Now at its 13th edition, FineArt brings photography to the streets of Igualada, showcasing works by international artists in diverse city spaces. Photography festival FineArt Igualada kicked off its 13th edition on Friday with women taking a central role both behind and in front of the camera More than 20 photographers are exhibiting their work in the festival while the festival also touches on various themes which revolve around femininity The organization wanted to put women center stage for the event both in terms of artists exhibited and the theme.  a photographer with an exhibition named 'Brujas' (‘Witches’ in English) explained that her exhibition talks about the "femicide" that was the witch hunt in the Pyrenees between the 15th and 17th centuries and they were murdered on the basis of accusations as ridiculous as causing illnesses or having made a pact with the devil," Prat told the Catalan News Agency she realized that Aragon and Catalonia were two of the areas where the most women were accused of witchcraft and murdered Prat highlighted that those women have gone down in history as "old ugly and evil women," and she feels that "who they really were has not been explained."  "We’ve only heard the speech of their persecutors and the story of who they were has never been told,which is why in this exhibition I try to dignify their memory and explain who they are," Prat said she took photographs of places where these women framing current women who live in the area in the shots another photographer exhibited in FineArt with 'Hispania Sacra' explored the symbolic iconography of what is sacred in Spain and Portugal through its ritual representations These are photos in black and white that "reveal the complexity of our cultural identity" and that show "a past that reaches us and that decisively influences our present," Alemán explained to the Catalan News Agency.  The festival showcases work from photographers from all over the world, with each exhibition exploring different locations. Full details can be found on the FineArt Igualada website.   The FineArt Igualada photography festival started last Friday, February 21, and is set to last through to March 16. Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone This post is also available in: Spanish, French, Portuguese Pressenza presents an interview with Juan Mejía Botero which portrays Francia Márquez’s trajectory of the struggle for the environment and the territory but it also traces the trajectory of this social movement I have lived alternating between my country of origin and other places in the world It is the longest stretch of my life that I have lived outside of Colombia then I did a master’s degree in Latin American studies I have been doing a lot of work on the subject of forced displacement in Colombia so I have a series of short films and feature films about displacement The first one was in 2009 and it was called “Desterrados” (Banished) then I produced “La Toma” [Translator’s note: La Toma is an Afro-Colombian community] then in 2010 we made “Independencia ¿para quién?” (Independence with three other characters; and then I made a feature film called “La lucha por la tierra” (The Struggle for Land) which deals with displacement in the Pacific and the oil palm I made “Muerte por mil cortes” (Death by a Thousand Cuts) a documentary filmed on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic that has to do with the destruction of forests in the Dominican Republic and the trafficking of coal between the Dominican Republic and Haiti but obviously it is an issue of social justice Since then I have done many things here in the United States around racial justice and the prison system Francia Márquez called me and told me that she was running for president of Colombia so we revisited Francia’s life story and made the film Igualada Could you tell us what motivated you to make the film Igualada about Francia Márquez I was very impressed with Francia from a very early age I was working with the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN) through a very nice campaign called “Las caras bonitas de mi gente” (The beautiful faces of my people) It was the first time that the census included the category “Afro-Colombian” and it was thanks to that moment that I met Francia Márquez I was presenting one of the documentaries about forced displacement and she was talking about the moment that her community was experiencing in the town of La Toma and how they were fighting to remain in their territory especially by the conviction shown by someone so young – in 2006 she would have been 17 or 18 years old – and already willing to risk everything (in Colombia clearly risking everything is risking your life) for her community and for her territory The fact that someone so young was willing to risk everything left a huge impact on me she told me that she wanted to do something to document and show what was happening in La Toma the opportunity arose and with a Colombian-American director we produced this short film together called “La Toma.” At that time we made “Independencia ¿para quién?” (Independence for whom?) where she is also one of the protagonists When she called me in 2020 and told me that she was running for president of Colombia it was very natural for me to continue documenting this is going to be historic and it must be documented I had to convince her a little and in the end she said – I remember very well – “no films are made about communities like mine And from 2020 until she became vice president… what a thing… how lucky I was to have started with her and that she has been able to reach the vice presidency of the Republic Could you give us a brief synopsis of the film Igualada Igualada portrays Francia Márquez’s history of struggle for the environment and for the territory; it is a history of her struggles it also traces the history of that social movement of a very historic moment that I believe marks a ‘before” and an “after” for Colombia and who knows if it will be repeated in our country But it is a portrait of hope in a country as battered and as alienated from traditional politics as Colombia; with Francia there is the opportunity to believe again that another type of politics is possible Francia Márquez is a woman with an unwavering conviction regarding justice a woman with a very good sense of humor who is an artist inside but she is a person who has had a very hard life Being threatened with death since one was 18 is a very very heavy weight to carry and she is a woman who has received many blows and a lot of hate I think that perhaps that has hardened her She once told me that she is like a steel bar that is put in the fire and hit with a hammer But when I hear people say that she is full of hate Francisco Márquez has no hate or resentment but for me it would be strange to live in a country like Colombia all your life and not be angry; we are one of the most unequal and violent countries in the world so it is natural for a woman like Francia Márquez who has spent her whole life fighting for the environment But inside she carries strength and courage she is also a woman with a very good sense of humour because I think that growing up in Colombia and not being angry is like being very disconnected from reality What were the most difficult moments of that recording Because I imagine that being behind activists in Colombia I want to say first of all that it was a collective work I don’t remember who said that beautiful saying “The struggle is a collective poem” (1) We have a team of women based entirely in Colombia: Sonia Serna Botero our field producer; and from New York we have Juan Yepes Juancho and I travel constantly to Colombia but there in the daily struggle were Sonia At the beginning of the film it was very difficult because we had very few resources and Francia’s campaign for president had even less So a lot of that initial work was done by them with Francia; there was no security plan yet because there were no resources for the campaign so they crossed the entire Colombian Caribbean region and part of the Pacific region in those conditions While Francia was beginning to become known Juan Yepes and I traveled and relieved them; sometimes we all travelled together because it was in the middle of a social outbreak and in the middle of a pandemic dealing with the social unrest in Colombia and trying to follow Francia between the lockdown and then the social unrest The other thing was the campaign for president itself I think it was finished three times… three times we said ‘this is as far as the campaign went’ there was simply no more money or simply the necessary signatures were not obtained without it being hopeless because we always felt that it was a hopeful process in any case And suddenly the endorsement of AICO (Movement of Indigenous Authorities of Colombia) arrived Then came the endorsement of the Polo (Polo Democrático political party) and then we started filming again and well We started with a grant from the Sundance Institute and that gave us enough for the first shooting trips but little by little we had to raise more money the film was financed with this grant and with other grants from foundations in the United States: the Luminate the money came from some of the funders and when the money was running out more came in for the next part of the film and so it went on until the end… there was a lot of difficulty to go to the end… you see in the film a moment in which Francia is in a public event of her campaign and suddenly the security people begin to protect her and remove her from the stage because there is a laser pointed directly at her it was a moment of fear and confusion because no one knew what was happening it was discovered that it was a laser that was directed by a young man from a nearby building It is something that can be frightening and can generate panic it did not turn out to be anything serious I feel that the hardest moments were the longer ones because as Francia’s campaign gained momentum there was also a little bit of condescension look at the pretty little black girl struggling to better herself” But when suddenly Francia had a chance to come to power Francia Márquez is strong and manages to absorb most of these but sometimes all this ends up affecting and discouraging There is another moment in the film where you see Francia somewhat emotionally affected because the work of the campaign is not generating the signatures needed to boost her candidacy Francia picks up her cell phone and starts receiving a lot of hate messages which you decide to show simultaneously on the screen Where do you think she gets her strength from but I feel it’s a struggle she’s been fighting since she was a teenager There is even a very nice interview from Francia where she is shown very young fighting to prevent the transnational Unión Fenosa from diverting the Río Ovejas to increase the reservoir of the Salvajina dam thus eliminating the life options of thousands of indigenous and Afro-descendants of the region she already felt a great inner strength and a great understanding of what the struggle and the problems of her region and her country meant So I believe that Francia has often felt like giving up but I also feel that she has a conviction and endurance that can only be generated with a long history of struggle and above all an understanding of what that means Francia is a supremely intelligent woman who understands the Colombian environment very well When one studies the