| Num 46, Summer 2009 | 25.360 copies |
INDEX
1. GAUDI BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
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For the celebration of his anniversary we call all the members of the GaudiClub to celebrate together at midnight on the 24th by toasting Gaudi with a glass of cava and eating a slice of hazelnut "coca" while we say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAUDI" from the bottom of our hearts.
During the month of June two important events have taken place. The anniversary of the birth of Gaudi on the 25th of June, 1852, at 9.30h of the morning, he was born in the Camp de Tarragona, some say in Reus, others in Riudoms and there are those who say he was born in Reusdoms.
Almost 75 years later, on the 10th of June 1926, he died the victim of a traffic accident caused by a route 30 streetcar on the junction of Bailén Street and Gran Vía. |
- LA VERBENA DE SAN JUAN (THE NOCTURNAL FESTIVAL OF SAN JUAN)
La Verbena de San Juan (The nocturnal festival of San Juan)
It is a deep-rooted tradition in many places to celebrate the arrival of the summer solstice around purifying bonfires and the anniversary of the birth of San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist) who was born on the 24th of June, is also celebrated. Take note that the celebrations will be held on the night of the 23rd to 24th of June, although in reality the shortest night corresponds with the summer solstice, on the 21st of June.
In the majority of places this celebration consists in burning furniture and old junk in the street that the children of the house collect a few days before and save in order to build a great bonfire on this special night.
In ancient times, the arrival of the summer solstice was a negative sign. The fact that from that moment onwards the days got shorter and shorter and darkness gained ground over light, did not receive a positive interpretation. This is why a series of rites were performed for the purposes of offsetting this negative effect. One of the ancient pagan sun rites consisted in the preparation of some “cocas” (pastries) in a rounded shape to symbolise the solar disc, which were then eaten soaked in sweet wine.
The Romans sallied out on that night to gather verbena – a shrub-like plant from the same family as lemon verbena – with which they adorned their houses and gardens as they considered it to be a lucky plant. This is the origin of the celebration’s name, the origin of the paper strings and little coloured lamps with which we adorn the celebration venue.
- RIUDOMS HAZELNUT “COCA” PASTRY "GAUDI’S TRENCADÍS"
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Ingredientes:
For the dough:
- 1 kg of strong flour
- 4 eggs
- 150 gr of sugar
- 150 gr of butter
- 20 gr of salt
- 320 cc of water, approximately
- 50 gr baker’s yeast
For the top:
- 1/2 kg of whole toasted hazelnuts
- 1/2 kg of crushed toasted hazelnuts
- 150 cc of crème pâtissière, approximately
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Preparation:
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the dough, kneading it with a fork. Once the dough is smooth (without lumps), roll it out with a rolling pin.
Place the dough in a recipient with a brushing of oil to avoid it sticking.
Spread a thin layer of crème pâtissière over the dough, which will also help hold the nuts in place.
Distribute the toasted hazelnuts throughout the whole of the base, in diagonal strips, alternating whole hazelnuts with crushed ones, like in the photo.
Preheat the oven to around 160 ºC. Cook until golden making sure it doesn’t burn, for around 20 minutes approximately.
You can sprinkle icing sugar on it, if you wish....
To appreciate the flavour of the toasted nuts to the full, it is not advisable to store it in the fridge, as the nuts get soggy and, given that the “coca” contains cream, it is best eaten when it has just been made.... bon appétit!
RIUDOMS HAZELNUT "COCA" PASTRY "GAUDI’S TRENCADÍS"
2. SAGRADA FAMÍLIA
- BIRTH OF FALCONS AT THE SAGRADA FAMÍLIA
 The Sant Bartomeu belltower of the Sagrada Familia welcomes new lodgers: 4 peregrine falcon chicks born on the 8th of April in a nest their parents built in the Barcelona temple, a moment that was broadcast live via website, a website which subsequently went down due to the thousands of interested Internet users. The birth of these media chicks, already small stars of the net, have led to more than 10.000 daily visits to observe their first awkward movements via web cam.
However, the expectations around the birth were so many that it was difficult to connect with the camera from the websites providing the connection (www.falconsbarcelona.net y www.bcn.cat/mediambient) and upon entering the website users were advised that the server was busy and that they should try again later. The pair of falcons living in the Sagrada Familia is made up of a male freed in the Barcelona Port on the 6th of July, 2001 and a female born on the sea cliffs of the Montjuic mountain.
