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
MUSIC
v Saturday, 20th November at 17h at the Church of Sant Serni, Canillo. (Free admission. Prior reservation required at https://amicscambraromanica.ad/entrades.php. The audience must also comply with Covid health regulations: complete vaccination certificate/ recently overcome illness/ or TMA test in the last 48 h) Romanesque Chamber Concert Series with the Jakob Trio. Award winners in numerous international competitions, the Jakob Trio is a group that delves into the piano trio repertoire, creating a unique sound through their three personalities. The group, which currently resides in the Netherlands, consists of the violinist Manuel De Almeida-Ferrer, the cellist Carla Peña Romero and the pianist Imanol Casán.
They present a concert with music by Haydn and Brahms for string trio (violin, cello and piano). Despite being little explored by musicians and scholars, the evidence for a connection between Brahms and Haydn is pretty obvious. Listening to the two composers in the same programme is a very good opportunity to discover, despite their contrasting styles, the common thread that arises from the admiration they have for each other.
Musicians taking part:
National Youth Chamber Orchestra of Andorra Hysteriofunk:
Oriol Vilella, guitar
Roger Casamajor, keyboard
Òscar Llauradó, bass
Lluís Cartes, drums
Cesc Vilarrubias, percussion With the collaboration of the Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d’Andorra Musical selection: Lluís Cartes and Oriol Vilella Arrangements and direction: Albert Gumí Programme:
· Soaked
· Falac Mithos
· The peculiar journey
· Switzerland
· Pastoral phase
· I’m shit
· Lee Marvin
· Superhysteriofunk
· Berta’s
v Sunday, 21st November at 18.30h at the Centre de Congressos, Andorra la Vella. (Tickets: 5€ can be purchased at Stars Academy* Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evenings between 17h and 20h and on the evening of the concert at the door from 18h.) Susanne Georgi & Francesca Aaen look forward to welcoming you to the Stars Academy Christmas Concert 2021. The Stars Choir will make sure you have an unforgettable evening, with performers aged from 2 to 60. With our Christmas songs and many others, we’ll help you get into the festive mood! Open for all.
*The address is STARS ACADEMY, Carrer del Fener 11, Bajo, Andorra La
Vella (this is on the corner in the Eland Building at Km 0)
v Thursday, 25th November at 20h at the Hotel Golden Tulip Andorra Fènix, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free activity. Limited entry. Prior reservation at: [email protected] or Tel. +376 760 760) Alys Paramá at The Lobby Bar.
DANCE
v Saturday, 20th November at 21.30h at the Sala Prat del Roure, Escaldes-Engordany. (FREE. Reservations at the Escaldes-Engordany Tourist Office, at 890 881 or [email protected]) Folkdance group: Esbart Santa Anna Festival: 70 + 1 Years of Passion. Festival paying tribute to the 70 years of the dance troupe’s organization.
NOTE FOR YOUR DANCE DIARY
v Saturday, 27th November at 19h at the National Auditorium of Andorra, Ordino. (2€ ticket in solidarity with the ADA (Andorran Women’s Association.) 10th Anniversary Festival of the Folkdance Group: Esbart Valls del Nord. The Show is focused on the legend of the Buner Ordino, with live music, new choreography, songs sung by the Coral Casamanya and the performance of our dance troupe and veterans.
CONFERENCES Remember all are in Catalan unless otherwise stated..
v Wednesday, 24th November at 19h at Crèdit Center Building, Andorra la Vella. (The conference will be in person and online: Face-to-face assistance will be required with prior registration, before November 22, at 88 88 88. For online support, inscriviu-vos aquí (sign up here.) Crèdit Andorrà Global Forum lecture series on
the future and global trends: The decarbonization of construction by Jose Manuel Villanueva, CEO and co-founder of 011h, a new generation construction company, and co-founder of the fashion e-commerce Privalia. Jose Manuel Villanueva will talk about his experience as an entrepreneur of innovative and pioneering technology-based projects. First, in the e-commerce sector and currently with the construction company 011h, which promotes the transition to a sustainable building model based on four pillars: components, industrialization, digitalization and sustainability, with the use of wood as the main element.
EXHIBITIONS
v For the month of November in the lobby of the Cultural Centre of Sant Julià de Lòria. An Exhibition of the works of art created during Andorra’s international Art Camp, 2014.
