“The Americanos” are Coming!

To create the next issue of the SQ, our stories have taken us to Illinois (Chicago), New York, Miami, and inside—the Palau Maricel here in Sitges. Here’s a quick glance of some of the places where we researched in order to bring our features to life…

Miami:

Vizcaya is an Italian-inspired villa and gardens, begun in 1910 and completed in 1916. Built by James Deering in a Mediterranean Revival style; today operates as a museum. Upon his death, James Deering left Vizcaya to his half-brother Charles also left his collection to him and his daughters, who donated several of these works to the Art Institute of Chicago. By this time, Charles had left Sitges and his Palau Maricel to create his Florida estate, the Deering Estate at Cutler.

Vizcaya, Miami, Florida

The Stone House
The Deering Estate at Cutler

New York City:

The New York City Freedom Tower stands 541.3248 metres tall (1,776 feet) on the site of the former World Trade Centre. It serves as a beacon of freedom, and demonstrates the resolve of the United States, and the people of New York City.

We researched at the New York Public Library… in particular, the Catalan newspaper published in New York from 1874 until May 1881, La Llumanera de Nova York.

Chicago:

The 24½-acre Millennium Park, which encompasses the Frank Gehry-designed Pritzker Pavilion, ranks among the city's top three tourist attractions.

In the Millennium Park, Chicago

“Cloud Gate” sculptor Anish Kapoor has created a work of art that reflects the splendour that is the Chicago skyline, playing with the light and the sky. It is elegant—balanced on its ends and without any colour of its own. It is interactive art, letting the viewer become part of it with simple acts of walking and turning, changing the visual reflection presented by the sculpture.

The Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor
Millennium Park, Chicago

Barcelona born artist, Jaume Plensa has created four monumental heads for the 10th anniversary of Chicago's Millennium Park, through December 2015. Also in the park is his white head sculpture, Look into My Dreams, Awilda.

Barcelona Artist, Jaume Plensa

Look into My Dreams, Awilda. 

Note: 

Mr. Plensa's original contribution to the park, "Crown Fountain," two 50-foot-tall glass-lined towers at opposite ends of a shallow pool that project video images of 1,000 Chicago residents. "I'm trying always to create a place where people could meet and share dreams," he said. "And I probably could not find a better landscape for that to happen than the human body”. WSJ.com

Be a Good Boy and Put This On...

In the fourth issue of the SQ, with the theme Sitges Artistic, we included an article about Alpe Conceptes Plastificats (formally known as Alpe)—Pere Viñeta and Tony Luciano.

Tony Luciano and Pere Viñeta (SitgesActiu)

Over the years, the Generalitat of Catalunya has helped them to carry out their projects and also to contact museums in Spain and elsewhere, all the way to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan.

In the early years and out of love for art, Pere never wanted to be linked to any of his artistic work and kept his identity a secret. This was a way to express his message that everyone can do his or her bit to improve the world. He has always given his ideas, creations and time for free—he doesn’t sell them, and therefore never needs to pay taxes on his works.

On December 18th of last year they both presented an idea and registered with the Ayuntamiento de Sitges (Town hall) for the authorization to use a public space to carry out a new installation in the area near la Frigata. The graphics you see in this post were created for the project.

“Proyecto Goma al Greco Sitges 17/5/2015” (The Rubber Project)

Alpe Conceptes Plastificats, has made a call to artists, or anyone—daring all of us to bring out the artist within, and bring a smile in the form of visual poetry to the effort, so that we can all become more accustomed to the use of condoms as prevention, and reduce the risk of contracting or spreading HIV and STIs (STDs).

This travelling exhibition of individual pieces, backed by the Ayuntamiento de Sitges and local businesses, will be displayed on May 17^th. Each person in the group will laminate their artistic piece joining it to the other offerings, then they will be put into a large plastic cylinder or purpose-made condom, wrapping the El Greco statue. And they have asked l’Agrupació de Balls Populars de Sitges “to help put it on”.

After months of planning and discussion, and all the participation in the foreplay… we can’t wait for the unravelling of the condom this May! Who knew putting on a condom could be this fun and take so much planning?

Pere Viñeta i Tony Luciano

Alpe, conceptes plastificats

alpe_critsescrits@yahoo.es

p.ev.iba@hotmail.com

Beyond Ganymede

Logroño, February 19, 2015. Psychologist and columnist of the Sitges Quarterly Magazine, Juan Carlos Uríszar, was asked to give another presentation about his book, Después de Ganímedes*. 

