PICK OF THE WEEK: Monday, 6th – Sunday, 12th August, 2018

PICK OF THE WEEK: Andorra (Pyrenees)

Main places:

Andorra la VellaEscaldes-EngordanySan Julia de LoriaLa MassanaOrdinoEncampCanilloPas de la Casa

PICK OF THE WEEK: Monday, 6th – Sunday, 12th August, 2018

MUSIC

Monday, 6th August at 19:30h in the Plaça Coprínceps, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free) Musicians of the World: 34th Festival of the Colours of Music with Marlik. Drums and double basses, the melody of singing and a guitarist who leaves no one indifferent. Marlik is a young group from the Basque Country who bring fresh air from the Costa de Zumaia.

Tuesday, 7th August at 19:30h in the Plaça Coprínceps, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free) Musicians of the World: 34th Festival of the Colours of Music with THE SWING GIRLS. A tribute to the best songs of the 40s, 50s and 60s interpreted by a trio of singers with a ‘pinup’ look: Susanne Giorgi, Fanny Pérez & Mar Capdevila.

Tuesday, 7th August at 19:30h in the Plaça de la Rotonda. (Free) Rhythms, Capital Music with the Havanera singers, Els Every Tuesday and Thursday evening during August there will be performers of different styles of music and dance, livening up the Av. Meritxell shopping area.

Tuesday, 7th August at 22h at the church of Santa Eulàlia, Encamp. (Free) Santa Eulàlia with Guillem Tudó. Tudó was born in Andorra in 1992. Starting his musical studies aged four with piano and accordion, he went on to study harmony, the trumpet and finally began to play saxophone aged 11 with Professor Efrem Roca. In 2010, Tudó joined the University of Paul Valéry, Montpellier. He graduated in music and musicology, specialising in musical education and choral singing. He is currently studying a specialized master’s degree in music education and cantora. He has played in various events and participated in the Concert at the Bt River Festival of Music in London for the 2012 Olympics. He is currently part of the National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Andorra (JONCA) and studies lyrical song in Andorra with Teresa Vidal. Take a listen the link below.

Wednesday, 8th August at 19:30h in the Plaça Coprínceps, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free) Musicians of the World: 34th Festival of the Colours of Music with Sense Sal (Without Salt) with three discs under their belts and more than 150 concerts, this young group presents their latest project, Només Tenim la Veu (We Only Have The Voice) with an enormous dose of passion.

Wednesday, 8th August at 22h in the Museum of Motos (motorcycles), Canillo. (Free but prior booking obligatory at 853 444) Summer nights at the museums: White Heaven Vocal Grup. This is a six voice a cappella group paying tribute to the fantastic musicians of Manhattan Transfer. Their repertoire also includes unpublished works in different styles such as pop, swing, samba. The songs are sung in Catalan and English.

Thursday, 9th August at 19:30h in the Plaça Coprínceps, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free) Musicians of the World: 34th Festival of the Colours of Music with Iaraké & Ginger. A repertory of melodies of rock and jazz from the 70s and 80s given by musicians with a long performing history.

Thursday, 9th August at 19:30h in the Plaça de la Rotonda. (Free) Rhythms, Capital Music with the Latin quartet Yadira Ferrer.

Thursday, 9th August at 20h at the Plaça del Quart of La Massana. (Free) Dusky Summer Evenings: Melicotó is a duet formed by Marc and Laia, two young siblings in love with music.There is no concert in which they do not try to offer their audience all the happiness that music transmits to them.With just a guitar and a couple of voices they have enough to fill everyone who listens to them with joy and the good vibes that are always present in their concerts! At the end of this concert, Night without Words will take place in the Plaça de les Fontetes.
Thursday, 9th August at 20:30h at Andorra Park Hotel, Andorra la Vella. (55€ for dinner and concert).

Concert series of La Pergola Piano Jazz: Carlos Torijano & Paquito Escudero (piano & flamenco box) Manel Gibert: (poet) Xavier Cornella (DJ) It’s once again time for the traditional Summer Thursdays that fill the Pergola de l’Andorra Park Hotel with jazz – or jazz piano to be exact. This year, La Pergola Piano Jazz links poetry and jazz, and showcases Andorran poets who are inspired by jazz. They are the ones in charge of selecting the music that will be heard during dinner before the actual concert begins around 22h. Carlos Torijano began studying piano at the Liceu Conservatory, later  discovering the world of jazz and modern music at the Taller de Músics. He introduced himself to the world of flamenco at Joaquín Herrera’s prestigious school, where he was also introduced to the world of Latin and salsa.

