an iceberg....

Everyone knows what´s

but difficult to imagine one in Zaragoza´s hot summer...with penguins included. Diffficult but not impossible...The world-famous Spanish director, Calixto Bieito http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/otherresources/interviews/CalixtoBieito.htm is directing this every night (9.28 pm) miracle... The performance is a half an hour no (launguage) dialogue Dialogue between the iceberg, mankind and the Ebro, a dialogue of images and conflict mined by problems caused by climate change. Technically is a master piece gigantic show which wont leave anyone indifferent. The process is as follows: public gathers on one side of river Ebro and on the other side (yes...I haven't seen this anywhere else but it is an extraordinary idea...) the performance takes place. This is a multimedia show which -because of its impacting huge and sometimes dramatic, sad images- I wouldn't recommend to children...however it is a fantastic opportunity for all other audiences to end a day at this Expo on water and SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT...

Does water harm?

... that is the title of the last work of Nobel prize winner Dario Fo http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1997/fo-bio.html which is a call to wake up...using humor. I am delighted that -in addition to the everynight concerts at Expo Zaragoza 2008 Anfiteatro 43 http://www.expozaragoza2008.es/theblog/?p=32 the Expo and the Zaragoza city council has programmed a variety of cultural events. For the first time in history and due to Expo 2008, the Teatro Principal http://www.teatroprincipalzaragoza.com/repre.php will open its doors in summer with theater, dance and music shows. Thus, from 13 August to 7 September, "Cómeme el coco, negro" by La Cubana. To end with this theater programme of the Expo period, from 11 to 14 of September, "Hamlet" directed by Juan Diego Botto. Also in September, from 17 to 21, it will be represented "Sitios Saragosse", a production of the Fundation Zaragoza 2008 with direction and playwriting by Mariano Anós. At another venue, the fantastic Auditorium Conference Hall where the most prestigious conductors, national and international orchestras and unique voices will meet in an excellent cycle of Classical Music directed by Zubin Mehta, for example counting with a Lyrical Gala http://www.auditoriozaragoza.com/ConciertosVisualizacion.aspx?id=153 with Montserrat Caballé and Montserrat Martí, next 5th of September... So Expo does promise something for everyone. Enjoy

3 days to go, 1 minute to see and 2 years to build...without LEGO

Have you ever try to use LEGO to build a city? did you ever though of a drop-building? Now you can enjoy learning how you could have built it in 1 minute...well more or less

3 days visit plan: Goya and Expo

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was born in Fuendetodos http://www.fuendetodos.org/, on the Aragonese plain just over 45 kilometres from Zaragoza. This artist explained in the sleep of reason ... One does not need to be Mr. Freudthe innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual. So I propose you to flight to Madrid, visit the exhibition on "Goya: in times of war" http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/exposiciones/info/en-el-museo/goya-los-anos-de-la-guerra/ at the Prado museum in Madrid, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the War of Independence. You will see how he shows degradation of human dignity on both sides, war has not winner...just the sleep of reason ... Then from Madrid to Zaragoza you can take the high-speed 'AVE' train to Zaragoza (1h30m) where the Fine Arts Museum http://www.aragob.es/edycul/patrimo/museos/zaragoza.htm hosts an exhibition 'Goya in Italy'. He was there just for an year but that was one of the most important years for his career... In addition, you can visit Goya works in several other places in Aragon An the third day...EXPO exhibition where you can enjoy art http://www.expozaragoza2008.es/theblog/?p=17 .html, science http://expo-zaragoza-2008.blogspot.com/2007/06/oikos-outdoor-pavilion-at-expo-zaragoza.html, controversy http://www.expozaragoza2008.es/theblog/?p=10 and much more!!

23rd April. Saint George - Aragon Day.

