Fran Morancho López, left, mayor of Mont-roig del Camp in Spain, and Lotte Energy Materials CEO Kim Yeon-seop pose for a photo during an agreement signing ceremony held in southern Seoul on Wednesday. [LOTTE ENERGY MATERIALS] To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts. ACN | Barcelona    director of the Miró Foundation in Barcelona Mallorca – and turbulent times – the Spanish Civil War the Franco dictatorship – shaped the man and the artist This week's Catalan phrase is one uttered by Miró: 'Jo vull assassinar la pintura' Get in touch with the podcast team: fillingthesink@acn.cat Listen to more episodes of Filling the Sink below or find out more here. Get the day's biggest stories right to your phone v1.1.0. Copyright © 2025. Powered by EBANTIC. All rights reserved. Barcelona has hit its highest temperature in any month of April since the records began in 1909 surpassing the 27.2ºC recorded on April 21 Other locations in the Catalan capital at lower altitudes saw thermometers grow even more: in the Zoo a bit higher than Zona Universitària (29.6ºC) and Raval (28.9ºC) the values were the highest since the weather stations were set up between 2006 and 2008 three other locations hit all-time records Although it was not an all-time record for April The unseasonal high temperatures were combined with the ongoing drought – much needed rain did not fall and is not expected in the coming days. Water reserves continue to drop, and reservoirs of the internal basins stood at 26% on Thursday. Campgrounds are a popular vacation fantasy, and we tell you which are the best ones you'll find close to home. Summer is approaching and the hordes of cars on the road fleeing the city are arriving. Some heading to the airport to visit unknown countries, others heading to the family nest and most of them looking for a place to relax during their vacations. The campsite is always a guarantee of the latter and in Barcelona there are very good ones: The Vilanova Park of Vilanova i la Geltrú  has too much prestige not to “top this list”. It used to be a country house, and the more than four kilometers of land on which the current campsite sits leaves room for everything: woods, bungalows, gyms, swimming pools, sports facilities…. A real luxury to spend the summer in conditions. 📍Address: Ctra Arboç BV-2115, 2.5, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona Berga Resort is not a campsite: it is a children’s paradise. Seriously, if you have kids, don’t pass up the opportunity to treat them to at least a vacation in this little piece of heaven. When I was a kid, I wish I had been to, a place with so much to offer to the little ones at home: movie theater, playgrounds, sports facilities, swimming pools with giant slides, karaokes, swings, zip lines….. In addition, the location of the campsite is perfect for family hiking trails. 📍Address: Km 96 3-exit 95, E-9, Berga, Barcelona Yes, it has slopes to give and give away. Let’s not deny the obvious, legs suffer a little bit. But it’s worth it. First for its location, close to everything (the sea, the mountains, the center of town) and then for its views. Being on top of a hill makes it a perfect natural viewpoint. 📍Address: Carretera N-II, km 666, Calella, Barcelona The Repòs del Pedraforca has a wonderful advantage: whatever time of the year you go, it is totally worth it. Next to the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park and at the foot of Pedraforca, it is a special place to spend winter or summer seasons. Well, really whenever you want, because the campsite is open all year round.  In winter it is ideal to relax in its indoor pool and jacuzzi and in summer the aroma of the mountain and hiking delight the visitor. Address: B-400, 13, Saldes, Barcelona At La Tordera campsite you can find absolute tranquility, as it is far from the big cities (it is 60 km from Barcelona and 40 km from Girona). In addition, it is right on the beach, which makes it doubly relaxing. 📍 Address:  Camí de la Tordera, s/n, Malgrat de Mar, Barcelona View this post on Instagram We are not talking about just any campsite, but the campsite that the Auto Camper Service International (ACSI) has put in the first position of the list of the best campsites in Spain in 2023. It is enough to enter the campsite’s website to see that its swimming pool with slides, its bungalows and even a spa area and a diving area explain the award. 📍  N-340, Km 1.136, 43300 Mont-roig del Camp, Tarragona Company to invest €600m to open first European plant in western Catalan town, with 500 jobs expected to be created South Korean battery component manufacturer ILJIN will set up its first European factory in Catalonia as announced by the Catalan business minister during an official trip to Seoul on Monday The company will invest €600 million to open a plant in Mont-roig del Camp which is expected to create 500 direct jobs ILJIN Materials is "one of the only companies worldwide" that manufactures thin copper foil called Elecfoil used in rechargeable lithium batteries for almost all cellular IT products as Torrent explained from South Korea after meeting ILJIN representatives It is a key component for cathode collectors in such batteries "this is a strategic investment with a high added value for Catalonia." Torrent's office hopes this will attract other foreign investment projects to the country he says his department wants to "reindustrialize" Catalonia with green companies will be in operation in 2024 and will have a factory where he said that the investment will help "diversify" the local economy currently focused mainly on tourism and the service sector.  