lives of some people who have marked the history of the world and other people who have produced strong social action it is observed that they have also been nourished by a deep spiritual life; I do not know if you can say something about Francia Márquez… Francia is a very spiritual woman and I know that this issue is very important to her She recharges herself energetically through that spirituality Have you talked to Francia about the experience of those first two years in power we organized a private premiere of the film for her family and the “Soy porque somos“ [I Am Because We Are] campaign team France said something very strong: “We have the State but that doesn’t mean we have the power” Colombia has been one of the only Latin American countries that has never had a progressive It’s always been the same families that have ruled in the history of our country – so even if the state changes it’s not so easy to change the power structures These power structures in Colombia have been cemented for centuries and I feel that to expect to change these institutions in 4 years is very complicated [We are talking about] the owners of the industry and I know that this has also been very difficult for Francia because she is aware that there was a lot of hope in her and [then there is] the anguish of not being able to respond as she would like; but it is a very complicated mission people told us that it was very difficult not to let pass what one hears every day on Caracol which are constant attacks on the government who cannot spend 10 pesos without being questioned This did not happen with the last vice-president who went on a trip and nobody calculated how much gasoline was spent So I believe that for the Colombians who believed in this project it is a challenge not to let themselves be permeated by all these attacks This morning on Blu Radio (which belongs to one of the dominant media outlets) this was said I wrote it: “Francia Márquez is the great disappointment of the Petro government with a lack of leadership that has not allowed her to preside a Ministry of Equality that has done nothing and a project execution rate of around 1% Imagine if Gustavo Petro died like Rodolfo Hernández (presidential candidate in 2022) did All the journalists on the radio panel begin to attack Francia more and more are there credible sources of news here in Colombia How can we avoid being influenced by all the misinformation that reaches us people have no idea what it takes to put together a new ministry When was the last Ministry in Colombia created I think it was the Ministry of Labour; this process is very complex and the bureaucracy that comes with a new ministry is a tremendous thing I remember that they had been in the Ministry of Equality for months and they still didn’t have computers and nobody talks about this issue of bureaucracy It’s not that Francia doesn’t want to execute these projects it’s that these ministries come with a huge bureaucracy to be able to start operating How has the public’s reaction been since the release of the film Igualada here in Colombia So far the reception of the film has been very nice we know that those who went to the first screening were people who already agreed [with the ideas] and in Manizales the theatres have been very full cinematheques like the Tertulia in Cali have been full I think that in all the screenings in Bogotá there are tears but there is a lot of hope That was what we were looking for with the film I think that this moment of great hope reminds us of a lot and makes us think that by struggling things can be changed very nice to talk to people after the screenings I would love for people who are not supporters of this government to see the film [Editor’s note: Between 2022 and 2026 Gustavo Petro is the president of Colombia and Francia Márquez the vice president] For that audience it would be a portrait of our country it would help them understand our country a little better and I think [that it is so] for all Colombians the film allows getting to know a historical figure in our country in much more depth regardless of whether one agrees or not with Francia’s political position Francia Márquez marks a “before” and an “after” in Colombian politics not only for all the black little girls and adolescents in our country who are now growing up with a role model like her in the vice presidency It is simply the fact of seeing that in a country with the social structure that Colombia has with the social inequality that Colombia has becomes the vice president of Colombia: that is something almost unimaginable So I think it would be very nice if more people went to see the film people who are not already a sympathetic audience I remember that during one of the first presentations but I really liked this film.” I think yes that the film is very valuable for all audiences The big exhibition companies did not want to distribute the film and they have almost a monopoly on theatres in the country So we had greater success in more alternative theatres Of course the film continues to be presented in Bogotá We hope that at the end of 2024 we can launch an impact campaign which seeks to take the film to both the rural periphery and the urban periphery That is a commitment that we have had since the beginning of the film to really be able to take the film to the territories and  we also want to take it to many universities and schools in the country The film has had a very good run on the festival circuit We have just finished a tour in Europe (Norway and it has already been shown a lot in the United States In Africa we will be in about 14 countries on television; and we have already been in festivals in Zimbabwe What did Francia Márquez think of the film She saw the film at a very difficult time for the government and I think it was very hard for her to remember all that hope precisely because of what I told you: she feels the weight of trying to fulfill all that hope She also criticized me for the fact that she didn’t want a film just about her: where were the rest of the leaders but she is not a woman who likes to be the protagonist very much even if she is the vice president of Colombia So that’s what we discussed initially when she saw the film But I think she has already accepted it and is beginning to appreciate it more and more I think that Francia Márquez still doesn’t understand what her vice presidency means [does not see] the magnitude of that achievement I think that Colombia doesn’t see it and over the years we’re going to realize more and more the magnitude of what that means and with that the film is going to have more value for everyone it’s something that fills many of us with hope It doesn’t matter that many people aren’t going to see the film for whatever reason I think that it’s that notion of openness to what’s happening that can focus us seeing the daily life of a person who risked everything and who had that call from a very young age it’s incredible; you can see it in the film from the first images when she was a child but already had everyone listening to her A HUMAN PICTURES production in co-production with NO FICTION Original Music: Richard Córdoba – La Muchacha With the participation of Francia Márquez Mina author of the phrase “The struggle is a collective poem” is a feminist activist and defender of human rights She studied public relations but is dedicated to digital communication Enter your e-mail address to subscribe to our daily news service Support our Peace and Nonviolence journalism with your donation PressenzaAn international news agency dedicated to news about peace and nonviolence with offices in Athens We use cookies to analyse our traffic and to embed third party content The film festival returns for five days of Spanish and Portuguese film MSP Film Society announced the lineup for its 12th annual Cine Latino Director Walter Salles opens the fest with I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) on Oct The film recently world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is also headed to the Toronto Film Festival The film follows the true story of a mother and her five children during the military dictatorship in 1971 Brazil Another highlight of the fest will be Igualada a documentary that follows the journey of Afro-Colombian Francia Marquez from rural activist to vice president of Colombia Director Juan Mejía Botero followed Marquez with a camera for years to document the politician’s fight for equality and social justice despite attacks on her ethnic origins a documentary about deaf flamenco dancer Antonia Singla dives into why the once internationally acclaimed dancer has been forgotten from history The fest will also feature eight short films for kids ages 8+ at the Minneapolis Institute of Art on Oct Other short films will screen back at The Main Cinema on the same day That lineup features The Ballad of Tita and the Machines which explores the robot/AI takeover of physical labor The fest will close with La Suprema on Oct a film about a boxer from the interior of the Columbian Caribbean who is set to fight for a world title Key Enterprises LLC is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for mspmag.com for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards Igualada City Council and Airbnb announced the creation of the “Healthy Destinations Lab” The innovative project brought together industry generate ideas and collaborate on building a healthy and sustainable tourism model for the municipality of Igualada located within the L’Anoia region in Catalonia (Spain).  Guests arrivals in the Anoia region grew by almost 50% in 2019 (1) Growth of domestic travel in the Anoia region in 2019 (1) Of the 35 municipalities in the Anoia region, 16 received travelers through Airbnb (1) Following on from the success of this initiative, Airbnb asked independent tourism and collaborative economy expert, Francisco Rodríguez Bautista to assess and collect the key learnings from the activity in Igualada. The idea of this study is to create a blueprint for how technology can be leveraged to drive tourism to off-the-beaten-path destinations, both within Spain and beyond.  Travel and tourism represents more than 10 percent of global GDP and 1 in 10 jobs around the world (2) but its benefits are often not distributed evenly. Around half of municipalities in Catalonia, for example, have no hotels or other traditional accommodation options (3). But in almost 120 communities with no hotels in Catalonia, travel on the Airbnb platform has helped boost the economy by €1.5 million (4). In January 2020, Igualada City Council and Airbnb presented Rodríguez’s  Sustainable Tourism White Paper as a proposed model for how private-public collaborations can help destinations develop their tourism potential in a sustainable way.  The paper identified five key stages in the process of turning a region with little or no tourism infrastructure into a viable and sustainable destination. Rodríguez suggests first making an evaluation of a prospective new destination. He recommends an initial analysis of what attributes, services, attractions and existing infrastructure the location in question has, and whether they combine to create tourism potential.  