PICK OF THE WEEK: Andorra (Pyrenees)
Main places:
Andorra la Vella, Escaldes-Engordany, San Julia de Loria, La Massana, Ordino, Encamp, Canillo, Pas de la Casa
Friday, April 7th at 21h30 in Sant Esteve Church, Andorra la Vella. A Good Friday Concert with Izumi Kando from Japan, (organist of the German Church in Barcelona), Jonaina Salvador from Andorra, Oriol Rosés and String Quartet from Spain. The concert consists of: Organ & soprano, countertenor & string quartet, plus members of the Baroque Orchestra of Barcelona
(Concert organized jointly with the Andorra Lírica Association)
PROGRAMME:
Stabat Mater of Pergolesi with works by Pergolesi, Bach, Weckmann and Krebs
People taking part:
Japan:
Izumi Kando
Principat d’Andorra: Jonaina Salvador, Oriol Rosés, Meritxell Tiana, Frederic Ibáñez, Arabel·la Fernández, Joan Palet
10th Edition of the Andorra Sax Fest
A top level meeting of saxophonists from around the world, with nearly 300 participants from 32 nationalities
v Saturday, 1st April at 20h in the Teatre Comunal d’Andorra la Vella. Giorgi Dzhishkariani, Winner of the 2022 Premi Grandvalira Resorts Solo competition.
Programme:
Anton Arensky – Piano trio №1 – For soprano and baritone saxophone.
Piotr Tchaikovsky – Melody and Scherzo for violin, piano and soprano saxophone.
Astor Piazzolla – Tango Escualo
Vincent David – Sillage
v Sunday, 2nd April at 20h in the Teatre Comunal d’Andorra la Vella. Dmitry Pinchuk Winner of the 2022 Youth prize Premi fimarge benèfic UNICEF.
Piano – Takahiro Mita
Concert Programme:
Fernande Decruck – Sonata for alto saxophone and piano
Vincent David – Mirages
Ku Ku by Barry Cockcroft
v Tuesday, 4th April at 20h at the Centre de Congressos d’Andorra la Vella Jazz Night with Jordi Barceló
Piano – Jordi Barceló
Saxophone – Baptiste Herbin
Trumpet – David Pastor
Contrabass – Pere Loewe
Drums – Xavi Hinojosa
v Wednesday, 5th April at 20h at the Centre de Congressos d’Andorra la Vella Quatuor Morphing in partnership with Ambassade de France en Andorre.
Morphing is the latest creation of the quartet of the same name, a concert-show in which classical repertoire (Mozart, Grieg, Ravel, Mendelssohn) and French chanson (Piaf, Barbara, Aznavour, Brel, Jonasz) are mixed together.
Morphing is the story of their group, four boys brewed in a sea of hops, who left from the four corners of France and who, together, will go all the way to Japan to make their talent shine.
v Thursday, 6th April at 21h at the Centre de Congressos d’Andorra la Vella Concert Symphonic Orchestra. 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d’Andorra (ONCA)
Conducted by – Albert Gumí, Vincent David, Alex Sansó
Concert Programme:
Albert Gumí – Fanfara
Vincent David – Reflets
John Williams – Escapades
MUSIC
v Saturday, 1st April from 20h30 at the Hotel Golden Tulip Andorra Fènix, Escaldes-Engordany. (Advance reservation at: Tel. +376 760 760 or [email protected]) Lia de Cuba at The Lobby Bar. v Saturday, 1st April at 21h30 at the IQOS Lounge, Andorra la Vella. Richy Welcome to IQOS. Melodic house session.
CHOCOFEST 2023
Until Saturday 8 April Open every day from 11h to 13h30 and from 17h to 20h. Former Andorra la Vella Fire Station, Andorra la Vella
v Saturday, 1st April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) 12h Family show with the Wizard Ferrer From 17h to 19h Children’s workshop Decorate your Easter egg with Fleq and Simon Coll 18h Creation of the giant Easter mona cake Xoco Fest 2023 at the Chocolate Factory with Adrián Ramírez El chef con botas From 18h to 19h Free popular chocolate with Chocolates Valor 18h30. Star Academy concert 20h. Pairing – Pastisseria El Tortell and Beirao Liquor
v Sunday, 2nd April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) 12h Family show Impossible stories with the company El Sidral. From 17h to 19h Children’s workshop Decorate your Easter egg with Fleq and Simon Coll 18h Creation of the giant Easter mona cake, Xoco Fest 2023 at the Chocolate Factory with Adrián Ramírez El chef con botas
From 18h to 19h Free popular chocolate with Chocolates Valor 18h30. Concert by the musician LADIS B
v Monday, 3rd April 3 Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) Morning and afternoon during market opening – Children’s cocoa-making workshop. 17h. Storytelling with Carol Caubet at the Chocolate Factory 20h. Blind chocolate tasting with the master pastry chef Pere Balsa.
