2019 Transpose Summer Edition

ISSUE NO.7

SPRING/SUMMER 2019

TRANSPOSE

i ESADE MAGAZINE

ANJANA VEGGIA

President & Editor-in-Chief

DAVID MORAL DANI CONCA Communications Director Sponsorship Director & Treasurer

KIRA KALL President Shadow

SARA URDIALES Editor-in-Chief Shadow

PAULA DOMÍNGUEZ Graphic Designer Director

APOLLINE LE RUDULIER Vice President & Operations Director

CLAUDIA PUIG Operations Director Shadow

MARIONA PLANELLA Sponsorship Director Shadow

ZUZANNA WASZAK Creative Director

ANTONIA TRENTINI Communications Director Shadow

Editors MARIA VIDAL MARTINEZ, SARA URDIALES, VALENTINA DONADO, MANUEL CLAVEL, KRISTINA LUGININA, KIRA KALL, RAMON CODINA, ZUZANNA WASZAK, YASHICA NANWANI, RAÚL BARGONDIA, XÈNIA MARTINEZ, MARIONA PLANELLA Models

MAX KRAMER, BAPTISTE RICHARD, NINON GAHÉRY, SANTI TRUJILLO, SOFIA SASTRE, MARÍA ROBISCO DÍAZ, SAVINA MAÑANES ARMANGUÉ

Sponsorship Team

MARIONA PLANELLA, CAROLINA GINESTA, ÁNGELA ESTEBAN, ALBERT GARRIDO, ANNA PITARQUE, MARC PARDO, ERASMO SÁNCHEZ, LAURA QUINTANA

Communications Team

ANTONIA TRENTINI, CAMILA BARRIENTOS, BLANCA VIZCAÍNO, KIRA KALL, SILVIA PARERA WEB DESIGNER: KRISTINA LUGININA

Graphic designing Team

VALENTINA DONADO, ÁNGELA ESTEBAN

Photography

JAVI BLANC, DAVID MORAL, POL PUIG, JULIA MASSIN

Stylists

CLAUDIA PUIG

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SUMMER 2019

5 BÖW 6 Coastal water 14 Minimalism as a way of living 16 Technique and emotions in The Grand Budapest Hotel 18 The simplicity of happiness 20 5 Health benefits of the Mediterranean diet 22 Minimal textures 30 Can less really be more?

32 Finding our soul where we last saw it 34 The beauty of imperfect music 36 Europe’s hidden Gem 38 Earthy 45 Zero waste in Barcelona 46 Esade exchange 53 Where do I belong?

54 Esade Talks 56 A trascendent experience - Esade sud 58 Netflix’s hidden treasures 60 Plastic could have been 62 Barcelona street style

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Inspired by recent minimalist trends in design, fashion and lifestyle, Transpose Magazine’s members sought to emulate this increasing popular movement both from the visual and editorial perspectives for the SpringSummer 2019 edition.

We delve into minimalism through a diversity of topics and aesthetics, highlighting the broadness of this theme’s interpretation.

An important and particularly relevant understanding of the theme revolved around the idea of sustainability and the ‘less is more’ way of thinking. Thanks to Raúl Bargondia’s article about minimalist lifestyle choices, Xavier del Cerro’s article in collaboration with Oikos Barcelona, as well as Kristina Luginina and Xènia Martinez’s written pieces, which all

discuss the impacts such ‘simpler’ ways of living can have on our society and environment as a whole. Other editorial pieces explore a different angle to this theme. On the one hand, Manu Clavel writes about minimalism in the music sphere with his article about lo-fi and minimal house music while on the other hand we have Sara Urdiales’ poetic piece about finding yourself through the simpler things in life.

Setting and photoshoot location were some of the most important features used to evoke the theme of minimalism in the 7th edition of the magazine.

In our photoshoot ‘Minimal Textures’, the geometric backgrounds and monochromatic colour scheme enhances a visual appeal for minimalism whereas our cover photoshoot ‘Coastal Waters’, shot

at various locations in Costa Brava, demonstrates a more natural side, focused on ‘back to basics’ and being in tune with nature.

