WINTER 2014
PAU CASALS PEACE WARRIOR HE WAS A CATALAN
CATALAN INFLUENCES IN THE US
AICSUSA.ORG
CALÇOTS AND
CALÇOTADAS!
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR CATALAN STUDIES SINCE 1979 CONNECTING NORTH AMERICA TO CATALONIA
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Hellena Cardus Publisher AICS President Winter 2014
Benvinguts! I’d like to welcome our readers to the second edition of CATALONIA, a quarterly publication by AICS (American Institute for Catalan Studies), which will discuss current topics regarding Catalan news in politics, visual arts, music, culinary trends and sports. Dr. David Cardus created AICS in Houston, Texas in the late 1970s, the first Catalan organization founded in the U.S. with the principal purpose of introducing and promoting a myriad of aspects of Catalan culture and society. Throughout the years, AICS has organized and hosted several Texas fairs and concerts promoting known Catalan artists and musicians in Texas, including Josep Carreras, Josep Tero, Toni Xucla, and many others. Castellers (human towers) have also adorned the streets of Houston, juxtaposing their splendid towers with the backdrop of Houston’s skyscrapers. AICS has also been very active in translating and publishing Catalan literary treasures including Joan Sales, Uncertain Glory, Josep Carner-Ribalta, The Catalan Nation and its People and Philip B. Taylor, Public Power in Catalunya. AICS was the first North American organization to publish a Catalan Bulletin in English, Catalonia Today, which was published 3 times a year for over 10 years and distributed to over 500 organizations in North America, including multiple libraries and universities with courses in Mediterranean studies. We encourage you to become a member by going to our website aicsusa.org, receive a complimentary copy of CATALONIA and share the experience! hcardus@cataloniamagazine.com
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Roslyn Smith Editor-in-chief Winter 2014 ON THE COVER Centenary statue by Josep Viladomat A centenary statue of Pau Casals in Montserrat, Catalonia. The inscription below it reads: "Pau Casals, Centenari Del Seu Naixement, 18761976" (Pau Casals, Centenary Of His Birth, 18761976).
Welcome to our Winter 2014 edition. We’ve dedicated it to the admirable Pau Casals, a revolutionary cellist and a peace warrior. We also explore the unique and special Catalan spring onion and the wintertime ritual of the calçotada. Catalonia has many great places to eat them, we feature five fabulous restaurants to enjoy a wonderful calçotada. This season I found my myself craving them like never before. It is time to bring them to Houston. I already have a small area in my backyard where I grow a few organic vegetables, I will definitely be adding calçots to it very soon. I’ll keep you posted. It has been a very cold and cozy winter season. I had a wonderful Christmas and an unforgettable Catalan Christmas. I was moved and had a wonder time working on this edition. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook.com/CataloniaMagazine rsmith@cataloniamagazine.com
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CONTENTS
CATALONIA
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6 3 PUBLISHER’S NOTE
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6 AICS NEWS American Institute for Catalan Studies “A Catalan Christmas”
8 L’ HOME DELS NASSOS The Man Of Many Noses
10 DISCOVERING (CATALAN) AMERICA By Mary Ann Newman
16 A TASTE OF CATALONIA Calçots and Calçatades Top 5 Picks for Calçatades
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22 PAU CASALS “I am a Catalan”
33 AL SOCI NO SE’L POT ENGANYAR
57 million Euros for Neymar
By Xavi Salat i Foix
35 LA TAULA D’ EN BERNAT By Xavi Salat i Foix
CATALONIA MAGAZINE is published quarterly by AICS- American Institute for Catalan Studies . Contact: aicsusa.org Publisher Hellena Cardus hcardus@cataloniamagazine.com Editor-in-Chief Roslyn Smith rsmith@cataloniamagazine.com Creative Director Jordi Guillem jguillem@cataloniamagazine.com © 2013 CATALONIA MAGAZINE. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Printed in the U.S.
