MACBA offers four summer concerts in the context of the Nights of MACBA

The Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) offers the opportunity to visit and experience its exhibitions in a different format: MACBA has extended its opening time to midnight every Thursday and Friday until the 18th of September. There will be a reduced price for tickets of 3,50 Euros for visting the whole museum, as well as many guided tours included in the entrance fee. In addition, in this context the MACBA is going to present the cycle of summer concerts Post-rock? throughout July, which is part of the programm of the concerts of the Festival Grec 2009. On the other hand one of the terraces on the 1st floor of the museum will be turned into the summer bar, with the same opening time, but remaining open until the 24th of September.

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2.000 people demonstrate against gene-modified products

Yesterday 2.ooo people demonstrated in Barcelona against the cultivation of gene-modified products and demanded an advance concerning the application of a law to stop the cultivation of transgenic products in Catalonia, opposed by the PSC, CIU and PP. With the slogan "Democracy, health and good food" the demonstration moved from Plaza Cataluña to the Parliament, where they had to face a confrontation with the police trying to stop them. The cook Santi Santamaria, who headed the demonstration, read a manifest from professionals of the gastronomy, alimentation and health sector, claiming the need of a model for agricultural food based on an organic and artisan local production that is eco-friendly and respects the varieties and distinct culture.

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Ceremony in honour of Narcís Monturiol in the Catalan Parliament

Today a ceremony in honour of Narcís Monturiol will take place in the Catalan Parliament to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first dive of the submarine Ictineu. Amongst others Sr. Joan Manel Tresserras i Gaju, Minister of Culture and Media and Sr. Ernest Benach i Pascual, President of the Catalan Parliament will take part in the ceremony, as well as representatives from important institutions like the Institute Ictineu, the Catalan Centre for Submarine Research and the Institut d'Estudis Catalans IEC. On June 28th 150 years ago at the port of Barcelona, for the first time a submarine dived into the ocean and sailed without incidents.

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Playwright Pau Miró completes trilogy about wild animals

The playwright and director Pau Miró has successfully completed his trilogy about wild animals. His recent creation called "giraffe" will be performed during the Festival Grec in Barcelona from 2 to 5th of July. Within one year Miró has initiated three plays and has completed the trilogy that takes place in a laundry in the district of Raval where the characters identify with wild animals. The play is set in the fifties and deals with the limitations of the Franquismo. It shows how the characters turn to a silent fantasy to get over their frustration.

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Safe celebration of Sant Joan with less firecrackers

The main objective of the governmental campaign this year is to avoid minors to encounter with powerful pyrotechnic articles. Last year 269 people in Catalonia have been injured in the night of Sant Joan, the majority of them were minors who had launched firecrackers that were prohibited for their age. The campaign of this years celebration of Sant Joan therefore wants to sensibilize the points of sale and the parents to the high danger of the powerful pyrotechnic articles and that they may only be launched by people older than eighteen years. To raise the peoples awareness of the danger of firework, about ten thousand placards have been distributed among schools and youth centres, district offices and points of sale throughout Catalonia. These placards contain general advices how to avoid accidents with pyrotechnic articles.

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Privalia increases staff with 110 employees, 50 of them in Barcelona

This year, the internet sales label Privalia will increase their staff with 100 employees. Currently the company employs 150 people in Barcelona, 30 in Milan (Italy) and 30 in Sao Paolo (Brasil). Privalia has specialised in selling fashion and sportswear but they are receiving many offers for selling other things that have been affected by the crisis, like cars or apartments. With a market share of 34 % an 1,5 million clients in Spain, Brasil and Italy, Privalia is the leading company of the club of private purchases in Spain. At the end of the year, the staff in Barcelona will comprise 200 people and the company will move to a bigger building due to space limitation.

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Guitar festival starts with series of concerts in the area of Girona

The VI. Girona Guitar Festival directed by Josep Manzano will start today with a free concert by Maurizio di Fulvio Trio in the Casa de Cultura of Girona. Most of the concerts will take place in different locations around the Costa Brava such as Begur, Tossa de Mar and Palamós from July to August. For the first time the festival will be divided into three sets of concerts. One part will take place in the old town of Girona, another in the church of Santa Maria de Fenals, and finally there will be three concerts in the Casa de Cultura in Llança. There will be international artists performing, as well as important Catalan guitarists.

