Therefore we have genres such as latin jazz, which combines the syncope tempos of jazz with the best from salsa and bossa-nova. Regarding rock music, for example, the nu-metal phenomenon was due to the radical union of rap and metal, which began in the 80s with performers such as the Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Anthrax. World music is the union of tribal rhythms or rhythms from exotic places using modern instruments, which has made this genre expand all over the world, with artists such as Novalima, a fusion of african sounds and electronica and light rock. In Brasil, the fusions between traditional music, jazz, rock and poetry have brought out emblematic formations such as Os Mutantes, Arnaldo Antunes and Chico Buarque, to name but a few.

Fusion music has the capacity to unite different crowds as well as separating and chasing away the purists of each genre. The charisma of the performers manages to dissolve these barriers, and it’s precisely this quality that defines a project like Chambao. These Malaga-based band mix flamenco with electronic music in a very singular way, which they define as ‘flamenco-chill’, a genre that has captivated thousands of people around Europe. Their career is almost 10 years long now, with important albums such as ‘Endorfinas en la Mente’ (2003), ‘Pokito a Poko’ (2005) and ‘Con otro Aire’ (2007). The main member of Chambao is the singer, known as Lamari, who with an intense and powerful voice yet sweet and dreamy, sings with a passion that, united with electronic rhythms, sequences and effects, make Chambao a very special band in Spanish pop and electronica. Flattered by the Spanish and international music critique, the fame and prestige of Chambao is still growing.

On the 2nd of June, this famous band from Málaga will play live in an unforgettable concert in Sala La Riviera in Madrid, a concert that you cannot miss. Madrid is still one of the best cities to discover new Spanish music as well as somewhere to go to concerts by the most popular international singers and bands. For more information on the Chambao concert, other tour dates and exclusive information on the band, visit their official webpage by clicking here: 

http://www.chambao.es/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Madrid and enjoy its vibrant musical scene, filled with concerts, bars and clubs. When it comes to listening to good music, Madrid brings you so many options that you won’t be able to resist them.

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A venerable old man wearing a blue silk kimono with a second to none elegance, stands in the middle of a desolate urban rubble looking enigmatically at ruins and debris scattered on the street, surrounded by dilapidated buildings that have been victims of an unprecedented catastrophe. He is barefoot and alone on the street; with his left elbow bent and his palm extended vertically, whether to stop the advance of so much tragedy or to bless the apocalyptic scene. To add more horror and fascination with the mysterious picture, on the street seems to be falling a rare snow agitated randomly by the wind, but once we understand that’s probably waste paper or some kind released by the explosions, caused a little over a year in the reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power as a result of the action of a Tsunami already forgotten.

This picture is part of the extraordinary exhibition More photojournalism, “Visa pour l’Image – Perpignan” that can be seen at the CCCB until the 28^th of May (http://www.cccb.org/ca/) and somehow epitomizes the best and worst of photojournalism. The latter is probably directly related to the image description made above, which is just spectacular: its impossibility, despite being a real situation documenting a unique drama, exists outside a fictitious set of referents that immediately become part of every image today. Remember, for example, the recording of the attack on the Twin Towers and the intense feeling of déjà vu caused by it, as if it was a movie we had seen, or at least his trailer.

This is one of the many reflections contained in this exhibition of selected exposures that could be seen until the last year’s Visa pour l’image-Perpignan, perhaps the festival’s most prestigious professional photographic in the world, which first goes on tour outside France.

Paul Oilzum

Together with that picture in the center about the disaster in Japan, the CCCB exhibits the other three dedicated to Arab Spring, the Mexican narco-culture and daily life of a mutilated woman in the post-war Uganda. It is a very good plan to visit them, when you rent Barcelona accommodation

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This correspondence is an important part of the exhibition featuring over 100 works by Goya, including paintings, lithographs and drawings, among others, is displayed in original format and can be reviewed by periods, which for the visitor hungry for deep knowledge, means a great help in understanding the different artistic stages of Goya, from the purest realism, madness and pain manifested most clearly in the last stage of the artist’s life.

Goya’s work opened a route to future generations of painters, a new path for arts. Topics such as people’s daily life, their traditions and their problems are also a testament to the society of his time, of which Goya had a broad vision while being the painter of the King and moreover, a life close to the most popular social classes of Spain. Furthermore, the influence from French intellectuals on his works, is revealed in his paintings, showing a lot more than just famous people or celebrities of his time, but also showing their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, revealing in some way, their psychological profile.