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AICS NEWS
El Tió
A Catalan Christmas On December 15, 2013 AICS, The American Institute for Catalan Studies hosted its annual Catalan Christmas celebration in Houston, Texas. They had a joyous afternoon full of great Catalan food, wine and cava. There was a full buffet table with different paellas, turrons, fideuà, and Catalan style macarrons, just to name a few. The celebration was packed with excitement and great festivities. There was live music, the Texas premiere of the movie “FemVia”(The Catalan Way), the celebration of “El Tió,” and their traditional Christmas raffle! It was truly a Bon Nadal!
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’ L´home dels Nassos “The Man of Many Noses” is one of Catalonia’s mythical characters in Catalan legend. The children of Catalonia believe that this magical man has 365 noses all over his face. A nose for each day of the year, and everyday, one of his noses is shed. He conveniently and ironically has only one nose remaining, when he makes his long awaited appearance on December the 31 st of every year. On that day, parents take their kids out into the streets in search of this mysterious character. Someone wears a large papier-mâché mask bearing a huge nose. Throughout Catalonia he can be seen on balconies looking down to the crowds, or roaming through the streets passing out candy to the children. It is a great day of fun and a wonderful way to bring in the new year.
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Tarragona aittarragona.blogspot.com L’Home dels Nassos in Barcelona Tarragona L'Home dels Nassos, at Pont de Pedra in Girona 1968 in Tarragona Sketch from 1892
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Discovering (Catalan) America By Mary Ann Newman
As I think about this article, the voice on WQXR announces "songs by the Catalan composer, Frederic Mompou, as played by his finest interpreter, Gonzalo Soriano, who often accompanied the great Catalan singer, Victoria de los Angeles." To my surprise, the announcer pronounces Mompou correctly. For years I had cringed on hearing broadcasters, assuming the composer was French, pronounce the name Mom-poo. This may seem trivial, but it is not. Its significance lies in the lifting of the obscurity that used to surround the origin of the Catalan composer. In this case, the shroud was French; in most others, it is Spanish. Familiarity with Catalan culture is growing day by day. But there are still many aspects of Catalan history in America that are hidden in plain view, and must be uncovered, like pronunciation of the name Mompou. Take, for example, David Farragut. There are Circles named after him in Washington, D.C., and in Sacramento, California, a Farragut neighborhood in Brooklyn, Farragut naval academies in Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina‌ David Farragut is the son of Jordi Farragut i Mesquida, who immigrated to New Orleans from Minorca, via Barcelona, in March 1776, and fought in the American War of Independence. His son, David, after whom all the real estate is named, was the first Admiral of the U.S. Navy. But how many in the U.S. know that this man buried in Woodlawn cemetery in the Bronx is the descendent of a nobleman who fought alongside Jaume I the Conqueror? And so it goes. The Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, aka the Miquelets, roved up and down the western coast of North America, from Vancouver to Mexico.
David Farragut
Some know the name of Gaspar de Portolà, Governor of California, but what about Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor, who, while building barracks and gun batteries, compiled a glossary of 630 words from the native language of the people of Nootka, in British Columbia, earning their respect and esteem. And what of the 1,400 Minorcans who went from Minorca, under British rule, to Florida, under British rule, in 1777, and left traces of the Catalan language in St. Augustine? As their generation died out, a new infusion of Catalan ingenuity and energy was arriving. Artur Cuyàs founded and edited the Catalan review, La Llumanera de Nova York, from 1874 to 1881. One of the most significant legacies of Catalan culture took root in the U.S. with Rafael Guastavino, who moved from Valencia to Barcelona at 17,
studied engineering, worked for some 20 years, leaving a substantial architectural legacy--the Batlló Factory, the Teatre La Massa in Vilassar--, and moved on to the United States in 1881. n New York, he took the Catalan vault, a traditional Mediterranean building technique, perfected it with 19th century innovations, such as Bessemer steel, and patented it. Guastavino was essential to the institutionalization of North America. Struck by the soaring beauty and practicality of his structures--inflammable in a country where wood construction led to continual fires--no university, municipality or concert hall worth its salt could go without a Guastavino. He and his son built 1000 buildings in the United States, over 230 of them in New York.
