Visca Catalunya! Vol. 1

Another mix imported from my Tumblr!  This one is a compilation of some of my favorite Catalan songs, all by different artists.  I'm calling it "Vol. 1" because I'm planning on doing another mix with more of my favorites, this time with less variety in the artists (though I actually listen to a ton of Catalan music, so it's not like there will only be three artists in there heh).

I should also clarify that not *all* these artists are Catalan/from Catalunya, but most are.  And all the songs are in Catalan either way.

Enjoy!

Oda al Pep

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this man right here on the left.  Josep (Pep) Guardiola i Sala.  Born in Santpedor, Barcelona in 1971.  Joined FC Barcelona as a "tween", and who has spent just about his entire life dedicated to this club.

On Saturday, he managed to become the youngest coach in football history to win two Champions League titles, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.  In 1992, he was a part of the Barcelona side that beat Italian team Sampdoria at the same arena, Wembley in London.  This was his third Champions League trophy in his life.

When Nostalgia Strikes

(c) Majestic Hotel BCN

A year ago today I landed in El Prat airport near Barcelona.  Kind of hard to believe it was already a year ago.  The last couple months, basically since I got back in mid-June, I've been able to say things like "I've been back a week," "I've been back a month," "I've been back five months."  Now, it's "I left a year ago."

Truth is though, even though I'm always nostalgic, and will probably always be nostalgic every single time I come back from a visit to Spain, I haven't been looking back very often and have been looking ahead more.  To the next time I go, whenever that is.  I still don't have a job, I still have bills to pay, but the closer I get to finding a job, the closer I get to being able to go back to Spain.

It's funny how my life has become a countdown of the time it takes to get back to Spain...and the time it's been since I was last there.  The first time I did the countdown was probably early 2007 once I'd submitted my application for the study abroad program with my university for Spring 2008.  Once the last semester before going abroad came, I started counting down the months, then weeks...and then I started counting down till I got my passport, and then...  When I bought my ticket for this last trip, back in September of 2009, it started pretty quickly.  I had two full semesters to get through, two sets of finals, graduation, a week of finals, and then five days in New York before I finally left.

I think the worst part is finally arriving though, because it's like the beginning of the end.  Each day that passes is another day less that I have to spend.  It's like Christmas.  You spend all year waiting for it, and once it arrives, you realize that it's almost over.  Not like it doesn't make the stay any less enjoyable, but you still know that you have to leave soon.  It's obviously less of a problem when you're there for a semester or a year, but once that last month arrives...

I don't know why I'm feeling optimistic right now, it's so unlike me, but in this case, I need it.  I need to be optimistic.  And I hope something good comes out of it, and that by the time 2011 is over I'll already have another trip across the pond all planned out.

Defending Catalan (Among Others)

I was reading a document I’d found that was published by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) on philological information on the language (spelling, grammar, pronunciation, etc.), and at the end I saw a section called “Defending Catalan in the European Union”.  This section was particularly fascinating because it presented, in list form, various reasons why those at the IEC wished Catalan to become an official language within the European Union.  At the moment, it is recognized (it has some status, but is not considered official by any means), but as it is not the primary language in any one member state, it is not given the status that many within Catalunya feel it deserves.

Here are some of the most notable reasons I found:

It’s a Great Time to be a Culé

*Note*  If you support Real Madrid, you may not want to read this.  Just saying.  Figured I should warn you in advance.

So just in case you’re not at all up to keeping up to date in the football (Association Football that is, aka “soccer”), these last three weeks have had as a protagonist the “classic” match-ups between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the biggest clubs in Spain, and probably one of the biggest sports rivalry on the planet.  Considering how big football is on every continent (with a slight exception of the countries of the USA and Canada), I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the biggest.  But moving on, these last three weeks, ending yesterday, featured not one but four of these match-ups.  One of the league match, held at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, the second for the Copa del Rey final at the Mestalla in Valencia, and the final two for the Champions League semifinals in the respective stadiums of the two sides: first in Madrid at the Bernabéu, second in Barcelona at the Camp Nou.