Bocadillos

Bocadillos are very common in Catalunya. Most are filled meats, cheeses, tortillas, and other Catalan specialties. They are featured on fresh bread almost always and are very common to eat for breakfast or lunch. In some cases, the bread is rubbed with fresh tomato and olive oil. It is interesting to me that even though there are a lot of places that serve bocadillos, there are still American chain sandwich restaurants like Subway all over Barcelona. I have also noticed that unlike the States, many times bocadillos are served plain without condiments or vegetables.

Catalan Cheese and Iberian Ham

This is a salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, iberian ham, and orange slices. One of my favorite things about Catalunya is the cheese and meat culture, as they are two of my favorite snacks both here and abroad. Both cheese and cured meats are featured in many tapas in this region. Cheeses are often enjoyed as dessert courses with wine. There are a variety of different cured hams made in many different areas of Catalunya and usually enjoyed as a plate by themselves.

Catalan Seafood

Catalan cuisine has long included seafood because of the proximity of the region to the ocean. While the cuisine of the region includes a lot of salted and cured fish, fresh seafood is also an important part. This mean is one I had inside the Boqueria several times, it is one of my favorites. It includes a variety of fish as well as shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops, and lobster all grilled perfectly. It is all very fresh and delicious, although it is relatively expensive. At home, fresh seafood can be hard to come by and is often quite expensive because there isn't an ocean nearby.

The Beach

The beach has played an important role in my experience in Barcelona. While in Chicago has the beach of Lake Michigan, it is not nearly as beautiful as the ones in Barcelona. It seems that the beach plays an important role in Spanish culture as well. Barcelona has had a lot of economic success, both in the past and now, because it is a port city which has promoted a lot of trade in the area. It seems common for Catalans to hang out at the beach on the weekends, either relaxing or playing sports like soccer or beach volleyball with their friends. There are also several restaurants around the beaches that specialize in fresh seafood which plays a major role in Catalan cuisine.

La Merce and Catalan Celebrations

Celebrations are frequent in Catalunya as there are many religious and political holidays that take place throughout the year. In the United States, most celebrations are celebrated privately among family and friends. In contrast, while there is a family and friend aspect in Spanish celebrations, celebrations very frequently take place in the streets and plazas as a community. I really enjoyed the community aspect of Spanish holidays, especially La Merce. All of the free concerts and Catalan pride was really fun to be a part of and it was one of the first times in Barcelona I felt apart of the culture and community of Barcelona. In Chicago we always have fireworks on independence day, but nothing on the scale of La Merce. The coordinated music with the fireworks and fountains, as well as the huge amount of people present in Plaza Espana was incredible to witness.

Sports in Catalunya

Sports play a substantial role in the life of Catalans. There is immense support for all things FC Barcelona. Football is the most popular, but there is growing popularity in other sports such as basketball. One of my favorite things to do in Barcelona was go to bars and restaurants during Barcelona soccer games and watch the locals with all their intensity. El Clasico was a very interesting experience because the rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona is very intense. I am familiar with team rivalries, there are a lot in the United States, but usually it has a lot less to do with politics than the situation between Barca and Madrid. Because of the tumultuous past and present political situations, winning this soccer game allowed for a special amount of pride and an important victory.  

Raval Field Study

During this field study we talked about what happened after the revamping of Barcelona for the Olympics. The building that housed the olympians were supposed to become low income housing but instead became rather abandoned. This area started to have an issue with crime. In order to end the crime, the city decided to revamp the neighborhood and make it a cultural and educational center for the young people of Barcelona. The University of Barcelona has a campus around here, there are several signs posted advertising club meetings and small cafes for students to hang out at. There is also a very popular skateboarding area in Raval. I believe it was an interesting solution for Barcelona to revamp this area into a cultural center and how proactive they were in ending the crime in this area. By creating a lot of attractions in this area, people bring their families and young people can relax in this area. Making an area with a lot of traffic and a lot of people hanging around makes people less likely to participate in crime. I feel like this was actually quite a smart approach, but very risky because I do not know if something like this would work where I'm from. 

El Periodico reports on Artur Mas and the referendum

El Periodico is one of the most popular newspapers in Barcelona and is published in Barcelona. Recently, the Catalan government has decided that next year, a referendum regarding independence will occur despite the strong resistance and condemnation of the central Spanish government in Madrid. Artur Mas is an important leader in the fight for Catalan autonomy and formerly believed that the region could still function as a part of Spain, but has more recently declared it would not be possible. In this article he says that as a Catalan, you should vote yes to Spanish independence because any other alternative would not be suitable to the Catalan cause of autonomy.

La Vanguardia on Merkel's Reelection

La Vanguardia makes an interesting comment in this article regarding Merkel winning her third consecutive election for Chancellor. It mentions that Germany is following an unusual trend in keeping their top political leaders where most other countries such as Italy, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Spain are replacing theirs. This shows the faith the paper has in good leadership resulting in strong government and the role we are tasked with as voters in replacing those who fail us and reelecting those who have success.