CATALAN VAULT (1) Oyster Bar New York City (2) Bridgemarket,
under Queensboro Bridge
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Àngel Guimerà's Maria Rosa was directed by Cecil B. DeMille at the Metropolitan Opera House; the audience would not let Geraldine Farrar leave the stage. Josep Maria Sert left his mark on Rockefeller Center, replacing Diego Rivera's scandalous homage to Marxism with an allegory of labor more acceptable to David Rockefeller. His nephew, Josep Lluís Sert, exiled after the Spanish Civil War, brought the principles of the GATCPAC to the Harvard School of Design. Salvador Dalí dreamed the "Dream of Venus" at the 1939 World's Fair, and established an ongoing tertulia at the St. Regis Hotel. Miró spent periods in New York as well. Less wellknown artists, such as Josep Bartolí, illustrated the covers of Holiday magazine, and Xavier Cugat brought the rhythms of Cuba to an American audience that never suspected he was from Girona. Enric Granados died in transit after a triumphal concert at Woodrow Wilson's White House. Victoria de los Angeles, Montserrat Caballé, Joan Pons and Josep Carreras all have devoted, even fanatical, audiences. And, eventually, all this art and music give way to gastronomy and Ferran Adrià, whose appearance on the cover of the Sunday Times magazine was a true gamechanger. I will get to the point. Catalans did not immigrate en masse to the United States; there is no "Little Catalonia" as there is a Little Italy or a Chinatown.
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Gradados 1915
Montserrat CaballĂŠ
Salvador DalĂ
Xavier Cugat
Catalan-speaking people came, from the Principate, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia, as individuals, or in groups small enough to be integrated. But they came with a creative passion and enterprising spirit to match the energy of the country that received them. Catalan culture in the U.S. must not be interpreted only as the work of big names; the urban breakthroughs of Barcelona and the role of the city as the capital of the Mediterranean are rising values in the States. The thousands of post-docs and La Caixa scholars who establish lifelong ties with the American science community, play a role alongside scientific leaders such as Joan Massagué and Valentí Fuster. Many trends contribute to the proper pronunciation of Mompou. Finally Americans are catching on to soccer, and if Messi and Guardiola are not quite household names, Rafael Nadal and Pau Gasol are. The economic crisis has taken Catalan awareness beyond art and food to dollars and cents. The peaceful and joyful September 11 independence demonstration offered a new perspective and Americans are, in general, sympathetic to the Catalan dilemma. Americans have begun to "see" Catalan culture. But we see it like the blind men see the elephant: each describes only the part he touches. Californians know the missions; soccer fans know Barça; opera fans know Caballé; political junkies know independence. But the big picture escapes us. Perhaps the next step is to write it all down in one place.
Mary Ann Newman is a translator, editor, and occasional writer on Catalan culture. In addition to Quim Monzó, she has translated Xavier Rubert de Ventós, Joan Maragall, Josep Carner and Narcis Comadira, among others. She was also the former Director of the Catalan Center at New York University up until the Center closed in the Spring of 2011. Today she is Executive Director of the Farragut Fund for Catalan Culture in the United States. She is also a member of the InTransit Advisory Council.
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A TASTE OF CATALONIA
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Catalonia’s Calçotada CALÇOTS Calçots are from the spring onion family. From the initial site of one you just might think they are green onions, or leeks, but they are larger than an average green onion, smaller than a leek. Calçots were born when a variety of tender onions were specially cultivated. There are several different stories out there about where calçots originated. The majority of Catalans believe that a farmer named Xat Benaiges from Valls, Catalonia invented this crop in the late nineteenth century.