Thursday, 9th August at 22h in El Tremat, Encamp. (Free) Encamp en clau de llum: Sandyriverdixie. Sandyriverdixie, or the jazz band of Riudarenes, is made up of jazz musicians of long-standing. They have collaborated with groups such as La Vella Dixieland, La Locomotora Negra, Terrassa Dixie Sextet. Now they have come together in this new project to enjoy and give joy through the music of an unrepeatable era, with the intention of doing justice to the key characters in the history of jazz. (The fountain of El Tremat is hidden away in the little-known corner of the old, stone-built centre of Encamp.)

Sunday, 12th August at 12h in the church of Sant Clement de Pal, La Massana. (free but reservation obligatory on 844141) ONCA Basic – European Year of Cultural Heritage – the musical variety of an intercultural continent: Only a Guitar with David Font. Through his classical guitar, David will take us on a little auditory journey through Europe, coming across well-known tunes and others which will seem familiar and some which will be completely unknown, all designed to bring us closer to the musical heritage of Europe still found in the 21st-century. A heritage which suggests interculturality and multiculturality, the mixture of knowledge and tastes of the diverse cultures that come together on the same continent. Our guitarist will present a real smorgasbord of wide-ranging traditional music including Catalan, Andalusian, Cuban havanera, Arabic, French and German pieces arranged by David, plus Irish, Scottish and Russian.

Sunday, 12th August at 20h in the church of Sant Andreu d’Arinsal. (free but reservation obligatory on 844 141) ONCA Basic – European Year of Cultural Heritage – the musical variety of an intercultural continent: Only a Guitar with David Font. (See concert above for programme).

THEATRE

Thursday, 9th August at 21:30h in the Plaça de les Fontetes, La Massana. Night without words. Life is made up of small shipwrecks.A show about a clown who’s a drifter and two shipwrecks or disasters of everyday life.Shipwrecks that arrive, that find us, that play, that search, that get together with other shipwrecks. A meeting with the public, an exchange Two shipwreckers who perhaps leave their seed where they pass and maybe others who survive to transform their lives. A tribute to all travellers who have ever felt shipwrecked. A wink at our daily ‘shipwrecks’ through humour and fragility and presumably, mime.

Saturday, 11th August at 20h at the Historic Centre of Andorra la Vella. (Prior booking and sale of tickets at the Tourist Office, Andorra la Vella. Tel 750 100) Don Francisco de Zamora. A dramatized visit to the Historic Centre (in Catalan) with Don Francisco de Zamora who will explain his Andorran adventures and who will transport us for a few moments to Andorra at the end of the 18th century.

FESTIVALS

FESTA MAJOR DE L’ALDOSA, La Massana

Friday 10th to Sunday, 12th August.

FRIDAY: 20h Flash Rock, Traca Farrada (4€) 22:30h Rock Night with Shuffle Express, Punkers Love 80s, Maripakis, 16 Kartones. 3h Disco Rock.

SATURDAY: 16h Children’s activities: inflatables, ponies, face painting. 17h Foam Party. 20:30h Arrossada (traditional Catalan rice dish similar to paella 6€.) Accompanied by Capinás Rumba. 23h DJs Squad: Albert, Marc Montalvo, B2B, Armanxu, Scinois.

SUNDAY: 13h Solemn Mass. 16h Children’s activities as above. 18:30h Popular Esaïmada pastry for all. 22:30

CINEMA

Monday 6th – Thursday, 9th at 20:30h at the Cinemes Illa Carlemany, Escaldes-Engordany. Mama Mia! Here we go again. Directed by Ol Parker, starring: Lily James,  Amanda Seyfried,  Meryl Streep. The Story: In 1979 young Donna, Tanya and Rosie graduate from Oxford University – leaving Donna free to embark on a series of adventures throughout Europe. On her journeys, she makes the acquaintance of Harry, Bill and Sam – the latter whom she falls in love with, but he’s also the man who breaks her heart. In the present day, Donna’s pregnant daughter, Sophie, dreams of renovating a taverna while reuniting with her mother’s old friends and boyfriends on the Greek island of Kalokairi.

CHILDREN

Monday, 6th August at 15h in the Plaça de l’Església, Pas de la Casa. (Free) Summer afternoon at Pas de la Casa with Eagerly searching for novel entertainment the boys and girls, we’ve created this show to satisfy nearly every need. In this assembly we have searched for a mixture of clowns, dance, music, collective and individual participation, and we will end up with a foam bath. We have prepared this cocktail in such a way that it’s going to be a ball from the very start and ending the party in the most refreshing way possible.

Tuesday, 7th August at 18h in the Prat Gran, Encamp. (Free) Summer evenings in Encamp with ” Uh! Quin cangueli” (Ugh! What fangs!) Imagine what happens when the beast, the frog, the witch, the wall clock, the cow, the Marraco, the skeleton and their friends come together to celebrate. It’s the ‘Fang Party’.Uh! Don’t be scared if what you see is not what you think, if what happens is not what you think …Enjoy and let yourself be carried away. You have to meet the most evil and terrible creatures of our songs and shout, shout: “No em fas por!” (You don’t scare me!).