DRY STONE WEEK
v Until Friday, 3rd December. Throughout the Principality, Andorra la Vella. (Places are limited. Free registration with prior reservation at: [email protected] / (+376) 844 141.) Dry Stone Week, until Sunday, 28th November. For the second year in a row, Andorra participates in the Dry Stone Week, an event that aims to highlight the landscape heritage of traditional dry stone architecture and to celebrate the third anniversary of the declaration, on the part of UNESCO, the knowledge and construction technique of dry stone walling as an intangible heritage of humanity. In this context, both the Department of Cultural Heritage and the sociocultural space Cal Pal, (in La Cortinada, Ordino) organize activities that bring citizens closer to the construction technique of dry stone, to promote knowledge, management and protection.
ACTIVITIES
· Friday, 19th – Sunday 28th Photography contest: “The art of dry stone in Andorra”, on the social network Instagram. Dry Stone Week 2021 kicks off again with a photographic contest. Participants will have to present photographs in which the dry stone is the protagonist. The first three will win a cash prize of 500€, 300€ and 200€, respectively. All information can be found HERE ..
· Friday, 19th November – Friday, 3rd December in the Lobby of the Ministry of Culture (former Hotel Rosaleda), Encamp. Exhibition: Dry Stone in Andorra. From 8h – 17h, Monday to Friday. Throughout the week, photographs of the winners of last year’s photography competition are on display, along with an exhibition that travels to various schools and that the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, has made in order to bring to high school students the importance of the heritage of dry stone in Andorra.
· Thursday, 25th November from 18.30h at the Sociocultural space Cal Pal (la Cortinada). Lectures on the technique of dry stone and traditional architecture. Two lectures and a debate on the future of dry stone and traditional architecture, with the interventions of Edouard Duterte, president of the Association of Craftsmen in Dry Stone Builders (ABPS), and the prestigious Catalan architect Oriol Roselló, specialist in contemporary traditional architecture and co-founder of Bangolo (expert study in the use of traditional techniques). More information, HERE.
· Saturday, 27th November from 11h – 13h at the Prats d’Encodina (el Serrat) Walk through the meadows of Encodina. A walk and discovery of huts and dry stone constructions through the meadows of Encodina, some of which have recently been restored during the artisans’ course that took place in October.
NEW
v Until Sunday, 5th December in the Plaça dels Arínsols, Encamp. A traveling exhibition The Succession of the Forest, a sculptural project that aims to enhance the candidacy of the Andorra Alpine Ski World Championships 2027 through the values of culture, art and sustainability. At the same time, it wants to extend to all parishes and their populations the event called to be a historical milestone for Andorran sport and for the country in general.
The Andorran architect and creator of the exhibition, Miquel Merce , was the author in 2015 of the work ‘Longitude’ within the biennial of Land Art -from a white canvas of more than 200 meters that he covered the scree of the Carroi generating a high expectation. On this occasion, he was inspired by the logo of the candidacy to do his work and, very especially, on the Avet track, the stage where the competition will be held (along with the Àliga track), if Andorra is finally the chosen candidacy by the International Ski Federation. (I remember the first time we hosted a section of Alpine Ski World Championships, the world male downhill champion, in praising the friendliness of the reception and the quality of the organisation said, “I’d be happy to hold the championships here every year.”
The work is made up of a base made of concrete and elements that can be found in the undergrowth of Andorra, as well as a tree-shaped body with an engraved pineapple, as an element that transmits the natural cycle of the forest. As for the trunk that supports it, it is made of corrugated iron.
In the same way that the candidacy of the 2027 World Championships is a global, country project, The succession of the forest also wants to be a project that all the citizens of Andorra can own. For this reason, it will have an itinerant location in the seven parishes, exposing itself in the coming months in unique places in each and at the same time key points for the work to also attract the attention of visitors.
From here, it will be exhibited in all parishes and “will be adapted to each location and environment, according to needs,” said Merce.
In addition, the sculpture is accompanied by an information totem with a QR code made by the Andorran company Parl’app, with all the details of its creation process and final result as well as the candidacy for the World
Championships of the 2027. Information is collected in braille, 5 languages, audio and sign language.
v Until Monday, 22nd November at Escaldes-Engordany Art Center, Escaldes-Engordany. Exhibition: Deadly Sins. An Exhibition dedicated to the Seven Deadly Sins in which the artist, Mercè Ciaurriz, through painting, proposes a reflection on the current validity of this religious code, focusing on a reality marked by individual interests, anxieties and frustrations. A vision, fruit of the personal considerations of the artist around the evils that affect our world. The result is 22 paintings that point up excessive consumption, overexploitation of natural resources, gender violence and corruption that lead the viewer to a shocking and at the same time reflective experience.
Opening Hours: From Monday to Saturday from 9.30h – 13.30h and from 15h – 19h
Activities around the exhibition: · Saturday, 20th November at 17h at the Escaldes-Engordany Art Center, Escaldes-Engordany. (5€. Recommended for those 16 and over.) Chinese Ink Workshop with the artist Mercè Ciaurriz.