Today´s is Aragon´s day. A perfect day to guide you in a virtual http://www.caiaragon.com/en/visitas/index2.asp?pProv=4&pVisita=24 visit to the origins of the Aragon´s Kindgom. The monastery of San Juan de la Peña http://www.monasteriosanjuan.com/monasterio-san-juan-de-la-pena.php?L=enwhich is located below an enormous rock. The whole area is a natural park in the beautiful pre-Pyrenees mountains...and just 1.5 h from zaragoza by car. The most interesting is the marvellous Romanesque Cloister (in the Old Monastery, from the X century) but you shouldn't miss the summer pic-nic in the forest at the top of the mountain, nearby the new monastery (XVII century) where you can sleep. http://www.inturmark.es/index.htm Pd. if you are around Zaragoza, watch out, concerts, soirées and open-air performances are waiting for you. Besides, the public institutions in Aragon hold an open-day, providing an ideal opportunity for people to visit the Pignatelli building (the Government of Aragón), the Aragon Parliament in the Aljaferia Palace, etc.

UAE...the power of petrol

Imagine a country with virtually no fresh water....traditionally that wouldn't be the paradise for human development..., however with massive construction projects and rising population United Arab Emirates http://uaeinteract.com/ (UAE) proves that oil revenues and entrepreneurship together are able to achieve the unimaginable....with desalination plants providing most of the water...even to ski. UAE 500 square metres pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008 will sell and promote the UAE highlighting contributions in the protection of the natural, wildlife and marine environment. A number of films will show how closely the UAE's progress is tied to the supply and management of freshwater. The documentaries were made by famous freelance wildlife filmmaker and documentary cameraman Doug Allan http://www.dougallan.com/ According to Deputy Chairman of NMC and Head of the UAE pavilion supervising committee Salim Saeed Al Ameri the first objective of the UAE Pavilion is to provide visitors with a window through which they can see and learn about the Emirates, a secondary mission is to convey the UAE's very committed approaches to solving its needs for fresh water in a sustainable way. Priorities are priorities, I would say... Till we have the opportunity to watch the videos they will show at the UAE pavilion at the Expo, I leave you with 2 videos from this amazing country, one 14 minutes documentary that provides you an overview into the environmental & social situation in the UAE http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=6_RNoxO-5ms and a 2nd one, a cool add promoting the UAE in around 1 minute. http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=vCWhP-Ch2AU&feature=related Pd. The photo is from Dubai ski resort http://www.skidubai.com/ ...which btw is quite environmentally friendly as they "recycle" the snow they produce using it both for air conditioning and for irrigation purposes...maybe to irrigate the palms nearby too...

Expo Zaragoza 2008 world class shows

who is that man? this is a man that when hired to run the aerial design for Tarzan and other walt disney musicals a few years ago and asked by a national (argentinian) journalist whether he had the fear to be good enough he replied by saying:
No podés medir las alturas. Si te ponés a ver cuál es la altura de un pico, te asustás y no lo subís. Supongo que es como estar surfeando: se te viene una ola gigante y no la medís; te mandás....i suppose it is something like surfing: if a huge wave comes, you dont measure it...you just surf...

This was 3 years ago. Now Pichon Baldinu has created a show called ""Hombre Vertiente" divided in 3 parts: one in the scene (mankind realises that it is a victim of...chaotic water), second one a transition between the scene and the arena (...remember the aerial theatre that made them famous as De la Guarda ...) and third and last one, the total communion...

4 million euros is the budget for this partly circus, partly theatheraerial and partly dance performance that will last for around 20 minutes with 6 daily shows...

You can see the other 2 permanent shows in previous entries : the iceberg and the snake chasing clouds shows. EnjoY!

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" in Zaragoza

Bob Dylan's has recorded a new version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" to promote next year's Expo Zaragoza 2008.
Amaral will play the Spanish version of the song.

I leave you with the less than 5 minutes advertisement where Bob Dylan sings his beautiful song and, at the very end, explains he wants to help to make sure that there is clean water for the around 1000 million people missing it.



That’s great support for the international Zaragoza exhibition but also a great responsibility to make sure the Expo really helps to improve the current situation.