By next autumn, the four new species will have to abandon the area of the Sagrada Familia (and go between two and four kilometres away) because peregrine falcons are very territorial and when their young are grown they become competitors. The birth of these chicks created great expectations – unheard of up to a point and it blocked the website from which it was being broadcast, as it received more than 160.000 visits.
We hope they do the same next year and nest once again in the Sagrada Família.
Website of the project for the reintroduction of the falcon in Barcelona (catalán)
 | In 1978, a young Japanese Buddhist, graduate in Fine Arts, called Etsuro Sotoo wandered around the Ciudad Condal (Barcelona) when he came across the Sagrada Familia –a monument that each year competes with the Alhambra for the title of “most visited in Spain”, with both attracting around three million tourists -. While many gazed upwards in open-mouthed admiration, he was fascinated, bewitched by that heap of stone that promised intense pleasures to an upcoming sculptor. Three decades later, the pinnacles of the temple are crowned with Sotoo’s fruit, certainly different from that mushroom: the wheat and grapes symbols of the catholic Eucharist, faith to which he converted in 1991 thanks to Gaudi.
Read the full article |
- BATMAN AND THE SAGRADA FAMILIA
The much-awaited adventure of Batman in Barcelona now has a cover in which the Sagrada Familia can be glimpsed behind an imposing batman or Dark Knight who will be seen in the most emblematic places of the Ciudad Condal.
Read the full article
- THE SAGRADA FAMILIA LOSES 300.000 VISITORS IN ONE YEAR DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
The Sagrada Familia is the catalan monument that receives the most visits – some three million in 2007 – but it is not unaffected by the economic crisis: during the last year it has lost some 300.000 visitors, “a lot” but still “only” 10 per cent of the total who tend to register each year, indicated the architectural director of the temple, Jordi Bonet, in an interview with Europa Press.
The visits noticeably reduced after Easter last year and significantly in the last few months of the year. “But we cannot complain”, assures Bonet, saying that this only represents 10 per cent of the total, although many museums would “give anything” to have 300.000 visitors.
The donations of the citizens and the entrance tickets of the visitors – of which only 15 per cent are Spanish – are how the work is financed, “which is being done because the people want it completed without monies from the administration”, stressed Bonet, who has been the architectural director for almost 25 years.
On the Sagrada Família open day some 20.000 people visited, half of whom will be able to attend mass from September of next year, when the expiatory temple will be totally enclosed, but not finished.
The fact that mass will begin to be held does not imply that visits will be limited, as worship will be permanently held in a small space at the end of the apse, not at the high altar.
In any event, there have been areas that cannot be accessed for some time now, and not because there are cracks, clarified Bonet. It is that the winding steps that lead up to the belltowers are too narrow to be safe for the constant coming and goings of visitors and in accordance with current safety regulations.
The belltowers can currently only be accessed by guided tour and via a lift. Some 1.000 people go up them each day. And an average of some 150 people queue to go up, said the architect.
"IT LOOKS LIKE A THEME PARK"
Currently, Bonet thinks the Sagrada Familia looks like “a theme park” because it is a place of worship without the worship to which only tourists come, some of whom don’t even know what type of building it is.
The main advantage of it closing is that it will finally become, 127 years after the laying of the first stone, “a church” in which mass will be held.
From next year, a team of architects will tackle, amongst other outstanding work, the construction of the central cimborio tower, ending in a cross at 170 metres height, the highest point of the temple. In addition, this tower will be surrounded by four more, dedicated to the evangelists.
THE "FOLLY" OF THE AVE (HIGH SPEED TRAIN)
The obstinacy of the Govern in the AVE passing but a few metres from the temple and infringing its surrounding protection line – in place due to having sections catalogued by UNESCO as of World Heritage, - is “folly” according to Bonet.
"They think everything can be done and zero risk does not exist. It is not true that if things are done well nothing can go wrong", continued the head architect, for whom the opinions of tunnel engineers consulted by the mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, are not valid, as one is the author of the Cologne metro tunnel (Germany) which caved in, killing people, said Bonet.
In addition, he considered it "a temerity" to create a wall-screen of 240 metres in length, from the Gaudi square to the Sagrada Familia square, to protect the temple from the vibrations of the passage of the AVE because the building work for the wall itself will provoke movement "which they have not analysed".