TENDER AND SWEET (1) The calçot dipping sauce preparation. (2) Local fresh produce (3) Let the games begin! Photos by Calsots.com
Calçots are rich in potassium and low in sodium which makes them very diuretic. They are a fantastic source of strong antioxidants thanks to the high contents of vitamin C, vitamin A, and phytochemicals. Calçot season is from November to April. Every year around 55 million onions are collected, 10% of which are labeled by the IGP (Protected Geographical Indicator) designation of origin "Calçot de Valls", which was created in 1995 by the Government of Catalonia. Calçots play an important role to the economy especially to these four regions of Catalonia: El Tarragonès, el Baix Camp, l'Alt Camp and el Baix Penedès.
CALÇOTADA The calçotada is a typical banquet from the occidental region of Catalonia. It originated in Valls. Calçotada de Valls is held on the last Sunday of every January and turned 100 years old in 1996. Massive calçot competitions are held there annually. There are three categories: best calçot growers, best calçot sauce, and the calçot eating competition. In the last few decades calçotadas have expanded and can be found in almost every region of Catalonia from the end of the fall to the beginning of the spring. During a calçotada it is tradition to roast calçots directly over open flames of grapevine wood with different types of meats and vegetables. The calçots become extremely charred on the outside. They are sometimes wrapped in newspaper and served on a ceramic roof tile. The technique to eating calçots is quite fun. First, you simply peel off the outer part, which slides off very easily, then dip them in the special and delicious romesco or salvitxada sauce (calçot sauce), tilt your head back and enjoy the succulent flavors. Don’t forget to wear a bib and have plenty of paper towels on hand.
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When in Catalonia! Top 5 Calçotada Restaurants Cal Ganxo In 1980 Pep and Lluis Figuerola opened Cal Ganxo. It is a familiar restaurant of calçotades, with a strong commitment of tradition and local products. It’s constancy and quality over time, turned it into a reference within the specialized gastronomy in Catalonia. Cal Ganxo is located in the village Masmolets, Valls. It is surrounded by vibrant mountains, olive trees and hazel groves. 977 605 960 , calganxo.com Casa Gurí Family ran, defined as Mediterranean, homemade with local market produce. It is very well known for their calçotadas of course. They make it very clear that they are not the type of restaurant that is influenced by the latest tendencies of modern gastronomy. Casa Guri creates dishes that are oven roasted in traditional clay cookware. If and when you visit this glorious place, be sure to try their signature artichokes stuffed with fresh, local seafood served with spinach cream. La Masó, Tarragona Catalonia 977 637 346 restaurant@casaguri.com Mas Ombert They are known for not having a set written menu. They dedicate to having the freshest and best quality food Catalonia has to offer. They make a new menu everyday which is called out to every visitor individually. Their restaurant offers a rustic atmosphere where many locals arrive on horse back. They have one of the best Calçot sauce recipes in Catalonia. With their attentive service together with the originality of dishes prepared with the best local products, they will delight
the most demanding palates and surprise the most curious. Their steaks are absolutely exceptional. San Feliu del Raco, Castellar del Valles 937 145 788 Esportell Del Bou More than a restaurant, it is a cozy rustic farmhouse that was reinvented into a restaurant, full of different atmospheres to comfortably enjoy the best cuisine from their kitchen and in good company. They are ideal for family gatherings and company dinners with great privacy rooms. Very popular dishes like stews and roasts, simmered in clay pots are well prized. Their only secret is patience and quality products. They take great pride in offering seasonal menus using only the freshest local produce available. Picamoixons, Valls Tarragona 977 604 868 Esportelldelbou.com
CALÇOT TIME (1) Calçot prep (2) Local meats (3) Valls annual calçot eating contest (4) Grapevine wood used to cook calçots and meats (5) Men in traditional Catalan attire from Valls
Restaurant Masia Bou Since 1929 they have been cooking up some of the best cuisine in Catalonia. So many diners have experienced what four generations of running a restaurant has to offer. The saga began in 1929 when restaurateur Jose Gatell i Busquets opened its doors and served traditional Catalan dishes like Bunyols de bacallà i fines herbes (Cod croquets with fine herbs) Tast d'arròs negre amb allioli (Squid ink rice with aioli). Today Restaurant Masia Bou is being led by Josep M. Gatell with great new dishes, and with the same desire to serve quality and the desire to excel. Valles ( Alt Camp) Tel. 977 600 427 Masiabou.com