Works like “The Clothed Maja”, “The Duchess of Alba and Blessed” or “Flight of the Witches” are part of this magnificent selection of works that form the exhibition called “Lights and Shadows,” which shows us all the stages of the Goya’s artistic life: from young Goya to tortured Goya due to the disease that ended his days in France, through the difficult years of war, where he made perhaps the darkest works of his life. The exhibition, which has passed through the city of Madrid, is the product of agreement between the Museo del Padro, owner of most of his works, and CaixaForum; two institutions involved, in a agreement aimed to education and putting people close to arts and artists that are the heritage of humanity, also performing activities for younger children, for them to learn more about arts and its importance.

The exhibition was inaugurated on the 23^rd of March and will be on show until the 24^th of June, so there is plenty of time to visit it. You can also take a guided tour for which you must enter the website of the CaixaForum and apply in advance for it. Take advantage of the Museum’s exhibitions, which are always very interesting and for free.

For more information please visit: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforumbarcelona/goya_es.html

Luz Obscura

A great observer and disruptive, Goya is a pivotal figure in modern art. Rent apartments in Barcelona visit the exhibition at CaixaForum and get to know more about the life and work of this great artist.

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In the world there are dozens of copies of this painting from the sixteenth century and seventeenth centuries, but what has never happened before, was to find a replica made simultaneously. A portrait that had been exposed many times in the halls of the Prado Museum in Madrid, part of the inventory of the Alcazar, the royal collections from 1666.

Recently the painted was removed from the permanent collection, because it needed to be restored. These works have brought to light one of the greatest discoveries about the Mona Lisa.  With the removal of its black background, painted 200 years ago (probably for the aesthetic of the time), it was exposed the same landscape that Leonardo drew in the original picture. According to Miguel Falomir, head of the Department of Italian Renaissance painting from the Prado Museum, “is remarkably similar to the original landscape”, fact that provides us valuable information.

This shows that the two paintings were made simultaneously at da Vinci’s workshop. Infrared images reveal so.

According to “The Art Newspaper,” Bruno Mottin, chief curator of the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France, it is possible that it was made by one of his disciples: Andrea Salai, who came into the shop in 1490 or Francesco Melzi, who joined later, around 1506.

Another hypothesis is that Alessandro Vezzosi in the “Corriere”, President of the Museo Ideale di Vinci, is that Leonardo had Spanish disciples, one of which was in Florence about 1500 and shows a document of 1505 which speaks of the realization the mural “The Battle of Anghiari” in the Palazzo Vecchio, and the students who helped the development of the work had a “Ferrando Spagnolo, pittore ‘, sometimes identified as Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina, to others, like Fernando Llanos.

Despite the authorship of the painting, it is evident that its importance lies in the information it can bring about the original one, where there are still many questions to answer with confidence. In fact, this is one of the reasons why the Mona Lisa arouses much interest, because of its mystery, and the painting in the Prado, although beautiful, its quality is not so great, but when dealing with the Mona Lisa and Leonardo, it of course aroused and generated considerable hype around it.

The replica of the Mona Lisa is part of a temporary exhibition at the Louvre “The Last Masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci. Santa Ana” and it will be open until the 25^th of July before it will be returned to the Museo del Prado.

Cinta Blanch

If you’re renting apartments in Madrid you simply have to visit the Museo del Prado which hosts some of the best art work in all of Spain.

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During the exhibition “Inwards and Onwards” already under way in the Camera Work gallery in Berlin, you can find these pictures in large  format , the latter being an important testimony of a sustained effort over the last thirty years. Known personalities of popular culture, among them Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Anthony Kiedes, Kate Moss and Patti Smith, become emblematic iconic photographs in the hands of Corbijn. Without doubt, this series of photographs reveal the great fascination that this photographer has with the phenomenon of art in all its dimensions: images that bring us closer to the status of artists in the world of contradictions and beauty. In addition to the aforementioned figures like Jeff Koons, Marlene Dumas and Gerard Richter, are caught by the unique lens Corbijn, who manages bleak atmospheres but brilliant at the same time: brightness from his own darkness.

Anton Corbijn undresses subjects that are placed in front of the camera showing his psyche in white and black, using lighting resources and a living environment for every shot. The importance of the environment in which the characters are portrayed is essential to understand Corbijn. These are but single spaces or unforeseen results of the everyday life of the characters. So our favorite artists are completely processed with the emphasis that Corbijn puts into the hidden nature of the personalities that picture.

This exhibit runs until June 2 and you can not miss it if you are a true lover of photography, art, music, post punk and “pop” culture of the last thirty years.

For more information, visit the official website of the Camera Work Gallery by clicking here: http://www.camerawork.de/ 

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Berlin and discover its galleries, museums and cultural centers. If you are passionate about photography in Berlin there you can find the best examples of this art, as well as the latest of the contemporary world.