v Tuesday, 4th April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) Morning and afternoon during market opening – Children’s cocoa-making workshop. 17h. Storytelling with Carol Caubet at the Chocolate Factory 20h Pairing – Sauleda by Ónix de chocolat Valrhona and Hidromel d’Andorra Authentic
v Wednesday, 5th April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) Morning and afternoon during market opening – Children’s cocoa-making workshop. 17h. Storytelling with Carol Caubet at the Chocolate Factory 20h Chocolate tasting with Vallflorida Xocolaters.
v Thursday, 6th April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) 12h Chocolate family show by the Teatro Paraíso company 17h Children’s chocolate workshop with El Tortell (until 19h)
18h. Creation of the Easter mona cake Xoco Fest 2023 at the Chocolate Factory with Adrián Ramírez El chef con botas
v From 18h to 19h Free popular chocolate with Chocolates Valor 18h30 Concert by the group Manu and the Vodka’s 20h. Pairing – The origin of the Mones* with Jordi Morera d’Spicule.
The mona is an Easter cake that dates from the fifteenth century and which contains bread with oil, eggs and sugar and chocolate decorations.
v Friday, 7th April Cocoa market (morning and afternoon) 12h. Family show Hansel and Gretel, the musical with the company La Roda 17h Children’s workshops Sauleda by Ónix (until 19h.) 18h. Creation of the giant monkey Xoco Fest 2023 at the Chocolate Factory with Adrián Ramírez El chef con botas
v From 18h to 19h Free popular chocolate with Chocolates Valor 18h30. Concert by the Neon Band group 20h. Workshop to make an Easter mona cake with the pastry chefs from La Pastisseria CCA
CINEMAS
All the films at Cinemes Illa Carlemany are in Spanish this week see https://cinemesilla.com/
CONFERENCES
v Saturday, 1st April at 16h at the Bike Lab Andorra · Andorra Bicycle Museum, Andorra la Vella. (To attend the talk, you must pre-register by calling 730 099 or sending an email to [email protected] ) Talk: ‘A Fixed pinion: pedalling like a century ago’ This talk will close the exhibition ‘Pedaling like yesterday’. Gabriel Pernau will be in charge of the event. He will explain his experiences when he crossed Catalonia on a century-old bicycle to emulate a time when cyclists were little less than heroes.
The talk will finish with the screening of a documentary that was broadcast by TV3, twenty years ago, explaining the feat. v Sunday, 2nd April at Hotel Roc Blanc, Escaldes-Engordany. (Language: in Spanish. Registrations: [email protected].) Feeling the energy of crystals’
An introductory talk on the world of crystals. The crystals contain, inside, the memory of the development of the world in which we live. For this reason, they also call it ‘the DNA of the Earth’. Everything is energy, crystals transform the energy in us and in everything around us. They modify our being on a physical, mental and spiritual scale, and with this transformation, raise the levels of consciousness.
LENT AND EASTER
Easter Programme, 2023 Sant Julià de Lòria
From Sunday, 2nd April to Sunday, 9th April Church of Sant Julià and Sant Germà, Sant Julià de Lòria v Saturday, 1st April at 19h30 at the Church of Sant Julià and Sant Germà, Sant Julià de Lòria. Lent: Youth Mass, Family Mass. We especially invite children and young people with their parents.
v Sunday, 2nd April at 11h30 Palm Sunday – Blessing of the palms in the Main Square
v Holy Monday, 3rd April at 12h30 Chrism Mass in the Cathedral of Seu d’Urgell and, at 19h30, in the church of Sant Julià and Sant Germà anointing of the sick
v Maundy Thursday, 6th April at 19h30, Mass of the Holy Supper, Washing of feet and, at 22h. Holy Hour, followed by Prayer and Adoration until 01h.
v Good Friday, 7th April: at 9h, office of readings, Way of the Cross through the streets with the “Cornetes and Drums” of La Seu d’Urgell, at 11h30. Meditation on the seven last words of Jesus on the Cross, at 17h. Celebration of the Passion of the Lord and, at 22h Procession of Silence through the streets of the parish.