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CATALONIA
Why a referendum? Catalonia has always had a distinct culture and language and a strong desire for selfgovernment. Though Catalonia lost its independence in 1714, there was a political and cultural renaissance in the 19th century which eventually led to the proclamation of the Catalan Republic in 1931. Subsequent negotiations with the Spanish Republic led to a widereaching autonomy. However, General Franco’s fascist victory in 1939 led to the suspension of Catalonia’s autonomy, a ban on the Catalan language, and a fierce repression forcing 200,000 Catalans to go into exile. Franco also ordered the execution of Catalonia’s President at that time, Lluís Companys. After Franco’s death, 1977 saw the return of the Catalan President, Josep Tarradellas who had been elected in exile. This allowed for the reestablishment of the autonomous government. Subsequently, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the 1979 Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia set the limits of its autonomy. Spain has become economically and socially modernized since then but it has not fully accommodated its internal diversity into its political setup. A new statute of autonomy, agreed by referendum in Catalonia and passed by the Spanish parliament in 2006, was drastically altered by a controversial court ruling in 2010. Catalonia’s proposal for greater fiscal autonomy was then rejected out of hand. Attacks against Catalonia’s education system and linguistic rights have also increased and more and more recentralization measures are being taken. A referendum on self-determination is necessary to reset the relationship between Catalonia and Spain. It is the popular demand of more than 80% of Catalans in opinion polls, and of a clear majority of members of the Catalan parliament.
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Pau Casals “I am a Catalan” Pau Casals, also known as Pablo Casals, musician, one the greatest of all times, was also a man who chose to live and die in exile out of loyalty to his ideals of peace, freedom and Catalan pride. Pau Casals i Delfilló was born in Vendrell, Catalonia December 29, 1876 into a poor family. He was the son of Carles Casals, a carpenter and the local organist of Vendrell, and Pilar Defilló. At the age of four he started to study music, playing the piano. At six he was composing many musical works with his father and by the age nine he could play both piano and violin. Around the age 11 he took a liking to the cello after attending a recital with his family. His mother enrolled him in the Municipal Music School in Barcelona shortly after. Pau could never accept the academic rigidity of holding his right arm motionless. The school authorities accepted his free style of playing and awarded him first place prize for performers. At about the same time, the young cellist discovered a collection of music in a shop in one of the streets of old Barcelona which he began to study with great interest. It was Johann Sebastian Bach’s SIX SUITES for solo cello. Which years later became one of Casals’ greatest contributions to concert music. These suites were a complete revelation, as no-one had ever dared to perform them in public in their entirety. Vital to Pau Casals’ training was the recommendation by Isaac Albéniz to Count Guillermo de Morphy, a musicologist and the secretary to the Spanish Queen Regent, Mary Christine of Hapsburg. The international career that was to make Casals the greatest cellist of all times began with his debut as a soloist with the Lamoureux Orchestra in 1899. Towards the end of 1904, after various concert tours in Europe and America, Casals formed a trio with the pianist of Swiss origin Alfred Cortot and the French violinist Jacques Thibaud. Casals was then 28 and was not only the oldest of the three but also the best known as a soloist and one of the world's highest-paid musicians. He set aside a considerable part of his earnings for the activities of the trio. Every year the group toured different countries for a month. This form of chamber music was for Casals an inexhaustible source of pleasure. It was, he said, as though he were playing three instruments at once. His fame as a musician was assured forever in the United States, England, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and Italy. Casals not only carried the name of his country, Catalonia, to distant lands; he also set out to make a place for himself in the heart of his people with two unique undertakings without which Catalan musical activity from the twenties until the Civil War would have been lost both in intensity and quality.