Currently, the case is with the National High Court, to which Bonet last week sent by letter details of the explanation of the work given by Adif, according to sources at Europa Press.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has still not expended the funds it had committed to finance the work on the AVE tunnel through Barcelona because the required requisites have not been complied with. The Spanish authorities have given the Bank an adequate evaluation of the environmental impact but have still not supplied the certificate regarding the impact on the network of Natura 2000 protected sites.
Read the full article
3.THE SEMI-FORESTED AREA OF THE Güell PARK HAS BEEN CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC SINCE JANUARY
Jordi Espinet, resident of the Salut neighbourhood of Barcelona, is close to indignant when he says that he fails to understand how it can be possible that the greater part of the semi-forested area of the Güell Park has been closed to the public since the terrible weather of last January. Back then, crosswinds of more than one hundred kilometres an hour knocked down more than a thousand trees, mainly large white pines, many of them a hundred years old. That damage led to the closure of the whole of this work of Gaudi’s for three days. Eighty of the fallen trees were in the monumental area.
Read the full article
4. DESTRUCTION OF THE COLONIA GÜELL FOREST BY THE LATEST GALE-FORCE WINDS
The roof of the Colonia Güell church, whose restoration has generated criticism for alleged excessive intervention, was damaged by the gales that affected Cataluña last January. The hundred year old pines from Gaudi’s time, some 140, devastated the building, which had received various complaints regarding the destruction of the legacy of the modernist genius.
Two technicians sent by the Archbishop of Baix Llobregat who carried out an inspection of the area were surprised on Saturday morning by the strong gale-force winds, which ended up blowing various pine trees onto the structure of the church.
The reformation of the crypt led to a complaint of damage to Gaudi’s legacy in 2004. The lawsuit, accepted by the courts, is pending a decision from the public prosecutor. Antoni González, the architect who reformed the crypt, left his job with Barcelona City Hall at the end of last year.
Those responsible for the centre must now evaluate the level of the damage caused by the felling of the trees. Experts have already concluded that returning the structure to its original state will be impossible, given that the work executed is irreversible.
Source: El Periodico
5. GAUDINIAN FACADE IN FRONT OF LA PEDRERA
 Gaudinian Facade in front of la Pedrera The Japanese architect, Toyo Ito, pays homage to Antoni Gaudi on the pavement of Paseo de Gràcia, in front of la Pedrera. Ito has a new facade planned for an office building converted into an aparthotel. "I venerate Gaudi and wanted to match the undulations of la Pedrera, which I am certainly not trying to copy. I wanted to reflect the fluidity and dynamism of the waves in the sea."
And with regard to the other work of art left unfinished by his maestro, Ito seems to have calmed down. When he came out against the planned route of the AVE, he said he lacked sufficient information. The Sagrera Consortium provided him with explanations and he has changed his mind. "It seems that they are taking adequate measures. I hope there will not be any problems in a monument of world significance".
6. GAUDÍ AT THE TABLE by Ana Mª Ferrin
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The father figure is revealed as fundamental in the biography of Antonio Gaudi, which even details the eating habits adopted by the architect for a large part of his life. The image of them both travelling by cart from Reus is a memory passed down from grandparents to grandchildren amongst the inhabitants of Reus. The Mas de la Calderera crops provided them with figs and grapes, almonds, hazelnuts and eggs from their own chickens destined primarily for the little boy lacking in appetite, with the intention of ensuring a good diet and a full recovery from the rheumatic fevers that plagued him, impeding him from attending school for long periods of time.
Read full article |
7. OTHER NEWS
- AMICS DE GAUDÍ-REUS WITH DR. BASSEGODA
On the 19th of June at 20:00 hours, this entity attended the dinner organised by the Gresol Foundation, during which the “Gaudi” prizes for Notoriety and Excellence will be awarded, in order to honour the distinguished parties, and particularly Dr. Joan Bassegoda Nonell, great student of the architect from Reus, Antoni Gaudi Cornet. Those who wish to attend with the “D'AMICS DE GAUDÍ” group, can request this on Tel.: 977 345 418, Fax: 977 345 249, in writing to apartado 282 REUS-43280 or amicsgaudireus@gmail.com, with there undoubtedly being many who will accompany Mr. Joan Bassegoda, current president of “Amics de Gaudí Barcelona”. The ticket price is 50 € per person. For any additional queries, call Tel. 977 328 481 which is the number for the Gresol Foundation.
The Cultural Centre Espai Subirachs will be inaugurated in 2011 in the old parish of Sant Cugat de Rec in calle Princesa, in the Ribera neighbourhood of Barcelona.
