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!

Belgium at Expo Zaragoza 2008

Belgium is a paradoxical country in many aspects, just to mention one: despite being the so called capital of the European integration it is quite close to disintegrating as a country due to the continuous disputes between the Flemish and the Walloons.

The country is also divided in terms of water resources, with the North dependent from the South. Wallonia satisfies 55% of the national needs in drinking water when it counts only 37% of the population. Flanders and Brussels are not self-sufficient. The positive side is that Belgium people have mastered dialogue and consensus building, learning to live with multiple decision making centers...

In addition to the exhibit project of the Belgium pavilion , I can positively advise not to miss this pavilion for a number of other reasons, including to taste a good Belgium beer...I would give a try to Duvel, for example...to provide the right environment for such endeavor, the Belgium commissioner´s office will install and manage a Belgium café that will be also used as a platform for Belgium artists performing there.

Talking about art, not to miss the expo from Jan Fabre at the Belgium pavilion. See above the man writing on water, an installation made up of seven bronze bathtubs where there is a sculpture-portrait of the artist seated in the second one, in the process of writing on the water with his finger...

Expo Zaragoza 2008 visits Brussels, capital of Europe

For those of you new to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 you might be thinking what the hell is that creature...

Well, the ET looking drop of water is called Fluvi and was overlooking us at the presentation of Expo in the European Parliament. There, the 27 countries of the European Union are represented and what is more, guaranteed they can use their national language as a working language (with simultaneous interpretation). I guess that was exactly what the institutional representatives (mayor of zaragoza, president of Aragon, etc) were just doing for this presentation....but without interpreters. Good thing, and that message did pass, was to see several Spanish political heavy weights from left and right. Believe me when I tell you that, these days (just before general elections in Spain) this is rather rare to have.

Coming back to real water, 50% of the contents of the pavilions should be dedicated to the theme of the Expo. Distribution of the countries takes place according to ecosystems will –no doubt- extra-motivate countries to focus on their specific ecological situations. Also great news is that the EU has committed to participate at the Expo with a 2.5 millon Euros, 577m2 pavilion....numbers.... I imagine, the EU will have a lot to say on the debates that will take place during the Expo around the central topic of water & sustainable development. I will let you know more in future posts on this. Oh I almost forgot, the introductions.... I was writing a blog about this Expo for a year and just now I am jgiven the opportunity to post from the official website of the expo. Thanks!

The idea of the blog remains the same ie. so far when talking with non-spanish friends about Zaragoza they usually are unable to put it ”on the map” often mentioning either Vasque Country or Catalunya as the region where Zaragoza is located. When I then mention Aragon it rings some bells but not that many…
Well, to conclude, I will be asking the roadmap of any other event outside Spain and –why not- the European borders to post the info here…in advance. From your side, please post here any questions you might have as I am sure many people from my region and beyond will be able to help you…

I leave you with a water thriller from Sergio Cannella ….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.

Japanese sustainable civilization shows wisdom at Expo Zaragoza

“In the land of Asian Monsoon climate and ragged terrain, with geographical limitations surrounded by sea on all four sides, Japanese people have developed skills, culture and lifestyles that live in harmony and symbiosis with nature, rather than confronting it….”.
The above explains why “Harmony with Water, Wisdom and Skills” is the theme for the Japanese pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008.

I think is a cool theme. Honestly, I think we all have a lot to learn from Japan, especially taking into account they previous Experience in Expo 2005 in Aichi under the them of ”Nature’s wisdom”.

In addition to help us to understand the Japanese philosophy from the EDO period , to enter the Japanese pavilion will also be an opportunity to see first hand cutting-edge technologies that help to solve global-scale tasks. Enjoy!

Water for Life: Zaragoza put on the map (of United Nations)

Under the United Nations Charter all humans are guaranteed the right to life (and as water is necessary for life…) however in practice this is an empty right for….1.200 million people. This is nothing new. But something is moving in Zaragoza. A brand new United Nations office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 just opened there on the 5th of October 2007.