I would like to express my gratitude to all the members of the magazine who have helped to put this edition together, the models who have dedicated their time and of course, the readers. Lastly, a special shout-out goes to the upcoming new board members of the magazine: Kira Kall, Sara Urdiales, Antonia Trentini, Mariona Planella and Claudia Puig. Thank you for your tremendous work on this issue and may your experience leading the magazine be as fruitful as it has been for the current board members.

We wish you all the best!

Anjana Veggia President & Editor-in-Chief

JOIN ESADE’S FIRST FASHION MAGAZINE FOLLOW US:

INSTAGRAM: @esademagazine

FACEBOOK: ESADE Magazine CONTACT: transposemagazine@gmail.com 4 CHECK OUR LATEST ISSUE: transposemagazine.com

böw

böw is a project born from sisterhood, love and good vibes. Three sisters, Nina, Bea and Fiona (from ESADE), each more different than the other, come together to combine forces and bring a dream to life.

This all sounds like flowers, rainbows, unicorns and cupcakes, but trust us, there’s a lot of hard work happening behind the scenes. And while we put our greatest effort to always bring our A-game, we struggle to find the balance at times because after all, every person is a wind whirl of thoughts and ideas! The magic happens in the intersection of all the chaos, when we come together, remind each other why we are doing this and we remember to always enjoy the journey. böw is for everyone. Every single person can wear a böw because we are strong believers that everyone has something to bring to the table. And you might be asking yourself… why bucket hats though? Isn’t that the most random piece of clothing to start a brand with? Well to be very honest… we just love them!

They remind us of the outsiders, of the fishermen, of the sweet grandpa who wears the bow when it rains and the grandma who steals it from his head to not get her hair wet. It reminds us of our childhood, the summers on the beach and the sweet Paddington bear; remember him?

Well böwers, they say time flies when you’re having fun and I think we can attest to this. Even though the idea was born long ago, it was mainly in the back of our heads until we started putting words into actions early this year. To this day, we have already launched two collections: the colors for the first collection were decided with the collaboration of our loyal böwers (lavender, white, military green and dark blue, were the chosen colors) and the second collection was inspired by our Mediterranean roots, roots that are so dear to our hearts and which we are so proud of; and this collection includes baby blue, earth-tone brown, and the oh so requested black.

Follow us on Instagram @bowhatsbarcelona and join our good-vibes community!

We love our bowers… be part of the movement and get ready to have fun!

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COASTAL WATERS

Photographers: Pol Puig & Javi Blanc Models: María Robisco Díaz & Savina Mañanes Armangué Stylist: Claudia Puig

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The sea is calm tonight, The tide is full, the moon lies fair, Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

The awful spirits of the deep Hold their worried rest, And there are those for whom we weep, The young, the bright, the fair.

The earth has guilt, the earth has care, But come to the window, peaceful sleep is ever there, Beneath the dark waves, sweet is the night-air.

- Apolline Le Rudulier

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Many people have been found to be struggling with problems raised specifically by the circumstances of modernity in the 21st century, such as stress or depression. In order to combat against these issues, a new wave is coming and it attempts to change the way we live our lives.

This new philosophy is called “Minimalism” and it’s becoming a hit among communities in the USA and the UK. Have you ever felt like there is an enormous burden on your shoulders from having too many obligations in your daily life?

Would you like everything to be simpler but you have no clue of how to do it? Maybe Minimalism is your perfect solution.

the focus towards what is really important in your life and setting aside what is residual. In spite of the simplicity in these words, doing so requires a deep self-analysis in order to really understand one’s true desires and priorities. Though this is a job to be done individually, I will try to give you some tips on how to approach this minimalistic philosophy and to accomplish that inner balance.

First of all, observe your daily environment and more concretely your home. Maybe you are storing a lot of old stuff that you wouldn’t use, not even in one of the many imaginary scenarios we create as excuses not to dismiss stuff. Why not give those possessions to charity?

