#c: catalonia

[dailymanuscript]

Folio 5 recto (The 6th & 7th plagues), the Brother Haggadah

[psychotrenny]

For the love of god read some anarchist theory, your ignorance is painful

I used to be an Anarchist. I've probably read more theory than you. It's not my fault that A. It isn't very good B. ~90% of Self-Identified Anarchists don't read theory themselves and so the content of Anarchist theory has relatively little to do with the practice of the ideology itself C. Anarchism is generally incoherent as well as deeply metaphysical and idealist, so the conscious thoughts of Anarchists aren't a good way to understand the class interests at play any more than the conscious theory of any other Liberal. Like reading their theory (as opposed to learning about their actual practice) isn't especially useful anyway; a history of Catalonia or Makhnovia will teach you much more about Anarchism than 1000 pages of Bookchin or Kropotkin or Graeber ever could

[useless-catalanfacts]

A new record: temperatures are so high, that yesterday Gavarda (a town in the Valencian Country) registered the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe in January: 30.7°C (87.26°F). This would usually be the expected temperature in early May. The previous record was set in 2021 (29.8°C in Alacant). We are record after record, and it's not good.

This adds on the drought that the Catalan Countries have been suffering for 3 years. We have water use restrictions and many farmers have lost the harvests for months because they're not allowed to water the fields. And there's no prospect for generous rain any time soon. Experts have been warning that for every degree Celsius that temperatures rise in the Mediterranean region, annual rain will reduce by 4%, and since we're a region that is already naturally prone to summer droughts, this will mean 20% less water resources.

The Mediterranean region is one of the places in the Earth that heats the most because of climate change. There will be 40% more days with extreme heat (days with temperatures higher than 35°C=95°F), which will have effects on health, particularly on open-air workers, and will suppose a 17% decrease in agriculture produce. That is, without counting rising sea levels.

The Mediterranean region is inhabited by 400-500 million people, out of which 150 million live on the coast. Experts calculate that the sea will have risen 1 meter (it's not out of the question that it might have risen even more if polluting emissions aren't reduced) by the end of the century. Considering that 37% Mediterranean coast is very low, on sea level, this means that this rise of the Mediterranean sea will put about 42 million people in extreme danger. One of the first victims will be (and is already suffering the early effects) the Delta of the Ebro river, a mostly-agricultural area in the South of Catalonia which is also a Biosphere reserve due to its great biodiversity.

And some people still say climate change isn't real 🤦

[rotzaprachim]

one of the most consistently weird phenomena not just in American politics but British politics and Western European politics, French politics, Spanish politics etc is a tendency to hate perceived white (sometimes) liberals and “centrists” (or people Labelled as that, this part of the local political spectrum) and defend rural conservatives or the conservatives in the “cool” or oppressed areas like Appalachia, Yorkshire, Andalusia, Catalonia etc etc as being the real and true working class or politically explicable in a way liberals are not. Like a) no you should hate conservatives more I’m sorry it’s that simple but b) it runs into bizarre phenomena when people try to invoke whiteness but forget that coasts and major cities in the U.S. and major central cities in Western Europe are in fact where the majority of POC live and c) a good part of the reason WHY leftists and liberals try to take centrist positions and appeal to the center so that they want or need the votes of those same rural conservatives and are trying to appeal to them! That’s why! You shouldn’t hate anyone or assume things based on region but my god talking about hating a candidate for not appealing to the (rural, conservative) working class while specifically complaining about the policy or phrases designed to do exactly that is so ridiculous

[spacespheal]

Inktober day 11: Vella Quaresma

Vella Quaresma, also known as Jaia Quaresma (in Mallorca) and Àvia Quaresma (in Menorca) is the representation of Lent in the Catalan Countries, her name translates literally to "Old Lady Lent" or "Grandma Lent".

Lent, in Christianity is the 40 day period between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday. It's a time of fasting and abstinence, mirroring the 40 days Jesus spent alone in the desert. In Catalonia it's tradition to not eat meat and instead eat fish, specially on fridays.

Vella Quaresma, as said before, is the representation of Lent and the opposite of "Rei Carnestoltes" (King Carnival), who's a character who presides all activities during Carnival just before Lent. While Rei Carnestoltes represents fun and transgression, Vella Quaresma represents abstinence and penitence.