Beatriz Ayuso, a Superhost in the Anoia region, welcomes guests from all over the world to her country house, which is energy self-sufficient–powered entirely by solar energy. “Do we have to choose between comfort and respecting nature? We now have the resources and the technology to create a sustainable world” Next, Rodríguez says, relevant political stakeholders must make a clear commitment to promoting the destination, with a focus on sustainability. The agreement between public sector and private sector must be aligned and endorsed by all key institutional stakeholders in the locality. Respect for local culture is a lynchpin of how Airbnb operates, and Rodríguez identifies the support and consensus from the local community as a key element of any future programme similar to that carried out in Igualada. He suggests that the active participation of locals is essential, and can be facilitated through dedicated workshops. According to the white paper, similar initiatives should also foster the use of underutilised resources, such as spare rooms and empty homes.  Rodríguez also emphasises the importance of a joined-up community and local business training plan, including hands-on workshops to help demonstrate the power and potential of technology. He suggests that training participants should represent local business, culture, technology and any other influential regional groups, in order to ensure that knowledge and resources are shared as fully as possible.  Finally, this kind of tourism activity in new destinations should be underpinned by sound regulation, giving legal legitimacy to any wider initiatives aimed at improving the accommodation and leisure offer. The report also emphasises the importance of seeking collaboration between all relevant stakeholder organisations, as well as making sure that technology is leveraged in order to support any registration of activity and collection and remittance of relevant taxes.  The white paper also offers recommendations on how to analyse the capacities and accessibility of the destination, find the target tourist, and create a communications strategy that promotes a representative picture of the destination.  The report’s writer Francisco Rodríguez Bautista is the author of “Del Hospitium al turismo 4.0“, an essay on the evolution of tourism in a technological innovation environment. Chris Lehane, Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications at Airbnb, at Airbnb’s first New Destinations Summit on May 9 2019 “The project was not launched with the goal of dramatically increasing visitor numbers overnight–we consider it more important and effective to work on creating a sustainable tourism destination in a way that fits with the uniqueness of our territory. And it would not have been possible without the participation, involvement and cooperation of local administrations, civil society and economic and cultural stakeholders, as well as entrepreneurs in the Igualada and the Anoia region.” Barça remains unbeaten in the OK Liga following a hard-fought draw at the home of Igualada Rigat. The hosts took a 2-0 lead, but David Cáceres' charges sprung back with goals from Pablo Álvarez and Ignacio Alabart to secure a point at Les Comes. Though this marks Barça's first dropped points after 18 straight wins, they remain league leaders. Igualada's goalkeeper, Guillem Torrents, was key to the draw with crucial saves, otherwise Barça could have turned their early domination into goals. Alabart, Marc Grau, and Álvarez (who missed a penalty) came close before Roger Bars put Igualada ahead with a powerful free-hit. Edu Fernández doubled Igualada's lead on 26 minutes, but Barça responded instantly. Álvarez and Alabart both scored within a minute. Eloi Cervera nearly completed the comeback, but Torrents stood firm. Both teams had late chances, including missed direct free hits by Joel Roma and Alabart, but the score remained 2-2. Despite Barça's final push, Torrents ensured the points were shared. Igualada: Guillem Torrents, Marc Rouzé, Joan Ruano, Marc Carol, Miguel Cañadillas, Joel Roma, Roger Bars, Guillem Llorens, Edu Fernández.  Barça: Sergi Fernández, Ignacio Alabart, Xavi Barroso, Marc Grau, Sergi Llorca, Pablo Álvarez, Sergi Aragonès, Eloi Cervera, Miki Escala.   Goals: 1-0, Roger Bars (min 17). 2-0, Edu Fernández (min 26). 2-1, Pablo Álvarez (min 33). 2-2, Ignacio Alabart (min 34). This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Barcelona Court has sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of a minor in 2021 in Igualada The man, who was 21 years old at the time of the events, raped the girl, who was 16, on the night of Castanyada (Halloween night) on October 31, 2021 when he was returning home after a party at a nightclub. The court sentenced him to 15 years in prison for sexual assault with penetration and using a large object and to 20 years minus one day for attempted murder. Judges applied an aggravating factor of gender discrimination. The public prosecutor's office requested 45 years in prison. The perpetrator has been held in preventive detention since April 2022. The sentence states that the perpetrator followed the victim when she left the nightclub on November 1, 2021, around 6 am. He attacked her "on the head with a large object several times after surprising her," even though he knew that "there was a high probability of ending her life." The man then took the victim to a street "with complete contempt for the fact that she was female" and "repetitively and brutally introduced several parts of his body, such as his fist or arm, and unidentified sharp objects," while "taking advantage of the fact that she was almost unconsciousness," the sentence reads. These events lasted approximately 20 minutes. The injuries she suffered meant she had to undergo 365 days of treatment. Out of these, for 332 could not perform her normal activities, and there were 30 days in hospital and three days in the intensive care unit (ICU). The court has said that all evidence points out that the blows to the head and on the other parts of the body took place before the sexual assault, which happened while the 16-year-old girl was almost unconscious.  If it had been the other way around, the sexual assault first and then trying to murder her, the judge would have been able to include the aggravating factor of attempted murder following rape. For this reason, judges note that application of three aggravating factors for murder would carry between 20 and 25 years in prison, but as it is attempted murder, the sentence is lowered to between 15 and 20 years. The court ruled that the perpetrator would spend the longest time possible in prison for this crime, 19 years and 364 days. During the trial that started in mid-July in Barcelona, several witnesses and lawyers said that the attack was very brutal and there the attacker wanted to murder the victim. The final statements also tackled the male-focused modus operandi and that he was looking for "humiliation." The Fecasarm nightclubs union lawyer said that the accused was "a danger to the public" and that this "savage" could not be freed. "He did not want to assault her. He just wanted to kill her," he added during his final testimony in court. The perpetrator was not looking for sexual pleasure but "to do as much harm as possible to the victim," some of the members of the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra police group focused on analyzing criminal behavior said. According to the same testimony, the victim had "very severe injuries" in her head and in her anal areas, and they had never seen any injuries like them. "There was a lack of empathy and regret," and there "was a of chance that he would attack again," the testimony said, as the perpetrator had left the victim there. In fact, one of the forensic doctors said that the injury was "very large" and that these injuries "are not very compatible" with just the male reproductive system, but that he would have used "a large object." He also said that "these injuries are more common to be seen in the autopsy room rather than in a first exam." Meanwhile, the defense continued to argue his client's innocence and that there was insufficient evidence against him. Lawyer Gerard Negrell mainly focused his closing speech on questioning all the proof, such as that his client's phone was not geolocated, but they used his signal connection area, which does not work, according to the lawyer, as the signal could have because of the proximity to the nightclub. "You can say that my client was in the area," he said, but he ruled out that he was at the place the attack took place. The lawyer had also requested not to take into account the surveillance footage because of the "lack of quality" of the images. The victim was found around 7 am on November 1 by a truck driver in the logistics area of the municipality in a very badly lit street. She was found half naked, trembling, almost unconscious, and surrounded by a large quantity of blood on the ground, and on her face and genitalia. Mossos d'Esquadra police were able to identify the perpetrator at the time using 155 surveillance cameras. Even though the events were not recorded, several cameras recorded the moments before and the aftermath, where the 21-year-old man (at the time)  left the area with a piece of clothing that could be from the victim. Phone signal also placed the perpetrator near the area, and police found several Google Maps screenshots on his phone near the victim's location. A testimony said that those screenshots may have been taken "involuntarily" as he had drunk and consumed drugs. My biggest fear as a child was that my mother would die you might think––yours and everyone else’s stemmed from something that seemed contradictory: I was afraid she would be murdered for doing good When I was a child my mother started her work as a human-rights activist spending her life empowering people who live on the margins of society and fighting injustice I am incredibly proud of her now that I’m an adult but when I was little I didn’t understand why being part of a hunger strike was more important than being home or why she had to go on trips to places everybody knew were dangerous Every time my mom was on work trips and the phone rang at night I couldn’t stop thinking about her while watching Igualada Juan Mejía Botero’s powerful documentary about Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez who (seemingly overnight) went from being a countryside activist to holding one of the nation’s most-powerful positions Botero has known Márquez for years and has footage that almost seems prescient looking at the camera and introducing herself and La Toma letting us know film cameras aren’t the norm here Márquez talks about how much she loves living there because she gets to be near the River Ovejas There is nowhere else she’d rather be which became home to thousands of descendants of enslaved people are also the source of highly priced minerals including gold transnational companies––aided by right-wing governments and paramilitary units––have bullied and violently forced people out of their lands so that a few can turn profits the land is not a source of riches; the land is life itself Márquez––opposing the building of a dam that would have seriously hurt her community––took on the role of community representative and started on the path that eventually led her to the Vice Presidency.  Botero doesn’t have footage of Márquez as a pre-teen I am sure we would see and hear a girl who hopes this is something she will only have to do a single time in some photographs her mother shares; she caresses them gently and says “It’s the same little face.” But the face has been witness to unspeakable pain when we see her explaining her decision to launch a presidential campaign around the time Black people in Colombia were being massacred “No mother should go through this,” she says.  