Corpus Christi

Since medieval times, the Roman Catholic church has celebrated Corpus Christi on the Thursday 60 days after Easter Sunday. Even in central Barcelona can you on this day see people placing eggs on the jets of water fountains, a tradition called l’ou com balla (how the egg dances). From the beginning, Corpus Christi has had more of a popular than a religious character and historic records reveal that giants, ball de diables (people dressed up as devils, dancing around with fire crackers), monsters and other typical elements of a Catalan festa have their roots in this celebration.

One of the places which really preserves the tradition is Sitges. On the Sunday, people come from all around Catalonia to see the clove fair (mostra de clavells – 2.100 pots displaying more than a hundred kinds of the flower) or admire the flower carpets (catifes de flors) which cover most of the space in the town’s narrow streets.

Last time we went was a very sunny day so we had to struggle not only with the crowds but also with the smell of the flowers which started to rot in the heat. This year we had planned to go early but the rain forced us to wait until late in the afternoon. With all the water in the streets, many flower decorators had had to interrupt their job, but around Sitges’s Àliga (a fire spitting eagle) did we find some which can give you a flavour of how beautiful this is when the weather allows for it.
- - -El nostre plan era d’anar cap al Sitges ja pel matí per arribar-hi abans dels barcelonesos i també abans de que les flors comencin a olorar malament. Però pel temps que feia, hem hagut de sortir per la tarda i llavors no esperavem veure gran cosa.

Un elogi a tots els sitgetans que han finalitzat les seves decoracións però també a ells que han intentat de fer-ho, malgrat la pluja ininterrompuda.

Chikiliquatre's Success / L'èxit d'en Chikiliquatre

The commentators on Spanish TV all agree that Chikiliquatre succeeded in his mission: he saved the Eurovision - i.e. made the audience return to their TV-sets - in a country where people usually do not take much interest in it. Swedish media has not been especially nice to him, so I cannot help smiling when seeing that he (16th) beat Charlotte Perelli (18th), who one Swede after Swede foresaw would end up in the top five. Baila el Chiki Chiki grows on you, and we will hear him more than once on dance floors during the coming summer, not the least in Eurovision addicted Sweden.

I do not agree with my fellow countrymen that the wrong song won. I would have preferred to see Ukraine (2nd) as the number one, but Russia’s entry was my second favourite and very easy to remember. And what a good song Norway (5th) had, perfect for long trips in the car. Finally, who I thought deserved better positions? Bosnia-Herzegovina - eyes closed - (10th), Croatia (21st) and Denmark (15th) - I want to hear them again.
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D'els comentaris després de que guanyés Rússia, he entés que de veritat ha salvat el Chikiliquatre l’Eurovisió ja que la gent d’Espanya que havia perdut l’interés al esdeveniment aquest cop han tornat a mirar-lo. Això és un èxit tan gran com el seu resultat a la votació. No volem una altra Itàlia que ha decidit de deixar la competició.

I que bonica era l’emisió d’enguany. Un espectacle ben treballat - sobre tot les presentacions de les banderes dels participants - i un guanyador totalment correcte, encara que l’Ucraïna ha estat el meu favorit personal. També espero que us hagiu fixat a la canció noruega – preciosa.

Perdoneu-me, però penso que Suècia s’ha merescut la dolenta posició on ha acabat (18 de 25). Perquè l’Eurovisió és tan popular al meu país, hi ha molta gent que es veuen com experts del tema. A ells, el Chikiliquatre no els va agradar gens, o almenys no fins ara. Aviat canviaran de opinió, pam a pam però segurament. L’estiu que ve es bailarà el Chiki Chiki pertot arreu a Europa, i els suecs en serem especialistes. Al final no hi ha altres nacions que són tan aficionats a l’Eurovisió com nosaltres.

Catalonia - Argentina

Today, the average Swede is looking forward to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Catalans are much less excited about that event - what will stir up emotions here is - I could have added ‘as always’ - football. At 19.00 starts the friendly match between Argentina and Catalonia, expected to attract 45.000 spectators to Camp Nou and many more via TV3’s live broadcasting.

