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
Due to Covid-19 regulations, all venues are operating at 30% capacity. This means that popular shows are often booked out well in advance. If interested in anything I suggest you try to book immediately. (Registration is usually essential. )
COVID INNOVATION:
La Cultura no s’Atura/ Culture does not stop (CDNS)
CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES
CHRISTMAS WITH HEART 2020, ORDINO
Until Tuesday, 5th January in the Parish of Ordino.
Programme:
Wednesday, 9th December at 20.30h on the first floor of Ludoescola. (Maximum 6 people. Reservations at 878 178) Table decoration workshop with Ingrid.
Monday, December 14 at 20.30h on the ground floor of Ludoescola. (Maximum 6 people. Reservations at 878 178.) Cooking workshop: Healthy party snacks.
LOOKING AHEAD ORDINO
Thursday 24th December at 11h in the Plaça Major. (Prior reservation 878 178) Traditional children’s event: Caga Tió! (poop log!). When, after feeding the Tió, or log, near the hearth during December, on Christmas Eve the children hit it with a stick and it poops sweets and other goodies hidden under its blanket. 17h Father Christmas Parade throughout the parish. 00h Traditional Cockerel, or Midnight, Mass in the parish church .
ENCAMP
Until Friday, 25th December at the Encamp Tourist Office. Advent Calendar. The Advent calendar from the balcony of the tourist office has been one of the traditions of recent years, marking the countdown to the Parish’s Christmas festivities, and bringing together dozens of children every afternoon in the Plaça del Consell. COVID-19 however has forced a rethink to avoid possible contagion, So the Comú has prepared an Advent Calendar for each child under 12 registered in the parish, which can be picked up at the tourist offices of Encamp or Pas de la Casa in office hours 9h – 13h and 15h – 19h. The calendars include the program of Christmas activities and a letter of wishes to send to the Three Kings or Father Christmas and which can be deposited in a magic mailbox. This year the Comú is working on a programme of events and activities adapted to the prevention of COVID-19, with the dual aim of revitalizing the parish and generating enthusiasm and good times for all families during the Christmas and Epiphany festivities. This will be presented next week.
ENCAMP SHOWCASE AND CHRISTMAS DECORATION CONTEST
Until Tuesday, 15th December from several places in the parish.
Encamp is preparing for Christmas activities with the first contest of shop window displays and Christmas decorations in which not only shops, hotels, bars and restaurants of the parish, but also individuals, can compete by decorating windows, facades, balconies and gardens. The competition is held in collaboration with the business and commercial entities of the parish. The deadline to submit the application form ends on December 15th, and all participants will receive a voucher of 20 euros, which must be collected from any of the parish’s tourist offices to spend during the Encamp Christmas Market.
The prizes of the 1st Christmas Showcase and Decoration Contest range from 150€ to 450€ depending on the category and will be judged by a jury that will issue the verdict, taking into account the “likes” on social media under the hashtag #femparròquiaEncamp. Part of these initiatives are aimed at “creating an environment attractive to visitors and welcoming to campers.”
The Comú has also organized a second, free Christmas decoration workshop to provide ideas to participants, which will be held in La Valireta on 12th December. To attend the workshop it is essential to register at [email protected] or by calling 731 490.
MUSIC
Wednesday, 9th December at 20.30h in the Prat del Roure, Escaldes-Engordany. (Ticket:10€ from the Escaldes-Engordany Tourist Office. For more information Tel .: 890 881 www.ee.ad) GOSPEL NIGHT: John Lee Sanders & The Gospel Messengers scheduled as part of the festival The Great Gospel. John Lee Sanders is a prominent American singer, songwriter, pianist, saxophonist, guitarist and arranger. He has worked with some of the greatest music legends of the last 50 years, including Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Starship, Randy Newman, Jimmy Page, Tower of Power, Donald Fagen and Bonnie Raitt. Lee Sanders spent his childhood and youth in the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana and Alabama, a region where Gospel is the common DNA of genres as diverse as soul, country, blues and jazz.
Note: Collaborate on the night of the concert with the Christmas solidarity basket for the Andorran Red Cross. Don’t forget to come to the concert with a Christmas product to bring the warmth of Christmas to all the tables.