It would free up more space than you would believe and your home will be more easily organized.

Moreover, you would be helping people who really need these things to have a more decent life.

Minimalism presents itself as a lifestyle that consists of being in constant equilibrium with your inner thoughts, pointing

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Another thing that you should take into account if you want to live a minimalistic life is the purchases you make. Quitting the attitude of automatically buying unnecessary objects will shine a light on the things that are really needed, on those things that are truly essential in your life. This implies not shopping for fun or using it as a pretend excuse for therapeutic healing.

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Such an attitude is simply i mmature and definitely not ecofriendly. In short, you end up wasting money with disregard and accumulating objects that will, in spite of what you may believe, not bring you any feeling of real fulfillment. Your mind, the planet and your wallet will be thankful if you don’t do this. The same applies to technologic devices. You have to be aware of the essentials in your life, and getting rid of technological excesses will also help. In short, the key is

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both choosing to accumulate experiences and more real and abstract sentiments instead of material stuff and trying to point one’s life towards constant learning and seeking for further improvement when treating the world that surrounds you.

In addition to what’s just been established, there is another important component of our lives that the minimalistic movement tries to partially get rid of. That is the enormous amount of information and banal distractions we have become accustomed to indulge; whether through social media or regular media productions like the news or TV shows. These make us waste our time and don’t really give us anything useful.

So if we want to be minimalist we should avoid this, and also try to focus on what you really want to do throughout the day.

This is intrinsically related to the value we should attach to our time; one of the only things that can’t be bought in life is time. So we must learn to spend it wisely, which explains why Minimalism is so strict when referring to time specifically.

You are the single most important person in your life and your time is therefore one of the most, if not the most, important thing you’ll ever possess. Learning to reject the aforementioned tendencies and to say “no” assertively without offending other people will

Be true to yourself.

And manage to be so by putting more effort on controlling where your mind sometimes wanders off to. There is no need for you to be thinking all the time about the past or things that haven’t occurred yet.

Focusing on that is not worthy and the only result that it can bring into your life is desperation and nostalgia.

Meditation would be a useful tool to achieve this.

Raúl Bargondia

make such time worth living for.

Perhaps this has been of interest to you. If that’s the case, don’t hesitate for a minute longer and try to assert minimalism in your life. Such a change may transform your vision of life in a positive and optimistic way.

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Technique and emotions in The Grand Budapest Hotel

By Hugo ZLOTOWSKI

The Grand Budapest Hotel is undoubtedly the most representative movie of director Wes Anderson’s peculiar style, both story-wise and visually. It excels at keeping the audience on the edge of their seats from start to finish. But a well written story placed in the hands of excellent actors is not sufficient to engage spectators as masterfully as Anderson does.

Today, we dive into the less obvious techniques used by the director to elevate his movie to the rank of an instant classic.

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oes storytelling only come from a film script? Many visual and musical cues have been known to assist, if not drive story in film. Composers use film scores to set the mood while the camera guides us inside the space. In post-production, editing controls both pace and story. But framing, as an artistic tool, is a too-often overlooked feature in modern cinema. Not only do many directors pick an industry standard that was only meaningful when shooting on film stock, but they also rarely think of frame to help tell the story.

This technique is perhaps the most unusual visual trait of The Grand Budapest Hotel in terms of creativity.

Three separate formats are used throughout the movie: Anderson chose the classic « Hollywood » 1.85:1 ratio for the opening scene in the cemetery and when filming the aging writer. A wider ratio, 2.35:1 also called Cinemascope, is assigned to the scenes including Mustafa Zero (F. Murray Abraham) at the end of his life. Lastly, the almost square 1.37:1 ratio is used to recount Zero’s early life with Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes).

Each format matches a different time: the 1.85:1 ratio is close to 16:9, the main format of today’s televisions. Fittingly, the opening scene and the aging writer scenes are set respectively in present days and in 1985. We feel connected to those scenes as if they were contemporary to our time. Cinemascope is then used for the most over-the-top cinematic format and fits the introduction to Zero’s story.