In a football crazy country like Spain, the dream of an internationally recognised football team is one of the main fronts of Catalan nationalism. It is therefore quite natural that the movement Plataforma pel Dret de Decidir will be present around the stadium in order to collect signatures for Catalonia’s right to call referendums within its territory.

From a sports point of view, the Catalans do not stand a great chance of winning. They are debilitated since natural team members from FC Barcelona (Puyol, Xavi) are busy training for the Uefa Euro 2008 with the Spain team. Only goalkeeper Valdés comes from the blaugrana, and it is instead Espanyol which contributes with the biggest number of Catalan players.

They will meet a strong Argentina actively preparing for the Olympic Games of Beijing and full of players from Spanish premier league clubs. It goes without saying that Argentinean Barça-player Leo Messi will be the focus of all attention.

Apparently by tradition, one of the players comes from the amateur Catalonia team. This time, CF Vilanova forward Santi Triguero has been selected and although he represents a 3rd division club, he has been promised to also play. What a motivation for all young football fans of our town!

Up-date: In front of 42.380 spectators (of whom not a few were Argentinians living in Catalonia), Argentina won through a goal by Lavezzi, 17 minutes before the end of the match.
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Em sembla fantàstic que un jugador de CF Vilanova, un equip de la Tercera Divisió, va rebre l’oporutnitat de formar part de la selecció catalana per al partit contra l’Argentina d’avui. M'imagino la il•lusió que els deu fer a tots els nens i joves que juguen al futbol en la nostra ciutat. Enhorabona Santi Triguero i molta sort per aquesta tarda!

Personalment no espero gaire un bon resultat amb un adversari tan fort – un equip argentí que s’està preparant per als Jocs Olímpics de Pequín. Que els catalans recordin que el més important és lluitar i no rendir-se.

No trobo res sobre aquest matx en laVanguardia d’avui. Que és una decisió politica això?

Warming Up / Escalfament

As a child I used to travel quite a lot with my parents and younger sister, but never to Spain. So forget about Franco, forget about oranges and forget about the trips to Mallorca or the Canary Islands which so many of my class mates went on. When I look back it was probably only at the age of 12 when I formed my first impression of the country where we now live.

At that time, although I already had an interest for the Eurovision Song Contest, my taste of music was even less developed than today. Sweden was always my favourite and then I used to think that songs got worse the further away we came from Scandinavia. However, there usually was a limit, that is until 1983 when barefoot Remedios Amaya represented Spain. She ended up with zero points and I remember thinking that that was exactly what she deserved.

¿Quién maneja mi barca? is not without qualities, but why was not this woman sent to a world-music festival? What did she do in the Eurovision?
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Viure a Espanya – això és un somni per a molts suecs, però quan vivia a Suecia jo no era un d’ells. Els meus pares no solien buscar el sol durant les vacances i per tant no anavem al Sud d’Europa tot i que viatjavem molt.

Avui, dissabte, se celebrarà l’Eurovisió i he de confessar que una de les meves primeres impresions de l'estat on vivim ara era la canció ¿Quién maneja mi barca? de 1983. Diuen que el Chikiliquatre d’aquest any és un candidat “freaky” però os asseguro que a mi, llavors amb dotze anys, m’hauria sorprengut menys ell que la descalça Remedios Amaya.

La seva canció no és dolenta però com tampoc és típica d'Espanya, de veritat no entenc com va arribar fins al final. Sembla que els jurats de la resta d’Europa van pensar el mateix ja que es va quedar amb zero punts.

Bad Image / Imatge dolenta

Last weekend, we had two groups of Swedish friends visiting Barcelona. In the first one, a young woman had her handbag stolen right upon her arrival, on the train from the airport to the Sants station. For the other group it seemed as if they would be able to make it, but on their last evening, one of the men had his wallet snatched in one of the alleys around the Rambla.

Before we moved here, I have been living Poland as well as the Czech Republic, but although Eastern European cities are infamous for pickpockets, it feels as if the situation here is worse. Just imagine how senior tourists will feel about going to Barcelona when they learn that an 80-year old Danish visitor has just died from the injuries she suffered from falling when a man had grabbed and fled with her purse.