Iceberg in the river Ebro = Cool inauguration of Expo

An enormous Iceberg measuring 55 metres wide by 20 metres high, will be the stage for the inauguration show at Expo Zaragoza 2008.

The authors of the show explain in a video that a reduced version of the show (lasting around 20 minutes) will be performed every night between 10.30 pm and 11 pm from 14th June to 14th September 2008. In addition, it is expected that the show will be broadcasted over the Internet in real time …so no worries if you cannot be physically here.

Music will play an important role. To start with, and only in the inaugural ceremony, hundreds of drums of Calanda will be played together to join forces to fight against climate change through the beat of the drums. In addition, a “choir of adults and children’s voice will perform the song ‘Cantata for an iceberg’…

During the show natural equilibrium is broken and the iceberg opens up and splits into several blocks. The blocks then become enormous screens where both apocalyptic images and “awareness-raising” slogans will be put together. Faced with this panorama of destruction and fire, a (superhero) teenage appears from out of the flames, representing (the song of) hope.

If you are still with me, by now you will be wondering how an iceberg got lost and found its way to the Ebro? Especially Zaragoza might not be the obvious destination from an iceberg trying to escape from melting…well. Don’t ask me. But not worries, will let you know once I watch the show ;)

Snake chasing clouds at Expo Zaragoza

Everyday at Expo Zaragoza 2008, from noon -where the sun will be quite high and strongly shinning- the Circus of Sun will give a walk to its snake to help clouds to move and show the power of rain while presenting the Legend of the Rainbow.

JeanFrançois Bouchard, the project manager explained that- the 75 minutes parade will start near the statue representing “the Soul of the Ebro river” by Jaume Plensa (you can see a previous post about his work by clicking here ). Around 80 actors, acrobats, dancers will guarantee full “watered” interaction with the public (eg. there will be machines evoking the smell of mud) , all with the world class quality guaranteed by le circle du Soleil…

I am sure this will be an interesting performance, even more because of it being enrooted in real spanish life, where after long periods of droughts, entire towns go out with the local saint/virgin Mary to pray for rain. Of course, not only when it doesnt rain spain become religious...i will dedicate one blog to some religious and cultural traditions that influence the "soul" of the spaniards...

Historic Zaragoza in 1 post

With more than 20 centuries on its shoulders, Zaragoza´s history comes to meet you… you have just to walk around to discover it. I will just highlight 3 “must”:

-El Pilar y la Seo: “El Pilar” is a Fantastic basilique built where the Virgin Mary appeared in the year 40 to Apostol Saint Jacques. There inside you have “frescos” from Goya . La cathedral of “La Seo” is where previously was the mayor Mosque of the city.
-La Aljaferia: what can I say…you want to feel transported to exotic places like Marrakech. No problem. Enter this Muslim castle from XI century and start smelling the orange trees among small reservoirs of water and admiring the religious writings and symbols around the deliciously decorated ceilings. Note that the regional parliament is housed here…
Of course, many more things to visit. Many more things to live…imagine to have live music in a Roman amphitheatre…oh yes! Imagine to enter in the modern building of a regional savings bank and discover inside “El Patio de la Infanta”, a nice renacentist “courtyard” from the XVI century, ….Zaragoza will surprise you!

Expo Zaragoza 2008: The biggest water show on earth

30 seconds advertisement of Expo Zaragoza 2008….in spanish but self-explanatory.

Ebro river talking, Ebro river talking....anybody listening

The talking island at Expo Zaragoza 2008 Ebro river nearby its left bank is a landscape installation created by Eva Lootz which will be an island-ear or ear-land. Well, in fact, instead of listening, as commonly ears are supposed to do, it will be spreading sounds, the voice of the river…

Eva Lootz, Austrian artist living in has been living and working in Valencia, Spain, since the Seventies Spain explains that we are living in a society that invites us to life in “adosados” (ie. construction of unifamiliar houses which is a recent urbanistic boom development in Spain) paid as gold and that builds golf courses in the middle of desserts such as in Murcia….