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“I do not forget my humble birthplace and I shall always stand beside my people.” Casals felt the need to take an active part in the musical life of Barcelona and at the same time, devote himself to something he loved: the work of conducting. Long before this he had written to the composer Julius Rüntgen, “If until now I have been happy playing the cello, how happy I would be playing the greatest of all instruments: the orchestra.” As Barcelona lacked a permanent orchestra worthy of the city, he set about forming one as a gift from Catalonia and almost entirely alone he created the orchestra that bore his name. Before this, he had conducted the world's greatest orchestras in Paris, London, New York and Vienna. Thanks to his generosity and perseverance, the Pau Casals Orchestra soon became one of the best in Europe and from 1920 until the start of the Civil War in 1936, was the pride and glory of the music of Barcelona. Casals never wanted to impose his wishes on the musicians, and simply gave them his conception of music: “The feelings of musicians must be recognized and respected. You are not my servants; all together we are the servants of music.” In 1926, Casals founded the Workers Concert Association in a move to bring music closer to the common people. The public was exemplary and enthusiastic and many countries took an interest in the association, whose membership was in the tens of thousands.
Prada de Conflent
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When Hitler’s Germany passed its anti-Jewish laws in 1935, Casals refused to play there. He took the same stand two years later on Italy, in an ethical protest against Fascism. During the Spanish Civil War, from 1936 to 1939, he gave concerts in Barcelona and abroad to raise money for the wounded and children and expressed his support. “I do not forget my humble birthplace and I shall always stand beside my people.” During World War II, Casals gives concerts in support of his compatriots in exile and expressed concern for the prisoners in the concentration camps. Casals performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on October 19, 1938, possibly his last performance in Catalonia before his exile. He settled in the French Catalan village of Prada de Conflent, near the Spanish Catalan border. Between 1939 and Pau Casals 6 years old 1942 he made sporadic appearances as a cellist in the unoccupied zone of southern France and in Switzerland. So fierce was his opposition to the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco in Spain that he refused to appear in countries that recognized the authoritarian Spanish government “until a regime is established in Spain that respects basic liberties and the wishes of the people.” He made a notable exception when he took part in a concert at the White House on November 13, 1961, at the invitation of President John F. Kennedy, whom he admired a great deal. On December 6, 1963, Casals was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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Sketch by Ramon Casas
On the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of Bach’s death, a group of eminent musicians persuaded him to hold a Bach Festival in the village of Prada de Conflent, where Pau Casals lived. This was the start of a series of festivals of high standards. Casals never gave up his personal struggle for peace. Concerned over the state of the world, the atomic threat and rearmament, he wanted to use his universal fame and his weapon, music, to bring a message of peace to people all over the world. His oratorio El Pessebre, with words by Joan Alavedra, has been performed in the best-known cities. He also composed the United Nations Anthem (1971), with words by W.H. Auden. Amongst other works, he wrote a series of religious compositions, dedicated to the choir of Montserrat. From 1941 on, Casals adopted the habit of ending his concerts with the Cant dels Ocells (The Song of Birds) a tune which, thanks to Casals, has become a national symbol of peace. Pau Casals' life was a dramatic struggle: in the musical sphere, a constant effort to perfect his technique and bring music to life, and in the personal sphere, a cry of protest at the oppression of individuals and peoples. Pau Casals died in San Juan de Puerto Rico on October 22, 1973, at the age of 96. Nevertheless he continues to live, reminding us to live in peace whenever his music sounds.
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By Francesc d’Assís Gali | Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya of Barcelona www.museunacional.cat
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“This piece is called “The Song of Birds.” The birds in the sky sing, “peace, peace, peace” and the music, is music that Bach and Beethoven and all the greats would have loved and admired. It is so beautiful and it is also the soul of my country, Catalonia.” -Pau Casals 1971 “What I particularly admire in him is the firm stand he has taken, not only against the oppressors of his countrymen, but also against those opportunists who are always ready to compromise with the devil. He perceives very clearly that the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.” -Albert Einstein Albert Einstein’s tribute to Pau Casals (March 30 1953), in the book “Conversations with Casals”(1957), by Josep Maria Corredor,
“Those who have never heard Pablo Casals have no idea how a string instrument can sound. This is a unique synthesis of material and spiritual beauty.” - Wilhelm Furtwängler
I am a Catalan. Today, a province of Spain. But what has been Catalonia? Catalonia has been the greatest nation in the world. I will tell you why. Catalonia has had the first parliament, much before England. Catalonia had the first United Nations. All the authorities of Catalonia in the Eleventh Century met in a city of France, at that time Catalonia, to speak about peace, at the Eleventh Century. Peace in the world and against, against, against war, the inhumanity of the wars. So I am so happy, so happy, so moved to be with you today. That is why the United Nations, which works solely towards the peace ideal, is in my heart, because anything to do with peace goes straight to my heart.”