The Barcelona and Seoul offices of the Catalonia Trade & Investment government agency (known as ACCIÓ locally) have supported ILJIN's plans for a year and have worked to secure the investment According to the Catalan business ministry the South Korean company's move is the largest industrial greenfield investment in 20 years a type of direct foreign investment in which a company sets up a subsidiary in one country from scratch The news was welcomed by locals and businesses in Mont-roig del Camp one resident told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Monday Now at least there will be more life in Mont-roig since there are a lot of young people who have to leave for work because there is not much work in the town," while for Fernando Mesa the nationality of the company was irrelevant whether they are Korean or from La Mancha; this will bring life to the town." for people from the town or families coming from elsewhere building the industrial estate has yet to start," but "obviously such an investment would be great and would help a town like Mont-roig." according to rating agency Standard and Poors it made approximately €900m in revenue and €1.2bn in assets in 2021 The company aims to earn $1bn in revenue by 2025 the company makes high voltage electric cables extra-high voltage transformers and blockers and electrical devices for power distribution ILJIN also manufactures touchscreen panels for smartphones hydraulic cylinder tubes for heavy machinery and extra precisive stainless tubes for semi-conductors and therapeutic ultrasound-based medical systems.  ACN | Barcelona Learning about an artist by visiting a museum is miles away from visiting the rooms walls on which much of the art itself was created cradle of not only Joan Miró’s work but much of his artistic process is being inaugurated on April 20 – just in time for the artist’s 125th birthday Despite Miró’s work being ubiquitous throughout the city of Barcelona many might not know how much he valued the outdoors and the Catalan countryside He especially had ties with the family farmhouse Mas Miró just inland of southern beachside Tarragona Joan Miró spent his summers at Mont-roig del Camp Pau Casals was always connected to El Vendrell Pablo Picasso: “everything I know, I learned in Horta” One of the most unique artists of the 20th century, Miró lived through turbulent times that would mark his work with both beauty and grotesqueness  Joan Miró is one of the most iconic artists ever to emerge from Catalonia.  there’s a decent chance you’ve at least come into some contact with his work especially if you’ve ever been to Barcelona A mural of his is painted outside the airport walls while he also has a mosaic in the middle of the La Rambla boulevard Have a listen to our Filling the Sink podcast to learn more about Miró:  Primarily a painter but also well known for his sculpture expressionistic style has transcended the art world leading him to be one of the most universally recognised and respected figures of the 20th century.  believes that many more people are familiar with the “iconic paintings and images” of the artist than they may realise He was one of the “foremost painters of the last century” who worked until the 1970s and produced many works based on the Catalan landscape and nature “but then very quickly went into exploring a more surreal world the father of the surrealist art movement in the early 20th century once dubbed Miró a ‘surrealist before surrealism.’ However Miró totally rejected labels such as that throughout his career.  which is really unique and instantly recognizable and the surrealists saw an affinity between the way in which Miró was working and the way in which they were conceiving of the world and of art,” Daniel explained to Catalan News “Very quickly his art became so experimental Miró sought to connect with his subconscious through his painting creating some of his works in a near dreamlike state of semi-consciousness The results were intriguing arrangements of abstract shapes and colors that depicted the artist’s very soul that have gone on to become emblematic of his work.  another style of painting that Miró enjoyed The Farm also drew on themes of landscape and countryside which the artist would repeatedly return to.  is this really miraculous instrument,” Marko Daniel explains “It’s such a simple thing: two verticals and the horizontal stripes The concept of the Miró triangle is a “really important aspect in his work,” Daniel says The triangle connects three places in the world integral to his paintings: Barcelona where he lived with his wife Pilar for many years where his family had a farmhouse and where he spent a lot of time in his most formative years Miró’s parents bought a farmhouse in southern Catalonia in a scenic agricultural part of the country.  