But his adventures as a young lobby-boy are set during the 1930’s, hence the director’s choice to switch to a square format, one that will recall early cinema to viewers. Throughout the film, the spectator is made aware of which timeframe the current scene is set in through framing itself.

Above, The Holywood Ratio (1.85:1)

Above, the Cinemascope (2.35:1) Ratio The 1.37:1 ratio, hommage to the first steps of cinema

Anderson is then able to build a complex, layered storytelling through flashback and different narrators. With time, we associate each format to the content: the square ratio reminds of boisterous adventures and liveliness, while Cinemascope has a nostalgic, sorrow feeling to it. Anderson makes great use of this unusual storytelling tool at his disposition, but does not stop at the « exterior » framing. His composition often shows the perceived significance of some characters.

When Mr. Gustave dines

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with his client, his best boy Zero is discreetly standing behind him, in the background, to the right of the frame.

Zero is inferior to his employer both socially and in space. But as their bond strengthens, and Mr. Gustave begins to consider him as his equal, they start to occupy an equal space inside the frame.

When escaping the Alps on a motorcycle, Zero becomes the central character for a moment.

How framing shapes our vision of the status relation between characters

Similarly, the antagonist Dmitri is often framed with his sisters while discussing with the attorney.

But they are placed behind him, far away: they do not have a say in the family’s business.

The shots in The Grand Budapest Hotel often include simultaneous action in the foreground and the background, as we can see in the many lobby scenes or when the members of the secret concierge society perform their activities. As the viewer is also fed information about characters and story through the sheer use of space and format, we are forced to pay attention to every detail, over and over.

Above As their bond strenghtens , Zero leads the way as well as the frame for the first time

Bottom Dmitri does the talking while the sisters watch.

No need for sound.

Right Mr. Gustave, depicted as the new prison boss in the center.

Even the guard sit in the back, well behaved

So, what could modern filmmakers take away from such insights? Well, a lot. Today’s blockbuster movies excel at creating compelling stories and meaningful characters. But technique has become repetitive and dull. Take any scene from the Avengers series: the camera wanders around the characters with no clear intent or message, sets are unmemorable and background action is almost never used to layer storytelling. Most of our potential as spectators is wasted.

Now is the time for filmmakers to find the courage to make the viewer «work for his meal», rather than repeating profitable recipes!

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The simplicity of

happiness Yashica Nanwani 18

The ultimate goal in life is happiness. People live day after day striving to find this abstract concept that we called happiness. We see happiness in films, books, art and create this perfect image in our heads on what happiness is supposed to look like and feel like. Some of us claim to already be happy and content with our lives and others are still searching.

Just take a moment to think about all the people who every year write down their New Year’s resolutions, presuming that it will lead them to fulfillment if such goals are achieved, or the amount people who are increasingly spending more and more every year on self-help books with advice and theories on the “key” to be happy (yoga, meditation, minimalism…).

To me these practices just come to show that human beings seem to have a tendency to be dissatisfied in life and are continuously striving to attain something else which will make them feel even more content. One might suggest that perhaps this constant feeling of unfulfillment is what makes us progress because we are always looking to achieve more.

But what if we could always be happy without losing that desire for more?

In this article I’d like to give an answer this question, though purely a subjective one. I believe that the answer ties in quite seamlessly with the theme of this editions magazine, happiness through simplicity.

But, what do we mean by simplicity, you may wonder? Do we mean a life stranded away from the city, living in a small cottage by the countryside? Or do we mean a life where we balance needs and wants?

The simplicity in achieving happiness is because we only really need to learn one simple lesson…you have to be happy with what you have. By this I am not saying that you have to be accepting and unambitious but you have to enjoy and seek the fulfillment of the actual journey towards that happiness.