Thursday, 10th December at 20.30h in the Congress Centre, Andorra la Vella. (Reverse box office for the benefit of the Andorran Red Cross. Limited places. Ticket reservation through the social networks of La Grandàlia Musical Artistic Centre (@lagrandalia ) or by email to [email protected]) 3rd International Guitar Festival of Andorra with a concert by the Barcelona Guitar Orchestra. Those taking part: Sergi Vicente (director). Soloists: Mariana Carrillo (mezzo-soprano); Olga Kobekina (keyboard).
Friday, 11th December at 22h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Max capacity 30, reservations at WhatsApp: +376 342 833 or [email protected] ) Concerts at La Fada: Green Note.
Saturday, 12th December at 12h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Reservations as above.) VermutArt, in La Fada: Green Note.
Saturday, 12th December at 18h in the Palau de Gel, Andorra Ice Palace, Canillo. (Reservations at http://www.palaudegel.com/ or 4tickets for Patxi Leiva or with entrance to the rink and rental of skating equipment whilst enjoying the music at 9.50€. Palau de Gel 800 840, Tourist Office 753 600. Canillo Library 753 623 ) Concert with the group Patxi Leiva on the ice rink of the Palau de Gel where they will present their new album, Andorfines.
Saturday, 12th December at 22h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Reservations as above.) Concerts at La Fada: Dani Flaco. Dani Flaco returns to The Ignorant Fairy.
Sunday, 13th December at 12h in the National Auditorium ONCA Concert* with the participation of the Valls del Nord School of Music. (* Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d’Andorra)
MUSICAL NOTES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday, 17th December at 21h in Les Fontetes Theater, La Massana. (Admission:10€. Limited places Tickets on sale at the La Massana Tourist Office.) Christmas Concert by the Andorran Opera Choir. ONLINE The concert will also be offered live on Jonaina Salvador’s Youtube channel.
Saturday, 19th December at 18h in the Palau de Gel, Andorra Ice Palace, Canillo. (For reservations see above) DDivas in concert on the ice rink of the Palau de Gel for a tribute to female music from all eras.
Saturday, 19th December at 21.30h at the cafè teatre de La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. (Max capacity 30, reservations at WhatsApp: +376 342 833 or [email protected] or entradium.com ) Concerts at La Fada: Mario Sáiz returns to La Fada Ignorant! Mario Sáiz will offer an exclusive concert in which he will perform his own songs accompanied by his inseparable violin and by Javier Pedreira on guitar.
Friday, 1st January at 19h at the National Auditorium, Ordino. Traditional New Year’s Day classical concert by the ONCA.
MUSICAL THEATRE:
Sunday, 20th December at 12h at the National Auditorium of Andorra, Ordino. (Admission:15 € only in advance from Ordino Tourist Office Tel: +376 878 173 or www.ordinoclassic.ad :
ORDINO CLASSIC: De Pel.lícula! (From the Films!) is a musical and theatrical proposal in which notes and words intertwine to pay homage to the world of cinema, which, through its stories, helps us travel. Musicians and actors will help the audience have fun listening to the soundtrack accompanied by live dialogues, while the posters of each film performed are projected. The proposal is also a tribute to the figure of Ennio Morricone, composer, amongst many other things, of the music for The Mission, who disappeared in July.
PROGRAMME includes: music by Morricone, The James Bond Theme, Moon River, The Magnificent Seven, The Mission, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Moulin Rouge, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Those taking part: ONCA String Quartet: Francesc Planella and Àlex Arajol (violins); Elias Porter (viola);
Carolina Bartumeu (cello). *Musical selection and arrangements – Francesc Planella *Actors: Núria Montes and Boris Cartes *Dramaturgy, selection of texts and stage direction: Joan Hernández.
THEATRE & DANCE
Thursday, 10th and Friday 11th at 21.30 and Saturday 12th December at 17h and 20h in the Sala de la Closeta, La Massana. (10€. Tickets online at codetiquets.com and at the La Massana Tourist Office.) Premiere of Credere. Credere is a multidisciplinary solo that combines dance and movement, text and music, to be performed in an unconventional stage space. The team, formed by the young Andorran artist Xavi Pérez, musician and composer Oriol Vilella and producer Dasha Lavrinenko, have been working on the piece since September. They have been in an artistic residency at the Escola Líquid Dansa, where they have had the opportunity to do research, rehearsals the composition, to create the dramaturgy, advised by the artistic director of the Escena Nacional, Alfons Casal .