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Vendrell, Catalonia 2013
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CATALONIA
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
The world's largest and oldest dedicated cancer hospital led by two Catalans Doctor Joan Massagué earned his doctorate degree in Pharmacy and Biochemistry at the University of Barcelona in 1978. He later transferred to Brown University in 1982, where he did his postdoctoral fellowship and discovered the composition of the receptor for the hormone insulin. He began teaching Biochemistry later that year at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, there he started his work on cell development control. He began working with Memorial Sloan-Kettering in 1989. He was named founding Chair of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program in Dr. Joan Massagué 2003. From 1990 to 2013 he was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute - a nonprofit medical research organization and is one of the largest philanthropies in the United States. Massagué is also Scientific Advisor at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), an independent, nonprofit research institution engaged in basic and applied biomedical science. Doctor Joan Massagué was picked by a global master panel and appointed Scientific Director of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York at the end of 2013, and began leading in January 2014. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has long been a pioneer in tumor surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy and is the world's biggest and most established cancer hospital. “Dr. Massagué is an exemplary scientist and an international leader in the study of cancer metastasis and the growth factors that regulate cell behavior. He is one of Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s most vital, imaginative, and collaborative members,” said Craig B. Thompson, President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Massagué was also joined together with Catalan Physicianin-Chief of MSK, Dr. Josep Baselga who has functioned as the Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and as the Associate Director of the MGH Cancer Center. He was additionally the previous President of the European Society for Medical Oncology, has served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He was appointed Physician-in-Chief of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering for being a “dedicated clinician and a distinguished researcher,” said CEO Craig B.Thomson.
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Dr. Josep Baselga
CATALONIA
SPORTS
“Al soci no se’l pot enganyar” By Xavi Salat i Foix
“Al soci no se’l pot enganyar.” Ah, the nature of language! Former president Núñez uttered these wise words but, what do these words mean? One could translate “Al soci no se’l pot enganyar” as “The members cannot be lied to.” Even in English the meaning is unclear. If morality and the will to selflessly serve were at the core of this mantra, it would mean that lying to the members of the club is a big no no. On the other hand, if something like greed or self pompousness were to have motivated him who spoke the words, their meaning might be more aligned with the concern that one can not lie to the members, because members are too smart and cannot be lied to. But, is lying in the same sack of sins as not telling the whole entire truth? I believe it isn’t. Last weekend I went to a BBQ at a friend’s house from noon to 6pm. True. Could I get more into details and tell you how many servings of yams (yuck!) I had, how many ribs and how many beers? If you were my significant other and you were threatening me with a shoe you bet I would, but in any other case, I would probably ponder whether the information I have provided you with is sufficient for your need to know. What I fail to understand is where the need to know line was drawn in Neymar’s contract. €57 million for Neymar is a bargain in today’s soccer market. We all thought so. But maybe, with the economic situation in Spain being what it is, the board thought many Barça fans would be less thrilled to have Neymar in our club if he had cost €90 million, or would have considered that amount obscene. So, in order to preserve the image of solidarity and social involvement the club has, they concealed the real numbers, because that image might have clashed with a €90 million transfer. But what if the concealment of the truth was prompted by other, more shady reasons? From either part. Most FCB fans are more than pleased to have a player like Neymar on our squad, and we rarely think of his cost when he is on the field. But maybe if he had cost €90 we would…
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La Taula d’en Bernat by XAVI SALAT I FOIX
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