his culinary career in 1980 during his stint as a dishwasher at the Hotel Playafels, in the town of Castelldefels. At the age of 22, Adrià joined the kitchen staff of El Bulli as a line cook. Eighteen months later he became the head chef.

In 1994, Ferran Adrià and Juli Soler (his partner) sold 20% of their business. This event became a turning point for El Bulli, the money was used to finance an expansion of the kitchen with a creative experimentation.

Adrià has referred to his cooking as deconstructivist. He defines the term as 'Taking a dish that is well known and transforming all its ingredients, or part of them; then modifying the dish's texture, form and/or its temperature. Deconstructed, such a dish will preserve its essence... but its appearance will be radically different from the original's.' His stated goal is to "provide unexpected contrasts of flavour, temperature and texture. Nothing is what it seems. The idea is to provoke, surprise and delight the diner."

El Bulli had 3 Michelin stars and was one of the best restaurants in the world.

Adrià is the author of several cookbooks, courses and all kind of projects related to art, creativity and cooking.

The criticism has split top chefs into pro- and anti-Adrià camps.

German food writer, Jörg Zipprick, accused Adrià of more or less poisoning his customers with the additives he uses in his cuisine and said that Adrià's menu should carry health warnings: "These colorants, gelling agents, emulsifiers, acidifiers and taste enhancers that Adrià has introduced massively into his dishes to obtain extraordinary textures, tastes and sensations do not have a neutral impact on health".

Ferran Adrià, and his brother Albert Adrià have a range of products called Texturas. The products include the Sferificación, Gelificación, Emulsificación, Espesantes and Surprises lines are the result of a rigorous process of selection and experimentation.

Who could resist a dinner invitation by such a famous chef?

"Raiers" or Timber rafters

By Mireia Vilaspasa

Timber rafting is an old log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted down the river the "Noguera Pallaresa". It is very similar to log driving.

Photo by Blanca Martinez-Ribes

This is an old tradition from the Catalan Pyrenees and the "Raiers Festival", celebrated in La Pobla de Segur, wants to commemorate this historical way of transport along the river: the rafts, or tied logs.

It has been celebrated since 1979, and its main activity is the rafts descent, on a Sunday morning.

The days before, the guys from the village have been assembling the rafts, following the age-old traditions. The longs are tied together and they are bound with ropes made of birch. They also build a rudder and a mast, that are useful to drive the engine and also to hang things: dry cloth, food, wine, etc.

There is not easy to ride a raft, because the river is abundant and with a lot of stones that can difficult the trip. 

On Sunday, there is a lot of expectation at the arrival, with neighbors and tourists who want to see the show: brave rafters dressed as old riders. The rafts start in Llania Dam, and after 6 kilometres, they arrive at Claverol Bridge.

Sardana, a traditional street dance

By Anna Chalons

The sardana is another well-known Catalan tradition. The dance was originally from the Empordà region( in the north), but started gaining popularity throughout Catalonia during the 20th century.

Music for the sardana is played by a cobla, a band consisting of 10 wind instruments, double bass and a tamborí (little drum) played by 11 musicians. The cobla, this is the name the orchestra receives, has five woodwind instruments: the flabiol which is a small fipple flute, and the tenora and tible (two of each) which belong to the oboe family. You can see one in the video below. Competitions are organized all around the country especially during the spring and summer time. The "colles sardanistes" or teams dress up in their specific outfit as you can see in the video above.

In Catalonia, about one hundred and thirty cobles are active, most of which are amateur bands. Outside Catalonia, there is at least one more cobla: Cobla La Principal d'Amsterdam.

At any local celebration you will be able  to see people dancing in the main square of the town. It’s something very genuine and very deeply rooted in our culture. Some people may find it a bit cold as it is not as passionate as other Spanish dances or music like “flamenco dancing”.

Castells or Human Towers

By Anna Chalons

In Catalonia there are many traditions which represent the spirit of Catalonia. Some of them refer to music, dancing, different kinds of food religions celebrations…

The best well known is “Els Castellers”. This is a human tower where  young and old, men and women participate.

Castelling began almost 200 years ago near Tarragona, just south of Barcelona. People form themselves into human towers with groups competing against each other in order to build   the highest and most elegant structures.

In Catalonia there are many “Colles Castelleres”, this is what the teams are called,  apart  from taking part in competitions they performance in their local celebrations.