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Campgrounds in the area of Girona confront 10% less bookings

The bookings for campgrounds in the area of Girona are delayed in regard to other seasons and the camping sector assumes 10% less bookings on average compared to the last year. The association of camping advised the campgrounds not to react with a reduction of prices, as this could affect the quality of the complete offer of campgrounds, which is among the most recognized in Europe. There are 144 campgrounds in the area of Girona and 40 % of them are first class.

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Zapatero and Montilla stage reconciliation after one year of alienation

The Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero promises to maintain a just financing for Catalunya and calls to defeat the right wing party in the elections of 7th June. After one year of alienation, above all because of the default of financing, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and José Montilla yesterday staged the reconciliation at the final convention of the campaign of the Catalan Socialists in the facilities of Mar Bella in front of 5.000 people. All this took place prior to the European elections to defeat the PP, that shows an advantage in the surveys. Zapatero assured Montilla of working "shoulder to shoulder" and guaranteed him their support in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Catalunya.

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Tomb of famous pharao Tutankamón comes to Barcelona

Tutankamón, the tomb and its treasures. Thats the name of the exhibition that will open for the public in the Maritime Museum of Barcelona this saturday. The exhibition, produced and organized in Germany, recreates the tomb of the most famous pharao of Ancient Egypt, Tutankamón. Almost one hundred Egyptian artisans have worked on rebuilding the pharao with every detail. The exhibition will open its doors in Barcelona until the 6th of September, continuing its unstoppable international circuit with already thousands of visitors in towns like Zurich or Munich. People have the opportunity to experience the sensational discovery of the tomb by the English archeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

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Renting an apartment is 19% cheaper due to the decline of sales and more offers

The price of homes for sale continues to fall but shows signs of stabilisation in some communities. The current difficulty to sell apartments has caused that a great part of the stock is offered for rent with a loss of the rental prices of 19% in the area of Girona within the last half of the year. According to the last study of market prices of the Association of Promoters and Constructors Girona and Real Estate Agents, the development of homes for sale also shows a general decline, although in some towns like Blanes or Roses a stabilisation emerges. All this is related to a drop of demand due to the economic crisis. Regarding the rental prices of the two-bedroom apartments, the largest price drop was detected in Lloret with 14,9 %, whereas referring to homes with three bedrooms, Roses is the town with the most significant decline (19%).

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Festival of dance collects money for an NGO working with disadvantaged Christians in Egypt

A festival of classical Egyptian Dance, organized for the second year in Barcelona, yesterday offered a variety of captivating melodies, colors and festive rhythms. The aim of the festival organized by the association Aida Danza Oriental is to collect money for a NGO south of Cairo to provide socially disadvantaged Christians. The assistance of the NGO is mainly for economical and health demands, as the population has to face a big threat by hepatitis C. In the first year of the festival 2.000 euros have been collected, an amount they would like to achieve as well this year.

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Primavera Sound launches its most intense and exultant edition

Yesterday The vaselinas and Yo La Tengo opened the ninth edition of the Primavera Sound festival, where 130 groups will go on stage until Saturday. The six locations in the Forum Park already attracted 20.000 visitors on the first day and thousands more are being expected this weekend. The Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, together with the Sonar, is the most famous festival of rock, pop and electric music in Catalunya. This year people even received free plugs for the ears as a remedy to listen to the famous rock group My bloody Valentine, known for its great passion for the noise.

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Neighbours promote a commemorative plaque for Catalan poet and literary critic Manent

The people living in the district of Raval campaigned for the placement of a commemorative plaque dedicated to the poet, literary critic and translator Marià Manent on the façade of the house where he was born and had lived the early years of his life. Yesterday the revelation of the plaque took place within the scope of his family, neighbours and friends, announced the delegate of culture of the city of Barcelona, Jordi Martí. Roser Manent, the daughter of Marià Manent said that it was an honour to see, that even twenty years after his death her father was still remembered.

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Catalans make more claims for loans and fees because of the crisis

In the first quarter of 2009, the number of requests for loans to the Agencia Catalana de Consumo (ACC) has increased up to 42%. In 2008 the number of inquiries had already increased by 51%. Especially the information technology has to face a great amount of complaints, as 43% of last years complaints were in the sector of telephony and internet. Jordi Anguera, director of the ACC claimed yesterday, that 2008 has been a difficult year, as all indicators related to consumption have fallen. He said that people have changed their consumer behaviour and are more aware and demanding.