By this time Márquez was well-known for her activism She received the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 just two years after Berta Cáceres from Honduras for her fight against transnational companies aided by a right-wing government and military that wanted to build a dam which would have destroyed the ecosystem of the Gualcarque River The history of women––indigenous women of color specifically––fighting for their right to live in their lands is the history of Latin America Cáceres was murdered the year after winning the award It’s a relief to watch Igualada knowing Márquez is safe the film takes a form that resembles traditional political documentaries chronicling the rise of an underdog: we see Márquez attend debates and react to media coverage that make her victim to sexism And then we see victory as she becomes the first Black woman elected Vice President of Colombia in a historic administration (the first leftist one in Colombia) led by Gustavo Petro who she joined after realizing a presidential campaign of her own would not be successful.  Some viewers will find the film anticlimactic and unsatisfying; on the surface it looks like any other political doc It hits all the “right” notes and delivers a triumphant tale––if they’re measuring success in hegemonic terms If they choose to believe that being Vice President means she succeeded I believe those who see this as an inspirational tale probably have never feared their mother wouldn’t return from a work trip because she was helping people in rural areas fight for their rights which is to say: those who are lucky enough to equate power with success.  I wish I could see this as “another political doc celebrating an underdog.” To me It broke my heart to see one of Márquez’s sons on the verge of tears wondering why he was forced to seek safety in another country and who would want to hurt his mom for doing the right thing this is the story of a woman who gained power she only sought in order to protect her home––a place she now only visits out of fear of putting others in danger and because she has official duties elsewhere Igualada is the middle chapter of a story I hope ends with Márquez being lulled by her river the place where she seemed in complete peace she remains displaced––an inspiration for sure but another example of a Black woman forced to go on a hero’s journey because no one else would endure it for her Igualada premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Jose Solís has been writing about film since he was 10 and realized his thoughts on movies were taking over his journal. He hasn't stopped writing since. Untouchables. Barça defeated Igualada 5-1 in a lively game at the Palau Blaugrana. Alabart and Grau made it 2-0 in the first half, before Ferran Font, Pablo Alvarez and Marc Grau again sealed the win in the second. Igualada may have been in a bit of form, but Barça came away with a comfortable win. The blaugranes were the only unbeaten side coming into the game and remain so after defeating the side from Anoia. Ignacio Alabart scored first for the home side, the Galician finishing a great assist by Pablo Álvarez to make it 1-0 after eight minutes. Barça continued their attacking thrust to try to score the second, and it bore fruit as Marc Grau finished perfectly, 2-0 with three minutes to go to the break. Barça began the second half with a Ferran Font goal, David Caceres' side putting themselves closer to victory just three minutes after the restart. However, a brief drop off allowed the visitors to grab a goal back through Marc Carol (3-1, min 36). This goal emboldened the blaugranes again and both Pablo Álvarez and Marc Grau scored near the end of the contest to close out a comfortable win, strengthening the blaugranes' lead at the top of the OKLliga. Barça: Carles Grau, Ignacio Alabart, Pascual, Pablo Alvarez, Xavi Barroso - starting five - Ferran Font, Marc Grau, Sergi Aragones, Eloi Cervera Igualada: Guillem Torrents, Marc Rouze, Joan Ruano, Roger Bars, Marc Carol - starting five - Miguel Cañadillas, Guillem Llorens, Biel Llanes Goals: 1-0, Alabart (Min 10); 2-0, Marc Grau (Min 22); 3-0; Ferran Font (Min 28); 3-1, Marc Carol (Min 36); 4-1, Pabo Alvarez (Min 47); 5-1, Marc Grau (Min 49). Referees: Raul Burgos, Alberto Perez. Fouls 9-9. For the 12th edition of FineArt Igualada the city will host exhibitions and parallel activities showcasing various, revitalising the centre through culture and the promotion of local industrial design and architecture. The exhibition spaces are diverse, including the Tannery, the rectory of the church of Santa María, various schools, the municipal market, municipal and cultural facilities, old factories, and currently unused premises. These spaces are transformed into temporary exhibition areas during FineArt to showcase the works. The skies of Igualada in central Catalonia filled with 50 hot air balloons from around the world to compete at the European Balloon Festival on Thursday morning The latest edition of the festival started bright and early with the sun shining behind the mountains surrounding Igualada visible from the ‘take off field’ located at Parc Central d’Igualada Around 50 hot air balloons were deployed in the area before 6 am, all surrounding this year’s novelty, the unveiling of the latest worldwide innovation: the Near Spacecraft that will be able to fly at 20,000 meters altitude. Commercial planes fly at 10,000 meters. The capsule was designed by Zero 2 Infinity and adapted by Ultramagic, a company from Igualada specialized in hot air balloons. A short demonstration of the new cabin took place in front of dozens of journalists at 6:30 am, just minutes before Igualada’s Parc Central became a mushroom field, as hot air balloons quickly inflated to transport their first passengers. The first design will be part of Dutch-Turkish DJ Burak Yeter's gig that he wants to do in space, and the "first test will be at 10,000 meters," Neus Lladó, operations director at Ultramagic, told journalists ahead of the event. In the future, the "capsule will be pressurized and the current balloon is a standard one, but in the future we will manufacture one ready to go to space," she added. The original idea behind the project was "to promote space tourism or even research" but at the moment "the only project that has been financed is the DJ one," Lladó said. The balloons are competing at European level between Thursday and Sunday, and come from different countries such as England, France, Brazil, Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, Tunisia, and Morocco. “Visca la tramuntana!” someone shouted in reference to the 3 km/h northern wind in Igualada. This will be the 28th European Balloon Festival and it will see many hot air balloon flights between Thursday and Sunday in the morning, and between Thursday and Saturday in the afternoon. Friday morning, however, will be one of the most special days of the festival, as flights will take off from different parts of the city, rather than just Parc Central. The first hot air balloons flights were full of people, including journalists and members of the organization, but also some curious guests. Some, for the first time travelling on a hot air balloon such as Ukrainian Kristina Rotionova, who currently lives in Catalonia with her family. They were flying on the first flight with one of the several companies on site as it was a gift by her father to her mother. ”[Flying with a hot air balloon] was pretty scary at first, but it is really cool and pretty,” she told Catalan News. “When you are down there, and you get to see all these balloons it is very pretty, it shows that someone is up there,” she said during the flight. Meanwhile, Igualada resident Carme Solé is an expert and has flown on hot air balloons before. ”I really like to fly a lot and being able to see everything from up here,  the mountains or Igualada, as it is our city,” she told Catalan News. “When you are flying alone, it is just you, and you are the only hot air balloon in the sky, but here, you get to see so many hot air balloons, some flying at higher or lower altitudes, and you have another view,” she said. v1.1.0. Copyright © 2025. Powered by EBANTIC. All rights reserved. will see 50 hot air balloons competing at the European Balloon Festival between July 11 and 14 coming from different countries such as England All these balloons and around 30 Catalan and Spanish pilots will compete during the four days of the event The European Balloon Festival will also be the stage of one of the latest worldwide innovations: the Near Spacecraft that will be ready to fly at 20,000 meters altitude The capsule has been designed by the company Zero 2 Infinity and adapted by Ultramagic a company from Igualada specialized in hot air balloons One of the other novelties in this year's event is the 'Les Nits de Llum' (nights of light) which will see many hot air balloons flying at night Organizers have also launched a contest to win one of the 150 free hot air balloon trips on their social media HomeDestinationsInterestsTop Places to Travel by MonthSearchMenuBest time to go to Barcelona The best hot-air balloons in the region gather for one week of spectacular flights the European Balloon Festival annually takes place in Igualada It's an international gathering of hot-air balloons which has already become an extremely popular European competition Drawing in almost 25,000 balloon enthusiasts every year the festival is sure to take your breath away with colorful balloons against the picturesque backdrop of Spanish architecture The European Balloon Festival is a gathering people can watch more than 50 balloons fly in a show or even ride in a balloon while the teams perform different exhibition and competition tests You'll have a chance to witness morning and evening balloon flights as well as the spectacular night glow in the evening Thanks to deals offered at the European Balloon Festival you can embark on a journey above Igualada on a hot-air balloon with some flights going up to €549 and even €900 there are additional discounts for children The festival is held in Igualada in the first two weeks of July more than 25,000 people come to witness it The flights happen early in the morning at 6:30 am and late in the afternoon at 7:30 pm the weather is best for hot air balloon rides Flights can be canceled if the weather conditions worsen The Night Glow is scheduled to take place at 10:30 pm on July 13th The festivities and balloon flights mainly take place in Central Park Rides over the city set off from Plaça de Cal Font and Plaça de l'Ajuntament since the flight direction often depends on the wind the balloons land on the outskirts of the city the event's organizers recommend coming on foot or taking a bus when possible feel free to use the Comes parking lot next to Park Central or a car park near the Hospital Universitari d'Igualada Mejía has known Márquez for nearly two decades and the film features interviews from her early days through her historic run for high office “Francia is a grassroots community activist. She’s a black woman, [a] rural woman, born in poverty, who was a single mother at a very young age [and who] worked as a domestic worker cleaning homes for wealthier families,” Mejía explains. “But who, from a very young age, became an organizer and an activist around issues of territory, environmental issues, and social