El Pais on Moroccan Immigration

El Pais is a socialist newspaper that comments in this article about Spanish police in Melilla, which boarders Morocco, not following protocol when they catch Moroccans illegally immigrating into Spain. The police are supposed to catch them, then take them to police headquarters to plan their return to Morocco. Instead, the newspaper is finding that between 20 and 30 percent are not brought to headquarters. The Spanish police just send them back to Morocco rather than following procedure. This is not completely surprising, as immigration is a complicated topic not only in Spain but all over the Mediterranean.

La Vanguardia on Catalan Independence Day

The Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia posted several articles about the independence demonstrations that took place in September 11 in celebration of the day of Cataluyna. This paper mentions there was a successful human chain that showed the popularity of the desire for statehood in this region. It mentions the organizers of the demonstration, the ANC, were overwhelmingly pleased with the outcome. This is a much different article the you would see in Madrid, as it seems to show some Catalan nationalist sentiments. 

La Boqueria

 Fruits

 Peppers

 Fresh seafood

 Insides of animals

Cured meats

The Boqueria market on Las Ramblas does a wonderful job of portraying the importance of fresh, seasonal food in Catalunya. The market is full more modern products, like juices and popular baked goods, as well as historically important features like cured meats, specialty cheeses, and all parts of many kinds of animals. Historically, Catalans have made use of all parts of an animal and this practice continues today. You can observe these because there are many cases with the insides of animals. Additionally, there are many spices and other ingredients that are important in Catalan cooking. The fish market is very large and the fish all have the heads on them to show the freshness of the catch. Fruits and vegetables are throughout the market and displayed in a very colorful manner. There are also places to eat at the Boqueria, much of which are standing but all are full of very fresh ingredients.

Chocolate Museum

 Chocolate Messi sculpture

 Chocolate Up house

Chocolate Sagrada Familia

The chocolate museum showed the evolution of chocolate through history all over the world and specifically in Catalunya. The production and consumption of chocolate is very important in Barcelona. Historically, there were chocolate factories in Barcelona because it is a large port city so the production helped the economy and the consumption became a part of the lifestyle. I have noticed that chocolate and churros is very common, especially in the colder months. There are also many stands all through the city that craft and sell their own chocolates still. There are even stands in the Boqueria. Another tradition in Catalunya in regards to chocolate is the sculpting of monas. They are common gifts around Easter time and are a part of the culture.

The Day of Catalonia

The Day of Catalonia takes place annually all over the region of Catalunya on September 11. There are celebration all over the region, the largest taking place in Barcelona. Recently, it has become a day for demonstrations of groups seeking independence from Spain. Most of the major plazas in Barcelona were decorated with independentist flags and signs. Many citizens were wearing their flags and had shirts that expressed their desire for their region to become and independent nation. The streets were full of the sounds of chanting and singing in Catalan. A human chain also occurred to show that independentists are unified in their cause to be a free nation.

Medieval Barcelona

1. Five streets dedicated to trades:
-semoleres- grains, cereals
-llana- wool
-candeles- candles
-cobres- cotton
-miralleas- mirrors
The guilds were the craft and trade area of Barcelona. Each guild had its own street with a picture that marks it. Each guild had its own saint as well.

2. The casa-taller was the main type of home in the trade area of Barcelona. The store/workshop was on the first floor and everyone in the home worked there. The first level (principal) was where the owner lived and had the largest balcony. The servant and apprentices lived upstairs with low ceilings and little or no balcony. This was all connected with a very narrow and small stairwell. The corner shops were most privileged because they had a presence on two streets.

3. A theme throughout this area is arches. Both in doorways and in small bridges like the one pictured. Also, shrinking balconies as the building went up was common because of how the workshops were laid out. There were mosaics also present. The style was modernist, but you can still see evidence of the Roman presence in Barcelona with the columns.

The Santa Maria del Mar is quite culturally relevant. It was built by the people of the guilds, for the people of the guilds. In contrast with La Cathedral, it was funded by the people rather than the cathedral which was funded by the hierarchy, Vatican, and nobility. Santa Maria was used by the working class people. The sailors would pray here before they left for sea. The merchants would compete for access to working for the cathedral. The decoration of the building is very Catalan. The outside is very simply decorated whereas the inside is grand and elaborate, with very high ceilings.

Roman Barcino

 Roman columns

 Roman sewer system

 Roman walls

 Remaining portion of Roman aquaduct

Roman stairs

Portions of Roman monuments and engineering are still present in Barcelona today. For example, the columns are maintained today and are used as a part of the structure in an apartment building. The fact that so many parts of Roman engineering are still functional is a testament to how advanced the Romans actually were.

 Roman pottery

 Roman candle holders

Roman painting

The museum was full of domestic objects as well. Things such as pottery for serving food and beverages appeared to be well crafted and in surprisingly good condition. Objects like candle holders seemed to be both functional and decorative. The painting that was done directly on the wall was quite impressive considering it was still in such good condition.

 Wine and food production

 Wine and food production

Wine production

A large portion of the museum was composed of rooms that were used to produce food and wine. The Romans had a large effect on wine production in Catalunya considering they brought it here. Wine is so important to Catalan culture and lifestyle so it is clear that the Romans had a lasting effect on the people and culture of Catalunya.