St George’s Church, Andorra. (In English)
From Good Friday to Easter Sunday
v Good Friday, 7th April 12h in Sispony Church, La Massana. Good Friday meditation led by Revd Deborah Chapman.
v Easter Sunday, 9th April at 7h15. Outdoor, Easter Sunrise Service at the Col de la Botella, Pal. (Above Pal, when you come to the roundabout turn right, away from the ski station and towards Spain. A kilometre or so further on park by the ski lift that goes to Arinsal and we will be a few yards further on, on the right, looking East across the deep valley. Glorious experience, especially when you can see the sun!)
9h. Easter Breakfast at the Hotel Coma, Ordino. Reservations on Tel +376, 736 100.
11h. Easter Sunday Service with Holy Communion led by Revd Deborah Chapman, in Sispony church.
CHILDREN
v Saturday, 1st April from 10h30 – 12h30 at the Center d’Art d’Escaldes-Engordany, Escaldes-Engordany. (Reservations on tel.: 802 255 or [email protected] Price of activity: €3) Art Saturdays behind the footsteps of pre-columbian civilizations! The Mayans, the Aztecs or the Incas were some of the oldest civilizations that populated the American continent. These societies built impressive cities and infrastructure and some of their artworks represent their vision of nature and deities. Do you want to know more?
v Saturday, 1st April from 16h – 17h at the MW Museu de l’Electricitat, Encamp. (Reservations at: + 376 739 111 or – [email protected] Number of places: 20 ) Create a long-lasting Easter egg. Do you want to make an original Easter egg with a message? It takes very few things like old newspaper to create an original and sustainable egg. In addition, you can decorate it with natural elements and with the photographs of the current exhibition “A sustainable view”. Are you signing up?
v From Saturday, 1st April to Sunday, 2nd April at the Thyssen Museum, Escaldes-Engordany. (Family activity from 4 years. All children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Registrations: [email protected] / +376 800 800) Advertising poster workshop: Thyssen activities. The family activity will revolve around the power of advertising. Taking as a reference the propaganda work of the Chinese artist Wang Guangyi, the families will have to design an advertising poster for a product using red as the main colour and with various materials under the collage technique. Sessions, Saturday: 11h30, 12h30, 16h and 17h
Sessions, Sunday: 11h and 12h
CULTURA +
v Saturday 1 April at 18h30 at IQOS Lounge, Andorra la Vella. Ona paints at the IQOS. O. Saumell was born out of a need for feminist vindication from the praise, beauty and sensuality of women. The firm seeks to find the colours that wander in the darkness and give light, and is the feminist metaphor for giving light to women, who are the colour found in the silent black.
From Saturday, 25th March to Tuesday, 25th April in the Parish of Ordino, Ordino. (Registrations and rules and regulations at www.rutadelferroalspirineus.ad) 1st Photo Contest of the Iron Route in the Pyrenees. 1st Photo competition instigated by the association of the Iron Route in the Pyrenees where the museums and monuments of the European route will be announced.
From Wednesday, 22nd March to Thursday, 4th May in Encamp and Pas de la Casa, Encamp. (Registrations:732 704 (Encamp Library) / 856 787 (Pas de la Casa Library). 12th Competition for designing and making bookmarks – Encamp and Pas de la Casa. The communal libraries of Encamp and Pas de la Casa celebrate the 12th Competition for the design and creation of bookmarks. The event aims to encourage reading among the little ones and consists of the creation of a bookmark design that is their own and original. Residents of the parish over the age of 5 who are linked to the library service can participate.
The competition is divided into different categories: benjamin (from 5 to 6 years old), juvenile (from 7 to 10 years old), children (from 11 to 14 years old), youth (from 15 to 17 years old) and adults (from the 18 years).
Each participant can submit only one original, self-created design of a freely themed bookmark. The dimensions must be 20 cm x 5 cm. Participants have the freedom to choose the material of the bookmark.
Name, surname, age, category and telephone number must be included in the design. If the material with which the bookmark is made does not allow writing the above data, they must be put in an envelope with the bookmark.
Bookmarks must be delivered to the Municipal Libraries of Encamp and Pas de la Casa before May 4th at 19h
The award ceremony will take place:
– May 8th, 2023, at 18h at the Pas de la Casa Municipal Library.
– May 9th, 2023, at 18h at the Encamp Municipal Library.
