Local News: Roses and Books

Words and books may take centre stage on St George's Day, but not on their own. Coming in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, roses flood the streets of Barcelona, offering everyone an opportunity to find one they can make their own. Though sales are expected to drop this year because of the festival's clash with Easter, florists will be trying to reverse these negative predictions with creative ideas and appeals to people's sense of one of the oldest traditions in the country.

It's a relationship that gets stronger every year. As they parade through the city's streets, the one reveals all its charm in words while the other, more discreet and coquettish, speaks a secret language only they can understand.

The latter is the rose. Together with books, roses are the eternal symbol of St George's Day, which dresses Barcelona up in every colour on 23 April.

Yellow stands for friendship, white for innocence, orange for desire, burgundy for inner beauty and red for beauty. There is a rose for everyone and shops like Au Nom de la Rose prove it.

This little establishment on Carrer de València offers roses of every variety, provenance, size and colour and always fresh and natural. "You will find every imaginable rose here, depending on the day," asserts Rosa, the shop's manager.

Article: http://w3.bcn.cat/V01/Serveis/Noticies/V01NoticiesLlistatNoticiesCtl/0,2138,257422265_257449819_3_1507876035,00.html?accio=detall&home=

On Saturday evening, I arrived back to Barcelona from Italy. As I'm walking down the street, I notice these small vendors that I've never seen before. On one side of the street, people are selling roses, and on the other side people are selling books. For a moment, I was confused. I wasn't sure what was going on, until I pondered the conception. Then, I remembered learning about St. George's Day in one of my classes. It's very similar to Valentine's Day in the United States. However, chocolate and candy isn't involved. The woman gets her significant other a book, and the man gets his significant other a rose. Roses don't always have to be given to a significant other. A yellow rose can be given to a friend to symbolize your friendship. I thought it was so interesting to experience this event. I saw a little boy give his mother a rose, and she was so excited and happy. Small things such as a rose really to symbolize how the small things in life matter most, and it was such a great experience to see an a small event happen right before my eyes.

Local News:Nadal wins Barcelona Open 6th time

The best in tennis

For sports fans, the best in world tennis are coming to play in the Comte de Godó Trophy. Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling are just some of the great players who will be vying for the trophy, on the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona courts.

The wormen's section, the Barcelona Ladies Open, will be bringing the city great tennis players too, such as Dominika Cibulkova, Gisela Dulka and Dinara Safina.

Article: http://w3.bcn.es/V01/Serveis/Noticies/V01NoticiesLlistatNoticiesCtl/0,2138,1653_1802_3_1507921036,00.html?bcnAccessible=true&accio=detall&home=HomeBCN

In my opinion, this is huge for Barcelona. Large events, such as the Barcelona Open, attract many people to the city. This brings new people to the city and they can see what Barcelona has to offer. In my opinion, it is even more beneficial that the winner of the Barcelona Open, Rafael Nadal,  is a Spanish born citizen. An athlete who wins in their home country brings much notoriety to that area. For example, Michael Phelps brought a lot of attention to the United States after winning many Olympic Gold metals. Prior to coming to Spain, I had heard of Rafael Nadal many times because he is an amazing tennis player, and receives a lot of media coverage, which is great for Spain, especially Barcelona (in this case). Rafael Nadal defeated David Ferre and claimed his 6th Barcelona Open title on Sunday April 24.

National News: Sevilla cancels Madrugá

It's the first time the rain has forced such a washout since 1847, but in Málaga the legion were able to carry their Christ. 



Read more: 
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_30193.shtml#ixzz1KW89xXU9


This article is describing how only 12 of the 31 brotherhoods were able to carry their virgins out in procession through the streets. Usually, the entire city stands in the street while the brotherhood carries their virgin from one end of the city to other end. However, this year rain cancelled 19 of these processions. The people are describing this as one of the worst Holy Week's ever.


I was not in Spain for this particular ceremony, but I was in Sorrento, Italy. My parents and I were coming home from dinner, and a similar parade began. The brothers were dressed in black robes with black hoods. Each brother carried either torches, incense, trays with nails and hammers, crosses, etc.. Finally, towards the end they carried the Virgin Mary, dressed in black. And afterwards, the body of Jesus. Once the ceremony was over, the people joined in the back of parade and followed the brothers to the other side of the city. For me, this was a surreal experience. I've never witnessed anything like it before, but I really enjoyed the whole entire ceremony.

A picture of the brothers carrying Jesus.

Calcots in Tarragona!

Calcots!

Calçots are a typical winter dish in Catalonia. They are typically served with romesco sauce. The calcots are usually the beginning to a large meal. Following the calcots, the locals usually eat different types of grilled meats, such as lamb and different sausages. In my experience with calcots, we were served the calcots with sauce and bread along with red wine. Once we were finished with the calcots, we were given a family style platter filled with lamb, different sausages, and different types of grilled vegetables. Following the main course, we were served Cava and flan (a typical Catalan dessert). It was quite the experience, and an extremely messy one. At the beginning of dinner, we were given bibs to wear (they should have given us gloves, too). By the time I was finished eating the calcots, my hands and face had black charcoal everywhere! But it was an awesome meal and worth it!