Wednesday, 8th August at 18h in the Prat de Colat, La Massana. (Free) Little summer afternoons. When the invocation dances start at the party, the Indian villages offer sacrifices to the forces of nature, and that’s when the spirit of the horse, the fish and the eagle (which represent elements of land, water and wind ) combine with the afternoon fire to give way to one of the most exciting spectacles that you have ever seen:INDIS.The dances that make up this show have been created specially so that young and old can enjoy a very lively entertainment,

MORE SUMMER NIGHTS AT THE MUSEUMS

(all guided visits are in Catalan.)

Tuesday, 7th August at 21h in the church of Santa Eulalia, Encamp. (Free but prior reservation essential at 833 551.) Visit to the Romanesque churches of Santa Maria and Santa Eulalia to discover the details that are often missed. Accompanied by live music.

Wednesday, 8th August at 19:30h throughout the village of Santa Coloma, Andorra la Vella. (Pre-booking and ticket sales at the Tourist Office of Andorra la Vella, tel.(+376) 750 100) ‘La santa, el rus i el comte. (The Saint, the Russian and the Count’ – in Catalan.) A dramatized visit to the village of Santa Coloma. Three representative people of the town will guide us, during an unusual visit, through the singularities of the town, on a route that will review the most fascinating moments in the history of Andorra.

Thursday, 9th August at 17h at the Museum Thyssen, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free but reservation essential by tel. +376 800 800 or email [email protected] Thematic visit: “The House of the Bendels” This is the latest proposal from the Carmen Thyssen Andorra Museum, and the first literary collaboration inspired by a work from the Carmen Thyssen Collection, and written by Mireia Moya.

Through a story based on the work of Modest Urgell “Landscape”, which is part of the current exhibition “Allées et Venues”, we move to the beginning of the century, where the Bendel family is the protagonist of this so intriguing and mysterious book. To celebrate this, a guided tour of the work has been organized with the author and the museum’s artistic director, Guillermo Cervera. Next, in the EduCarmenThyssen room, there will be a book signing.
Thursday, 9th August at 20:30h and 22h at the Centre of Art of Escaldes-Engordany. (Free) Night tour of the exhibition: The Bible and Chagall. Guided tour of samples of the engravings by Marc Chagall dedicated to the Bible.The tour includes several episodes from the Old Testament through the dynamic sketches of the Jewish artist.This Chagallian interpretation shows a set of works that bring to the public a unique and incomparable vision of the Bible.

Thursday, 9th August at 21h at the Museum of Tobacco, Sant Julià de Lòria. (Free but reservation essential at tel: 741 545) Guided visits + concert. 21h & 21:30h Guided visits to the museum. 21h – 22:30h Visit to the temporary exhibition, Hyper- realism. 22:30h Concert in the museum garden with the Duet Piano Sax who will carry you on a musical voyage from the Baroque to the present day.

Friday 10th and Saturday, 11th August at 21:30h at the Iron mine in Llorts, Ordino. (Tickets and prior booking obligatory on tel.(+376) 878 173.) A night visit to the Llorts iron mine and the Iron Way. Visit the interior of an ancient, 30-meter-long iron mine, walk along the Iron Way with headlamps and discover an outdoor sculpture exhibition. It is recommended to wear a headlamp. Approximate duration two hours and 30 minutes.

Saturday, 11th August at 22h starting at the ticket office of the Museum Casa d’Areny-Plandolit, in the main street, Ordino. (Free. Places limited. Prior reservation essential: tel 836 908). Guided visit to the exhibition “La Família Rossell” (The Rossell Family.) An inside view and the itinerary: Els Rossells d’Ordino. Draw closer to one of the most prominent families of the country both from the economic and political point of view.

Sunday, 12th August from 21:30h starting from the Guard House of Engolasters Lake, Encamp. (Free. Booking of places:+376 739 111or [email protected] We recommend that you bring a flashlight and a folding chair.) Night visit to the Engolasters hydroelectric way and observation of the rain of stars. For yet another year we will share with you the most magical night of Summer. Come with us and the astronomers from the Parc del Montsec and observe the ‘tears of Sant Llorenç’.
OTHER

Monday 6th to Friday, 10th August from 10h – 13h and from 15h – 18h at Naturlandia Park – 1600m, Sant Julià de Lòria. Motorbike school for young riders aged 7 to 12. (sic!)This is the second event to have been organized for young sportsmen and women this summer. The idea is that the young riders will not only train but also be encouraged to compete.

Culturally yours,

Clare

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Look for about the author of the blog Clare Allcard

See also Andorra travel guide

See also Pyrenees travel guide

See also France travel guide

See also Spain travel guide

Read more: What to do today? Cultural events in Andorra with Clare Allcard ...