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We all know that there will always be more to achieve, a better job, enlightenment, relationships and so on. We also know that if every time we achieve a goal we don’t stop to enjoy it but instead, are already working on our next goal, we will never be happy in our lives (in fact we will probably achieve the contrary: total unhappiness). Therefore, the only way to fight this vicious cycle is to be happy every step of the way which is actually something that you probably have already heard countless of times before but perhaps haven’t actually allowed it to sink in.

Personally, I feel like children are a great example for us, because they seem to be the epitome of happiness. We are constantly mentioning and hearing in our everyday speeches nostalgic recollections of people wishing they could travel back in time and experience that happiness they can remember so vividly from when they were young.

Even literature, music and art have for so long been inspired by this motif. Granted, most of the times we humans have a tendency to idealize our past but, nonetheless, there is some truth to the statement. And the truth is that generally, during childhood, we do not have any real responsibilities and specific projects to look forward to, we are simply enjoying, living in the moment, being happy and yet wanting to still live, achieve and learn new things every single day that goes by.

Finally, I just wanted to make sure that what you take away from this article is that happiness is actually, in its core, quite simple to achieve though you have to make sure you put in that effort to change the way you look at life so that you can be fulfilled every step of the way.

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Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet While traveling in the past few years and living in Italy and Spain, I absolutely fell in love with the Mediterranean lifestyle. The food, the people and the culture are captivating. It wasn’t until I started researching about this way of life that I learned so much more about the health benefits associated with a Mediterranean-inspired diet and lifestyle. The Mediterranean Diet is a heart-healthy diet based on the recipes and cooking styles of the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. People living in the Mediterranean region are thought to be some of the healthiest people in the world, based in part on their low presence of certain chronic diseases. If you’ve ever been curious about the benefits of The Mediterranean Diet, keep reading to find out why it has been named one of the top ways of eating for the last 10 years!

“The Mediterranean Diet is an age-old style of eating that focuses on including fresh, healthy ingredients into your meals, moving your body every day, and learning to celebrate good food again.”

It’s a lifestyle that focuses on practicing healthy eating and physical choices across your whole lifespan, not just a quick fix. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables, omega 3 rich fish, and heart healthy nuts, seeds and legumes are some of the guiding principles, but the lifestyle itself is so much more!

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Reduced Risk of Heart Disease

Research continues to show that incorporating more fresh fruits & vegetables and heart-healthy fats into daily meals leads to a decreased risk of heart disease. So it’s no surprise that the Mediterranean Diet is high on the list of ways to reduce your heart related risks.

Decreased Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

One of the principles of the Mediterranean Diet is focusing on limiting the amount of added sugars, while increasing the intake of vegetables and other high fiber foods and incorporating daily routine of physical activity. This has led to better blood sugar control in those with diabetes and a reduced risk overall for developing Type 2 Diabetes.

3. Reduced Risk of Certain Cancers

There are so many cancer-fighting antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices that it’s easy to see why following a diet that emphasizes fresh fruits, lots of vegetables, and recipes flavored with fresh herbs & spices from around the world can help reduce the risk for certain cancers.

4. Possible Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s disease According to studies, following a Mediterranean diet may slow cognitive decline in older adults and reduce the risk of progression into Alzheimer’s disease. More research is needed to determine which exact parts of the Mediterranean diet are responsible for that, but so far it’s great news!

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5. Bringing Back to Joy of Eating

Not only does the Mediterranean Diet focus on what you eat, but why you eat is just as important. Eating is a social celebration for many living in the Mediterranean region. Food is praised and enjoyed with family and friends.

”One of my favorite

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parts about the Mediterranean Diet is learning to celebrate food again and experimenting with different flavors and fresh ingredients.”

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The minimalism movement involves the use of simple design elements. It conveys the belief of condensing the content and form of a design and the reveal of the essence of architecture. The Bauhaus movement in the 1920s led to the theory that minimalism gives power to the architectural space.

Architecture was the first art movement that linked itself to minimalism.

It is believed it first emerged as a violent reaction against abstract expressionism and nowadays is linked to a lifestyle. The oxymoron in minimalist architecture resides in the fact

that the term refers to anything that is spare or stripped to its essentials.