But why in Zaragoza? The main reasons put forward by Spain in support of Zaragoza’s candidacy were:- The commitment of the Spanish government to environmentally-friendly water policies, both within Spain and internationally. - The strong links between Aragón and Zaragoza and the issue of water, for historical, institutional, economic and social reasons. - The constant promotion by Aragón’s regional government of the proper use of water, with innovative policies achieving impressive results. - The reliable record of Aragonese social groups in this area. - The enormous possibilities offered by Expo 2008 to ensure that the Decade of Water’s objectives are properly promoted at international level

The office will be managed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (http://www.un.org/esa/desa/ ) and if I understood well has 2 main goals:
-to facilitate the coordinated implementation of UN-Water’s work on water and sanitation, especially in the areas of communication and advocacy to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities to solve global water and sanitation issues.
-to promote greater interaction between governments, UN agencies and non-UN partners to deliver a coordinated response; mobilizing resources, partners and other stakeholders; promoting and encouraging partnerships at all levels; and ensuring coherence between the implementation of the water and sanitation agenda and other development goals.
Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui born in Bolivia (see on the above photo at beautiful Casa Solans: the interim premises of the UN office till it is moved to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 premises) will be coordinating the UN office in Zaragoza. All my best whishes to him!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Water, $ and clothes)

Yes, this is like a Western...altough it might not be evident as first sight...Reading about washing machines new water & energy efficient models, you start thinking whether the shirts with the tomato sauce will have a second life just putting them inside your new energy efficient and cheap washing machine or that wont be enough. Basically would mean that decreasing energy and decreasing water put into the process of washing, will (at a certain point) decrease quality of the cleaning of your clothes...(got to Mr. Tabarrok blog, an economics university professor, to know more on this point). I think it is a very interesting point, cleary linked with behavioural economics, if such a thing exists...

For me, it is clear athat the (economical) gap between consuming less (electricity & water) and paying more for the best in class appliances should be strongly bridged with financial incentives to consumers and manufacturers. Let's hope the Expo Zaragoza 2008 and the activities sponsored by the Zaragoza city council linked to Water & sustainable development are able to tackle this issues of behavioural economics (for the Expo Forums) and simply economics ie. nice financial incentives for consumers (for the Zaragoza city council).

Estimation of water saving potential in Europe doubles

A report published by the Commission states that water use in the European Union could be reduced by about 40%. This figure is nearly twice as much as previously estimated

However, in a business as usual scenario it is estimated that water consumption by the public, industry and agriculture would increase by 16% by 2030.

Hopefully the Expo will help us, all of us, to achieve this water saving reduction or near.
The executive summary and the report are available for those interested.

Pd. If you want to check a place to have some bath in Zaragoza next summer during the Expo, According to the European Union, you can go (and make some tourism) to Salvatierra de Esca or Santa Eulalia de Gallego. Unfortunately the river Ebro is not yet on this database, but for sure, you will be able to swim near the Expo Zaragoza 2008 premises.

Eagles view of Expo Zaragoza city treasures

Well, 2 posts ago, i provided you with the essence of Zaragoza from an historic point of view. Now, i want to show to you...Enjoy!




Pd. in particular, the first 2 minutes of the video are great ;)

Expo Zaragoza telecabin under (melted) snow thread

Well, I think this time I have got it. The most twisted title of a blog entry ever ;)

A similar telecabin to the one above will join the new train station of “Delicias” where the high speed trains will be arriving from Madrid and Barcelona with the Expo premises.

After the Expo hopefully will be dismantled and reuse (instead of the one of the Expo in Sevilla) it in one of Aragon´s ski resorts….if there is snow by then….

Aragon Winter Olympic Games bid under (melted) water thread

People from the region will know that in recent times we have tried many times to win the bid for winter Olympic Games. Now that infrastructures are getting better, we have a new thread to our Olympic dream…warm weather.








Some years ago, United Nations officials presented before the International Olympic Committee some findings about warming and snow..no doubt this is affecting how the IOC chooses host cities for Winter Games.

Years later, some researchers based in Geneve concluded that in around 50 years (maybe earlier), global warming will push regular snowfall altitude in Pyrenees from current 1500 metres to 1800-2000 metres….


Mr. Octavio Salanova, Director of Astun ski resort believes that more artificial snow will help to solve the problem. He explains that in the US and some countries in Europe 80% of the “paths” are equipped with equipment to produce artificial snow. Here is only 12%.

Well, I am not an expert, but I think that more artificial snow means -in addition to more Co2 emissions, unless we run the artificial snow fans with renewables, field in which Aragon is doing a lot...but this is a topic for another post...on Expo Zaragoza 2008 green credentials- more running costs for the ski resorts and thus, more expensive skiing…upps… not worries. Now the good news. First, Aragon is lucky enough to have in its territory the Central Pyrenees, which means to have the highest summits and thus, the highest ski resorts of the whole Pyrenees mountains.

Second, even more important, Aragon has the historic opportunity to use the Expo Zaragoza 2008 to have a serious debate on whether a business model based on ever increasing altitudes for reliable skiing conditions is sustainable. If the answer is NO, then, time is now to “imagine” alternative/additional business models…
Pd. Till Expo comes, if you wanna go and see with your own eyes what´s out there in terms of skiing...yes, i know we are in summer...and how to get there, just follow this link ...there are summer activities too ;)

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!