Although Después de Ganímedes has been available to the public since 2012, it's subject of mature gay men transitioning to later life while trying to retain their youthful beauty or attractiveness is still current and will continue to be relevant for years to come as we forge the way with efforts to achieving equality and acceptance for same sex marriage, a relatively new legal option for LGBT people in many countries around the world.

The well-attended event took the audience through a journey of self-awareness, self-acceptance, identity and growth, not to mention the correlation with and brief explanation of the Ganymede** myth itself - all within the chapters of the book.

The timing of the presentation is perfect as I am currently in the final phase of completing the second issue of the GSL-Visión magazine, with its central theme of identity. 

*(Spanish language only) available in stores and on Amazon.com

**English spelling

The Myth of Ganymede

Ganymede is the young, beautiful boy that became one of Zeus' lovers. One source of the myth says that Zeus fell in love with Ganymede when he spotted him herding his flock on Mount Ida. Zeus then came down in the form of an eagle to carry Ganymede to Mount Olympus where he became cupbearer to the gods and given immortality, retaining his beauty forever. 

Rubens "Abduction of Ganymede"

All of Zeus' scandalous liaisons have allegorical meanings. Some sources say that Zeus' affair with Ganymede was a (religious) justification for homosexuality within the Greek culture, yet others state that this is merely a reflection of Greek life at that time. The myth was a model for the Greek social custom of the socially acceptable erotic relationship between a man and a youth. The philosopher Plato also used this myth to justify his sexual feelings towards male pupils.

For a complete telling of the myth go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rJLLV7U-XY

The English language version of the book, Después de Ganímedes (Beyond Ganymede) will be available soon.

Look Who’s Enjoying the Sitges Quarterly Magazine: Alfonso Cuarón

Known for his incredible stories, his films are also very much character driven, engaging the audience to feel their personal, emotional experiences no matter the budget of the film.

Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is the filmmaker of Gravity, Children of Men and of course, Y Tu Mamá También. He is also the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

I must admit, although I knew that he is a director held in high esteem and of a few of his earlier films, I’ve been so very busy in research for a new project I’m working on (watch this blog!!), that I didn’t associate him with his Academy award win last year for Gravity. He defeated a group of men including: Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Nebraska) and Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street). And in doing so, Cuarón became the first Mexican-born director to win an Oscar.

I wasn't even aware of the The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Film Benefit honoring him in New York City late last November—considering my research took me to the city not only for the new project, but also for the next issue of The Sitges Quarterly magazine.

                                

                  

Having spoken with him about his films, friends, The SQ magazine and about the stories we cover, it is easy to see why he is a successful writer. He is very personable and focused on to whom he speaks. He is interested in people; a trait that no doubt helps him to write realistic characters and bring them to life on screen. And despite my interrupting him from his writing, he was charming as ever, giving me his full attention.

Enthusiastically, he said that he looks forward to coming to Sitges in order to attend its International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalunya which he’s heard good things about from his good friend, director Guillermo del Toro. I added, “I will hold you to that promise”!

And with the SQ in hand, he’ll know more about us…

Collaboration • Col·laboració • Colaboración

Along the lines of creating community (the mission of the Gay Sitges Link association), as I devised the concept for what is now The Sitges Quarterly Magazine, connecting residents and visitors was only part of the endeavour.

I felt Sitges was such a unique and wonderful place yet only superficial information about it was readily available to the public at large. What was available was information about its beaches, its location and a little about Santiago Rusiñol – the artist who put Sitges on the map as an artistic, attractive Mediterranean getaway. Information of any real substance was not available in English.

How extraordinary! Considering how popular it is as a holiday destination today, very little of its history is widely known… and so, I decided to change that reality.

Through collaboration with Sitgetans, day trip visitors, business conference attendees and holidaymakers, an exceptional project consisting of interesting perspectives, histories and stories could be remembered, found and shared. Photographs and historical anecdotes and events could be captured to grace the pages of the SQ. And now audio clips, home movies or news clips can be uploaded to this blog!

An excellent example of such collaboration began in the very first issue of the SQ with our Hidden Jewel feature. We featured a lovely stone relief carving, a capital on the exterior wall of the Palau Maricel near the church; it’s alongside several others with the typical theme of a group of men engaged in some activity. This one had the head of a woman with flowing hair and head cover beside a dog or wolf. And we weren’t sure of what it represented.