Voilà, a real problem for politicians to work with, instead of spending time thinking about the damage which internationals media’s reporting on the water crisis might have done to Barcelona’s image. I was about to complain that petty crime never makes it to the headlines but with the sad news of today in mind, I guess we ought to be grateful for that.
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Avui va morir una turista danesa de vuitanta anys, que s’havia donat un cop per caure a terra després d’haver sigut robada. Amb conseqüencies tan dolentes, fins i tots els mitjans de comunicació han trobat l’espai per comentar el tema, però la delinqüencia a Barcelona és un problema de tots els dies.

El cap de setmana passat ens van visitar dos grups d’amics suecs. Del primer grup li van robar a una noia ja al tren del aeroport cap a Sants – un bonic primer record de la visita. L’altre grup va passar més hores sense problemes, però durant la seva última nit, un noi va ser víctima d’un carterista. Es diu que la criminalitat a Europa de l’Est és alta, però jo vaig viure allà i de veritat em sembla que la situació per aquí és pitjor.

Que deixin de preocupar-se els politics si el fet que ens porten aigua amb vaixells pot danyar la imatge de Barcelona. Jo sóc segur que això no els importa als turistes. El que va passar amb la pobra danesa és molt més greu. Encara no he pogut trobar la noticia en la premsa Escandinava, però es presentarà, d'això no cap ningun dubte. A molts turistes potencials no els agradarà gens.
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Actualització: Avui presenta el diari danés BT un article sobre els problemes que la filla de la víctima va tenir per rebre ajuda del consolat danés a Barcelona. Segons informa, demà dissabte publicarà el mateix diari un altre article amb més detalls sobre el assumpte - exactament com va poder preveure's.

Good Vibrations / Bones vibracions

I am setting myself up as a sales agent (autònom). Currently I am looking into the condom business and must say that it is different from what I expected. The argument that condoms are the best protection against sexually transmitted diseases does not sell and as the manufacturers are searching for new ways to market their products, my perception of national characters is being challenged.

Being a Swede living abroad, people from other countries often tell me how open minded they believe that we are when it comes to sex. And although I cannot claim to recognise myself in the stereotype, I certainly have thought us to be a lot more liberal than the, in our eyes, prudish English or traditional catholic Spaniards.

Not so any longer. After a market survey revealed that as many as one third of English women own one or more sex toys, UK based Durex decided to add dildos and stimulator rings to their condom range and they are now the leaders in promoting “sexual wellbeing”. By shifting the distribution from seedy porn shops to honourable pharmacies and with sophisticated feminine packaging, they intend to make the purchase less embarrassing. And it works, not only in England but also here in Catalonia is it now possible to leave a pharmacy with a pack of bandaids, some headache pills and a vibrator. As if that would not be enough, TV advertising on a daily basis shows us how a married couple wakes up in their bed and realise that it is time to ‘fill their life with good vibrations’.

Swedish quality condom manufacturer RFSU has been slower to enter into this market and since they have a dominating market position in the Nordic countries, customers have had to wait. But today media reports that they will launch a similar offer. True, Durex Play is the pioneer, but the Swedish alternative Trust in Lust has a more inspiring name (at least to me but, admittedly, I am not a native speaker) and more fun-oriented packaging. Let us see if this will be enough to stir up the imagination and fantasy among my fellow countrymen. The English and Spanish are ahead of us and we have a reputation to live up to.

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Els suecs tenim molt poques inhibicions sexuals, ho coneixeu tots no? Això és una fama que ens persegueix pertot arreu del mon i el dilema de la meva generació – diguem els nens d’aquells suecs sense tabús – és que molts de nosaltres no podem identificar-nos-hi. Però, clar, quan nosaltres mateixos ens comparem amb gent de un país catòlic, com ara Catalunya, ens pensem ser més liberals i sense prejudicis.