justice in general.” The two met back in 2006 when Mejía was working on a series of films about the forced displacement taking place in Colombia. He remembers Márquez was “trying to get a visa to do a speaking tour in the US about what was happening in her community in La Toma. They were fighting against the displacement by mining concessions on their land Igualada features interviews starting with her as a young mother She’s frustrated but undaunted when she looks at the problems in front of her people talk about [her being] angry or resentful she has anger at injustice and what she’s gone through She’s seen so many people around her [who] have been killed for fighting the same battles that she’s fighting.” And that should make everyone angry When Márquez told Mejía she was thinking of running for President he thought it was “crazy,” but he persuaded her to let him make a film about it “We’ve had hard discussions about the film because she feels she did not need to be centered too much She wants everybody to know that this is a collective struggle It’s not her struggle,” Mejía shares echoing a point Márquez made multiple times in the film “She survived one assassination attempt already,” Mejía recounts and “Her candidacy also lifted the lid off a lot of rotten stuff in the country The misogynistic and racist attacks against her are every day [They are] really dark and sad and so blatant and nasty She not only has to deal with her life being at risk all the time but she’s got to deal with this type of things.” we see Márquez reading hateful social media posts “The mainstream press does it in more subtle ways There’s constant questioning of how she spends money that I don’t think applied to previous vice presidents the same way that it’s been applied to her Everything she does is put under a microscope Every penny she spends is dissected,” says Mejía to come to terms with the fact that a Black rural woman that doesn’t come from the elite is the second most important person in government.” The film ends with Márquez assuming office but of course even from one of the highest offices in the land but those structural systems that have been in place for centuries Of how one person can make a difference in the pursuit of justice she can really inspire you to believe,” explains Mejía “Colombia has been ruled basically by the same folks forever [It] never had a progressive government in its history So it’s easy to become disillusioned and frustrated but I think she has an ability to make people believe again.” Igualada shows how a new type of politics seems not only to be possible but to have arrived in the body of one Black rural woman one activist with conviction so strong that she’s willing to risk her life for it It’s a slur for a person who demands equal rights but it also serves as a rallying cry for Francia Márquez Cristina Escobar is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Latina Media Co and board member of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association her abuelita made the best tamales this world has ever seen You can follow her on Threads and Instagram: @cescobarandrade Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Text description provided by the architects. As part of a competition to replace an older cemetery, Enric Miralles and Carme Pinos envisioned a new type of cemetery that began to consider those that were laid to rest, as well as the families that still remained. After 10 years of construction, the Igualada Cemetery, outside of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, was completed in 1994 as a place of reflection and memories. The Igualada Cemetery is a project that challenges the traditional notions of what makes a cemetery.  Miralles and Pinos conceptualized the poetic ideas of a cemetery for the visitors to begin to understand and accept the cycle of life as a link between the past, present, and future.  It’s understood by the architects to be a “city of the dead” where the dead and the living are brought closer together in spirit.  As much as the Igualada Cemetery is a place for those to be laid to rest, it is a place for those to come and reflect in the solitude and serenity of the Catalonian landscape. © Flickr User: DharmeshEmbedded in the Catalonian hills, the Igualada Cemetery is an earthwork that blends into the landscape as if it were a natural aspect of the land. The cemetery was designed as a tiered landscape that unfolds into the landscape as one continuous and fluid progression. © Flickr User: DharmeshAlso, on the second level, there is a chapel and monastery that remain unfinished; however, the unfinished aspects are not lacking, by any means, spatially rather they are void of definition and detail.  Yet, the lack of information and detailing compliments the overall sensations of the project where the spaces are open and void to retain the experiences of solitude and serenity. As one enters the site, one confronts a set of cor-ten steel poles that double as gates to the cemetery – the poles are likened to the crosses at Calvary.  From the main entrance, there is a processional winding pathway that descends into the main burial area; the pathway is lined with concrete “loculi” - mausoleum burial plots – that wrap around the depressed space as a transition from tier to tier.   The windy path is conceptualized as the river of life that moves from a wide open expanse in the Catalonian hills to a secluded memorial space excavated below the horizon.  The circulation through the cemetery adheres to a more processional effect that focuses less on the organization of the burial plots, but rather the experience. © Flickr User: DharmeshThe Igualada Cemetery is in a sense an organic architecture that integrates into the natural landscape as an extension of the Catalonian hills It is just as much a part of the landscape as the people that visit it Even Miralles after his sudden death in 2000 is buried at the Igualada Cemetery which in a sense completes the cycle of Miralles life: past and future all clinging onto the Igualada Cemetery You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email The Rec.0 fashion festival in central Catalonia's Igualada started its 26th edition this Wednesday with approximately 100 fashion brands spread across the Rec district.  The slogan of this edition is 'The perfect excuse', claiming to be a "unique opportunity" to "buy clothes directly from the designers themselves and exchange opinions with the people in charge of the brands," director of the festival's communication, Clara López, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).  According to the 2023 data from the Catalan Fashion Cluster, e-commerce accounts for 21.9% of the total sale of fashion products. The Rec.0 circuit is one and a half kilometers long and they expect there to be around 100,000 visitors.  The circuit takes visitors through different factories and the history of tanneries, a place where clothes are colored, to learn about their industrial past.  The Rec neighborhood currently has around 70 design studios, artists or coworking spaces.  "In the Rec district there is a lot of creativity and innovation," one of the founders of Rec.0, Ramon Enrich, told ACN.  The fashion festival has been committed to sustainable fashion for years and repeats the 'Unmissable Rec' experience for this edition. It is a platform for new designers and creators, but also for new consumption models and sustainable brands. They can all be found in the 'Rec Imperdible' space, located in the Igualada leather museum. "Rec.0 is committed to reducing waste. On the first floor of Rec Imperdible (Rec Unmissable), we’ve got up-and-coming fashion brands closely connected to sustainability, who create new pieces out of waste," López said. López said that it will be possible to see new business models such as rental clothes or an exchange market for clothing items.  has announced today that Barça have made a commitment to play a benefit match in order to raise money for the ‘Consorci Sociosanitari Igualada (CSSI)’ Barça will pay a visit to the Les Comes stadium to face CF Igualada to help the CSSI an organisation formed by the Igualada City Council and the Social and Health Service of Catalonia and which offers social and health services to older people and those who are dependent in order to improve their quality of life and the independence Helping those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 the CSSI offers this service in the areas of Igualada and Anoia The announcement by Mayor Castells came during his daily press conference on the development of the coronavirus in one of the areas most affected economically and socially The mayor stated that Barça had accepted the request made by the president of CF Igualada who was beside him at the press conference would like to present to you this initiative which we greatly appreciate and I hope that it will provide excitement and make us aware that we are not alone; that there are many people outside of the Conca d’Òdena who love us and who are looking after us,” said Castells He continued: “In moment like this you always find people who give you support ideas and a vision and help to being you good news for when all this is over Everything that is happening has an end point and as my grandfather used to say when it has rained it has stopped raining.”  Castells explained that the blaugranes accepted the idea straight away in a telephone call on Wednesday evening “Yesterday I had the chance to talk to the president of FC Barcelona and his first vice president Jordi Cardoner whose family comes from the area of Igualada and he told me that we could make the annoucement in a council meeting at Igualada together with the mayors form the rest of the area of Conca d’Òdena.”  Francesc Jorba gave more details of how the initiative came about “A few days ago the sporting committee at Igualada came up with the idea and they asked me: why don’t we contact Barça to see if they would like to play in a benefit match to help the health services in Igualada and la Conca We sent an e-mail and we quickly got a positive respones and yesterday president Josep Maria Bartomeu phoned me Duing the conversation he put the Club at our disposition and he was very worried about the situation in Igualada and la Conca He said that the game between CF Igualada and FC Barcelona would be possible to raise money for the CSSI We want to thank them for this ray of light in a moment of darkness and rain Now we can see the sun coming out as it always does.”   Barça have become the first side to win away to Igualada Rigat HC this season in what may look like a comfortable victory but was actually anything but It was actually all wide open until the last two minutes when the victors suddenly produced three goals make it 6-2 The game is also the 52nd without defeat for Barça The blaugrana went ahead through Marc Grau but Igualada equalised almost from the restart goals from Sergi Llorca and Pau Bargalló made it 3-1 but when Roger Bars pulled a goal back for the home side with 12 minutes to play Igualada charged in search of an equaliser and would have got one had it not been for some top notch goalkeeping by Sergi Fernández And so to that final minute when three goals in rapid succession secured the win First Pau Bargalló and then João Rodrigues twice stunned a side that has not been beaten at Les Comes all season THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN LATINO & MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE A powerful enclave of the textile industry northeast of Barcelona Igualada is trying to promote its tourist and cultural attractions and more than 3,000 stunning murals adorn building exteriors all over the city since 1984 began an initiative to help eradicate graffiti by enabling professional artists and young Philadelphians to showcase their artistic talent in a constructive way Although not in the same part of the world as Philly an industrial enclave 42 miles northeast from Barcelona is betting on murals as a way to celebrate culture and arts and as a way to protect its traditions.  