Vella Quaresma is represented as an old woman dressed in common people's clothes with seven legs. She's normally holding either a) a cod and a basket full of chards, b) a cod in each hand, c) a cod and a skillet or d) seven "arengades" (sardines salted with brine). Her seven legs represent the seven weeks of Lent, and at the end of each week a leg is cut off.

[butterfrogmantis]

I've been holding onto Matador since I got back from Barcelona months ago and here he FINALLY is. And also another newbie!

Matador Smurf:

-Ironically very anti killing. He just wants to show off more than anything. Can usually subdue large or dangerous animals into crashing into walls and stuff quite well but he's a noble heart, will never go for the kill. IS a skilled fencer for other sapient opponents when it's fair. Would fight Don more but Don's a swashbuckling kind of hero whilst Matador sticks to fencing rules and would probably lose in a real swordfight.

-The Barcelonian! From the Catalonia region of Spain. Knows both mainland Spanish and Catalonian but tends to use Catalonian to P off Elena who only knows mainland Spanish … bit of a cultural rivalry there XD

-As bad as Smooth for flirting with everything that moves. Actually that includes Smooth too. It's a flirt off. And by that I mean dating but not. It's similar to Smooth and Slammy, both are wayyy too non committal to settle down but after Smooth's 174758th rejection from Jokey and when Slammy is back to doing his part time dating of the band Smooth can usually be found crawling back to Matador

SmurfHemlock:

-Born SmurfSunflower (Sunny) was a shy kid who disliked the other typical grove activities like archery and dance. Thought she didn't really fit in with anyone and would usually just be found down by the swamp poking stuff with sticks. She had one friend tho, a friend she thought was just as weird. SmurfRafflesia was obsessed with the undead and paranormal, and through her admiration of her, Sunflower came to enjoy these things too, finding beauty in death and wanting to preserve it somehow.

-Teenage Sunflower takes on a goth not-phase and changes her name to Hemlock (Sunflower was so … preppy!) and begins to study the art of taxidermy. Still regarded as one of the black sheeps of the grove but she minds it much less now - she kind of revels in the solitude. Begins developing a fairly big crush on Rafflesia before one day … Raff just goes missing out of the blue. It breaks Hemlock's heart and she sinks further into the loner persona. Also some weird demon got out somewhere but Papa and Willow took care of that.

-Lol JK Raff isn't gone forever, she shows up one day as a ghost and claims some Archaeologist from the guy village found her and whoops she's been gone for a century what did she miss haha. Well Hemlock is PISSED. I mean who does that? Esp/ since Rafflesia admits she wasn't even trapped she was just vibing in the mausoleum Archie found her in (Raff and Archie are a bit similar in that way, they're both married to their work and can be a bit self absorbed in it at times)

-Anyway Hemlock's been doing great w/ her taxidermy all this time. She's very careful and only sources natural deaths or kills … but may adopt elderly insects with some ulterior motives. At least she's good to em and they get a very comfortable end of life before becoming art pieces. Go figure. She's made up w/ Raff, it is pretty cool to have a ghost friend after all, and apparently Rafflesia also made some new friends in the village - holy shit is that a talking skeleton?? That's pretty goth.

-Skelly groans internally. Yet more admirers. Will he 'ere be rid of his fans ("Shut up Skelly")

Smooth (c) The Smurfs

Matador, Elena, Rafflesia and Hemlock are mine

[paganimagevault]

Fresco of (possibly Hungarian) archer pursued by Italian knight from the Basilica of Aquilieia in Italy, 9th-12th C. CE. The identity of the figures seems to be unknown. Most sources I saw speculate this could be a Hungarian archer being chased by an Italian knight. Others say this is an Arab being chased by a crusader. The crypt was dated to the 9th C. CE, though most sources say this artwork is from the 12th C. CE. The site also has floor mosaics dated to the 4th C. CE.

"942 CE: Spring – A Hungarian army enters Italy, where king Hugh, giving them 10 bushels of gold, persuades them to attack the Islamic Caliphate of Córdoba.

Middle of June – They arrive in Catalonia, plunder the region, then enter the northern territories of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

June 23 – The Hungarians besiege Lérida for 8 days, then attack Cerdaña and Huesca.

