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!

The University of Salamanca celebrates its 800th anniversary

The University of Salamanca is known around the world due to its history, reputation and some of its distinguished students, professors and rectors such as Miguel de Unamuno. Founded in 1218, the USAL (University of Salamanca) celebrates its eighth centenary, which is fundamental to the city and even to the whole country. On the occasion of such important event, the artist Miquel Barceló has drawn the following logo. In addition, the University has organised a program of activities in order to remember its history, among which artistic and photographic exhibitions, concerts, theatrical representations, conferences, seminaries, besides student and sport activities. The alumni who have already studied at the USAL also have the opportunity to meet again on May 25th and 26th, when a promotion meeting will be held. 

About the University history, its fundation, back eight centuries ago, led to the creation of the first University library in all Europe. Since then, the reputation of the Major School Library grew and was enriched with additions like the Sky of Salamanca (Cielo de Salamanca), paiting made by Fernando Gallego which is part of the artistic heritage of the city.

The activities proposed by the local government include names such as Bob Dylan, whose concert takes place on March 24th, whereas Salamanca will celebrate the International Jazz Festival during the summer.

Among the exhibitions, “Pioneers of Modernity. XIX and XX Centuries in the Gerstenmaier Collection”, “Iconography of Unamuno”, and “Seduced by the reality” offer the possibility to see some works made by the main figurative artists in Spain. A medallion dedicated to the King Alfonso IX de León, under whose regency the University was founded, is going to be placed in Plaza Mayor.

Salamanca has always owned the reputation of relying on one of the world’s eldest instituctions, which is why we have the refrain: “What nature does not give, Salamanca does not lend”, (Lo que naturaleza no da, Salamanca no presta).

Finally, the city has been the protagonist of films and books. In fact, this is an excellent time for students and tourists from all around the world who would like to visit Salamanca and the mixture of all the festivities makes it such a unique occasion.

Short films festival in Barrio del Oeste

Cartel del festival, diseño de Elena Gómez

The Festival de cine corto de Salamanca is back. Organized by Bar Granero and Javier Díez, is held in Barrio del Oeste and shows short films by Spanish and international film directors, outdoors if possible as you can see in these pictures. The best part is you can keep practising Spanish outside the classroom, plus there is no entrance fee.

Here are the short films to be shown in this edition:

May 28th - 10:00 pm
. La propina, de Esteban Crespo (10')
. Namnala, de Nacho Solana (15')
. Casitas, de Javier Marco (9')
. Reizigers in de Nacht, de Eva Sendijarevic (10')
. Flash, de Alberto Ruiz Rojo (7')
. Mío, de Rodrigo Canet (4')

June 4th - 10:00 pm
. J et le poisson, de Cécile Paysant (9')
. Safari, de Gerardo Herrero (15')
. Valentina, de Marisa Crespo y Moisés Romera (9')
. Caradecaballo, de Marc Martínez Jordán (7')
. Help point, de Andrew Margetson (12')
. Tuck me in, de Ignacio F. Rodo (1')

June 18th - 10:00 pm
. Os meninos do rio, de Javier Macipe Costa (14')
. Solo sabes follar, de Manu Bueno (5')
. Bendito Machine V, de Jossie Malis (11')
. Seiscientos, de Rebeca Díaz (9')
. El buen mal, de Jokin Urruticoechea (10')
. Trato preferente, de Carlos Polo (3')

June 25th - 10:00 pm
. La valse mechanique, de Julien Dykmans (5')

. En directo, de Wenceslao Scyzoryk (14')
. Otsoko, de Ander Iriarte (13')
. Los cachorros, de Guillermo Magariños (8')
. Magic, de Carlos Rodríguez (9')
. Un lugar mejor, de Marina Crespo y Moisés Romera (4')

July 2nd - 10:00 pm
. Absolutamente personal, de Julián Merino Díaz (14')
. Los vaqueros, de Jaime Verdú (5')
. Si tuvieran ojos, de Carlos Polo (15')
. Viaje a la Luna, de Asier Andueza (5')
. El mal amor, de Julio de la Rosa (5')
. Tu p*** banco, de José Luis Santos (11')