Named capital of culture in Catalonia in 2022 Igualada has experienced an explosion of murals and street art displays on the facades of the city murals made in homage to a defunct bookstore or even to traditions rooted in the city stands out like the Castellers (human towers) or the city's Three Kings Parade.  {"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/AoCohMQTY5g.jpg?itok=JPtCNp2m","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoCohMQTY5g","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":1},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive Igualada was one of the Catalan cities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and lived under strict confinement after an outbreak of the virus in its local hospital artist Joan Fontcuberta debuted his work Miradas desde el confinamiento in the city a tribute to collective solidarity during the pandemic in the form of a giant 50-meter-long mural consists of a mosaic made of 50,000 images of citizens who were invited to send in their photos of what confinement meant to them the city of Igualada preserves an important legacy of the country's industrial culture In addition to strolling through the narrow streets of the Rec district Igualada is still an outstanding place to buy clothes and fabrics as evidenced by the large number of fashion stores Twice a year, the city hosts Rec.0, an eclectic festival of fashion, culture and food for four days in the Rec district The old factories and tanneries of the old industrial district of the city are temporarily transformed into fashion pop-up stores where major local and international brands and independent and emerging fashion designers sell their stocks and samplers at unique prices Las Ramblas (not Barcelona) is also the center of the town's commercial life an arts and crafts fair takes place in the Town Hall square One of the most important festivities of the city is the Cabalgata de Reyes. On the night of Jan thousands of comparsas parade accompanying the spectacular floats of Their Majesties lined up on the balconies to deliver the gifts directly to the children The sport most associated with Igualada is roller field hockey. The local team plays in the highest league in the country and has won the League and the European Cup several times Food also features several typical dishes Desserts and pastries are also very popular: it is worth mentioning the coca d'Igualada created in 1920 and made with aromatic herbs the carquinyolis — made from dry pasta with almonds — and the traditional chocolate monas At the beginning of July, a unique aeronautical fair takes place, together with the European Balloon Festival. It is also an outstanding place to organize excursions to the massif of Montserrat with its monastery and its Virgin of the Moreneta Una publicación compartida de European Balloon Festival (@ebf_igualada) THE BEST OF THE AMERICAN MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCE An important victory for Barça at the Palau Blaugrana Edu Castro's team had to work hard and were able to comeback thanks to goals from Bargalló in the first half A result that allows the blaugranes to close 2020 at the Palau with a win (the next two games are away Barça went ahead through a shot inside the area by Pau Bargalló Ton Baliu's fine finish had the visitors level within a minute (1-1 Sergi Fernández had to make a triple stop from Roger Bars' penalty (min 19) whilst Hélder Nunes couldn't gain an advantage for Barça from a direct foul (min 25) Joao Rodrigues equalised after a free kick by Hélder Nunes (2-2 and Ignacio Alabart put Barça ahead again with a shovel shot that beat Elagi (3-2 Matias Pascual turned in the area and made it 5-3 (min 47) It's a win that leaves Barça with 28 points from 11 games Joao Rodrigues –starters- Aitor Egurrola (ps) International policymakers and global tourism experts are today joining more than 300 attendees at Airbnb’s first ‘New Destinations Summit’ in Igualada (Barcelona policymakers and locals together to explore innovate and collaborate on building healthy and sustainable tourism models in communities with no hotels or little tourism infrastructure Travel and tourism represents more than 10 percent of global GDP and 1 in 10 jobs around the world (1) but its benefits are often not distributed evenly Around half of municipalities in Catalonia have no hotels or other traditional accommodation options (2) But in almost 120 communities with no hotels in Catalonia travel on Airbnb platform has helped boost the economy by €1.5 million (3) In France – the most visited country in the world – around 90 percent of communities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants also have no hotels or traditional accommodation options (4) However hosts on Airbnb have helped welcome 1.9 million visitors to these rural communities which guests might otherwise have missed (5) guest arrivals to rural destinations with less than 2,000 inhabitants have increased by more than 130 percent in the last two years (6) And in Igualada – home to the New Destinations Summit and Airbnb’s first Healthy Destinations Lab – guest arrivals on Airbnb increased by a third in 2018 and total host earnings doubled in 2018 (7) without the cost of any additional tourism infrastructure Working together to promote healthy tourism policymakers and members of the local community together to collaboratively build tourism models that benefit everyone – especially in places with no – or few – hotels or other accommodation options Tourism is an economic engine for communities around the world but its benefits can often be concentrated in the hands of a few policymakers and communities together for a global conversation on making tourism an opportunity for everyone While solutions are likely to be different everywhere Igualada is the perfect global example for how policymakers and communities can work together to build healthy and sustainable tourism models from the ground up and that benefit everyone Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications at Airbnb Igualada is a small city just outside Barcelona that despite hosting a number of big events that attract more than 200,0000 visitors a year – including Spain’s largest balloon festival and biggest open air fashion retail festival – has very few accommodation options and almost no hotels This causes seasonal moments with a sudden influx of visitors and can result in significantly fewer visitors for the rest of the year the Healthy Destinations Lab project has helped build awareness of how local residents can be part of the solution in Igualada The project has raised awareness on how local residents can help accommodate visitors to big events while generating economic benefits for local families and businesses and has helped foster collaboration with authorities on how the city can be positioned as a year-round tourist destination The project involved renovating two constructions raised late in the 19th century in the Rec neighborhood of Igualada that contained a small textile factory and a residence is undergoing an urban transformation process and becoming a creativity hub open to artists and cultural and culinary events The first step was to strip the building of slabs A double-height space was created at ground level with a mezzanine library and a large open fireplace an intermediate space was built around the remains of the old courtyard the top story features a spacious room whose floor reuses wood from the beams of the demolished levels Similar spatial strategies and material austerity criteria were applied in the adjacent two-floor building with office spaces laid out both downstairs and upstairs the facade exposes the different materials and phases of the building’s life incorporating a mural by the artist Btoy to emphasize the neighborhood’s cultural character Arquitectos ArchitectsGuallart Architects / Vicente Guallart (socio partner); Elisabet Fabrega Consultores ConsultantsIonut Cosenco (estructura structure); Jaume Ardeiru (rehabilitación restoration work); Maria Diaz (desarrollo development) there arent any match using your search terms Barça ended the year at the Palau Blaugrana in the best way possible but Barça managed to seal the win in the last 5 minutes Both Barça and Igualada came out flying at the Palau Blaugrana Barça stepped up the pace but the Igualada repelled every attack The breakthrough came through Pau Bargalló Pascual then scored his first goal for the first team to make it 2-1 before Pau Bargalló got his second Igualada's defence matched any attack that Barça could muster the team executing their defensive plan to perfection Carles Grau managed to save a direct free hit with only 8 minutes left but then Zilken got a vital goal for the visitors to make it 3-3 Pau Bargalló scoring his 20th strike of the season before João Rodrigues sealed the victory Recam Láser CH Caldes at 9pm CET on 22 December Blue cards for Gerard Riba from Igualada and Rodrigues from Barça Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information Spanish police control traffic the entrances to the city of Igualada Spain will impose a nationwide lockdown for two weeks as part of a state of emergency the government is to declare Saturday as coronavirus cases are soaring, El Mundo reported. Normality is slowly returning to the town and the care capacity in the hospitals is increasing After the Spanish government accepted the calls from Catalonia to lift the strict confinement measures in Igualada and the surrounding areas the cities and towns are gradually going back to normal although the home confinement measures that are in place across all of Spain due to the state of alarm will be in effect in the central Catalan areas.  Catalan police began dismantling the controls on roads entering and leaving the area on Monday, which has been totally isolated since March 12, following the outbreak of a large coronavirus cluster in the region. Only essential services have been allowed in and out of Igualada Santa Margarida de Montbui and Vilanova del Camí since that date the exceptional situation for 70,000 people has come to an end Health minister Alba Vergés said in a press conference that the funeral home had reported 147 deaths from covid-19 since the outbreak in the area although 16 new coronavirus cases were confirmed the mayor of Igualada and spokesperson for the confined councils reported that the following day there were 11 further deaths from the virus Igualada Hospital is slowly returning to normal The situation has improved and patients in the area no longer have to be sent to other health centers nearby due to lack of care capacity.  the situation has improved to the point that patients in other hospitals are even returning to Igualada hospital as it now has the capacity.  