Miró wrote a really beautiful and striking letter to his parents in which he set out that he wanted to dedicate himself to painting,” Marko Daniel explains “He said he wanted to abandon his previous life – his parents had obliged him to train as an accountant – and he said in this letter ‘I beseech you that I need to abandon my former life and dedicate myself to painting It was a clear declaration of intent that was made in Mont-roig an area of the world that would serve as inspiration to many of Miró’s landscape works As the director of the Miró Foundation puts it: “It was in Mont-roig that he really developed this contact with nature Miró came of age at a time when Europe was an extremely turbulent place The events of the 20th century profoundly impacted his work and shaped him as a person He lived through the brutality of the Spanish civil war and the Franco dictatorship that followed and witnessed the horrors of the second world war across the continent “All his art expressed horror at war in general and particularly resistance against Franco,” Daniel explains Miró fled Spain for the north of France during the civil war “While hundreds of thousands of refugees tried to cross the border from Spain into France where they ended up in refugee camps after being “smuggled back into Spain under the cover of night thanks to some help from some friends,” Marko Daniel recounts he was more so known for being his wife’s husband – “Pilar’s bloke” as Daniel puts it – as nobody on the island knew who he was he blended into the background of this boring middle-class family life – exactly what he needed at the time.  The grotesque and brutal nature of war and these conflicts made their way to Miró’s artworks ‘Still Life with Old Shoe’ is one striking example of the horrors of violence seen in a Miró painting taking everyday objects and giving them a hideous twist with psychedelic and acidy colors that would not be commonly seen in popular culture for decades.  creating numerous works under a certain theme for example – 50 works made in a frenzy of creativity in a lithographer’s studio – depicted figures that relayed the sentiment of the post-war period Perhaps naturally occurring as part of his personality or perhaps influenced by the events of the world during his life At the 1937 International Paris Exposition he and Pablo Picasso represented the Spanish second republic at the time in the midst of the civil war with Franco’s nationalists depicting the atrocious bombing campaign in the Basque Country while Miró displayed ‘The Reaper’ – a title laden with symbolism of the Catalan national anthem ‘The Reaper’ (‘El segador’) shows a farmer wearing a traditional Catalan hat and holding a sickle in one hand made in defiance of Franco’s fascist coup d’etat happening at the time This work would eventually be lost to mystery – after the 1937 expo nobody is quite sure whether it was stolen or destroyed Miró created some works for Catalan institutions at a time when the Catalan language and culture was suppressed under the dictatorship He designed a poster for pro-independence civic group Òmnium Cultural which asked citizens he created a poster for a campaign led by the book publishers Editorial Salvat Barcelona was plastered with these posters promoting the first encyclopaedic dictionary in Catalan The campaign also included a play on words as ‘Salvat Català’ could be read as meaning “save yourself Catalan,” while ‘Salvat’ is also a Catalan surname he designed the poster for a demonstration called by the trade union CCOO workers’ rights and the labor movement as a while was still heavily suppressed by the regime yet Miró still stuck by his principles in the face of Franco described by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán as the “unarmed army of Catalonia,” celebrated their 75th anniversary in 1974 with a poster specially designed by Joan Miró.  “It was also very important for him to be Catalan “He always insisted that his name was ‘Joan’ Miró Miró was one of the foremost artists of the 20th century and one of the most brilliant minds to come from Catalonia perhaps ever From the beauty of his constellation series to the grittiness of his anti-war creations Miró managed to touch the hearts of millions in many different ways through his work ensuring his legacy will be remembered forever 75 mm rainfall in Catalan capital in only 30 minutes, prompting some 180 services by firefighters ACN | Barcelona A heavy storm in between 3am and 4am on Thursday morning in the Barcelona area has affected the underground service with some stations flooded after the torrential rain.  