Salamanca celebrates the Chinese New Year

Salamanca will celebrate the Year of Pigs with a wide and interesting range of activities. The renowned sculptor Xu Hongfei, president of the Guangzhou Academy of Sculpture and director of the Chinese Association of Artists, is going to bring some of the sculptures from his collection "gorditas", for the first time in Spain, which keep happiness as a common thread.

Thirteen sculptures will be installed in Salamanca until 3 March and can be seen in: Plaza Mayor, Parque de Colón, Plaza Concilio de Trento, Plaza de Anaya, Patio de Escuelas, Plaza de las Úrsulas, Plaza de Santa Eulalia and Parque de La Alamedilla.In addition of the great exhibition of Xu Hongfei in the programming we will find: parades, dance, music, children's workshops and gastronomic demonstrations.

All activities are free of charge and, except for the sculptor's exhibition, will take place between 1 and 3 February.

There will be a gastronomic meeting in which four Chinese chefs with a Michelin star will go to the city of Charra. And, together with Víctor Gutiérrez, they will offer a gastronomic day dedicated to professionals in the sector, at the Chamber of Commerce, on Friday 1 February at 13:30h.

And on 2 February at 12 noon at the Central Market, they will give a live gastronomic demonstration of charra food with Chinese food, open to the public.

The students and teachers of the Center for Foreign Languages and Arts of Guangdong (Canton) will take part in an activity of dance and music on Friday 1 February at 9 pm in the Centre for Performing Arts and Music.

On the other hand, the San Blas auditorium will host a concert starring Chinese guitarists Su Erxun and Huang Chen, on 2 February at 8 pm.

The celebration will end with a show that will take place at the Teatro Liceo, on 3 February at 6:00 pm.

On the other hand, two workshops on calligraphy, traditional painting and papyroflexia have been organised at the DA2 (contemporary art centre), aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 12. They will take place on 2 and 3 February from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm.

And three parades of the dance group Leones y Dragones (Lions and Dragons) have been programmed, which will run through the streets of the centre of Salamanca.

Happy Chinese New Year! Kung hé fat tsoi!

Libraries in Salamanca

Do you like our new location in Palominos St? Tía Tula has moved, but it is still in privileged location: the heart of the city centre. And in social media and this blog we will continue to share news about the school, Salamanca and Spain, as well as about culture and practical information. Just as this article, in which we're going to tell you about four libraries situated at less than 5 minutes from Tía Tula.

As we were saying yesterday… With such proverbial words Fray Luis de León resumed his classes at University of Salamanca, after five years in jail. Just like him, many other writers and important people of the arts and culture have been in Salamanca and today all the fruits of the past centuries are well guarded in the numerous libraries of the city.

In the very centre, near Tía Tula and in less than 5 minutes, you can find different libraries. The closest one, the Faculty of Philoly's, is in Palominos St, just opposite to Tía Tula. The library's main building was projected in 1969 by the architect Fernando Chueca Goitia.
The Unamuno House Museum is a 18th Century's building in which Miguel de Unamuno lived when he was the Dean of the University of Salamanca, in the earlier 20th Century. The museum keeps the memory of Miguel de Unamuno, spreading his works and guarding an extensive archive, which help us to reconstruct the history between XIXth and XXth Centuries.

The University Historical Library since 1995 is exclusively a research centre.

It guards and keeps many collections from the 13th Century, as well as codices, manuscripts and fragments, books, pamphlets, periodical publications, maps, etc., nowadays considered as a part of the Historical Spanish Heritage. 
If you'd like to visit it in a virtual way, in this link you can see the library and the treasures it guards.

As the University Historical Library, the House of Shells hosts a public library. The edifice, built between 1493 and 1517, is an example of gothic and plateresque style, typical of the Spanish Renaissance. The singularity of this building resides in his approximately 300 Saint Jaime shells that decorate the façade and, according to the legend, in one of these shells there is a golden coin... 

If you are a student staying in Salamanca for more than 4 months, then you can request the library card and thus be entitled to the library's loan service. Otherwise, you can just go and read the books and enjoy the study material, as well as the Internet connection and PCs.

On Las Águedas day, women rule

Saint Agatha in a painting by Zurbarán. Public Domain

A day in which women have the power? Yes, it’s today and the occasion is known as Las Águedas. It is celebrated in various towns and villages across Spain, Salamanca and its province among them.

The festivitie commemorates the history of Saint Agatha of Sicily, considered to be protector of women.The martyr decided to stay a virgin, something that would bring her enormous pain and suffering. After she turned down the proconsul of Sicily’s sexual propositions, young Agatha was tortured and her breasts were cut off. Saint Peter healed her wounds during a visión, but the tortures continued and she was knocked over live coal.

On February, 5th, day of the saint, women have the power. In many councils they are handed a sceptre of command. Special Masses and parades are held.

But the festivity is not exclusively religious. Numerous groups of female friends gather to party on the streets. Some choose to wear the traje charro (regional costume) and plunge into traditional dances. One of the most popular spots for this in Salamanca is, of course, plaza Mayor, the main square:

   

The celebrations continue around a table, where women have lunch or dinner, be it at restaurants or at some association’s premises. It can also last til late at night: a lot of bars and night clubs offer shows especially for women.