Rekindling historical memory: Gandesa

A note I wrote to friends last month ended up in "The Volunteer," the journal of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.

Los Migueletes

I stepped away from posting on this blog more than a year ago, as I got serious about completing the M.A. thesis I was working on. I am happy to report that it is finished.

"Los Migueletes: Catalan Soldiers and the Negotiation of Identities and Power in Eighteenth-Century Spain and New Spain" is now housed in the library of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and I have posted an electronic copy online, at http://losmigueletes.blogspot.com.

I am grateful for all the support that friends, family, and colleagues have offered the last few years, and I welcome comments about the work.

Travel tips in Barcelona

Someone just asked me for advice about what to do and see (and eat!) in Barcelona, a city I love, where I spent most of last summer. Here are some ideas:

Museums - Articket is a good discount, valid at five major art museums, for the price of two single museum visits. It includes the Picasso museum (in the la Ribera neighborhood) -- an interesting view into his youth and early works. Also included are the Center for Contemporary Culture (CCCB) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA), which have very interesting exhibitions. They are both located at the edge of El Raval, and the nearby bookstore La Central is great, with an entrance on Carrer (Calle) Elisabets.

For history, I highly recommend the museums on the History of Catalunya (on the waterfront) -- one of the best history museums I've seen, and a good way to understand the complexities of Catalan history, starting from its prehistory, through the Muslim and Medieval periods, and a thorough discussion of the Spanish Civil War, whose painful memory is still very much alive. Also the museum of the History of Barcelona (in the Gothic Quarter/Barri Gotic) is great, including well-preserved ruins of Roman walls, wine production and storage, laundry facilities, and other elements that vividly invoke what like was like there some 2,000 years ago. The Refugi 307 (in Poble Sec) is an actual air-raid shelter from the 1930's and says a lot about living conditions in those dark days.

Some great spots that you can find in any guidebook: the Gaudi buildings Sagrada Familia and La Pedrera (on Passeig de Gracia, on the way to the Gracia neighborhood, mentioned below), and his Parc Guell.

The famous Ramblas - just walk through it once to see the bird and flower vendors and the living statues. Otherwise, it's crowded with tourists, pickpockets, and grossly overpriced restaurants.

Much better places to walk around are the neighborhoods. Some of my favorites:
Gracia, for its wonderful, leisurely plazas; Poble Sec and el Raval for the diversity of its immigrant communities (but in el Raval, hold onto your purse and wallet); Barceloneta, for a seafood dinner (on one of the side streets) and a stroll along the Mediterranean. The Parc de la Ciutadella is a pleasant respite from the narrow streets of the adjacent Ribera neighborhood, and one of the city's few large parks.

I don't have much to say about specific places to eat. Despite its many top-notch restaurants, I found that mid-range food, better suited to my budget, was rather predictable. But I love the classic Catalan dishes of escalivada (peppers, eggplant and onions grilled with much olive oil), esqueixada (salted cod), espinacs (spinach cooked with pine nuts and raisins), pa amb tomaquet (bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil and salt), and a delightful cocktail: dry white vermouth with olives.

There is so much music, art, literature, and other culture in Barcelona-- be sure to pick up one of the many publications in Spanish or English (or Catalan--give it a try!) and find some one-of-a-kind experiences while you are there.

The Metro train system is good: quick, clean, and expansive. Be sure to buy a T-10 ticket, which gives you ten rides (also good on buses) for the price of 7. It is generally very safe, but like on the subways of New York, Mexico City, Paris, or most other metropolis, you should watch your valuables. It runs until midnight most nights, 2 a.m. Friday night, and all night Saturday. Taxis are reasonably priced and not hard to find.

There are many great day trips around the region by public transportation (or car), including the Montserrat monastery, the grand symbol of Catalan-Catholic nationalism. Its a bit creepy to me, but some of the art and architecture is stunning, as is its mountainside perch, and there are nice walking/hiking trails. I love the city of Girona -- it's just an hour or so by train, and has much of the charm of old Barcelona, only much more relaxing. Also Salvador Dali's museum-house in Figueres near the Costa Brava -- I've never been, but I've heard unanimously that it's fantastic. And a bit further on is Cadaques, a gorgeous little beach town known for its artists.

Also I recommend learning a few words and phrases in Catalan, to show respect for the region's first language. "Bon dia," "bona tarda," and "adeu" are a good start, even if the rest of the time you speak Spanish (or English). Locals will appreciate it.

Bon viatge!!

A Job and No Mortgage for All in a Spanish Town - NYTimes.com

I posted an article from El País two years ago on the inspiring little socialist town of Marinaleda (Sevilla), Spain, where the local government guarantees all residents housing and employment. They are still at it after 30 years, and I am pleased to link now to another article, this one in English from the New York Times.

Also see the town's website at marinaleda.com. Its section on "fiestas" says, "La alegría es un derecho del pueblo. El dinero no puede ser la barrera entre los que se divierten y los que no pueden divertirse." (Happiness is the people's right. Money must not be a barrier between those who have have fun and those who cannot have fun.")

Want to read about my big project? Click here.

For the last few years, I've been researching the roots of the Free Company of Catalonian Volunteers, a unit of the Spanish army in the 1700's that was instrumental in the colonization of what we now call California. I've been cooking up a plan to write a historical novel about them and the Chumash peoples they encountered in the land where I grew up, illustrating the human costs of imperial conquest. This week I updated and revised a description of the project to share with foundations, colleagues and friends, and I have just posted it online. I call the project "At the Edge of Empire."

[Update Jan. 2011: This project evolved into a master's thesis, now completed and online at http://losmigueletes.blogspot.com.]

The art of the possible

What happened in a small town in Andalucía, with many homeless families and an unemployment rate of 70 percent, when people voted in a socialist mayor and town council? They built homes, soccer fields, swimming pools and cooperatives to process local wine, olives, beans, and peppers, and now they have to bring in workers from elsewhere ...

Read about it in "El imbatible alcalde de Marinaleda," by Juan Jesús Aznárez, El Pais May 17, 2007.

A bit of Truth and Reconciliation

The Guardian: Spain finally attempts to lay ghosts of the Franco era

Spain's Socialist government yesterday proposed measures to help families of the victims of General Franco's dictatorship dig up mass graves, but refused to annul tens of thousands of summary death sentences handed down by his regime.

A long-awaited proposed law, to compensate victims of the Spanish civil war and the 36-year dictatorship that followed it, also bans the far right from holding rallies at Franco's grave in the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid ...

Catalan voters approve "Statute of Autonomy"

It's not often that a national government agrees to decentralize and allow one of its regions to assume greater powers, but that's exactly what a popular referendum did this weekend in Catalunya.

The power struggle between Spain and Catalunya is of great interest to me for a number of reasons: my sister lives in Barcelona; the region has a rich history of powerful social movements; and because I'm researching the role Catalan soldiers played in occupying California in the 18th century, around the same time Spain laid siege to Barcelona and consolidated its control over Catalunya.

The Anti-Orientalist - New York Times

An interesting article about Spanish author Juan Goytisolo, an expatriate in Morocco for decades ...