In the early morning trains did not stop at the Paral·lel and and Poble Sec stations on Line 3 and between Paral·lel and Sagrada Família on Line 2 Some accesses in the Line 1 were also flooded According to the underground company TMB website the service returned to normality with trains stopping at all stations by 9.30am some buildings were also flooded on the ground floor The fire brigade had to attend to 180 incidences between 4am and 7am in the capital.  Firefighters also carried out around 30 actions across Catalonia for floodings fallen trees and problems with electrical installations the Filmoteca cinema center Filmoteca and the Barcelona Maritime Museum have been shut down due to flooding after the storm as well.  The storm was especially intense for 30 minutes between 3am and 4am in the Barcelona and Tarragona areas.  75mm of rain fell in Barcelona 21 mm in Torredembarra and 23 mm in Gisclareny Barcelona (ACN).- The country house where one of the world's greatest artists of the 20th century spent his summers in his teenage and adult years will be transformed into a museum the artist's family farmhouse located in Mont-roig del Camp The project – developed by RCR and Varis Arquitectes studios – will consist of two phases The first – costing a total of €2.5 million – entails the conversion of the farmhouse and the painter's studio into a museum the renovation of the housekeeper's house and the construction of an entry pavilion The second – which will cost €3 million – envisages the creation of new areas such as: a restaurant the word Mas means traditional farm or country house and the word Masia is used for its main building The Mas Miró is a farmhouse that Joan Miró's family bought in 1911 from a local nobleman The property is located just outside Mont-roig del Camp The Catalan artist spent long periods of his life there (especially during the summer) As explained by his grandson Joan Punyet Miró the painter himself wanted to convert it into a museum "He died without being able to make it happen My goal is to make my grandfather's dream come true" Punyet underlined both the artistic and economic relevance of the project which aims at making Mont-roig an integral part of the "Mironian world" and attracting visitors from all over the world The first phase of the transformation project will entail the renovation of the family house the painter's studio and the housekeeper's house as well as the construction of an access pavilion The underlying goal will be to stress Miró's bond with the village of Mont-roig the tour of the painter's studio will be divided into two parts The first – outside the actual room – will include pictures (from Joaquim Gomis' archives) and some of the artist's letters The second – inside the studio – will allow visitors to see two pieces of wall graffiti and a space dedicated to objects which inspired Miró's sculptures the farmhouse will be transformed into an information point and screening room In order to plan the renovation of the external part of the museum the architects drew inspiration from one of the artist's most famous paintings The second phase of the project envisages the construction of new areas such as two multipurpose rooms for educational and recreational activities The first phase of the work has already begun with the cleaning of the building and its surroundings The Mas Miró has been closed for five years and the goal of the conversion project is to have the museum ready by summer 2016 The work has been funded by the Mas Miró Foundation (through some partner entities) and the Mont-roig Town Hall is trying to obtain a 1% contribution from the Catalan Ministry of Culture Both Miró's descendants and representatives of the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona believe that there is a good chance that the project will be successful "This house is like a journey into the past and we are lucky that it is located in Mont-Roig The duo Miró-Mont-Roig is a winning combination" President of the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona labeled the reconversion project as "ideal" because it will allow visitors to know the environment where the artist created his works giving value to such a crucial place for the artist is the promoter of the reconversion project and the opening of the farmhouse to the public as the artist's house It is supported by the Joan Miró Foundation Successió Miró S.L – a company formed in 1996 by the heirs of Joan Miró to administer the rights of the artist's works – and the Town Hall of Mont-roig Joan Miró was born in Barcelona on 20 April 1893 and died in Palma de Mallorca on 25 December 1983 Mallorca and Mont-roig can be defined as the Mironian magic triangle ACN | Barcelona All art has an origin story – and for celebrated Catalan artist Joan Miró, it all started at his family home – which has received almost 5,000 visitors since its opening This beautiful sprawling farmhouse was opened in May to coincide with the late artist's 125th birthday – and is still being renovated