Vilanova Celebrates that Barça has Won the Spanish Premier League 2008-09

Tonight Villarreal beat Real Madrid with 3-2, and F.C. Barcelona is thereby mathematically the winner of the Spanish lliga of 2009.

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Technorati tags: Barça, Catalonia, Vilanova

Penedès News in English

Local news from Vilanova i la Geltrú, Sitges and the rest of the Gran Penedès.

Garraf

This week we have been able to see 65 meter yacht in Vilanova i la Geltrú. With a 2,3 million investment, Michael Evans - a British national but resident of Monaco, is one of the first customers of the Vilanova Grand Marina. This marina is especially designed for super and mega yachts (25 – 80 m) and in ten months it will have a dry dock (varador) which makes it unique in the Western part of the Mediterranean.

The music school Mestre Montserrat of Vilanova i la Geltrú is from now officially recognised as an conservatory of professional musicians.

The ajuntament of Sitges has decided to convert the building Can Milà (passeig de Vilafranca) into a visitors' centre.

The Tourism Promotion Agency of Sitges has signed an agreement with local the local hotelier associations Gremi d’Hosteleria and Hotels de Sempre. The aim is to create synergies in selling the town and a first visible result is a link from the ajuntament's tourism web-page to a hotel reservation site.

Traffic will still be allowed at the passeig de la Ribera of Sitges, but from this summer the all parking lots will disappear in order to make the area more attractive.

The Guardia Civil has made a raid in a number of establishments in Sitges and confiscated 102 pots of poppers – a sexually arousing drug, popular among some homosexuals.

A new telecommunications tower will be built in Canyelles and remedy the deficient quality of digital communication in the town. The construction forms part of the plan Catalunya Connecta, according to which all municipalities with more than 50 inhabitants are to have access to TDT, mobile phone networks and broad band Internet before the end of 2010.

Alt Penedès

During a vistit in Vilafranca del Penedès, Marina Geli, Consellera de Salut, promised that to build a second public primary care centre (CAP) here is a priority project for the Generalitat and that the construction work will start in 2010, at the latest.

The Festa Major of Vilafranca – la més típica (the most typical one) – has inaugurated its new web-page and presented the official T-shirts for 2009. These will start be sold already at the Fires de Maig.

Baix Penedès

The ajuntament of Cunit and the Agència Catalana d’Aigües have signed the agreements to start the development of the Foix desalination plant. This infrastructure will, when needed, serve the comarques of Barcelona and Tarragona with drinking water and will have an initial capacity of 20hm3 per year.

Anoia

During last weekend, May 9-10, the trade fair (certamen) Aerosport’09 took place at the airport of Igualada-Odena. In spite of the crisis, with 200 light aircrafts and 2.200 visitors it beat the records of last year. The fair provides an opportunity for professionals as well as amateurs to test fly planes since all manufacturers are present. That is so unique that the event this time managed to attract buyers and sellers from all autonomous communities of Spain plus from France, Italy and Portugal.

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Warm thanks to l’Extra for the article about my “condom shop”, published in the edition of the 6th of May.

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Penedès News in English is a personal compilation of facts from the digital news services Vilanova Digital and Penedès Digital, the pdf-version of l’Extra plus the print version of the Diari de Vilanova. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Technorati tags: Catalonia, Cunit, Festa Major, Garraf, Igualada, Penedès, Sitges, Spain, Vilafranca, Vilanova

The 'Wirdheim in Vilanova' Event Calendar - June 2009

Here is my presentation of June events where I will go or at least could think of going in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf) and the rest of the Penedès area in Catalonia. If you have a specific interest in a certain date, please, send me a question in a comment or, at least, come back to this entry. It will be up-dated whenever I learn about new things and, to be honest, information about what will happen here tends to come late.

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June, 6: Roquetes (Garraf): "1a trobada bastonera de l'Anoia-Penedès-Garraf": Several teams will perform a typically Catalan and highly energetic 'stick dance', 17:00-21:00.

June, 6; Sitges (Garraf): “La increible, original i autèntica història del cinema... o no?” - Dance show by Flow Center.

