Wirdheim in Vilanova: From a Vilanova Perspective

Sunday, 8 August 2010

From a Vilanova Perspective

#Wirdheim_in_Vilanova

I love the Festa Major of Vilanova i la Geltrú, especially so this year, when Bordegassos have built a human tower of eight levels and I have had the opportunity to be the base (baix) and second (segon) of human pillars of four levels during our parades.

And I do love these parades (cercaviles) with all their elements: dancing devils, dragons, Serrallonga’s dance (ball d’en Serrallonga), giant donkeys (mulassa), giants, 'big heads' (capgrossos/nans), flower garland dance (ball de cercolets), shepherds’ dance (ball de pastorets), tambourine dance (ball de panderos), ribbon dance (ball de cintes), so called gypsy dance (ball de gitanes), Catalan stick dance (ball de bastons), moixiganga, the dance of Valencians (ball dels valencians) and human towers by falcons and castellers.

But Festa Major can be intense when you - as I have this year - try to both participate and see as much as possible at the same time. I therefore look forward to Sant Bartomeu in Sitges and Sant Fèlix in Vilafranca del Penedès where I will just watch and enjoy.

#Vilanova_i_la_Geltrú

The trailers with fairground attractions like duck fishing, cotton candy and other items indispensable to the festa major of Vilanova were relocated from Rambla de la Pau to Eixample de Mar and that has led to 40% less revenue for the kiosk owners.

#Garraf_and_Penedès

Sant Pere de Ribes is building bike lanes from Ribes to Puigmoltó and from Roquetes to the French school Bel Air, respectively.

In the center of Vilafranca del Penedès, Rambla de Sant Francesc will open with a new layout, on top of an already inaugurated subterranean car park.

#Barcelona

The Spanish ministry of infrastructure (Fomento, in Spanish) plans to stop a housing and hotel project already approved by the municipality Gavà, since those who would live there, would legally be entitled to indemnities because of the noise from the Prat airport. In the current situation, the aircrafts which take-off, turn towards the sea before reaching Gavà-Mar.

#Can_Barça

Cesc Fàbregas will remain in London for at least another year since Arsenal has not been willing to sell its captain to F.C. Barcelona.

Seven players from Barça have been requested to play a friendly match in Mexico just three days before the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Seville, on august 14.

#Catalonia

During the low season, Ryanair usually reduces the number of destinations where it flies from Girona. This year it will go from the current 60 down to 44, compared with 52 during last winter. The decrease may be due to certain destination being transferred to Prat for when Ryanair will start flying from there.

Of the foreigners living in Catalonia, 25% sometimes watch Catalan TV. Immigrants from Arab countries and the EU are more inclined to enjoy Catalan media than those from Latin America, who tend to stay with the Spanish alternatives. Of the 1.1 million foreigners living in Catalonia, most (76%), have Spanish as their everyday language. The second largest is Arabic (7.8%).

CiU and PSC seem to agree on reducing the amount of advertising in TV3 and Catalunya Radio. ERC and ICV-EUiA protest and say that the fall in income will make it impossible for public media to compete with private alternatives.

#Catalonia_and_Spain

Artur Mas announces that the CiU (= CDC + UDC) in its election program will require that Catalonia achieves the right to its own tax collection, something which in Spain is already the case for Euskadi (Basque Country), Navarra and the Canary Islands.

Catalan President José Montilla and his PSC stresses that Estatut is the way to greater autonomy for Catalonia, despite the fact that the Spanish Constitutional Court has diluted the text. At the same time he for calls Artur Mas to resign his seat as a member of parlament in case the prosecutor can establish that CDC illegally received funds via Palau de la Música.

Miquel Iceta (PSC) argues that PSOE is beginning to understand that the Constitutional Court ruling on Estatut has created a rift between Catalonia and Spain and that to overcome it there is a need for concrete measures.

#Spain

In order to continue to negotiate, the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority, AENA, demands that the air traffic controllers withdraw the threat of strike action. The lower average annual salary which AENA offers is 200.000 Euro. The air traffic controllers, for their part, consider that they have already done enough in order to align their working conditions and benefits with other EU countries. A possible strike will start no earlier than August 22.

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The summary covers the period until Saturday August 7. If there are news which you think that I have missed, I ask you toleave a comment and, even better, include links. All news that I consider fit into this context will be added as up-dates.

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Sources and inspiration:

Vilanova i la Geltrú, Garraf, Penedès

DiariDeVilanova: El municipi, unit a peu i en bici

DiariDeVilanova: Els firaires baixen els guanys “un 40%” a l’Eixample de Mar

Avui+ElPunt: La rambla de Vilafranca ja és a la recta final

Barcelona

Avui+ElPunt: Foment vol fer aturar uns pisos pel soroll dels avions

F.C. Barcelona

LaVanguardia: Bartomeu: "Se hicieron dos ofertas, pero el Arsenal no quería vender"

LaVanguardia: Bartomeu: "Hay que asumir la convocatoria de España pero estamos muy sorprendidos"

Avui+ElPunt: Ryanair té previst eliminar disset rutes des de Girona