healthcare workers recovering from covid-19 is moving along a positive trend 42 new healthcare professionals have been hired at this center and also twenty nurses from the fire brigade have joined them.  the Catalan government reported that the death rate in the area climbed to 63.1 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants nine times higher than in the rest of Catalonia The figure is not only above the Catalan average but the Spanish one and that of Lombardy too Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush) Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Barcelona castles and cavasOver the next couple of days you'll step into the world of muleteers They say that Igualada can be imitated but never equalled And there are more discoveries to be made in the comarca of Anoia IN COLLABORATION WITH BARCELONA ÉS MOLT MÉS AND THE DIPUTACIÓ DE BARCELONA © Albert MiroYour journey begins in Sant Martí de Tous on the border of Anoia county and the region of Conca de Barberà. In bygone days these lands were frontiers in which fortresses had strategic importance. Tous Castle has been partially restored On the first weekend in July the Festival of Catalan Legends (FESLLECAT) is held here with local folklore and tales from around the Catalan territories It seems the castle was built between the ninth and tenth centuries by Wilfred the Hairy and Abbot Oliba the castle opens its doors to visitors on certain days or with prior booking This break is ideal for the spring or summer, so we thought it would be a good idea to do a morning activity that takes you somewhere with cooler climes. After looking at various options, we found the Finca Mas Macià in Òdena with subterranean cava cellars dating back as far as 1542 The winery produces both wines and cavas as well as offering guided tours that they started to produce cava in the mid-20th century and that the winery was renovated to improve productivity and the quality of the products They currently produce around 560,000 bottles of cava and 90,000 bottles of wine each year practically all of which are destined for foreign markets classified as being of historical and artistic interest the visit ends with a tasting of their wines or cavas © Marc VilaYou'll head to Igualada, the capital of Anoia, for the last day and a half of the break. This afternoon you can visit the Museu del Traginer (Muleteer’s Museum) transporting goods from one place to another was a much slower and more laborious process than it is today The muleteers made it possible to exchange not only goods but also information between villages and in Igualada this museum is dedicated to demonstrating the important role the muleteers played in the region’s commercial development everything surrounding it and its evolution is based on the impressive collection belonging to Antoni Ros with more than 2,000 exhibits including around 40 carts and carriages It's a grand tribute to the world of transport and to the artisanship and professions of Catalonia One of the things you'll notice on this getaway is that Igualada is a city with a wide variety of museums. This morning, we suggest a visit to the Railhome BCN Igualada’s museum dedicated to trains There you'll find one of the largest and most detailed railway models in Europe reproductions of hundreds of locomotives from each period and original materials from railway companies around the world who delights in playing with tracks and trains The words 'Igualada' and 'leather' are often found in the same sentence because the capital of Anoia produces 70 percent of the tanned hides in all of Spain The local industry dates back to at least the 14th century and there's probably no better place to open a leather museum which is your final suggested visit for this trip The Igualada and Anoia Museu de la Pell (Leather Museum) includes the 18th-century Cal Granotes tannery, where you can learn about the tanning process, which used to take a year. The main part of the museum is based in the former cotton factory, Cal Boyer, built in the 19th century. This houses four circuits showing the leather-making process and how water was used. Both the content and the buildings are of great interest: two sites which are emblematic of Igualada’s industrial vocation and which bring upi to the end of your weekend in Anoia. Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! facebooktwitterspotifytiktokAbout us Contact us Time Out Worldwide Catalan government called for entry and exit restrictions to be lifted now that whole country is confined at home The Spanish government has agreed with Catalonia's request to lift the perimeter confinement around Igualada and three other towns in the Conca d'Òdena.  The Spanish health and interior ministries gave the proposal the green light on Sunday with health minister Salvador Illa saying they would "issue an order today" to formalise the plans Catalan civil protection authorities, chaired by the home affairs and health ministers, Miquel Buch and Alba Vergés, had announced their intention to lift the quarantine perimeter on Saturday Buch and Vergés decided it was right to lift the measures because the basic reproductive ratio of covid-19 in the four towns has been lowered to a similar level as that of the rest of Catalonia.  the Igualada area will be under the same lockdown conditions as the rest of Catalonia.  Only essential services have been allowed in and out of Igualada Santa Margarida de Montbui and Vilanova del Camí since March 12 and it’s easy to assume it’s made by the millions in an automated factory in Asia I was invited to BUFF HQ for its 30th anniversary and discovered that the brand proudly manufactures 90% of its products (and all BUFFs) in the Catalonian town of Igualada I had wrongly assumed BUFF was an American brand that outsourced production to China which manufactures the most apparel worldwide I couldn’t have been more wrong. During my 2-day visit to BUFF HQ I learned how much more involved producing a seemingly simple product can be and how different the corporate culture is from that of the U.S I also learned how purchasing a BUFF doesn’t just benefit the consumer A BUFF “tubular,” as the locals call it even in the brand’s unique seamless form The first step the BUFF crew showed us was the graphic design stage BUFF has countless visual designs in the works at all times The brand sources information from organizations that predict design and color trends and look for impacts in areas outside of apparel a group of in-house designers collaborates and obtains group cohesion on designs The BUFF staff led our group of 18 journalists in creating and agreeing on a single design that would be produced by the factory that day we did conclude — but that was just for one BUFF I imagined trying to do this for every BUFF in the brand’s catalog and understood they must be mature professionals who can give and take equally The production manager then showed us an area where thread entered on one side and white tubulars exited on the other Complex circular knitting machines transformed individual spools of yarn into seamless tubulars The complexity and intricacy of what these machines did are hard to describe It took so many individual yarns to make a single gaiter a chain of human hands manipulated the blank fabric into the brightly colored BUFFs Humongous plotters printed the graphic designs in groups of six on special transfer paper and these served to sublimate the graphic onto the tubulars with a skilled laborer lining up the sheets onto an array of tubulars and then moving them into the sublimation press Sublimation involves the ink going from solid to gas in a single step to impregnate the fabric with the designs and colors When the neck gaiters left the sublimation machine, another set of hands neatly set the final product on its packaging. BUFF winter hats were in production simultaneously, and that process had almost no automation. From cutting to final packing, it took an impressive line of people to produce an item I assumed was made in a vast, automated factory. BUFF treated us to lunch in a very nice, clean, corporate dining hall staffed by professional-looking chefs. I chose my fish dish, sides, and dessert from a menu the day before, and corporate staff informed me that employees received the same treatment. My food was better than 90% of the restaurants at home, and the freshness of the ingredients was evident. Our group and the employees chatted happily, and the entire affair had an unrushed, luxurious ambiance. It felt like a family dinner, and in a way, it was. The closeness of the employees shined through, and I repeatedly voiced my disbelief that this was a daily occurrence on BUFF’s Euro. Later that day, I went upstairs to watch the shift leave work. I have been in a manufacturing plant before, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for me to watch the line workers go. They were tired and lacked spark. It was the opposite at BUFF. The employees smiled, laughed, and hugged each other as they left for the day. Again, I expressed my disbelief in the differences I was witnessing between what I’ve seen at home and what I saw in Igualada. I embarrassingly assumed that BUFF was an American brand and that the original multifunctional neckwear was produced with little human intervention in Asia. And BUFF officers admitted that they hadn’t done a good job of displaying their home-grown status in their branding. I hope that changes because, in my opinion, they have every right to be proud. I easily fall into an anti-consumerism mindset, especially with the dirtbag and ex-dirtbag crowds I tend to orbit. And sometimes, it feels ironic that I work for a site titled “GearJunkie.” Consuming less, repairing apparel until they are threads, and casting a suspicious eye on any brand exhibiting the next “new and improved” piece of gear is downright fashionable. But let me propose a different outlook. Purchasing gear that you will use that adds enjoyment to the outdoors can be more than selfish consumerism. Buying a BUFF engages and employs a staff of 390 in a small town in Spain. Their employment allows them to support their families and the community. The designers enjoy solving the puzzle of what appeals to your tastes. The factory workers proudly build a product they understand can protect you from the elements. The packers painstakingly fold and arrange the BUFF to put the brand’s best foot forward. That pride resonates in the workforce, who enjoy the camaraderie of the production floor and design room. That was such a far cry from my thoughts when I received the press trip invite; “it’s just a neck tube made in a soulless factory; why do I care?” BUFF opened my eyes and my heart too. I touch my BUFF and feel connected to the people I met in Igualada. And maybe you can feel that too. I get the stand against wanton consumerism. Capitalism can generate waste, icky marketing, and manufactured needs (do we all need expedition parkas to get the mail when it’s drizzling?) to fuel the sales required for companies to grow. But that’s the thing; during my stay at BUFF and in Spain, I perceived a different business mindset, summarized as “enough.” Stores posted business hours, which usually included a break for a few hours in the middle of the day. And, many times, the stores were closed regardless of the posted hours. I asked my friend about this, and he replied, “That was so frustrating when I moved here; I couldn’t count on them. But now I get it. They enjoy themselves when they feel they have made enough money for the day.” Wow. And I felt that at BUFF. They all work a full day to fulfill production quotas. But