June, 6; Sitges: A rock concert by Macaco (Barcelona; many of your will have heard 'Moving' from the album 'Puerto Presente') and Calima (Sitges) at the Esplenada de l'Atlantida.

June, 6-7; Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf): Days of Open Doors at the Marina (Estació Nàutica).

June, 7; the European Union: Elections to the European Parliament. EU citizens who are residents of another EU country have earlier this year had the possibility to choose in which of the two countries they want to vote. I will vote here in Vilanova.

June, 12; El Vendrell (Baix Penedès): Blogger meeting: 2es Jornades de la Penedesfèra. 17:00; Opening Ceremony with, among others, Ernest Benach (Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia) and Benet Jané (mayor of el Vendrell). 18:00; ‘How the New Communication Tools Transform Today’s Politics’. 19:30; ‘To Be Present on the Internet You First Have to Get There’ – on the difficulties along the way to Internet access for all citizens.

June, 13; El Vendrell: Blogger meeting: 2es Jornades de la Penedesfèra. 10:00; ‘The Present and Future of Media'. 12:00; ‘The Internet Against the Crisis’ – on Internet marketing and business opportunities. 13:30; A Penedès inspired lunch. 15:00; A Workshop on Video Blogging and Other Web 2.0 Tools. 17:00; ‘MySpace and Other Tools to Spread Music' – with the presence of the local bands Lax’n’Busto and Buhos. 18:30; ‘Cava and Twitts’ – on the Challenges of Web 2.0 Marketing in the Cava Industry. 20:30; Closing Ceremony with a small concert by the music bands present.

June, 14; Sitges: The flower decoration exhibition on the day of Corpus Christi. Find my blog entry in English from 2008 here and here, in Catalan, what festes.org writes about this event.

June, 14; Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès): Castellers (Human Towers) performance by the Xicots de Vilafranca, Sagals d'Osona and Castellers de Sant Cugat; 12.00 at the Plaça Milà i Fontanals.

June, 19-30; Vilanova i la Geltrú: Setmana del Mar (the Week of the Sea) - Festes de Sant Pere. A festival of activities related to the sea, the port and fishermen's life. For example: the cooking competition Concurs d'all Cremat (June 20, on the beach).

June, 19; Sweden and among Swedish expats around the world: Traditional midsummer celebrations

June, 23; Catalonia: La Revetlla de Sant Joan

June, 24; Catalonia: Public holiday. El dia de Sant Joan.

June, 26-28; Vilanova i la Geltrú: Attic’09 – The Ideas and Inventions Fair of Vilanova. Find here my entry on the 2008 edition.

June, 27-29; Sant Pere de Ribes (Garraf): Festa Major de Sant Pere a Ribes. On June 27 at 18:30, the Castellers of Vilafranca and the Jove de Sitges will build human towers.

June, 28-29; Calafells (Baix Penedès): Festa Major de Sant Pere a Calafell

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General information:

For the ideas behind this event calender, see the first entry here.

Wirdheim in Vilanova will to the greatest extent possible refer to official pages (usually in Catalan) for information on the time and location of all events and can unfortunately not guarantee to present the latest up-dates or changes of program.

For castellers (human tower) performances outside the Penedès area, please, refer to the tag Agenda Castellera at the Coordinadora de les Colles Castelleres de Catalunya, or the Calendari at LaMalla.cat/castellers.

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Technorati tags: Catalonia, Garraf, Penedès, Penedesfera, Vilanova

Vilanova Celebrates Barça and la Copa del Rei

"Guanyeu per nosaltres" says one of the banners on the local branch of the F.C. Barcelona fan club (penya barcelonista) in Vilanova i la Geltrú. And so Barça did tonight, with 1-4 over Athletic de Bilbao. Guardiola's team has won their first title this season. It is well after 1:30 a.m. and still there is a constant noise over this town from people driving around honking the horns of their cars.

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Just in case: Rei is the Catalan word for 'king'. In Spanish it is spelled rey.