Recipe for Calcots:

You barbecue roughly 30 calcots (springed onions) over a BBQ or charcoal grill until they are black on the outside and soft and tender on the outside (5-6 minutes per side).

Once cooked, you wrap them in newspaper and set near the heat to keep them warm

Then you serve them with Romesco sauce, and eat one of the greatest meals, ever!

Restaurant: Tortilla de Patatas!

Tortilla de Patata

(Served in a small restaurant in Granada, Spain)

When I first arrived in Barcelona, everyone kept telling me I needed to try the tortilla de patata. I had no idea what they were talking about, because I've never heard of it before, so I just kept blowing the idea off. However, after being here a few weeks, I learned that it's a very typical and delicious Spanish dish. At that point, I figured I needed to try one. During a visit in Granada, we went to a local restaurant, and I finally tried one, and it was delicious! I sort of had an idea as to what to expect, but it far exceeded my expectations. It was delicious, and probably one of my favorite Spanish dishes so far! This is definitely a recipe I will take home to my family and friends.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 peeled potatoes

1 whole yellow onion

5 large eggs

Olive Oil

Salt

Green/Red Pepper

Preparation:

Cut the potatoes in half (long ways). Then with the flat part on the cutting board, cut the potatoes into slices. Then cut the onion into small pieces. Mix the potatoes, peppers, and onions together.

Heat olive oil on a medium setting and add potatoes and onions the the oil (enough oil to nearly cover the mixture.) Then let the potatoes cook until soft. Once cooked, remove potatoes, peppers, and onions from frying pan with a spatula. Set on paper towel to remove some oil.

In large bowl, whisk 5 large eggs together, then add the potato mixture and mix together. 

Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in frying pan and heat on medium heat. Once hot enough, add the potato and egg mixture. Cook until the bottom is slightly browned. Once browned, flip the tortilla over, and let the other side cook until lightly browned.

Hope you enjoy your delicious tortilla de patata! :)

Local News: Allegations Against FC Barcelona

Picture taken by Jenna Hrubes

January 16, 2011

Barcelona vs. Malaga

Article taken directly from : http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/894089/barcelona-consider-legal-action-over-doping-claims?cc=5739

"Barcelona are considering legal action after a Spanish radio station made allegations "which link the club to doping practices".

Barca issued a strongly-worded statement on Monday denying claims made by Cadena Cope and are in consultation with lawyers over their next course of action.

A statement released on the club's official website read: "In response to the grave insinuations broadcast on Sunday night on the Cadena Cope radio station, FC Barcelona wishes to publicly express its total indignation at these unfounded references which link the club to doping practices and to condemn such attitudes, which have nothing to do with fair play and gravely affect the image of sporting competition.

"FC Barcelona is demanding an immediate rectification and wishes to let it be known that its legal department is studying possible legal action to defend the club's honour, alongside that of its coaching staff, players and medical staff and is prepared to take such action to its final consequences.""

My opinion regarding the article:

I believe these are serious accusations made against FC Barcelona. There are rumors that the president of Real Madrid is behind these allegations. In my Sports and Society class, we discussed this matter in detail. Many students (including myself) believe this could be a conspiracy against Barcelona. These accusations are coming out before the biggest games of the year, and Real Madrid could possibly be trying to get into the heads of FC Barca's players and coaches and psyche them out.  I don't believe these accusations could be real, because 8 players played for the Spanish National Team in 2010. These 8 players were drug tested for this team, and passed with flying colors. So why would the players use doping practices now? To me, it doesn't make sense. The players have played together for so long, and have succeeded for years now. So I believe these allegations are false, and a conspiracy to psyche the team out before the final rounds of football begin.

Restaurant: Paella!

Recipe (varies):

1/2 Teaspoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of spices (oregano, paprika, garlic, crushed pepper, or whatever spice you choose)

Pinch of salt and black pepper

Skinless chicken, shrimp, pork, or whatever meat you choose

Mix ingredients together, and let marinate overnight

Rice:

• 1.5  teaspoons olive oil
• Thinly sliced garlic clove
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper
• 1/2 cup uncooked short-grain white rice
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 zested lemon
• Heat olive oil in pan, and stir in ingredients listed above for "Rice."
• Bring to a boil, then place lid over pan, turn heat on low, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Paella:

Cook marinated chicken (or whatever meat you choose) in skillet with peppers, onions, mushrooms or whatever vegetable you choose.

Cook until meat is cooked. (5 minutes)

Finally, spread rice on a plate (or bowl) and top with meat and vegetables.

Wal-lah, you've created Paella!