the constant drive to grow and increase market share that seems normal in the U.S. wasn’t present to me. Instead, the one corporate goal they informed me about was bringing home the remaining 10% of BUFF products not produced in-house. The goal is to do this within 3 years. Moving production to Spain will be more expensive than the current Asian production, but the goals are to provide more jobs and a higher-quality product. This will benefit the employees and the end consumer, not the bottom line. How novel is that? I’m all about reducing our collective footprint on this planet, which I understand can oppose my job of guiding new gear purchases. But I hope that the decision to buy the next new thing is out of need and deliberate. And part of the decision-making matrix could involve choosing products and brands that benefit something other than a profit margin or market share. I do understand that BUFF wants to increase sales and market share. But during my stay, it wasn’t at the forefront of anything I saw or heard. Yes, it was a press trip. And maybe I was selectively fed information. But I received the same opinions from candid conversations with employees and BUFF-sponsored athletes. I am typically a cynical and suspicious person regarding branding. I have experience in gear production and sports marketing and have seen plenty of shady action executed in the name of profits. But I didn’t feel that at BUFF and was quite ashamed that this was what I expected. So maybe we can partake in capitalism, and it isn’t all doom and gloom. Perhaps our purchases of items that expand our enjoyment of the outdoors can benefit a mother, a father, a town, and a company that sincerely cares about them. I hope so. And I will do my best to put my money where it can hopefully benefit someone other than a corporate titan. BUFF incorporates recycled bottles into its EcoStretch neck gaiters, adding to the brand's mix of sustainability and versatility. Read more… Seiji Ishii is the Climbing, Cycling, Fitness, Travel, and Powersports editor at GearJunkie. For 20+ years, he has been writing about cycling, climbing, outdoor endeavors, motorsports, and the gear and training for those pursuits. Ishii has trained elite and professional endurance, action, and powersports athletes for 30 years. Before GearJunkie, Ishii was a freelance contributor to print and web publications related to his interests and professional experiences. He continues to pursue climbing and cycling objectives seriously. Catalan chef David Andrés is a busy man.  a classic Michelin-starred restaurant – once a favorite of Salvador Dalí's – in Barcelona's upmarket Sant Gervasi - Galvany neighborhood.  But he's based in his hometown of Igualada where he is co-owner and chef at Somiatruites a restaurant and boutique hotel in the city's old industrial neighborhood of Rec.  It's a sleepy Monday morning when Catalan News calls in to Somiatruites Lunch is just a few hours away.    Luckily David Andrés, in his chef's whites, can spare some time for us. He's in his mid-30s, chatty and wears his achievements lightly: Three-time winner of best young chef in Spain and Portugal, named in Forbes magazine's 30 under 30 list in 2017 eight years as chef de cuisine in ABaC Did he imagine all of this growing up in Igualada?  "Until I was 20 I was the most useless person in the world in the kitchen he followed in the footsteps of his older brother Xavier "I searched for something else I could get passionate about something that connected with my philosophy "Sustainability is applying logic to cooking," David says.  but what we're doing is the most normal thing in the world what my grandmother did all her life: eat what the vegetable garden produces each season "What we were doing for the last 30 years was probably not normal but now we are returning to what was normal for 2,000 years," he adds.     bringing ideas and approaches from her native Chinese cuisine to this Catalan kitchen is the architect who converted this 19th century tannery into instead of making a roof with artificial insulation we made a natural covering with soil and a vegetable garden," David says.  "When it's the season for tomatoes or other interesting things and it enriches the cooking at Somiatruites."     but what if an ingredient for a dish can't be sourced locally or sustainably are they strict when it comes to sticking to green principles?   "We look for excellent produce and then we think about how we can treat it to make it even better and serve it from the high-end Via Veneto to Somiatruites where they have a daily lunch menu for €18 and you have a good chance of success."    David sees creating economic sustainability part of the restaurant's role within the town.  Igualada was "going through difficult times" after the global financial crisis.  "a very large space" in a "semi-abandoned neighborhood," was a risk for Xavier and David The name Somiatruites – which means dreamers in Catalan literally omelette-dreamers – reflects that.  about putting down roots," David says.  "We work with local businesses and suppliers David says of course it's always important "The best recognition you can get as a chef is a big room like this more than 100 people, filling up for lunch every day that's the best prize a restaurateur can have."  Listen to the podcast below to learn more about haute cuisine in Catalonia, including a visit to Somiatruites. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Residents described huge orange cloud covering the sky I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Thousands of people were forced to stay indoors after a fire at a chemical factory near Barcelona created a toxic orange cloud in the sky. According to Catalan Police the explosion in the factory in Igualada, at 9:45am, was caused by an accidental contact between three chemicals. The Spanish Emergency team confirmed that three people reported minor injuries and needed hospital treatment. As a precaution, Catalan Firefighters and Civil Defence ordered 66,000 residents in Òdena, Igualada, Jorba y Vilanova del Camí to stay at home, close windows and doors and avoid going outside. Pupils from a local school who were in a nearby wood to celebrate a carnival saw the explosion. None of them reported serious injuries, as they used scarves to cover their mouths. Míriam Solà, mum of a pupil, reported to EFE that her child told her he saw “a huge and orange cloud that covered the sky”. Toxic gasses can cause serious harm to pregnant women, elderly, children and people affected by breathing diseases. Firefighters and Catalan Police are working to ensure nobody is still inside or near the factory. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies the track called the Camino de las Guixeres is part of a larger project for the Igualada Green Ring the objective of which is to generate a series of footpaths and bicycle lanes around the city’s perimeter The track runs on the site leading to old gypsum mines the area was used as a municipal waste transfer station only to be altogether abandoned in the 1970s The Camí de les Guixeres invervention involves recovering a stretch of 1.65 kilometers the first 800 meters of which have now been completed The project pursues two main objectives: connectivity – by extending the Green Ring – and the recovery of the landscape and biodiversity creating a new dynamic that improves environmental conditions through  water management The track is set high on Les Guixeres hill so it naturally becomes a deck for views of the city and the Montserrat mountains It comprises in three strips: a sandy path over the preexisting track connecting with the Green Ring; a linear lookout with concrete paving incorporating a fraction of luminescent aggregate and a structure that cantilevers over the mountain slope; and a plant ditch that channels run-off water and holds back loose rocks which are used to build a sequence of retaining walls The Camí de les Guixeres won the Landscape award at the 2018 World Architecture Festival The path is articulated by a type-section comprising three bands: the central one of sandstone; an outer paved one with luminescent arid that creates the  linear viewpoint Equipo Batlle i Roig: Mario Súñer (arquitecto coordinador del proyecto architect project coordinator) Simone Cicu (arquitecto colaborador architect collaborator); Livia Valentini (arquitecta y paisajista architect and landscape architect) Dolors Feu (ingeniera técnica agrícola y paisajista technical agricultural engineer and landscape architect) Yago Cavaller (ingeniero técnico agrícola y ambientólogo technical agricultural engineer and environmentalist) Diana Calicó (arquitecta técnica y paisajista quantity surveyor and landscape architect) 310.000 € (IVA incluido VAT included)  Archive REMODELING-RENOVATION Residents told to close windows and seal air vents after dense cloud hovers over six municipalities in central Catalonia More than 60,000 residents in north-eastern Spain have been told to stay indoors after an explosion at a chemical warehouse sent a dense orange cloud into the sky that hovered over their municipalities for hours As the cloud settled over of six municipalities in central Catalonia, including Igualada, Jorba and Òdena, Spain’s emergency services told residents to close their windows and seal off any means of ventilation. “This is not a game,” they tweeted “Don’t put yourself in danger to take pictures of the cloud outside.” Initial reports had described the cloud as toxic but Ramon Espadaler of Catalonia’s interior ministry later told reporters that the chemicals were simply irritants “Most likely it will cause itchy eyes and a runny nose An explosion in a chemical company caused two wounded and a toxic cloud in #Igualada http://t.co/5fq6eLEFsq pic.twitter.com/lQmzgb4qLY Firefighters said the blast was caused when the contents of a delivery – reportedly including chemicals such as nitric oxide and ferric chloride – became mixed as they arrived at a warehouse in Igualada on Thursday morning and three of the firefighters who were first to the scene needed treatment for minor ailments emergency services lifted the advisory but said children elderly people and anyone with respiratory illnesses should remain in their homes @jualbarran @LaVanguardia pic.twitter.com/KnoNjgSxqY The cloud had dissipated into a fine mist and was expected to dispel soon noting that the situation had been downgraded from an emergency to an alert which means the cloud is disappearing very slowly,” he said “We’re returning to normal little by little but we still don’t have everything under control.” Only 30 seconds left to enjoy all our advantages: and many other surprises that you’re going to discover.. 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Line e5 (express bus) which connects Igualada and Barcelona The new stop will be located in “viviendas de Punto Blanco” and it will become the start and end of the route The initiative promoted by the Igualada City Council has been supported by Monbus and the Dirección General de Transportes de la Generalitat Marc Castells and Cleto Vázquez have presented the expansion of the service to the media the itinerary of the line has been increased to 1.5 kilometres by keeping timetables Scheduled transportation We use our own and third-party cookies in order to improve our services by analysing your surfing habits. If you continue to browse and/or accept this notice, we consider that you accept its use. 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