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Related Media: LaVanguardia 1, Avui 1

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Technorati tags: Barça, Catalonia, Vilanova

Catalan Singers Celebrate With a New Barça Song

We who live in Catalonia have been able to hear the new song Porto el Barça dins el meu cor (I carry Barça in my heart), but only today have I been able to find a written article about it.

In short, it is Bardagí, former singer of the group Glaucs who has taken this initiative to express his feelings for his football club and invited other Catalan artists to join him. Among these barcelonistes we find Beth, Marc Ros (Sidonie), Josep Thió (Sopa de Cabra), Joan Masdeu (Whiskyn's), Miquel Abras, Xavi Ciurans (Gertrudis), Titot (Brams) o Txell Sust. Except for them, the Penya Barcelonista (the Barcelona fan club) of Almogàvers has taken part in the creation of this new song.

At Sport.es you can hear the song with better quality and here below is a draft translation. It will be improved as soon as I learn the whole song. As far as I can see, until now the text in Catalan has not been published.

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Up-date: Tonight I love the Internet. An anonymous Catalan living in the US has taken the time to help me complete the lyrics of this song and I am so grateful. To be right to him (or her), I should point out that he is not sure about the first phrase, so I will keep a question mark there.

This is what they sing (well, at least most likely):

Des de cent anys d’història (?)
Més que un sentiment
El blaugrana està dins meu, sempre present
Són molts anys d’eufòria
Anys de patiments
De victòries, de batecs, de bons moments

I és que som molt més que un club
I és aquest el nostre orgull

Jo porto el Barça
Jo porto el Barça
Jo porto el Barça
Dins el meu cor

Vine al nostre estadi
Celebra el moment
D’estar junts, d'unir un país, d'unir una gent
De fer-nos prevaldre
de dir que el present ‘és nostre’
Que així és com juguem
Que junts podem

Perquè som molt més que un club
És aquest el nostre orgull

Jo porto el Barça...

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And this is how I translate it into English:

With a hundred years of history
More that a feeling
The ‘Blaugrana’ (Blue-Garnet) are always present, inside me
These are many years of euphoria
years of suffering
Of victories, of being beaten, of good moments

And, the thing is, we are much more than a club
And that is our pride

I carry Barça
I carry Barça
I carry Barça
Inside my heart

Come to our stadium
Celebrate the moment
To be together, to unite one country, to unite one people
To make ourselves prevail
to say that the present “is ours”
That is how we play
That is, together we can

Because, the thing is, we are much more than a club
And that is our pride

I carry Barça…

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Catalans i Catalanes,

Com és possible que encara no puc trobar el texte d’aquesta canció? Penso haver buscat de totes maneres possibles. No us rigueu del meu intent, si us plau, sinó feu un comentari o envieu-me un enllaç i ajudeu-me a trobar les paraules correctes. Sóc un de molts ‘nous catalans’ que volem celebarar les victòries i cantar junts amb vosaltres.

Per cert, no és cap traïció contra el meu país. Sóc de Suècia i els nostres equips – per sort – no coïncideixen amb el Barça.

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Actualització: No patiu. Un català que viu als Estats Units ja m'ha ajudat. Mentres vosaltres esteu celebrant al carrers, m'imagino que ell (o ella) ha volgut trobar una manera per viure aquests moments bonics, encara que sigui lluny d'aquí. Penso que és per això que ha buscat el texte a aquesta nova canció barcelonista i, a més, penso entendre'l perfectament - jo també visc fora del meu país.

What All Catalans Should Know About Swedes

Last week, the business school EADA and the Hispano-Swedish Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona arranged a panel discussion on negotiations between Catalonia and Sweden. Sadly enough, there were more Swedes than Catalans in the audience while – and I think that we can all agree on this - the presentations were more of introductions into the Swedish business culture for a Catalan audience, rather than two-way comparisons. So, while I can not claim to have deepened my understanding of Catalonia, I at least learnt what people from here think about my native country.