However, minimalism in architecture is the essence of art. Elegance, perfect planes and the void spaces left behind, that is what minimalist is trying to create. The influence is believed to have originated in Japan, De Stijl is considered as reference in the minimalist architecture.

The meticulous design and the use of raw materials that are natural and simple are the base of the constructions, but nowadays the minimalist houses are built with more expensive materials. The movement was created

to overcome the chaotic invasion of traffic, advertising, building scales and roadways.

The industrialization and the destruction brought

by WW2 led Japan to follow a minimalist design philosophy. The motto “less is more� takes its full meaning with Van der Rohe, who made it his aesthetic as he arranged components to create extreme simplicity and combined the uses of materials. The floor became a radiator and the fireplace the bathroom.

This photoshoot is inspired by this architectural movement, shot in Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona.

Minimal Textures

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Models: Santi Trujillo & Sofia Sastre Photographer Javi Blanc

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CAN LESS REALLY BE MORE? Since we were young, we have been told that the idea of success is one of accumulation; it could be a home with many bedrooms, or a garage with several cars, even wardrobes filled with all the luxury brands. This concept is pushed onto us since an early age and persists well into adulthood. Accumulation of material goods is the essence of capitalism and consumerism, and even though these trends have led to historic economic growth, unpredicted innovation, and nearly unlimited economic freedom, there have been many people left behind in the movement.

In the past years, the average cost of living has generally increased, and unemployment is more common. Furthermore, a given material good, such as a home or an advanced education, has become unattainable for a large majority of people.

Suddenly, nothing is guaranteed for anyone.

While some people may argue that this is simply fair, and everything should be earned by the individual, it is my opinion that this way of thinking is severely outdated and no longer sustainable.

As a result of issues related to climate change and diminishing natural resources, we must collectively shift our thinking away from mass consumerism towards a new alternative mindset.

Minimalism first emerged in the 1960’s as an artistic movement that aimed to promote the simple over the superficial and has now transformed into a liberating template for a happier and more fulfilling lifestyle.

Minimalism seeks to strip the unnecessary out of our lives and leave us simply with just exactly what we need. This movement is not an attack on current trends and lifestyles, instead, it poses a challenge of how to make more out of less.

Xavier Del Cerro Greem Campus Initiative Team Oikos Barcelona

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The beginnings of the answer to this question originate in our academic foundations, as we start to enter the professional world. Participating in Oikos Barcelona, I have learned just how important it is to promote sustainable values within ESADE, with the ultimate goal of creating a larger culture of awareness towards sustainability issues. It is undeniable that ESADE students are the current leaders of tomorrow, therefore the importance of encouraging an alternative thinking method is crucial.

In an environment like ESADE, minimalism would enrich the academic and personal lives of students and staff.

Being part of the Green Campus Initiative, team has allowed me to see firsthand the level of consumerism within the Sant Cugat Campus, From coffee cups in the cafeteria, to paper utilized by professors,

or paper towels used in the bathrooms.

In the coming semester Oikos Barcelona and the Green Campus team hope to start this conversation, and begin a shift in thinking within the community. Through initiatives such as reducing single-use containers in the cafeteria, implementing hand dryers in all restrooms, and coordinating with administration to regulate paper use in the facilities.

The mission of Oikos and the Green Campus Team is not to attack or replace current trends, but simply to begin the conversation around a new movement that aims to promote sustainability.

Through coordination and cooperation, we can make ESADE a more sustainable environment, and potentially change the world by proving that we are capable of doing more with less.

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Finding our soul where w Most of us have been brought up in big cities, surrounded by the incessant purring of engines and with glowing letterings that seem to never sleep. Friday nights always seem to get longer than expected as our blood becomes stained with some cheap liquor from a bar we would not get in the plain daylight. The hours swiftly pass by as we sink into a predetermined routine that leaves little time for us to reconnect with ourselves.

