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Queen 'honoured' with Spanish Christmas tradition. |
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The Queen has been turned into one of Spain's Christmas "caganers", a ceramic figurine which shows affectionate disrespect for famous personalities.She appears as one of the Catalonian-produced figurines, part of a centuries-old Christmas tradition in northern Spain.
The tiny statuettes show the well-known figures with the trousers down, their bare bottom exposed, in the act of defecating.
“The caganer is a well loved and respected figure in the typical Catalan Nativity scene. It is not making fun but quite the opposite; it is a tribute to the person and the office or activity they represent.”
The original caganer, which literally translated from Catalan means "the fertilizer", was a man wearing a red and black hat and peasant costume shown performing his biological functions.
It was believed that his fertile deposits in the soil of the nativity scene would bring a rich harvest. But over time, the peasant has been replaced with well-known society figures and personalities from the region, Spain and around the world.
The collection includes King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain as well as the Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia. Last year the best-selling figure was that of US President Barack Obama.
Read the original article at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/6606718/Queen-honoured-with-Spanish-Christmas-tradition.html |
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It’s mushroom time here in Catalonia! |
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In the months of October and November a large number of Catalans pour into the countryside in search of wild mushrooms or “bolets”. It is one of the autumn rituals of our region: we “hunt” for mushrooms and then we eat them! Although there are many edible species we use the name “bolets” to refer to all of them. But then there are specific names according to the type, like “rovellons”, “rossinyols”, “ceps”, “llenegues” and many more.
It is a healthy pastime (long walks), and enchanting too, as autumnal forests are so beautiful. And while enjoying the stimulus of a mycological hunt, you feel an additional glow of achievement and pride when you actually find one! Mushrooms can be cooked in many different ways: they can be grilled, baked, fried or stewed with meat and other vegetables.
But precaution is to be practised at all times. It is very important to know how to distinguish the good ones from those that are not so good and from those that can kill you! So don’t eat any mushrooms you have picked unless you, or someone that knows, have identified them 100%. Otherwise play safe and find yourself a good restaurant for a great “vedella amd bolets” lunch!
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International Recycling Art Festival of Catalonia |
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Environmentally friendly holidaymakers visiting Barcelona next month will be in their element as the Drap-Art '09 International Recycling Art Festival of Catalonia gets underway.
The event will take place at the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona (CCCB) from December 17th to January 10th 2010, and will involve over 150 artists from different generations concerned with promoting art whilst helping to increase awareness and respect towards the environment.
In the face of the increasingly bleak panorama unleashed by unsustainable global development, Drap-Art believes that it is imperative to encourage new generations to use recycling - not just as a critical tool, but as a means to translate protest into positive actions, which are the seeds for a more sustainable world.
For additional information, visit the official website of Drap-Art'09
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