Ernesto Dominguez, the president of CCHS of Barcelona, summed up his experience of Swedish companies as democratic organizations with a great respect for the personnel’s values and private lives and where results always matter more than procedures. Both he and the moderator Sergio M Gil were especially amused with the typically Swedish meetings which can last forever, without any opinions being confronted openly. Outsiders might feel that nothing happens, but this is how consensus is being reached and such meetings tend to make the Swedish work team members very satisfied.

Being a native Swede, Victor Bokegård, from H&M España, could allow himself to add a more critical spin to the Swedish character. He gave funny examples of our deep insecurity – the fact that we can not buy things without saying 'thanks' several times, that we love to start business presentations by asking the audience to forgive us for all our shortcomings and that we can not give people presents without adding the comment “I am sure that you will not like it” or “Well, you can always change it for something else”. Why did I feel that he was talking about me?

My personal conclusion of this meeting is something which I have discovered many times before: that I am extremely fortunate to come from a country for which most people on earth have such a high regard.
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Llàstima que no es va parlar més de la cultura catalana en aquesta conferència. Una cosa que de veritat m’interessa molt quan estic fent negocis per aquí, és el rol que juguen els contactes. La recomanació dels meus amics catalans és unànima – que sempre és millor entrar en un client potencial mitjançant una persona que ja coneixes. No obstant això, tinc la sensació que aquesta manera de treballar pertany a la historia i que les empreses catalanes d’avui – com també les espanyoles, en general - estan obertes a rebre noves propostes de gent que ve a “porta freda”.

Tot i que tinc un número de bons socis de negocis gràcies precisament a contactes, també tinc molta experiència del contrari. Per exemple, hi ha empreses on el meu contacte està poc relacionat amb les decisions, però on – per respecte a aquesta persona - he de seguir comunicant segons vam començar, en comptes de dirigir-me directament al director de compres. També m’ha passat que he venut genere a clients nous que em semblen interessats i que després he entés que s’han vist obligats de comprar per la relació que tenim. Això teoricament no importa si tens un producte que es ven a un alt preu i poques vegades però l’ important amb el meu producte és el contrari: que el client torna a comprar. Desplaçar-se per fer una presentació a un farmaceutic que fa una sola comanda de preservatius i no més és de perdre el temps, no?

Espero que un dia l’entegui tot. Encara no és així.

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Technorati tags: Barcelona, Catalonia,

Penélope y Aquiles – Quality Circus at La Vela

Penélope and Aquiles combine their skills as acrobats and sophisticated clowns with choreograhpy and a bit of theatre and accomplish shows which fascinate adults as well as children. Their latest performance is called “El primer año difícil, los demás imposibles” and is set around the interaction between love and conflict which we easily recognise in any kind of long term partnership and, above all, in married life.

In case you did not see them at La Vela this weekend, I warmly recommend you to look for these talented artists during this year’s Trapezi festival of Vilanova (May 29-31).

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Technorati tags: Catalonia, Circus, Vilanova

Penedès News in English

Local news from Vilanova i la Geltrú, Garraf and the rest of the Gran Penedès.

Garraf

Local TV stations Canal Blau and Maricel have finally started to broadcast digitally (TDT).

The unemployment situation in Vilanova i la Geltrú continues to worsen. Megarubber, which laid of 51 people as late as in February, wants to terminate the contracts with another 130 workers. At Prysmian, the trade unions have accepted the offer for 25 senior workers to retire early, but not for 22 younger ones to be sacked.

A huge need for taking care of abandoned dogs and cats is a sad reality of modern Catalonia. This week the tripartit ruling Vilanova i la Geltrú decided to maintain its decision to close the local kennels (gossera) and not re-investigate, as requested by CiU. To outsiders this might seem to be a small issue, but angry posters and a list of 10.000 signatures (in a town of 65.000) are proofs of the heated emotions. For Vilanova to co-operate in the kennels of the other Penedès towns (located in Vilafranca) makes sense financially, but the voluntary workers who have played a vital role in the local one, feel left behind. Their involvement is not welcome in the professionally operated joint kennels, which, suspiciously enough, are just about to invest in a crematory.

The Vilanova Grand Marina has not yet officially opened, but this week up to 15 luxury yachts might anchor here. The names of their affluent owners will not be revealed but they come here for the Grand Prize of Formula 1 at the Circuit de Catalunya of Montmeló, where the marina offers to fly them by helicopter.