“Acciona”, saulty water and Expo Zaragoza 2008

Acciona is a multinational working, among others, in the field of water

desalination. They are also official partners of Expo Zaragoza 2008 (in fact they will exhibit in a huge 1000 m2 pavilion) and they use this fact for their ads in newspapers.

Specifically Acciona will sponsor with 8 million euros (partially deductible). Acciona itself has been granted several projects within the Expo, including pavilions and other major infrastructures.

Coming back to the ads of Acciona, above you can see -next to the Expo Zaragoza logo- an example of their vision of a better tomorrow. They say: this year, we will build in California the biggest desalination plant in the USA, with a capacity of 204.000 cubic metres per day. Wouwww! This is a lot of water for thirsty people…. looking in the info of a previous post we could debate if they drink too much: Zaragoza consumes 100 litres per inhanbitant per day…Los Angeles 400 Litres…. Rwanda has an average water consumption of 10 litres per person per day...

What the advertisement doesn’t say is that to take the salt out of the water you need a lot (but a lot) of electricity, ie. a lot of potential CO2 emissions…and it could, because Acciona is also working on renewables....

In Spain a plan (called Agua) was presented to build plants to produce 600 millon of cubic metres of water per year. This is a lot of CO2 emissions if fossil energy is used to fuel them

If Spain is to comply with Kyoto targets, will need to plug all this new plants to non-fossil sources such as solar, wind, etc. We will see...probably a fantastic debate (sponsored by Acciona ;) to take place at the Expo Acciona pavilion next year.

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...

Oikos outdoor pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008

O-ikos means “the house” in Greek. Situated in the Ebro plaza, near the river aquarium the “Oikos”: Water and Energy Plaza” will showcase different sources of energy and devices to capture it such as solar panels, windmills, etc:

-The Sun. in a 6-metre diameter room with a dome-shaped roof the Sun is presented as the cause of meteorological phenomena, the day, night and our seasons.

-The wind. The visitor learns about the origins and characteristics of this meteorological phenomenon using three great tubes which, coming from the bottom with cold air, go through a module culminating in three chimneys. Surrounding the tubes there is a spinning hoop that represents a mill in motion.

-The house and water. The installation explains the importance of hydroelectric power using a mechanism composed of wind pump that extracts water from a well. This falls like rain on a dam, whose water then goes through a turbine to generate electricity. Finally it goes into an installation like a home where there visitor can see the many applications of water in the house.

-Climate control. The public goes through two “chambers”, one cold and the other hot, to point out the importance of insulation as a fundamental aspect of good climate control. If you want to know more on how you control climate change click at LINK

Lastly, in the final module, with the title “The possible house”, the application of all the alternative techniques viewed throughout the plaza is shown to reduce consumption of fossil fuels.

The above themes are very much in line with Aragon renewables potentialities. According to a GreenPeace report Aragon's solar potential would make it possible by 2050 to meet thirty-two times the projected total energy demand for this Community in 2050 (47.2TWh/year) and its wind potential would generate 5 times demand.

The pavilion itself has an exposition surface of 845 m2 and a budget of 3,4 million euros. Authors are Domingo Guinea, from CSIC as technical adviser and the german Roland Olbeter, who is an engineer by training and an artist (see his curious fontain in a previous post) who worked, among others, in the inauguration ceremony of the Olimpic Games of Barcelona 1992.

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...

Chinese water culture exhibited at the 2008 Zaragoza World Expo

According to Gong Qijun (vice-director of the exhibition department of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade) the Spanish Expo in Zaragoza will allow China to prepare to play host to the World Expo in 2010. "We attach great importance to the Zaragoza World Expo and consider it a rehearsal for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. It's the first time a developing country will host the event," Gong said.

The winning bid has been designed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Beijing Zhongjian Architect Ltd.

One of the main themes of the Chinese hall will be to exhibit water control achievements including the Chinese three gorges dam. This will probably be a topic in the Extreme Water Pavilion from the point of view of the power of water.

I have to say that the term of “developing country” might be not give the whole picture of a country such as China. I leave you with the wikipedia definition of a developing country a developing country has a relatively low standard of living, an underdeveloped industrial base, and a moderate to low human development index (HDI) score.…

Pd. The photo above is the only graphic material i could find on the Chinese exhibition hall at Expo Zaragoza 2008. If you have more info & photos please let me know.