When we were still new in Vilanova, we found the Trattoria Da Gianni (address: Carrer de fruita 10; phone: 93 814 44 16) thanks to their advertising on one of my favourite radio channels. Possibly our expectations were too high and possibly the service was not as poor as we have thought about it since, but for many years we did not return.
That is until now. Da Gianni’s new outdoor terrace looked so inviting that we could not resist it. Expats with permanent residency in the comarcaGarraf might feel a bit uneasy when I tell you that it is located in Plaça del Cotxes – where most of us have spent at least half a night in order to get an appointment with the Extranjería department – but you need not worry. The police have finally moved away to modern offices and while you eat you will be able to observe the beautiful square if not in a new light, so at least with a different perspective.
During our latest visit the service was surprisingly good and we were highly content with the quality of the dishes. Da Gianni offers pizzas, pastas as well as meat and fish at standard Vilanova prices. My only negative remark would be that with four people at the table it was totally crammed with plates and glasses, but that is a detail and I am confident that we will prefer to sit outside next time as well.
After a day in the sun on platja de Ribes Roges, you might want to eat something before you head home. Although the kiosks (guingueta or xiringuito in Catalan, chiringuito in Spanish) are good for drinks, I would suggest that you continue up to the beach walk if it is food you are after.
Just before you reach the lower part of Vilanova’s Rambla (Rambla de la Pau), you will find George (address: Passeig del Carme 46; phone: 93 815 20 77) . As you will see, this is not a place for fine dining, but the Dutch owner offers tapes as well as a mix of international dishes - salads, big toasts and, his specialty, crêpes - at affordable prices.
Like most establishments in Vilanova, George is open throughout the year, but what I would describe as a calm indoor sports bar during the winter becomes a busy restaurant in the peak season. This is a good place for people watching, but if you want a table on the outdoor terrace you had better reserve in advance.
Resultats d’examens espero sempre amb poca confiança en mi mateix. La pitjor situació de totes vaig viure fa increïblement molts anys, durant el meu primer semestre a la Universitat de Lund a Suècia, i va tractar-se d’una prova de vocabulari anglès. Em semblava exageradament dura mentres que l’omplia i vaig sentir-me molt malament quan vaig haver d'entregar-la a l'examinador. Els dies abans de saber-ne el resultat passava formulant frases per als meus pares, per explicar-los per què havia suspès i per què no valdria la pena fer-la de nou, ja que era totalment per sobre dels meus coneixements.
A Suècia aleshores examens solien estar basats en preguntes obertes, però aquella prova va ser un dels primers qüestionaris d’elecció múltiple que vaig fer en la meva vida. Per això vaig subestimar l’efecte positiu de la meva intuició quant a les preguntes on no vaig ser absolutament segur de la resposta.
Ara em va passar el mateix un altre cop. Pensava que aprovaria l’examen del nivell B de Català amb el marge més ajustat possible però no és així. “Qualificació: notable”, posa a la carta que vaig rebre ahir. Ja no tinc excuses per evitar d’apuntar-me per al nivell C l’any que vé.
Since May 3, when I took the Generalitat’slevel B (intermediate) test of Catalan have I waited for the results and yesterday, more or less exactly on the date when it had been promised, did I receive the letter from the Secretaria de Política Lingüística.'Remarkable' (notable, in Catalan) was the grade I had obtained. Quite unexpected, indeed!
The letter from yesterday clearly states that it is not an official certificate, so now the next milestone is October 15, when I will be able to go and collect my diploma.
And after that it will soon be time to sign up for the level C (sufficiency) test for 2009. If the schedule is the same as this year, all applicants will have to register and make the payments in February although the actual tests take place only in May.
Winter, spring, summer and autumn – the cycle of the year. Can the pace of the Generalitat’s exam calendar have been set by a religious mystic?
Under no circumstances should my interest in Catalan be interpreted as a proof that I do not like Spanish. I love to read in this language and usually feel quite comfortable speaking it. The only reason why I have not dedicated more time to it on this blog is that so many other people already do. Having said that, my own memory will benefit if I start to occasionally comment on news related to Spanish, just like I already do with Catalan, so here are a few lines, all related to a new prize:
The Junta de Castilla-La Mancha and the Fundación Santillana are the initiators of the new "International Prize Don Quijote de La Mancha", which they want to become a reference for those “on one or the other side of the ocean” who work to defend and spread the use of the Spanish language. The prizes of € 25.000 per category will be handed over to the winners at a ceremony to take place in Toledo, in October this year.
To expose my lack of literary refinement, I admit not to yet have read any books by Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. He will receive the prize for his achievements not only as as a writer but also as a thinker who promotes Spanish a language of knowledge.