Among towns with more than 25.000 inhabitants, the budget deficit of Sitges ranks as the fifth biggest of the whole of Spain. This is partly due to a debated imbalance in the allocation of resources – Sitges receives funds based on the number of inhabitants and without considerations to the big number of tourists who also demands services carried out by the ajuntament. At the same time, Sitges has spent money on high profile cultural events, the most expensive of which was an exhibition in New York in honour of Martin Luther King. Local Mayor Jordi Baijet (PSC) confronts the situation with a plan for municipal action (PAM, Pla d’Actuació Municipal), presented this week, and a long-term plan for financial stability (Pla d’Estabilitat Econòmica) to come. Except for that he reminds the sitgetans that in 1840, when the town also had a big deficit in the local budget, the beach walk was built in an unpaid joint effort by all local inhabitants. Now, in 2009, I can not help wondering what the many expat citizens of Sitges would be prepared to do to build their town.

Sitges builds the brand of the town as actively as ever. Together with Cadaques, Puigcerdà and Vielha-Mijaran it recently started to promote itself as one of the Viles amb personalitat (towns with personality). At the same time, a poll carried out in the gay and lesbian by Community Marketing, reassured that the town maintains its position as the second most “gay-friendly” town of Catalonia, beaten only by the Gaixample area of Barcelona and followed by Lloret de Mar and Figueres.

Alt Penedès

This week, the new CiU mayor of Vilafranca del Penedès, Pere Regull, has appointed his deputies as well as the other members of his local government. Already after the municipal elections of 2007, when PSC and CiU won 8 town councillor seats each, was it clear that the socialists - who had ruled this town throughout the 30 years since the end of the Franco dictatorship - would not have an easy term of office. Still, even Catalan national media commented on the event when, on April 20, the two councillors of CUP and the one of ERC decided to support a CiU vote of no confidence against former PSC mayor Francisco Romero. In these times of crisis, Pere Regull has decided to bring down the number of full-time employed town councillors from five to two. Other locally big issues – like to reduce the vibrations of the AVE train when it passes by the town – will be harder to solve.

Baix Penedès

Calafell aspires to be Europe’s leading open-air museum with its reproduction of a 2.500 years old Iberian fortress (ciutadella ibèrica). The objective is to make archaeology available and attractive to the public without comprising scientific credibility.

Anoia

Igualada-Odena is the only airport which has applied to become the hub of corporate flying and aerotaxis, as of a plans made by the Generalitat of Catalonia. It seems that some of the other possible towns to host this infrastructure have pulled out because their runways do not meet the 2.000 meters of the specifications. Neither does the one of Igualada (1.200 meters), but there is a great unanimity among the population - a very important factor. In spite of its excellent motorway connection with the metropolitan area, Anoia is the Catalan comarca which has the highest unemployment rates.
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Penedès News in English is a personal compilation of facts from the digital news services Vilanova Digital and Penedès Digital, the pdf-version of l’Extra plus the print version of the Diari de Vilanova. All opinions expressed are my own.
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Technorati tags: Catalonia, Garraf, Penedès, Sitges, Vilanova

The 'Wirdheim in Vilanova' Event Calendar - May 2009

Up-date: The Champions League final will be showed on big outdoor screens in many places, eg. in Vilanova, Vilafranca and el Vendrell (see May 27 here below).

For those of you who are in Barcelona, I would recommend the giant screen at Maremàgnum. True culés (except for those who are already t in Rome) will watch the game in Barça's Miniestadi, but tickets there have already been sold out.

Information (in Spanish) on where to find big screens in the rest of Catalonia can be found in LaVanguardia.

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During our first years in Catalonia I considered it more or less impossible to find out about when different activities - say a castellers performance – would take place. Although the ajuntaments of most towns have quite good web pages, their activity calendars often leave out events which I would expect to find there and still today does it happen that I learn about interesting things only after they have happened.