Actually  "Castells"  are inscribed on Unesco's list of "intangible cultural heritage". 

Introduction

Catalonia is a Spanish autonomous community located in its north-east and separated by the Pyrenees from southern France. Almost 8 million people live there and 1,6 million live in the capital, Barcelona, the biggest and most visited city by tourists, even though there are a lot of beautiful places to see all around the region. 

It’s interesting to know that it has its own flag is called “La Senyera”, the National day of Catalunya is called ‘La Diada,’ and is celebrated on September 11^th and the Anthem is “Els Segadors”. You can listen to it here

Catalonia was first settled during the Middle Paleolithic era and it was occupied by the Iberians. The Romans conquered the territory and had the Capital of Hispania in Tarragona which they called “Tarraco”. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Visigoths ruled the territory until in 714 when the moors arrived. During the middle ages the Count of Barcelona got married with the neighbor crown, Aragon’s. And Barcelona got to be the main base of naval power. An identifiably Catalan culture developed in the later Middle Ages under the hegemony of the counts of Barcelona. The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 laid the foundations for a unified Crown of Spain and the discovery of America and the conquer began.

Catalonia is divided in four regions Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona and Girona and 42 districts. We are from Lleida.

Travellers usually go to Barcelona but others choose the Mediterranean beaches of the Costa Brava andCosta Daurada/Dorada, and the Pyrenees are popular with hikers and skiers. You can travel to Girona and discover the Dalí museum or to Tarragona and find out about the Roman monuments. 

Catalan cuisine is a good mix of seafood and meat based dishes due to Catalonia’s proximity to both the sea and mountains. The most important is Pa amb tomata (toasted bread with tomato, olive oil and salt). See more here (link to the food entry)

We also have loads of traditions, and we are proud of it, such as castellers which are human towers and “La sardana”, the tipical dance. (link to castellers)

If you come to Catalonia be ready to find out about history traditions and a lot more!

See you soon!!

By Meritxell Aluja.

Mobile World Congress and Innovation

By Adrián Lorenzo

Since 2006, Barcelona has signed a contract with Delson Group Inc and some important Chinese companies, which finishes in 2018. This contract is about a huge conference called "Mobile World Congress".  In this congress, there are some companies, start-up's, and freelancers who innovate in the different areas of technology (most of these companies, deal with mobile phones).

Environment

Since 2008, the GSMA company, which is working with
the Mobile World Congress, has been committed to reducing the
impact of business on the environment, both in his offices and at his
events. In particular, Mobile World Congress focuses heavily on reducing waste of printed materials, encouraging the re-use and the recycling of materials, using electronic tools and recycling waste from events.

Innovation

Two companies which went to the Mobile World Congress, independently, modified a VR headsets (VR: Virtual Reality) to improve its level of realism. 

This change, which is called eye-tracking, modified the way to interact with the sense of sight with different NPC (non-person-character, its a game entity, not a person) all speaking in a virtual reality world. This improvement of realism applies to the exchange of glances this means the NPC's eyes follow yours.

Tarragona: the Roman legacy

By Joaquim Torres
Tarragona is one of the four capitals cities of Catalonia, located in the north-eastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula close to the Mediterranean Sea. This small city was founded during the Second Punic War (year 217 BC) and is famous for being one of the oldest Roman settlements outside of Italia.

Tarraco, its Latin name, became capital of the Roman province of Hispania during the Roman Empire and for this reason the city still maintains a well-preserved archaeological ensemble that  was declared world heritage site by Unesco in the year 2000.

The city is a tourist destination because of its combination of beach and history sights that can be visited easily:

• Model of Roman Tarraco: a miniature reconstruction of Tarraco in the second century.
• Tarraco walls: an impressive defensive ensemble that protected the city from its enemies.
• Amphitheatre: a historical monument where gladiators fought.
• Praetorium and Roman Circus: the place where Romans were to watch horses’ races.
• Plaça de la Font, Plaça del Forum & Plaça del Rei: a space integrated in the actual modern city that was the Roman forum of the ancient city.

Another interesting way to know more about the Roman history of this city is by visit Tarraco Viva, an international festival that shows the military life and daily life of the legions and the gladiators as well as all about theatre, engineering and  lot more topics related with the ancient Roman lifestyle (http://www.tarracoviva.com/)