June 26 – The Hungarians capture Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn al Tawil, the ruler of Barbastro, and hold him captive 33 days, until he is ransomed.

July – The Hungarians find themselves on desert territory and run out of food and water. They kill their Italian guide and return home."

-taken from Wikipedia

[rabbitcruiser]

Pantà de la Baells, Spain (No. 1)

The Baells reservoir is a Spanish hydraulic infrastructure located on the Llobregat River, in the Bergadá region, province of Barcelona, Catalonia. It consists of a dam located in the municipality of Serchs. It extends through the terms of Serchs and Vilada, between the pre-Pyrenean mountains of Catllarás, to the east, and Figuerassa and Arades, to the west. To the right of the reservoir runs the C-16 road, between the Cadí tunnel and Berga-Manresa, and is crossed by the C-26, which links Berga and Ripoll.

The aim of the reservoir is to regulate the upper basin of the Llobregat River, supply water to the metropolitan area of Barcelona and produce hydroelectric energy.

Source: Wikipedia

[ltwilliammowett]

HMS Hydra at Cape Bagur, 7 August 1807, by British School, c. 1833

On a board on the back of the picture is the inscription; 'On August 6 the British 'Hydra' 38 guns, Captain George Mundy, cruising off Catalonia, chased into the Spanish harbour of Bagur an armed ship and two brigs. On the following morning these vessels were discovered lying under the protection of a battery. About 1 pm the 'Hydra' opened fire, which was quickly returned and followed by an hour's close action. A division of boats under Lieutenant E O'B Drury then left the British frigate and after a gallant attack captured the fort and in a short time the town. At 5.30 pm Lieutenant Drury gained entire possession of the vessels. The captured ships were the 'Principe', 'Eugenio', 'Bella Carolina' and 'Carmen del Rosario'. The British loss was one seaman killed and six wounded.'

[kawaiimunism]

this fucking discourse is killing me. Read one page of history on anarchist revolutions, and you will learn they started with the anarchist Red Cross in free Ukraine, and the fully socialized healthcare of Catalonia. Can people be more disingenuous?

Right? It's wild, healthcare is notoriously one of anarchism's success stories. I hope someone's directly citing historical examples to these folks, b/c I do not have enough Tumblr time to actively research citations for these posts.

[spanishskulduggery]

Hi I had a question regarding a word I saw recently. It was "barca" but I didn't understand what they were talking about

It could be two things, but I'm pretty sure they're talking about Barcelona here

First and probably unlikely - una barca refers to a "small boat" as opposed to un barco "a large boat/ship". To me una barca feels like a rowboat. As in, una barca might be the word you see used for el remo which is "rowing" as in the sport

Secondly - and probably more likely - you're seeing what's meant to be Barça. With the cedilla (ç), Barça is commonly the nickname for Barcelona... rather than "barca" which has the harder C/K sound in English, Barça sounds more like "Barsa" similar to Barcelona

The cedilla is less common in Spanish overall, but much more common in Catalan and Catalonia

Barça is commonly the nickname for Barcelona especially in fútbol / soccer, so if you ever see people talking about Real Madrid y Barça they're talking about a football match between Madrid and Barcelona's teams

Sometimes in informal text like tweets etc, people will write "barca" without the ç because they know what it sounds like and what they're talking about so they don't need to include capitalization or proper official punctuation.

For Americans it would be like if you heard "Philly" instead of "Philadelphia", or "LA" instead of "Los Angeles". Barça is just the nickname for Barcelona, and if you're rooting for Barcelona you'll probably hear fans chanting Barça, Barça, Barça etc.