To help expats as well as temporary visitors interested in Catalan popular culture, to encourage locals to send me recommendations and, above all, to organise myself, from now on, I will present a monthly entry on events to come. Taking my starting point in Vilanova i la Geltrú, where I live, the intention is to cover also the rest of the Penedès area. I will allow myself to be totally subjective and limit the information to activities where I, at least theoretically, would consider going.

Here is a summary of what I see as important dates, from a cultural point of view, for the month of May 2009:

May 9, Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf): A circus performance called El primer año es difícil... los demás, imposibles. Find here more about Penélope and Aquiles and La Vela, respectively.

May 10, El Vendrell (Baix Penedès): Castellers performance by the Nens del Vendrell and the Bordegassos de Vilanova. Plaça Vella at 13.00.

May 10, Barcelona and Madrid: At 19:00 FC Barcelona meets Villarreal at Camp Nou. The three points of a victory can mathematically make them the winners of the Spanish Lliga of 2008-09, in case Real Madrid does not win over Valencia. At 21.00 Espanyol meets Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadion. The three points of a victory would secure their position in the premier Lliga for the next season. (Just in case: lliga is Catalan for liga in Spanish)

May 13, Valencia: FC Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao plays the final of the Copa del Rei.

May 15, Calafell (Baix Penedès): Festa de la Cultura Penedès and Reconneixements culturals collita 2009. A celebration of the Penedès culture and those who - according to the Institut d'Estudis Penedesencs - do the most to build and spread it.

May 15-17, Vilafranca (Alt Penedès): Les Fires i Festes de Maig - o dels enamorats – a multisectoral (wine, cava, food, cars and agricultural machinery) May trade fair with a history dating back to the 12th century.

May 16-17: The International Museum Day: A Day of Open Doors at the Victor Balaguer museum of Vilanova (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) and Vinseum in Vilafranca (Saturday and Sunday).

May 16: The Eurovision Song Contest. I have to list this – firstly, because I come from Eurovision crazy Sweden and secondly because it is one of the few annual activities which manages to create pan-European experience, like it or not.

May 17, Vilafranca (Alt Penedès): Colles Castelleres de la Veguria Penedès. A major joint castellers performance where, among others, the Castellers de Vilafranca and the Bordegassos de Vilanova will take part.

May 27, Rome: At 20:45, FC Barcelona meets Manchester United in the Champions' League Final. In Vilanova the game will be shown on big screens in the Plaça de les Casernes (organised by the Bordegassos) and in front of the church in la Geltrú (organised by the neighbours association). In Vilafranca the neighbours association of Sant Julià will show the match in Plaça de la Sardana and in el Vendrell the big screen can be found in Plaça Francesc Macià.

May 29-31, Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf): The Trapezi Circus Festival. Find here my blog entry on Trapezi 2008.)

Exhibitions:

Trans-lúcids at La Sala in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Garraf)

Fotomaig, Sitges (Garraf) – Sitges’ annual May photo festival starts at the Espai Cultural Pere Stämpfli.

Castellers:

For castellers (human tower) performances outside the Penedès area, please, refer to the tag Agenda Castellera at the Coordinadora de les Colles Castelleres de Catalunya, or the Calendari at LaMalla.cat/castellers.

General:

Wirdheim in Vilanova will to the greatest extent possible refer to official pages (usually in Catalan) for information on the time and location of all events and can unfortunately not guarantee to present the latest up-dates or changes of program.

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Technorati tags: Castellers, Catalonia, Expat, Festa, Garraf, Penedès, Sitges, Vilanova

Pictures from Vilanova - April 2009

I take many pictures which I would like to share, but about which I do not have much to tell. From now on, I plan to publish them in a monthly entry - some of them will have a short comment while others will have to speak for themselves.


The trees along the Rambles de Vilanova underwent a possibly too heavy and too late spring pruning.


Vilanova i la Geltrú has seen the unemployment figures rise sharply during the last few months, so the so called "Zapatero money" are warmly welcome. These extra funds for public works are being invested in a beautifcation of the town centre, which I am very happy for. But did they really have to dig up all streets at the same time?
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Technorati tags: Vilanova