and is located in the village Mont-roig del Camp The Mas Miró Foundation has additionally stated that expectations have been met as they foresaw some 20,000 visitors per year but also people from abroad – especially from France explained that they've even seen cases of "people who come from Barcelona especially to see the landscape that inspired Miró." the facilities will be open for weekends while during weekdays it will offer semi-private visits the upcoming renovations set for the interior of the house do not yet have a scheduled date The cost for this upcoming round of works is set at approximately €20,000 and an elevator to facilitate access for those with reduced mobility One of the spaces opened in the first restoration – and perhaps the most impressive – is the artist's workshop This can be seen by a 1976 calendar on the workshop wall untouched from when Miró worked in the space last drawn by Miró himself to help map out his ideas Along with the workshop visitors can also see the dining room The corral has been repurposed as a welcome space and what was once a hen house now grows ecological crops like watermelons and one of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists His work primarily belongs to the surrealism movement – an era in his career conceived at Mas Miró in fact – focusing on the wanderings and workings of the subconscious mind Miró’s art in particular also recreated childlike aspects and displayed a certain Catalan pride Part of his work also revolves around disdain for conventional art forms.  While Miró eventually moved to the island of Mallorca in 1956 he continued spending summers in the house in southern Catalonia until 1976 He is quoted as having proclaimed “Mallorca the The Fundació Mas Miró joins other organizations dedicated to the artist such as the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona and the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró in Mallorca A High-Tech Factory at Risk | Europa Press POLITICS A Project That Would Create 500 Jobs Up in the Air Due to a Complaint by Unió de PagesosThe agricultural organization joins the offensive against the installation of Lotte's plant in Mont-roig del Camp23/04/2025 05:30:00h by Redacción The arrival of a strategic industrial investment valued at 600 million euros and promising to create 500 direct jobs The cause: the judicialization of the urban planning process that must pave the way for the construction of a battery component plant This involves the South Korean group Lotte Energy Materials which had planned the factory in Mont-roig del Camp (Tarragona) The agricultural union Unió de Pagesos has formally joined the lawsuit initiated by the environmental group GEPEC and the Associació de Veïns Club Mont-roig This lawsuit questions the recent modification of the Municipal Urban Planning Plan (POUM) approved by the Generalitat This regulatory change affects the Sur-4 sector "Els Comellarets" and is considered essential for Lotte to establish its European "elecfoil" factory a crucial component in the manufacturing of batteries and semiconductors More Than 500 Quality Jobs Would Be Created | Europa PressThe complaint is based on the impact that the new urban planning could have on currently agricultural lands several plots in the affected area are listed as active in this year's Single Agricultural Declaration (DUN) The union argues that the project violates the Catalonia Agricultural Spaces Law and calls for a reevaluation that prioritizes the protection of agricultural land and access to water The situation adds even more uncertainty to a project that had already been declared strategic by the Generalitat and has the support of the Mont-roig del Camp City Council political consensus has not managed to dispel the growing social opposition The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has admitted the appeal which could substantially delay the timelines planned by the South Korean company the possibility that the plaintiff entities may request precautionary measures could halt any progress until the core of the litigation is solved President Illa and Counselor Romero | E-NoticiesThe Importance of the ProjectFrom the sectors in favor of the project it is emphasized that this is a historic opportunity to diversify the economic fabric of the municipality and to position Catalonia as a European leader in clean technologies Lotte's plant would not only allow the creation of highly qualified jobs but also strengthen key industrial chains such as automotive all within the framework of the European Green Deal opposing groups warn of the risk of opening the door to what they consider a "highly polluting" industrial activity might require compliance with the European Seveso directive on hazardous chemical installations something that Mont-roig del Camp is not prepared to handle The clash between industrial model and territorial defense is set The future of an unprecedented investment in the region (and the jobs it could generate) now depends on the courts