[theemeraldforesthideout]

Diary - “The Final Girl” 

Close to where I live is an old 1700s manor house that, for over a decade now, has played host to many people from across Europe. For up to ten months each year, a group of about 8-10 European citizens were able to essentially run this manor house, hosting cultural events and learning sustainable ways of living which included growing and harvesting food from the extensive gardens. All this was paid for by the European Union but then… something… which I cannot even be bothered to type the name of here…  happened, that put an end to it all. The program was supposed to end in 2021, but due to C-19, two extra years were granted by the EU. 2023 will be the last year. I’m friends with both staff and, specifically, this year's participants, who I decided to get to know properly. Two weeks ago the very last participant arrived and she will be living at the site until the end of the year. I met her for the first time yesterday, Claudia from Catalonia, and took her to the station, where she was taking a train to Cambridge to stay with her boyfriend (who is a physicist at Cambridge University) for the weekend. It was sad to think she’ll be the last - the manor is slowly being converted into a hotel/private retreat location, which it will become fully in 2024. It’s been really cool having people from different countries around, saying hi to them on walks and having big ol’ conversations with them all over the last few years. All good things… 

In the evening, the participants, who are now friends, invited me to the cinema to see… Barbie. I had no plans to see it on launch, really, just at some point later down the road, streaming or whatever, so that was unexpected. It was a shame Claudia wasn’t there, as she told me she has a master’s degree in gender studies and I imagine - along with myself - that she would have gotten the most out of it. The movie’s message was, perhaps, a little lost on some of the others in our group. Me being me, I spent far too much of the run time thinking “It’s Ncuti Gatwa!” everytime he appeared and then imagining what it would be like to watch Ncuti’s first episode as The Doctor on the big screen.

[victusinveritas]

"A Las Barricadas"

Civilians and CNT militia in Barcelona, 1936.

Colorized by Julius.colorization

Republican militia in Madrid, July 30, 1936.

Members of the CNT-FAI loading a truck with food supplies in Barcelona, most likely to be delivered to the front, 1936.

Sign on the right reads: “CNT AIT FAI UNITED. ALIMENTATION SYNDICATE. PROVISION COMMITTEE.”

photograph taken by Margaret Michaelis-Sachs.

Barcelona c.1936.

An excerpt from George Orwell's book Homage to Catalonia;

To anyone who had been there since the beginning it probably seemed even in December or January that the revolutionary period was ending; but when one came straight from England the aspect of Barcelona was something startling and overwhelming. It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle.

Practically every building of any size had been seized by the workers and was draped with red flags or with the red and black flag of the Anarchists; every wall was scrawled with the hammer and sickle and with the initials of the revolutionary parties; almost every church had been gutted and its images burnt. Churches here and there were being systematically demolished by gangs of workmen.

Every shop and café had an inscription saying that it had been collectivized; even the bootblacks had been collectivized and their boxes painted red and black. Waiters and shop-walkers looked you in the face and treated you as an equal. Servile and even ceremonial forms of speech had temporarily disappeared. Nobody said ‘Señior’ or ‘Don’ or even ‘Usted’; everyone called everyone else ‘Comrade’ and ‘Thou’, and said ‘Salud!’ instead of ‘Buenos dias’.

Photographer unknown.

[useless-catalanfacts]

Detail in the gallery (galeria de solana, porched area in the top floor, very common in Catalan architecture since the Middle Ages until c. the 19th century) in a farmhouse in Osona, Central Catalonia.

From the veranda and through the blind (little window in the window), we can see a clear view of all the surrounding countryside.

Photos by Marta Lloret, la caçadora de masies, who documents the cultural heritage of Catalan farmhouses on her Instagram and Twitter (posts in the Catalan language).

[europeposts]

La Sagrada Familia

Basilica in Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia July 2022

The portal of Charity on the Nativity façade, Passion Façade of the Sagrada Família in 2018

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. 

Address: C/ de Mallorca, 401, L'Eixample, 08013 Barcelona, Spain

Construction started: March 19, 1882

Opened: November 7, 2010

Architects: Antoni Gaudí, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, MORE

Height: 172 m

Style: Gothic Revival and Art Nouveau and Modernista

Capacity: 9,000

Length: 90 m (300 ft)

Phone: +34 932 08 04 14

Groundbreaking: 19 March 1882; 141 years ago

Sagrada Família - Wikipedia

Basilica de "LA SAGRADA FAMILIA" en Barcelona, Cataluña, ESPAÑA

[bobleckridge]

Outside and inside

We made a visit to a sequoia forest in Catalonia recently and this is one of the many photographs I took. When I look at it now a passage from C S Lewis comes to mind. It’s many, many years since I read his little essay, “Meditation in a Toolshed”, but I’ve never forgotten it. It’s pretty easy to find online if you search for it. It starts like this…