Back from Catalunya

My Iberian experience (previous episodes here, here and here, some still incomplete) continued with 10 great (although unbearably hot...) end August days in Barcelona, around the EEA-ESEM conference this year, excellently hosted by the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, in its two campuses at Autònoma and Pompeu Fabra. Keeping it very brief, my (very selective) highlights:

• conference-wise, I have seen several excellent paper presentations and invited talks, but ultimately enjoyed most Pinelopi Goldberg's Marshall lecture on the effects of global patent agreements for pharmaceutical companies, talk partially based on this paper. The results were quite surprising (at least given my priors...): this is definitely worth reading/considering very carefully.
• I had to check out some of Barcelona's famous restaurants; hence, I shall warmly recommend to anybody, foodie or not: i) pretty much any of the tapas dishes (perhaps a random selection would be best for your first visit!), accompanied, for instance (their wine list is not very large, but counts some excellent wines), by an unforgettable Santiago Ruiz Blanco, at Paco Meralgo -- without exaggeration one of the best tapas places I have ever tried; ii) Sagardi Euskal Taberna (in the beautiful Barrio Gótico) is obviously not Catalan-cuisine..., but I've found beyond delicious their baby squid in ink sauce, accompanied by the perfect Basque Country cider (guess which side of Spain I must visit next...); iii) I would not really compare, overall, this restaurant to the first two mentioned above, but if you try the monkfish at Can Ramonet (ask for the 'monkfish in Can Ramonet sauce', obviously), and accompany that with their superb Gramona Sauvignon Blanc, that'll surely make a perfect evening. The only regret is that I did not have time to try all the places on my list; inter alia El Bulli will have to remain for some future time... and some future budget :-).
• if you thought I ignored all that, not a chance: Barcelona is, perhaps first of all, Antoni Gaudí's city. Obviously you should find plenty of documentation (and/or impressions) about Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà or the Parc Güell (the latter my favourite Gaudí-related spot in Barcelona), so I'll just say that you will be forever impressed, even if Art Nouveau is not necessarily your favourite architectural bite-- Gaudí's style is unique (delayed confession: I guess I am totally into Bauhaus, especially after admiring Walter Gropius's amazing 1938 house in Lincoln, with the occasion of my earlier visit this year to Boston)
• last, but never least: essential for my Barcelona visit, my good old friend Joop is to be thanked for being a great host, guide, and... cook! That fresh monkfish ceviche was truly fabulous-- I think I just chose it one of my very favourite dishes, though for now I hesitate attempting to prepare it myself (even considering solved the problem of finding very fresh el rape) :-).

My whereabouts

After a full week in very beautiful (and very hot) Seville, where inter alia I presented a paper at this year's ESPE conference (I will dedicate of course a separate post to my Seville experience a.s.a.p, hence further details will be omitted here), followed by a short pit stop of a few hours back in Aarhus, I have just arrived in Os, very close to Bergen. I am staying at this sensationally picturesque place called Solstrand, truly a perfect combination of classic and modern, romantic and pragmatic (e.g., one might have have difficulties deciding which of the several swimming pools or saunas to try out, after having had a perfect walk--or swim!-- along the fjords... :-))..., where for the next couple of days I'll be listening to, discussing and presenting papers within the 2009 Nordic Summer Institute in Labour Economics. Be good, I'll be back!

PS. Some straightforward differences between Seville (or, attempting to generalize: Spain/ Iberia/ Southern Europe) and Bergen (Norway/ Scandinavia/ Northern Europe) really have to do with numbers, ie. temperature degree and, respectively, price differentials. You can most likely sign those differences yourselves :-).

And there was Alicante

... and with that also my very first time in Spain (though, with Seville and Barcelona to follow within the next few months, this will definitely be my 'Spanish year'). The 'city of lights' was ultimately a pleasant surprise, although, to start with the lows, I thought it was already too hot for this time of the year--however, evenings were perfect--, the architecture of the city is really not my very favourite (I recall here an earlier post of Andy on Alacant--he was way more negative on the city looks-- while I think there are also some nice spots), and if you happen to stay in one of the fancy hotels next to the Casino, the music/noise will not stop until 4:30 AM, only to restart at 7:30 AM with the hyperactive hotel housekeeping ladies... :-).

BUT: an early morning walk along the beach, dining in such fine places as La Taberna del Gourmet and César Anca (there are a couple of others I will surely have to try out with my next visit there, but Marco did not miss at all choosing these two, this time)--- tip: try any seafood dishes in either and don't miss the black rice in the first, plus the selection of white wines in these places is really beyond expectation in quality, try e.g. some of the Rueda or the new Penedés vineyards in the lists, to take two very distinct but very fine types--, or a walk through the city center in the evening (evoking here and there images of Tuscany, if you were to ask me for an analogy) should be on your to-do list, if you happen to visit. And did I already mention that the wine/food prices are just lovely (especially if you come from Scandinavia) ? :-).

