It all starts and ends in Barcelona
by Eva Piquer
Mercè 2011, day one. The festivities could not get off to a better start. Joaquim Maria Puyal, whose name is synonymous with work well done, offers us an opening speech that meets all our expectations. A speech that can, fortunately, be followed on the media as the Casa Gran has become too small to accommodate everyone who would like to attend the speech. I keep my official press pass dangling on display, which, in theory, ought to open all doors for me from Thursday to Sunday, but I have to try every trick in the book to get into the City Hall's fuller-than-ever Saló de Cent. The crowd-pulling power of this communicator is extraordinary. Had he not left television (owing to irreconcilable differences) he would still be driving up audience ratings. [+info]
Ciutadella park lights up
The best of contemporary dance and light joined forces in a special double act during the great spectacular Swan Lake, a choreography presented by the most distinguished artists of the Mariinsky Theatre of Saint Petersburg, alongside some of the best Catalan dancers. All together these included close to 50 artists deployed at the various settings where the show was held: the waterfall (where you could also see the surprising effects of Franc Aleu's visual projections) and the lake. The public's applause, which filled this highly unique outdoor theatre from the stalls to the gallery, was long and loud. [+info]
A speech committed to Barcelona and Catalonia
Joaquim Maria Puyal, the journalist, the master communicator, the voice of voices, welcomed in the 2011 La Mercè festivities with an emotive and sincere opening speech, where, looking back at over half a century of life in our century and his own experiences, he made a strong plea for freedom, knowledge, coexistence and commitment. "If we know what we want and we fight to achieve it, our future will be our own", he asserted, later on rounding off his speech with "if we as Catalans stand together, we'll be unbeatable". [+info]