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If prices are a concern in Barcelona you can find many dishes according to your budget or expensive places to spend some more cash if that is what you want, other places offer quality at a very low price. In Barcelona, you have no need to spend too much to eat good and healthy food. Similarly, a long list of alternative food places, for those interested in vegetarianism and veganism are aslo available.Italian food, be it pasta or pizza is everywhere. If Oriental is your choice, Chinese, Japanese or Thai, will also be at your disposal. Turkish dishes of all kinds are popular, Latin American food, Indian, French, Catalan traditional courses… all the gastronomic world gather in Barcelona to seduce your palate.

In the case of Hungary in Barcelona, Hungaryto is the first Hungarian restaurant in the Catalan capital and it is here to stay and share with the public the best treats of this important center European country. With a very nice decor and prices affordable to all budgets, Hungaryto offers delicious menus where you can choose the best of traditional Hungarian dishes. Hungaryto recommends, as starters to start your meal with delicious palinka, a traditional liquor made from fruit that simply turns on your appetite and your senses. Of course the most popular dish, goulash, is at your disposal in this restaurant as well as various other soups. You can also try Gundel crepes for dessert, chestnut puree and puff pastries, it is of course highly recommended to savor them with a glass of wine, as Hungaryto also has a remarkable selection of Hungarian wines. Hungaryto is located in the busy district of Eixample and open from Tuesday to Sunday. To be aware of their activities, following Hungaryto in their official Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/hungaryto.barrestaurantehungaro

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Barcelona and discover the best international cuisine. In the case of Hungarian food, Hungaryto brings you the best of this cuisine straight from the heart of Hungary to the city center and at very affordable prices.

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Like Gilles Deleuze, one of Minelli’s great cinematographic ideas was his conception of the terrible devouring power of dreams. The protagonists of “The Dreamers” live by and for film, which has been considered by many since the time of Artaud to be an art form more akin to dreams. In the film library there are always those who sit in the first row, firm in the belief that by doing so they will be transported by the light and its magical presence. The light then comes apart and is distorted the further back into the theater one goes, for example, back where the people on a date sit or by the projection booth, where the giant image is reduced to a small rectangle.

Maybe because the light inBarcelona, though perhaps not an especially cinematic one, has sufficient magic and dreaminess much of the time, the city has taken an incomprehensibly long time to get a cinematheque worthy of its high culture. The process has been controversial. For months after the closing of the former headquarters in Sarriá,Barcelonaexperienced the tragedy of living without cinema. But after an uncomfortable period of excruciating uncertainty, the brand new headquarters have now opened their doors in the Raval neighborhood, not far from the Center for Contemporary Culture, theMuseumofContemporary Art, the Center for the Image of La Virreina, Arts Santa Monica, and the Library of Catalonia.

More info: http://www.filmoteca.cat/web/

Paul Oilzum

You won’t want to miss the series of Fritz Lang’s silent films, which are showing until May 25. They will be a delight for any and all fans of the silver screen when you rent apartments in Barcelona

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In this musical play, based on nostalgia and comedy, the spectators are an active part of it. They will encourage you to dance, sing and remember the 80s just like they were. From the arrival at the theatre, the spectator is part of the party. Each attendant will have a designated colour: red, yellow, blue or green, like ludo. They will choose a leader of each team during the play. And so, they will break the monopolized text that Urrutia plays and no play will be like the one before. It will be 90 minutes of never-ending comedy.

The decade of the 80s was transgressive. These were years of change and re-invention, a stage in which everything seemed new. The children of that generation are the adults of today and they remember that decade with feelings that go between nostalgia and embarrassment.

The play is a way to remember the shoulder pads of Perico Delgado, the TV character Espinete, the skin-tight trousers of the ‘Movida Madrileña’, and the famous ‘Carpe Diem’, which used to be in fashion so much 30 years ago. A play in which we’ll go back to the clichés of a decade that, for good or bad, has shaped many generations,. Fashion, music, TV, film, sport and politics will be present in ‘Maldito Naranjito’, which goes from the Spanish coup d’état in 1981 to the death of Chanquete, as well as the World Cup of 1982. It won’t leave you indifferent.

The show ‘Maldito Naranjito’ (by Aldán Company) is open to the public at the Teatro Nuevo Alcalá, on Calle Jorge Juan 62 in Madrid, until the upcoming 15th of May 2012. It’s timetable is: Wed-Thu 9pm, Fri-Sat 8.30pm and Sun 6pm except the 8th and 15th of May when it will be 7pm. Tickets cost 22 euros except on Sundays when it’s cheaper (20 euros). Here’s a tip: the best and quickest way to get to the theatre is by Metro. In this case, you’ll have to get off at Príncipe de Vergara and, if not, get the bus. The 142 and 146 lines reach that area of the district of Salamanca (Madrid.