Oh, I almost forgot: my primary reason for visiting Alicante was to give a seminar at the Fundamentos del Análisis Económico, Universidad de Alicante. Great audience, nice people, charming university campus: I totally enjoyed my visit there!

Today's song: Semilla Negra (in Marlango's version)

The musical masterpiece for today is "Semilla Negra", in Marlango's rendition. Probably you know that the song was first introduced by the popular pop-rock Spanish band of the 80's, "Radio Futura". I managed to trace on YouTube their version. Here's a nice description of Radio Futura's "Semilla Negra" and what this song brought novel:

"Semilla Negra introduced the first hints of what would soon become their signature contribution: latin rock based on a highly intellectualized basis (frontman Santiago Auserón holds a degree in Philosophy and is known for lenghty answers in flourishing vocabulary) but, notwithstanding, aimed at the streets and addressed to the general populace[...]."

And indeed, as you will surely agree, the lyrics of the song more than justify its characterization above. Another famous rendition of the same song is by the Peruvian rock band "La Liga del Sueño". You can also listen to their version on YouTube. While both Radio Futura's and Liga del Sueño's versions are very good, the one I personally prefer, at the same time the one most different compared to the others, is Marlango's superlative "Semilla Negra". Here you can listen to a pure audio clip of it on YouTube, while this one (but lower audio quality) is a clip from a live performance (Semilla Negra starts about 1:30 min in the clip). Since I talked already quite extensively (and will mention them again in the future) about Marlango, and since you might have guessed that I am totally crazy about Leonorcita by now (I confess: so far, I've been playing hard-to-get with her; that is, I haven't contacted or given her much attention, which I certainly hope will lead her to contact me very soon), I'll just end by wishing you: Enjoy!

Song of the day: "Madness", by Marlango

Enter Marlango, possibly the best Spanish jazz band ever! Since today I declare myself their biggest fan. Now, of course I've already seen and admired Leonor Watling, the actrice,- wiki, IMDb- playing Alicia in "Hable con Ella", one of my top 10 movies of all times (set to stay in top 10 for quite some time...). Nevertheless- shameful, unbelievable, ignorance- I seem to have ignored Marlango so far... Until now!

But without further ado (very little time), here's the simply perfect song of today, "Madness". Wait, make it song of the week. Or perhaps, of the month! I'll see... An obvious influence from Tom Waits in the melodical line, but nonetheless, a very personal style in interpretation. Lyrics are here. Next to that, other personal favourites from Marlango, absolutely brilliant musical pieces: "It's All Right" (great videoclip and a splendid live 'velvet' version); an awesome "Pequeño Vals" (superb live and excellent videoclip) "; the masterpiece "Shake the Moon" (videoclip version, live- and very much alive!- version, live duet version, with Miguel Bosé); a beautiful live version of "Enjoy the Ride"; "Once Upon a Time" (excellent videoclip); "Automatic Imperfection" (videoclip); Gran Sol (videoclip). Then some superlative songs sang in Spanish- my favourite is Vete (videoclip with sequences from the movie "Malas Temporadas" where Leonor played as well, and a live version). See and listen also to the very interesting, personalized, version of "El último habitante del planeta".

You can also watch some other interesting material with Marlango on YouTube, such as a presentation/interviews with Marlango on Euronews (Euronews seems to agree that Madness is an amazing piece, by the way!) or an introduction/ interview (in Spanish) with Leonor or the "disco del oro" ceremony (with Almodovar present as well).

Muchas gracias, Marisa! Looking forward to learning much more about real Spain, music and beyond. If it goes like this, I'll definitely move there :-).

Quote of the week 8th to 14th of April '07

Esta noche te cruzan

verdes, rojas, azules, rapidísimas

luces extrañas por los ojos.

¿Será tu alma?

¿Son luces de tu alma, si te miro?

Letras son, nombres claros

al revés, en tus ojos.

Son nombres: Universum,

se iluminan, se apagan, con latidos

de luz de corazón. Universum.

Miro; ya sé; ya leo:

Universum cinema, ocho cilindros,

saldo de blanco junto a las estrellas.

Te quiero así inocente, toda ajena,

palpitante

en lo que está fuera de ti, tus ojos

proclamando las vívidas

verdades de colores de la noche.

Las compraremos todas

cuando se abran las tiendas, ahora mismo

-Universum cinema-, cuando bese

las luces de tu alma, sí, las luces,

anuncios luminosos de la vida

en la noche, en tus ojos.

Pedro Salinas, "Amsterdam"

Quote for the previous week.