Per tant em sorpren el desenvolupament que podem veure a les farmàcies. És cert que per aquí encara es poden trobar farmacistes que per convicció religiosa no volen vendre pastilles anticonceptives (cosa que no ocorre a Suècia) però alhora hi ha cada cop més botigues on es venen massatgedors i estimuladors per a ella i anells per a ell.

Si avui aneu a una farmàcia a Suècia (encara és un monòpol estatal que es diu Apoteket, vereu que no n’hi ha res de similar. RFSU - la nostra marca de condons de qualitat i fins i tot ètics, ja que l’empresa reinverteix el seu benefici en una ONG – fins fa pocs anys era considerat radical per celebrar el plaer sexual, però aquesta vegada no som progressistes. Acaban de llançar-se unes joguines eròtiques, però fins el mes de juny la venda es realitza únicament a través de l’Internet.

Imagineu-vos si tota la gent del nostre barri a Vilanova ja està jugant. No seria una vergonya si nosaltres, com representants locals de Suècia, fòssim els últims a aceptar les noves tendències? “Omple la teva vida de bones vibracions” ens repeteixen a la publicitat a la tele. Ja hem entés. Hem de defendre l’honor de la nostra nació.

Unconstitutional Independence / Independència inconstitucional

Summing it up as “trips to nowhere, risk projects” since it is “unnecessary, out of place, since it divides and confuses” was how Zapatero rejected the Basque lehendakari (president) Ibarretxe’s proposals, when the two of them held a meeting on the referendum on independence which the Basque nationalist party PNV is planning to call for 2010.

Although Ibarretxe’s plan is to create a broad agreement on the question for the referendum among all parties with representation in the Basque parliament, Zapatero responded that it will not be allowed to take place, since it does not the respect the constitution and democratic rules.

The problem with Zapatero’s answer is that, applied as a general rule, a small part of an existing state would never be able to gain its sovereignty democratically since the majority of the state as a whole most likely will vote against it.

Although the circumstances were different, those who favour Basque or Catalan independence can use the referendum which resulted in an independent Montenegro as an example to how the international community might react. On that occasion, as long as the voter participation reached 50% and 55% of the votes given were in favour, the EU in advance committed to respect the outcome.

The question is rather whether the Basques are prepared to vote on independence. I do not think they are, because in the Basque country there are a lot of people who first and foremost feel Spanish and in the anonymity of polling stations they can be expected to vote no.

Catalan politicians do not seem to feel the same urgency as their Basque colleagues. Here, the most radical nationalist party, Esquerra, is debating whether a referendum should be called for in 2014. The traditional nationalists, CiU, might be perceived as independentistes in Madrid, but only last did the bigger one of the two CiU parties, CDC, formally include a sovereign Catalonia as one of their alternatives for the future.

In the end, what PNV and now also CDC advocate in not necessarily independence but the right to decide (dret de decidir). To me that sounds reasonable. It cannot be good for a democratic state to rule out any attempt by a region to leave it as unconstitutional and therefore undemocratic.
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L’estudi que presenta Avui que un 52% dels Catalans votarien favorablement en un referendum sobre la indepenència del país em sembla exagerat i incorrecte. Si ja existís un desig tan fort de sobirania, perquè sortiria el PSC tan reforçat de les últimes eleccions estatals? Més aviat penso que hi ha una majoria silenciosa que sí vol autonomia, però dins de l'Estat Espanyol.

No obstant això estic totalment d’acord amb CDC que la independencia ha de ser una de les alternatives dins del dret de decidir i per tant em molesta la resposta que ha rebut el lehendakari Ibarretxe d’en Zapatero avui: “viajes a ninguna parte, aventuras, no; porque es innecesario, es inconveniente, porque divide y porque confunde".

Si únicament es refereix a la versió actual de la constitució espanyola per valorar quines propostes són democràtiques i quines no, és clar que un referendum sobre la independència d’una comunitat autònoma sempre serà indemocràtic. Per cert, la situació era distinta, però la UE va establir un exemple amb el cas de Montenegro. Allà va aceptar la comunitat internacional la decisió de la gent que vivia a la regió i no cap l’opinió de la resta de l'estat on pertanyia.