Sunday, 13th December at 18h and 19h in the Palau de Gel,
Andorra Ice Palace, Canillo. (3€. Reservations obligatory at 4tickets or http://www.palaudegel.com/ ) Postures textuals: lectura dramatitzada i música. (Textual postures) (CDNS) A dramatized reading, accompanied by music, of a medieval erotic text by Els Trobafolls, taken from the book Speculum al foder. It is a Catalan book from the 14th century, written by an anonymous author, also known as the Catalan Kamasutra, and aims to be a treatise on good sexual manners. Performers: Raquel López – Gemma Garcia – Joan Hernández. Duration of the show: 25 minutes
Tuesday, 15th December at 19h in the Encamp Communal Library. (Free but reservation obligatory see CDNS above) Vertigen (Vertigo) a dramatized reading of an excerpt from the play by Manel Gibert, given by the Andorran actress, Cristina Pericas. Duration of the show: 20 min.
CHILDREN
Wednesday, 9th December throughout the Principality, Andorra la Vella. (To register, send an email with the title: El relats dels Viatges (The story of travellers) to [email protected]. The rules for participation can be found at www.museus.ad ) An obstacle Race: The story of travellers. This is a game where we take on the role of a foreign reporter who is sent to the exotic Republic of Andorra to explain to the world the character of this peculiar country.
The starting point and inspiration for these reporters will be the stories of other travellers who roamed the country between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. Through these stories, the reporters will visit the Casa Cristo Museum, Cal Pal de la Cortinada, the MW Electricity Museum and the Casa de la Vall. During the visit they will take notes so they can write an article about each of these places and take photos that will accompany their stories.
Saturday, 12th December from 10.30h – 12.30h at the Escaldes-Engordany Art Centre, Escaldes-Engordany. (3€. For children aged 6 – 11. Limited places. Reservations obligatory at tel 802 255 or [email protected]). Water Saturdays: Meteorological phenomena in artistic terms Disguise yourself as a cloud, become the sun and create snow. Do you want to join? The weather doesn’t have to be boring! You can make yourself a hat with cotton as soft as a cloud, a sun mask and not get cold! Or compose the geometric shapes of snowflakes.
Saturday 12th & Sunday, 13th December from 16h – 19h at the Plaça Carlemany, Canillo. (Ring the Tourist Office 753 600 or the Library 753 623) Christmas Elves’ House where children can give their letter to Santa’s elves.
EXHIBITIONS
Until Saturday, 12th December at La Peixera, Escaldes-Engordany. Kankaku/Sensations: a collective visual proposal by M. Mar Anca, Xavi Camacho, Areta Lima, Tatiana Martin, Esther Pons and Carmen Soler, students of the photography workshop of the School of Art of the Comú of Andorra la Vella. Inspired by the haiku of Agustí Bartra:
OTHER
Friday, 11th December at 21h at the National Auditorium of Andorra, Ordino. (Free activity – reservation mandatory. https://www.4tickets.es/comuordino. For more information ring Ordino Tourist Office +376 878 173.) International Mountain Day. Denis Urubko was born in the former Soviet Union and spent twenty years in the army. It was this discipline that led him to achieve goals never before achieved. He is credited with the 14 eight thousand summits – the 15th person to get achieve this – and reached the top of two of them (Makalu and Gasherbrum II) in the winter. In addition, he opened new routes and made some of the most memorable rescues, such as that of the unfortunate Iñaki Ochoa of Olza in 2008 and Elisabeth Revol in Nanga Parbat in 2018.
In recent years he has specialized in winter ascents, but without the fortune of having achieved his ultimate goals. The mountain took him off the summit of Broad Peak recently, where he reached 7,400 meters after suffering two falls and miraculously saving his life. He then decided to return from his solo attempt and end his career as a high-level mountaineer. According to him, something he had in mind for a long time. A farewell that leaves the mountain orphaned, saying goodbye to his last great mountaineer.
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