Herself, she is currently working on visiting the artistic side of garbage. In this context, she says "work with garbage implies to do with the left obres of today´s hyper-consumption society, the obscure side of our society". Food for though...

Music water artefact at Expo Zaragoza 2008

This “yellow and black¨ecosystem-machine will bring water from the micro-lake in the basement till the 8 metres high top and back again…with the help of the public…and creating "music" in the process. I am sure kids will love it.

The author is the German Roland Olbeter who lives and works in Barcelona since 1988. He is a multidisciplinary character, mix of a trained musician (concert violinist) and naval constructor. So no doubt why he likes to create impossible artifacts. For example, he worked together with La Fura dels Baus to design the main pieces of Naumón ship which is...well i kind of theather-ship...

Programmable Water for Expo Zaragoza 2008 and beyond: MIT digital mille project

Can you programe water? Yes, you can... Read this: “Two kids take a running leap at the curtain of water, but it parts before they can get wet. Landing in a puddle on the other side, the sound starts a wave down the curtain that ripples along and fades in the distance. Jump twice and you get a bigger wave; jump in synco­pation and you get the biggest waves of all”. What’s is this? Science fiction? No. This is part of the presentation made last November by Dennis Frenchman and Francisca Rojas of what you can experience at the Water Wall (see below). You can find more info on this MIT project at http://cities.media.mit.edu/projects/zaragoza.html

Let’s joint the train of interactive gadgets (see my previous post on the Sonic Forest) that will populate Zaragoza in 2008 in an around the Expo premises in the river meander of Ranillas.
Curious gadgets where design of the software is as important as the “hardware” (ie. in this case the fountain)...

Urban musical instruments at Expo Zaragoza 2008

Performance architect Christopher Janney is what I would call a multidisciplinary guy…who studied architecture at Princeton and jazz in New York. The result: he believes is possible to create a piece of acoustic architecture…what? able to imagine trees with high tech inside…well, not yet there… so in fact the “trees” look more like giant chupa-chups sticks…each of them containing audio speakers, photo sensors and lights that intend to make music touchable & visible in addition to audible…

…making the public to play?…a recipe for disaster?. No worries. It is all under control. People will trigger sounds and melodies that evoke rain forest, classic music, etc out of a laptop hard disk which will be also in charge of keeping a minimum of harmony. Mr. Janney explains it as follows: “it can never sound like monkeys jumping on a piano — we can keep a certain mix of acoustical and environmental sounds working together”….it is called Sonic Forest, and it is currently touring around Europe…and will be at the Expo Zaragoza 2008.

Outdoor contemporary museum at Expo Zaragoza 2008

Millennium Park fountain author Jaume Plensa will sign an outdoor project in the Expo Zaragoza 2008 area near river Ebro. From Plensa's numerous outdoor projects for public spaces I would to highlight the Millennium Park fountain in Chicago. Jaume´s fountain got my imagination…let's see whether I can catch yours…

…imagine a XXI century gargoyle and put it in the middle of a park where kids go to play. Contrary to the old gargoyles, this one should not be frightening, but what to do. You can put someone face….or a 1000. Impossible? Jaume took 1,000 faces from Chicago’s citizens and projected them on LED screens. Outcome: 1 fountain, 1000 faces. Of course, as the old gargoyles this one also throws water down from the mouth…but in a different way…

I will continue to post on different artistic projects in and around the Expo 2008 because, for what I have seen, this could easily become a mayor attraction of the Expo in Zaragoza and one of the main legacies after Expo closes in September 2008.

For now, I leave you with Jaume Plensa evocative ideas of what a fountain is. He says: “A fountain is the memory of nature, this marvelous sound of a little river in the mountains translated to the city. For me, a fountain doesn't mean a big jet of water. It means humidity, the origin of life.”