Mercè Ciaurriz (1958) is an Andorran artist, painter, ceramist, sculptor and muralist, with a long career and projection in the country. She acknowledges that she expresses herself better with art than with words. For her, art is a way of externalizing what she carries inside. Supporter of the usefulness of art as a form of therapy, she has been combining her passion and work with teaching for several years. She currently teaches at the Espai d’Art del Comú d’Escaldes-Engordany. Ciaurriz has participated in numerous individual and group exhibitions in different galleries of the country in addition to completing various public commissions.
Opening Hours: From Monday to Saturday from 9.30h – 13.30h and from 15h – 19h.
v Until Sunday, 9th January, 2022 at the Thyssen Museum, Escaldes-Engordany. Talents with similar origins: from Rigalt to Puigdengolas. The exhibition, Talents with similar origins: from Rigalt to Puigdengolas, features a selection of paintings by Catalan artists that the Crèdit Andorrà art collection has been forging since 1989. Casas, Urgell, Mir or Meifrè are some of the protagonists of the show.
The exhibition is complemented by some works from the Carmen Thyssen collection shared by the owner. Among the selected paintings, we will learn about the work of artists specializing in different types of landscape and portraiture, and other versatile people who reflect their expertise on canvas.
The exhibition takes a look at the work of Catalan artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, painters who agreed together on their training or who created their own school. The selection of exhibited works aims to show the similarities and divergences between Catalan painters of this period, the most unique styles and affinities in their work.
v Until Saturday, 8th January, 2022 at the Espai Caldes, Escaldes-Engordany. Les Escaldes: Pioneers of the hotel industry 1900 – 1960. (Free entrance. Reservations on tel: 890 879 or [email protected]) An historic walk through the most emblematic hotels in Escaldes that remind us of times past when the benefits of thermal water became a claim to attract a tourism of bathers. The exhibition, with nostalgia, recalls the history of these establishments but also that of their owners. Les Escaldes: pioneers of the hotel industry 1900-1960 is presented with various areas consisting of photographic reproductions, images, objects and memories provided by individuals. The exhibition is complemented by a tour of the streets of the Upper Part, from the CAEE to the Espai Caldes with several photographic panels that testify to the many commercial activities that transformed the economy of Les Escaldes and the country.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 9.30h – 13.30h and from 15h – 19h.
Activities
· Guided tours for schoolchildren, individuals and groups round the exhibition.
· Routes: on Saturday, 2nd October at 17h: Water Itinerary trade route and on Saturday, 6th November at 17h: the pioneer route.
· In autumn, menus from the past with the touch of today’s chefs in the restaurants of Escaldes-Engordany.
v Until Sunday, 27th August 2023 at the Casa d’Areny-Plandolit Museum, Ordino. (Admission: 2.5€. Free on September 25th and 26th.) Abracadabra: Illusionism and magic in Cal Plandolit. Discover one of the least known facets of the Areny-Plandolit family: the connection between some of its members with the world of magic, a field in which they stood out prominently on a Spanish and international scale during the first half of the twentieth century.
CHILDREN
v Saturday, 20th November at 12noon and 16h at the Farga Rossell, La Massana. Playtime at the Museums: Children to the museums. (Price: 5€. Limited Capacity. By purchasing a ticket, you receive the activity booklet and a pencil from the Rossell Forge. Recommended for children aged 6 and over.) Armed with the activity booklet, discover the Rossell Forge as a family.
CONFERENCES Remember all are in Catalan unless otherwise stated.
v Saturday, 20th November. Lectures from 9.30h – 12 noon. Workshop from 16.30h – 17.30h at the Escades-Engordany Assembly Hall, Escaldes-Engordany. (Free activity. Inscripcions, aquí. ) Enterprising Women Lab. The Enterprising Women Lab is back, and it is returning more strongly than ever, with a desire to inspire, give ideas, share experiences and give tools around female entrepreneurship. On November 20th, 6 spectacular women in their fields will explain their experiences in the Auditorium of the Comú d’Escaldes-Engordany with
short but inspiring talks about their personal and professional projects. Marta Marsà (businesswoman), Jael Pozo and Rebeca Roger (veterinarians), Anna Pauner (editor), Xary Rodríguez (athlete) and Marta Alberch (philanthropist) will explain their personal projects, how they have come to carry them out and their future challenges.
The morning talks will be complemented by an afternoon workshop to give tools for entrepreneurship. A psychology professional, a communications professional and a management specialist will answer all the questions of the attendees on how to legally create a project, how to deal with the “no” of clients, how to create a powerful brand …
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