We invited everyone to write to us, in regard to “any feature, photo or information in our articles” and for any featured Hidden Jewel found in Sitges. We asked you to “please go find it and report back if you have any ideas about it”- and you did! In fact, we were very pleased to receive an email from Fran Romero.

It turned out that Fran had done some research on the Palau Maricel for a project of his, and he shared some his knowledge about the Maricel with our readers. He said that this capital in particular was the “most mysterious” of all of the capitals around the town and that all of them contain hidden stories, fables and depicting traditional Sitgetan life. The capitals of the doors and windows of the building were made ​​by Pere Jou, whose grandson has published several very interesting books of his grandfather's work*.

Fran Romero: “As I read (the SQ1), you are asking to be informed about this beautiful sculpture. Pere Jou loved tales and fables and this capital in particular represents the fable "The Fox and the Bust", which reads…

"Said the fox to the bust,

after smelling it:

'Your head is beautiful,

but brainless'

Like this there are many,

and although they appear men,

they're only busts”.

It was very heart warming to have moved someone enough for him or her to share such a story, and Fran touched the SQ team in return by doing so. He also offered an invitation to us, that if ever he could help us–all we had to do was ask.

And so I did!

As we were putting together the next issue of the SQ (no.5 – The Americanos) and because the Palau Maricel was created in that period in the history of the town, I asked him if we would like to collaborate with us and write a brief article about this important site. He obliged and wrote, “Palau Maricel: The Magnificence of Sitges”.

Hopefully it was the beginning of many more collaborations and partnerships to come.

Who knows what gems are waiting to be discovered? To be discovered, and help tell part of the on going story that is Sitges.

*[L'sculptor Pere Jou—Jou i Mirabent. Grup d'Estudis Sitgetans (1991, in Catalan)]

The Town of Festivals

Photos by Joan Valera

Logo de Turisme de Sitges

La Blanca Subur, or what is today, Sitges. A town known to be a place to holiday, to attend a conference, take weekend trips or enjoy a festival. Disused today, it was back in 2008, when the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) commissioned a Barcelona based company to design a logo for the branding of Sitges as Sitges, Vila of Festivals. Why?

Because a town like Sitges, steeped in tradition, over time annually held many celebrations. There were celebrations for certain seasons, religious saints and artistic endeavours. Festivals are vital because they can help us understand our history. They also record patterns of cultural importance and change, and even highlight social trends, most recently, the Sitges Gay Pride. Events of a festival also allow opportunities for communities to come together and can broaden our cultural horizons.

In Sitges we see them as making a valuable contribution to the development of our tourism industry. Local businesses in town definitely benefit from new business that a festival brings and we see the event as good for the local community overall.

In the SQ, what we try to do in the In Season (En Temporada) section–is to demystify them. We research the festivals origin, we discover and learn what relation it has with the town and “pay it forward”, or share it with all who observe or participate in the festivities and read the content of our pages.

This Year 2015, in addition to several holidays, we celebrate:

   February 12^th-18^th Carnival of Sitges

   The Parades are on Sunday, the 15^th and Tuesday, the 17^th

   

   March 12^th–15^th International Patchwork Festival

   April 9^th–12^th Jazz Antic Sitges Festival (J.A.S.)

   June 6^th and 7^th The Corpus Festival

   Sunday 7^th, the street carpets made of flowers are on display

   June 18^th-22^nd Sitges Gay Pride

   June 26^th–28^th The Poetry Festival

   August 20^th—25^th Festa Major de Sitges

   Sitges’ main annual fiesta in honour of Saint Bartomeu,

   one of the town’s patron Saints.

   September 22^nd—23^rd Festa de Santa Tecla

   Sitges’ main annual fiesta in honour of Santa Tecla,

   one of the town’s patron Saints.

   October 1^st–31^st Tasta Sitges (A Gastronomic Festival)

   October 4^th–5^th The 53^rd Festa De La Verema—

   Grape Harvest Festival & 8^th Wine Tasting Experience

   October 9^th–18^th

   The 48^th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalunya

And of course, we celebrate the festivities of Christmas on December 25^th, continuing through to the Three Kings Parade (La Cavalcada de Reis or La Cabalgata de Reyes) in January.

Although the authorities have decided to build the local economy on tourism, personally, I believe a better way forward for Sitges would be to diversify its economy. It would better carry us through times of global crises and slumps in the travel trade… putting that aside, what better way is there to spend your time in Sitges, a “vila of festivals”?