EXHIBITIONS
v Until Saturday, 1st April at the Bike Lab Andorra · Andorra Bicycle Museum, Andorra la Vella. Pedalant com ahir, a monographic exhibition that talks about centenary cycling and reviving the past, revealing the curious, noteworthy story that is hidden behind one of the bicycles that make up the museum’s collection, an epic cycling story, full of romance that you cannot miss.
The exhibition reviews the origin and the first edition of one of the oldest cycling competitions in the world and which is still celebrated today, the Volta a Catalunya, but above all it focuses on the experience of Gabriel Pernau, journalist and great lover of bicycles, who, on a bicycle from the year 1900, a Clément Cicles from the Riberaygua collection, emulated the pioneers of Catalan cycling, reproducing the route of the first edition of the Volta Catalunya ninety years ago. v Until 16th April at the Taranmana Art Gallery, Escaldes-Engordany, Passeig del Valira, 7, AD700 Escaldes-Engordany (Tel.: +376 336 253).
Photographic exhibition, Ment Trucada by Alex Rispal. v Until Sunday, 23rd April at the MW Electricity Museum, Encamp. (Limited places. Prior reservation required: 376 739 111 or [email protected]) Photography exhibition: “A sustainable view”. What is sustainability for you? How would you capture it in a photograph?
If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, the photographs are the mirror of our emotions. Winners of A sustainable look photographic competition. The thirteen photographers participating in this exhibition have captured their vision of sustainability and the impact of human beings on the planet.
Each person has their own view on sustainability, but we strive to make it a more conscious view and with an intention to improve.
Nature returns its reflection to us depending on how we treat it. Let’s observe it and take care of it to look to the future with hope.
Opening Hours: From Tuesday to Saturday from 9h30 – 13h30 and from 315h – 18h30. Sunday from 10h – 14h. v Until Sunday, 23rd April at the MW Electricity Museum, Encamp. (Limited places. Prior reservation required: 376 739 111 or [email protected]) Photography exhibition: “A sustainable view”. What is sustainability for you? How would you capture it in a photograph?
If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, the photographs are the mirror of our emotions. Winners of A sustainable look photographic competition. The thirteen photographers participating in this exhibition have captured their vision of sustainability and the impact of human beings on the planet.
Each person has their own view on sustainability, but we strive to make it a more conscious view and with an intention to improve.
Nature returns its reflection to us depending on how we treat it. Let’s observe it and take care of it to look to the future with hope.
Opening Hours: From Tuesday to Saturday from 9h30 – 13h30 and from 315h – 18h30. Sunday from 10h – 14h.
v Until Thursday, 27th April at the Spanish Embassy in Andorra,
Andorra la Vella. Footprint in Andorra by Jorge Colomina.
Although Colomina’s artistic activity is close to the “Figurativo abstracto”, the artist is constantly looking for the definition of his own style, based on the mixture of warm, bright, vivid, moving colours and geometric shapes and fleeting lines that express their passion and emotions. The result, a work in which balance and coherence are two of its main attributes.
In his more than four decades of artistic production, Colomina has exhibited his works in different cities in Spain (Málaga, Girona, Platja d’Aro), France (Paris, Lyon, Cannes, Montpellier), China (Shanghai) , Luxembourg, Belgium (Brussels), Canada (Montreal) and Morocco.
Hours: Monday to Friday from 10h – 13h and 16h – 19h and 10h – 13h on Saturdays. Sundays closed.
‘Watercolor landscapes’, by Mireia Tarrés v Until Sunday, 30th April at the Hotel Roc Blanc, Escaldes-Engordany. Andorran artist Mireia Tarrés exhibits in the lobby of the Hotel Roc Blanc. An exhibition focused on landscapes, both natural and urban, day and night, all made with the watercolour technique. The artist captures in her work the sensations she perceives when she contemplates the landscapes that surround her. She does not aim to copy reality but to embody the sensations that the environment reveals to her, she seeks to transmit the dynamism of the city, the light of a specific moment of the day, the sensation of a snowy winter day, or the beauty of an underwater world….
These are some of the themes that can be seen in this exhibition. v Until Friday, 28th April from 9h at the Centre Cultural La Llacuna, Andorra la Vella. Colour in the Dark by Cecília Santañes Molina. Colour in the Dark is a personal story, an illustrated diary born from the need to share the ups and downs of going through breast cancer. An inner dialogue where monsters come to life and dots of colour mark the path in the gloom. The people who accompany me in the process put these points of colour giving me the warmth and light necessary to not get lost on the way..
v Until 14th May at the the Government Exhibition Hall, Jaume Riba. Walking. (In my opinion, Riba is Andorra’s premie photographer. To date I have five of his books of photographs and can recognise his work pretty much anywhere. CA) At the inauguration, the Minister of Culture, Sílvia Riva said, “After years of photographing landscapes, people, rivers, flowers, valleys and mountains, customs, experiences, territories and spaces, today we have the privilege of exhibiting in the Government Exhibition Hall the best and most representative of the work of Jaume Riba, in an exhibition that exudes the irreducible love for the country, nature and people.”