The centre will have more than 300 works of art by the Barcelona artist Josep María Subirachs, as well as an auditorium with a capacity for between 150 and 250 people.
All together, the surface area of the building, the construction of which begun this week, will extend beyond 4.000 square metres. The architectural project was conceived by the architects Ramon Sanàbria and Lídia Planas, authors of the intermodal building of the Prat Airport.
The curator of the future museum,Judith Subirachs, daughter of the artist, presented the project yesterday, which has taken eight years to materialise since the agreement was signed with the artist. The body of works is made up of pieces owned by Caixa Penedès, together with those given by the family and collectors.
The daughter of the artist emphasized yesterday that “a review of the trajectory of Subirachs is necessary”, who was “eclipsed by the titanic and polemic Sagrada Familia work”, referring to the portal conceived by the artist, 82 years of age, and which had its detractors for following a style different to Gaudi’s.
- GAUDI’S BELLESGUARD TOWER REPAIRED
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Last May the Bellesguard Tower of architect Antoni Gaudí recovered the modernist cross that crowned it, one year after having detected fissures in it.
The work included restoring the cross, consolidating the base that supported the cross and reinforcing the structure of the tower, to do which an eight metre steel structure was utilised to join the tower to the cross.
The family that owns the building noticed that the cross was twisted in May 2008, at a time when the continued rain filled up the half empty reservoirs of Cataluña.
The Bellesguard Tower was built between 1900 and 1909 on the site of the palace of Martí I l'Humà, king of the kingdom of Aragón during the XV century. The building, despite being privately owned, enjoys the maximum level of heritage protection as it has been declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest. |
- INAUGURATION OF THE GAUDISHOP
The giant Gaudí next to the shop |
On Sunday, 5th of March of 2009, the GaudiShop of Riudoms was inaugurated, with a great range of products specialising in Gaudi, divided into various sections: stickers, calendars, ceramics, crystal glasses, dracs, magnets, posters and other items, all personalised with Gaudi.
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- DEFENESTRATION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT DR. JOAN BASSEGODA
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On Sunday, 5th of March of 2009, the GaudiShop of Riudoms was inaugurated, with a great range of products specialising in Gaudi, divided into various sections: stickers, calendars, ceramics, crystal glasses, dracs, magnets, posters and other items, all personalised with Gaudi.
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- 79th BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR PROFESOR BASSEGODA
.jpg "Aniversario Bassegoda") |
A great commemorative birthday party was held for professor Bassegoda, to which all his Gaudinian friends attended in order to help him celebrate.
It was a surprise party organised in the Sant Jordi Royal Academy of Fine Arts, of which Professor Bassegoda was president from 1990 to 1998. The emotion felt by Professor Bassegoda was indescribable and only his expression told of the great happiness he felt in seeing more than 100 friends come together to pay tribute to him on such a lovely day. |
- THE GÜELL ESTATE IN AVENIDA PEDRALBES
HEADQUARTERS OF THE REAL CATEDRA GAUDI (1963-2009).
Joan Güell i Ferrer (1800 – 1872), a salesman who made his fortune in Santo Domingo, in other words, a genuine Indian or American, was the owner of an extensive rustic estate in Las Cortes de Sarriá, known as Can Feliu, a farm located in the very centre of what is now the Avenida Diagonal. He built a country house with a neo-gothic chapel and an altarpiece dedicated to the Sagrado Corazón (Sacred Heart), San Juan and San Francisco, in accordance with the design project of Joan Martorell i Montells. The house had a marked Caribbean appearance with wide galleries or covered porches on either side.
Joan Bassegoda Nonell
Read full article
8. COLLABORATION OF OUR MEMBERS
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The professional career of our member has been inspired by secession architecture with particular attention to the work of Gaudi. This year work has finished on the construction of an apartment in Bratislava, which arose in order to commemorate the work of Gaudi, in particular the Casa Milá in Barcelona. He well knows that he is neither the first and nor will he be the last to find inspiration in Gaudí but this is the result of his studies of the work of Gaudi, which made a profound impression on him.
See more photos.
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Our member Jorge Alvarenga sends us photographs of the mural he has built in El Salvador, in the Gaudinian technique. It is with great pleasure that we publish both the news and the photos, encouraging him to continue creating work inspired by the great maestro.
See more photos.
9. NUESTRA TIENDA ONLINE
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