Politically more interesting is the second winner, the president of Brazil Lula da Silva, who will be awarded the prize for “best institutional effort” thanks to his Ley del Español. This law requires for all secondary schools to offer classes in Spanish, although it is then up to the students themselves to decide whether they want to take them. In spite of pressure to also offer English and French, the Brazilian government focuses solely on Spanish as the first foreign language, with the explicit intention to consolidate the Mercosur co-operation with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Spanish sports is going through what some have called an Annus Mirabilis. So far in 2008, cyclist Alberto Contador has won the Giro d’Italia, “la Roja” – the Spanish national football team – are the Euro2008 champions, Rafael Nadal has won at Roland Garros as well as at Wimbledon and this weekend cyclist Carlos Sastre took home the victory of Tour de France.
Further triumphs will most likely be added when the Beijing Olympics start in a few days. The expectations are high and right-wing newspaper El Mundo now offers a presentation of the individual sportsmen under the headline “los nuestros”, specified as “españoles” (“ours” and “Spaniards”, respectively) when you follow the link.
At the same time, LaVanguardia reveals that 1 out of 3 (32,6%) of those who will represent Spain in China, come from Catalonia. This is the autonomous community which sends the highest number of participants (94 of 288 in total) to the games, while Madrid is number two with 40 and Andalusia third with 26.
I cannot help wondering how many of these sportsmen would, in fact, prefer to hear the Catalan “Els Segadors” rather than the Spanish national anthem “la Marcha Real” if they manage to make it to the top of the podium.
- - - Related media: El Mundo 1, El País 1, LaVanguardia 1
I was looking forward to celebrate the Festa Major de Vilanova i la Geltrú from next week, but now flags and posters in the streets tell me that, at least officially, it starts tomorrow already.
About our carnival tradition, people from here say that you have to be a member of a carnival association (colla) to appreciate it fully. With the Festa Major it is the other way around – it is open to everyone, independently whether you live here or only visit for the day. The program is rich and includes all the elements you want to find in a true Catalan festa: traditional human towers (castellers), acrobatic human towers (falcons), almost daily processions (cercavila) of either giants, fire-spitting monsters (above all dragons) or other funny creations as well as sardana dance performances.
Last year I was ambitious enough to make a full translation into English of the program, but this year I will focus on documenting the event. The Festa Major representatives (pabordes) have created a beautiful moon inspired - since vilanovins are said to go crazy when the moon is full - web-page and I believe that you will be able to decipher the important 'whats', 'whens' and 'wheres' from the text in Catalan. There is still plenty of time because, let us be honest, what will happen this weekend is only the warm-up. The "real" party starts next Friday, August 1, and lasts until the following Wednesday, August 6. - - -
Here is finally a new summary of news related to the Catalan language:
Aragon, to the crown of which Catalonia once used to belong, will carry out a language reform. Spanish will still be the only official language, but the autonomous community will be described as trilingual and the territory split into different parts based on which language was historically spoken there. The Catalan area will finally bear this name, a move which hopefully will end the tendency of some towns to give local names to the language – eg. “fragatí”, “tamarità” or “maellà” – in order to portray themelves as independent from the Catalan culture. (Avui 1)
Personally, I had hoped that the Manifiesto por la lengua común would have been forgotten by now, but recently Tele-5 signed it and offered the spokesmen of the ‘Manifiesto’ to use the TV-channel to promote their message. The Catalan Plataforma per la llengua considers this an attack on cultural diversity and requests Tele-5 to change this decision. If not, it will recommend people not to watch the channel and also to stop buying products from its sponsors. (Avui 1)
With a minimal margin (only 1 vote more than the required 3/5 majority), the French parliament has voted to modify the constitution and recognize a number of regional languages, among them Catalan, as parts of the cultural heritage. The reform does not give the languages official status, but aims to guarantee that they be preserved and allows for them to be used in education. In its support for regional languages, the state of France is far behind that of Spain but this change, proposed by president Nicolas Zarkozy, is a step in the right direction. (Avui 1, 2; VilaWeb 1)
From October 2008, the European Parliament will finally live up to its parole that languages are the assets of Europe, and add Catalan among the languages on its web-page. EU officials claim that this measure does not have anything to do with the fact that 27-year-old Miquel Català (web) on his own initiative had made available an 'as if' version already including translations of most texts. (Avui 1)
A few days ago in Barcelona, the Plataforma per la llengua arranged a high-profile meeting with the slogan “El català, llengua comuna” (Catalan, our common language) and Jordi Pujol and other well-known CiU and Esquerra politicians among the speakers. The purpose was to motivate newcomers to Catalonia to use Catalan as a language for everyday communication. We Swedes were not among the 22 groups of immigrants which co-organised the event, but let us all be happy for that. If I had had to perform a “Swedish” schottische, my face would have revealed that I consider our dance even less exciting than the Catalan sardana. Below you find a YouTube clip made to spread message from the meeting. I would not say that I like the presentation, but I do support the objectives of the initiative. And you can always focus on the nice background music. (Avui 1)
When we were still new in Vilanova, we found the Trattoria Da Gianni (address: Carrer de fruita 10; phone: 93 814 44 16) thanks to their advertising on one of my favourite radio channels. Possibly our expectations were too high and possibly the service was not as poor as we have thought about it since, but for many years we did not return.