The hall is open from all day Tuesday to Sunday mornings, from 10h – 13h and from 15h30 – 20h. v Until Saturday, 8th July in the Comic Museum, La Massana. Fragments of the Pyrenees’ collects some comic pages of the Bulgarian artist, resident in Andorra, Spaska Peeva. The artist tells us his journey from Kyrgyzstan with fictitious stories, inspired by his own experiences along the way and the stories of the places he has visited, especially related to the areas of the Pyrenees.
v Until Sunday, 27th August, 2023 at the Casa d’Areny-Plandolit Museum, Ordino. (Admission: €2.50. Free on September 25th and 26th. The last access to the room will be 30 mins. before closing.) Abracadabra: Illusionism and magic in Cal Plandolit. Discover one of the least known facets of the iconic Areny-Plandolit family – the connection between some of its members within the world of magic, where they stood out prominently on the Spanish and international scene during the first half of the twentieth century. v Until Saturday, 30th September, at the Bike Lab Andorra. Andorra Bicycle Museum, Andorra la Vella. The woman and the bicycle’ Temporary exhibition of the Bici Lab Andorra museum.
The temporary exhibition with which the museum opens, The woman and the bicycle’ explains how this invention was a symbol and also a battlefield to fight first for female emancipation and, nowadays, towards equality between women and men. Thirteen stories of women cyclists from all time illustrate small big moments of women’s relationship with two wheels from the end of the 19th century to the present day. And from using the bike as a tool to escape the control of husbands and fathers, to fight for equality in professional cycling. v Until Sunday, 7th January, 2024 at the Thyssen Museum, Escaldes-Engordany (Rates – with audio-guide included: General admission: €9. Reduced rate: from 18 to 30 years, +65 years and Crèdit Andorrà customers: €5 Free admission for those under 18 years) Khroma.
The emotional universe of colour’. The Carmen Thyssen Andorra Museum hosts its seventh exhibition, an exhibition that aims to delve into the particular importance of each colour and how this appreciation can vary from one person to another.
Colours have historically been associated with moods, as well as very specific situations. Beyond the purely artistic aspect, Khroma concentrates on the study of sensations and invites each visitor to become the key element of the emotional message that will be transmitted throughout the visit.
This chromatic journey, illustrating 34 works by 35 artists ranging from the 19th century to pop and contemporary art, focuses on six colour groups, each of which recreates a monochrome story, ultimately resulting in an overall polychrome that embodies the links between all the presented works. This year, the public will be able to admire one of the works of the famous Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and, alongside him, many other creators from all over the world.
Opening Hours; From Tuesday to Friday, from 10h – 18h. Saturdays from 10h – 19h. Sundays from 10h –14h. Mondays, closed NOTE: Last access to exhibition 30 min. before closing.
v Until 9th January, 2024 at Cal Pal, La Cortinada. Refugees. Andorra, host country” Cal Pal presents a new exhibition that, under the title of Refugees. Andorra, host country, takes a tour through the history of refugees and those who offered refuge in our country, through an exhibition of archival and photographic material, war material and audiovisuals, and with proposals for various itinerant activities.
We discover how Andorra experienced the arrival of these thousands of refugees during the wars of the 20th century, especially during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Many of them took root in the country, having great importance in the economic evolution of Andorra. This human capital also caused a great social, political and cultural change, forever marking Andorran identity and character.
Refugees Andorra, host country also focuses on the current displaced people, inviting the visitor to reflect on the relationship we should have in the future towards those who are forced to leave their territory.
Opening hours:
Saturdays: 10h – 14h & 15h – 19h
Sundays: 10h – 14h
Cultural Events is sponsored by the International Club of Andorra in support of the charity, Infants del Món.
Culturally yours,
Clare.
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Look for about the author of the blog Clare Allcard
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Look here for the whole blog “Cultural events in Andorra with Clare Allcard
See also Andorra travel guide
See also Pyrenees travel guide
See also France travel guide
See also Spain travel guide