They made this play possible:

- Director: Eduardo Aldán

- Production: Aldán Company

- Script: Iñaki Urrutia y Eduardo Aldán

- Production chief: Israel Criado

 - Costumes and styles: Sito Recuero

 - Lighting design: Miguel Uvience  

- Scenography: Grade

- Documentarist: Iván Cervo

- Audiovisual Production: Daniel Rodríguez

 - Graphic designer: Sito Recuero

- Stage manager: Israel Criado

- Press: Ángel Galán

Di

Find plans for your Madrid accommodation Theatre, musicals, films and concerts: don’t miss them!

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One of the areas where there are more souvenir shops is Las Ramblas. There you can find everything from a handy key ring made in Taiwan, with a figure of Gaudí or with the word Barcelona inscribed, a corkscrew with a local registration or several curious non-functional objects of dubious taste, but as the saying goes, there’s no accounting for taste. So we will tell you about the weirdest souvenirs you can find in Barcelona.

According to sociological studies on tourism, souvenirs are part of the material culture of tourism. These objects, should be small, cheap, and have a symbolic connotation of the place. If we stick to this description the question that arises is: What is a Mexican sombrero doing in a souvenir shop in Barcelona? And the answer we leave to your imagination, but even if you do not believe it, it will be sold to tourists much of northern Europe.

Continuing along the same lines, we will tell the animal that represents Barcelona is the donkey. The bullfightings were always questioned by the Catalans to be an imposition. But everywhere brave bulls sold with multicolored mosaics that ximitate the shapes of Gaudi’s Park Guell. But the most terrible one, is the bull with multicolored mosaics with hat and boots navy parade style.

If we speak like kitsch, we can’t ignore the bottle-shaped indentation flamenco dancer shoes. They come in all sizes, values and are highly recommended by vendors as souvenirs, and certainly beyond the dubious aesthetic taste, are cumbersome to carry and its content is of very bad quality. Talking about similar objects is the glass of wine with beak to drink as if you were drinking from a boot.

If you are on vacation, the time is something you don’t even want to think about, however, there are alarm clocks, souvenirs made in China of course, they have different icons of the areas of Barcelona, there are also soccer balls with the Barça’s emblem, with the holy family, bulls and many other symbols.

Two kitsch souvenirs with charm and grace are the Caganer and the sangria’s jar with a naked civil guard whose oversized manly attributes are used to drink. The Caganer is a figure that corresponds to the Christmas mythology of Catalonia and is about a farmer defecating, but you can find the face of the Pope, a famous footballer or a singer.

For more information: http://www.barcelonaphotoblog.com/2007/09/spanish-souvenir-bull-parade.html

Nancy Guzman

Rent apartments in Barcelona and have fun visiting the souvenir shops, it is so interesting and entertaining as going to its splendid museums.

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Gervasio Sánchez is a Spanish photojournalist from Córdoba and the winner of the 2009 National Photography Award. He has worked in many war zones since the start of his career in 1984, when he spent eight years covering the majority of armed conflicts in Latin America. He went on to report on other conflicts including the Bosnian War and the Gulf War. He has also spent time in various post war environments where he has captured the after effects of conflict on the people of war-torn countries. Sánchez continues to photograph scenes of suffering today in places like Colombia and Afghanistan.

The exhibition is curated by Sandra Balsells, who is also a photojournalist and whose work has focused greatly on the Balkan countries. In 2006 she was the recipient of the prestigious Ortega y Gasset Prize and in 2007 she participated in the creation of The Universal Archive: The Condition of the Document and the Modern Photographic Utopia, which was a famous exhibition held at the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) and brought together almost 2000 vintage photos. 

According to Balsells, the objective of this anthology is “to divulge a visual legend of enormous historical and documental value that combines practically unedited material– obtained during his first years of learning and training– with current, widely disseminated photographs and with long-term documentary projects that have bestowed an unquestionable strength upon his work”.

The exhibit and its images are extremely powerful and moving. Among the photos one can see victims of mine explosions all around the world, who have had various parts of their bodies amputated, chilling portraits of child soldiers, and mass graves filled with the bodies of cholera victims. The Disappeared group of photos showcases portraits of people from ten different countries spanning three continents (including Spain) clutching a photograph or name of a missing loved one.

The exhibit was inaugurated on March 6th, 2012 by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. It is running until June 10th, 2012 at La Tabacalera Cultural Center on Calle Embajadores, 53 Madrid. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 12:00 to 20:00 and Saturday, Sunday, and holidays from 11:00 to 20:00. It is closed on Mondays.

For more information: http://www.mcu.es/novedades/2012/novedades_TAB_Gervasio.html

Lauren Aloise

There is no better way to experience this must-see free exhibition than by renting nearby apartments in Madrid where you can relax and reflect on these powerful images.

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