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Catalan government to give $ 500 for buying vehicles that cost up to 49.000

Yesterday the government passed the Catalan plan for the direct aid to the purchase of a new, low-polluting car. The Catalans will receive discounts of 2.000 euros for the purchase of a vehicle up to 30.000 euros with the aim to limit the CO2 emissions. For purchasing a vehicle up to 49.000 euros with higher emissions, people will receive $ 500. The condition to obtain the discount is to scrap a more polluting vehicle with more than 250.000 kilometers or older than 10 years. The principal aim is to induce people to purchase low-polluting cars to sustainably reduce the CO2 emissions.

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Festival Tàrraco Viva claims the biggest audience of the first weekend since its beginnings

The roman festival Tàrraco Viva started with the biggest audience on the first weekend since the first edition. Not only citizens from Tarragona visited the festival, but the organisation of Tàrraco Viva could also claim an increasing number of visitors from other parts of Catalunya and from other european countries. The festival represents the former life and history of the romans, as well as its customs and literature. Magí Seritjol, the coordinator of the festival, explained that in the future the organistaion would like to attract even more people from european countries.

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New wine route through Empordà and Catalunya Nord to be opened in 2012

The wine route of the Catalan Pyrenees. This is going to be the name of the new touristic location that will be released in 2012. The idea of developing a wine route now has a specific date, as introduced officially by the Minister for Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Josep Huguet. The project will be started this year and has the aim to link the two territories through their wine resource, heritage and historical landscape.

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The price and employment of 4 and 5 star hotels in Barcelona will fall to 26%

As an effect of the recession of the touristic activities in big cities all over the world, the price and employment of the 4 and 5 star hotels in Barcelona will fall about 26% on average, according to Jones Lang, consultant of the LaSalle Hotels. The negative trend of the year 2008 will intensify even more and the hotel market will have to absorb about 3.600 rooms in the Catalan capital, of which 47% will be 5 star establishments.

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Montjüic Castle: make peace, not war.

Barcelona yesterday wrote another chapter in its history and finally closed the military museum opened by the dictator Franco 47 yars ago, in the Castle of Montjuïc, from where the city of Barcelona were bombed so many times in the past. Music and chocolate made a festive note to a crowded but not massive act. Yerterday was the last of three days of open doors of the castle and hundreds of people, including tourists, citizens of Barcelona and other towns in Catalonia, did not want to miss this appointment with the history of the city and the country.

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Carsharing services grow fast in Barcelona

The number of subscribers to the multi-car service has increased by 326% in the past two years. The crisis seems to be the main cause of the CarSharing boom, a kind of Bicing for cars that has won fans since its kick-off, in 2004. The service is available in Barcelona, Sabadell, Granollers and Sant Cugat del Valles, but they are thinking on extending it to other populations. This formula is fairly standard in some countries. In Switzerland, for example, is visible in all the cities and now has about 70,000 users.

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Reus' airport will have a new railway station with a TGV direct link

Spanish minister José Blanco announced a new railway station in the south of the airport of Reus, linked with the great central station of Tarragona, with a planned investment of 62 million. The station will be located between the runways at the airport and the road T-11, along with access to the AP-7.

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A yellow wave to welcome the Tour de France in Barcelona

A human yellow wave will accompany the Tour de France in Barcelona, in the last 13 miles to the sixth stage, which will start in Girona. This is one of the many initiatives included in the program of activities prepared by the City Council, seeking a successful citizen participation. "We want Barcelona to always remember the Tour" said the mayor, Jordi Hereu.
To create the effect of a wave yellow, the colour of the Tour, the Council will provide cardboards and flags among the fans. "We want the cyclist to realize that they arrived in the city," added the delegate of Sports Pere Alcober. Yellow will also be on public transport during the Tour's days.

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The building of the new marine zoo starts in Barcelona

The bulldozers began yesterday to draw the surplus lands of the place on which the future marine zoo will be rised in Barcelona. It was the starting step of a reform of the City Zoo, that should allow to shift part of the zoo's collection from the Parc de la CiutadellaThe City Council is planning to spend in 2009 15 off the total 200 million Euros to create a new marine zoo and update the current one.

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Seventy years against the Catalan culture

Seventy years ago Franco's troops occupied Catalonia and began a dark period for the Catalan culture and language. This was remembered yesterday more than 500 people who attended the event sponsored by the Commissió de la Dignitat, the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC) and the Associació d'Actors i Directors de Llengua Catalana (AADPC).

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