In between schedules filled with an abundance of academic details, hangouts, family plans and so on, our souls end up being a detached element of our own personalities and we can hardly dedicate a minute to caress what is, in reality, the very core of ourselves Some of us desperately seek to make ours again what we’ve lost throughout time, but the city always manages to take it back and leaves us feeling like no more than a carcass that wanders around with no real purpose or conscience of the self.

A little bit over dramatic, I know, but I can’t help it.

That feeling of detachment I mentioned before is something that I have seen present in most of the young people that surround me, and, (must I say), lucky you if you don’t recognize yourself in these words.

But there is a place, (and what a place!), that can help us find the guidance we need to reach back to our most volatile and abstract interior, back to the sense of the soul we seem to have forgotten or misunderstood.

This place is what is laid under our greyish and gumdecorated pavements, before we decided to replace trees for symmetrical conglomerates of dull buildings. It is where the sky has no yellow lines besides those drawn by a falling sun, where the air becomes breathable at last and where the sounds are no longer mechanical, but natural. It is nature, at its most raw state. There, in that place when the beauty of what’s been untouched by humans unwinds before your eyes, and brings to you a real sense of peace, both exterior and interior.

we last saw it

It is the place where you’ll always be accepted regardless of what you’re made of or what you look like; nature does not understand prejudice or complexes but will instead give us the necessary push to rediscover what’s really important in life. Sometimes we need to be stripped off of our immense ego, and the grandiosity of a sea that extends farther from where our eyes can reach, feeling little compared to the treetops or scared of wildlife because we know we’re weaker than most animals. All these things can help us get rid of it Finding ourselves within a more natural environment happens to be not only fascinating for most people, but also extremely efficient at making us reconsider our priorities.

It clears the head of all the toxic thoughts and preoccupations we’ve managed to accumulate and vanishes banal obsessions by shining a light on the most vital things.

Being afar from routine can even be a source of artistic inspiration, which will only have a positive impact on our soul-searching mission.

Barcelona

is surrounded

by various spaces in which nature is preserved and well taken care of, so, if you feel at all like there is an essential part of yourself you seem to not be able to access, nature maybe just be the key you need to unlock it.

Sara Urdiales

The Beauty of “Imperfect” Music I created a playlist with the aim of making the article more amusing and immersing. You can listen to it by scanning the playlist tag with the Spotify image search feature.

Their names are ironic and nostalgic at the same time; these young producers came to revolutionize the house music genre and started a craze which has lived on for the past 3 years.

DJ Seinfeld, Ross From Friends, Mall Grab, DJ Boring, etc. These are just some examples of how bizarre their monikers can get. Thanks to YouTube’s video recommendation algorithm and the comicality of their aliases, tracks such as “Talk To Me You’ll Understand” and “Winona” started racking millions of views on the platform, and the rest is history.

So how did Lo-fi House reach the spotlight of the underground scene?

Like I mentioned earlier, many speculate this was the first music genre to gain popularity thanks to YouTube’s video recommendation algorithm. In 2016, the same year this kind of music started gaining traction, the video streaming platform changed their recommendation system to a new one based on “deep neural

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networks” of machine-learning algorithms which gather and process data from your watch and search history, click-through rates, watch times of past videos, etc. This new algorithm, with the help of the peculiarity of the artists’ and tracks’ names, aided the new genre in becoming well-known in nowadays’ internet culture.

Lo-fi house gives off a feeling of soothing but bittersweet nostalgia achieved through the use of distorted drums, hazy synthesizers, bitcrusher effects, a reminiscent cassette crackle sound, and samples; all ranging from 80s and 90s TV shows, to songs by pop icons such as Alicia Keys (Mall Grab’s “Can’t”).

This sound, supported by their overall aesthetic - which is the main component that appeals to today’s youth - makes a great contraposition when opposed to the early 2010s clean and glossy sound of EDM.

Producers of the latter took full advantage of their recording equipment to create their flamboyant and elegant take on house music we all know today. Meanwhile, people like Ross From Friends and Mall Grab are more keen on the grittiness and rawness of the beginnings of house music back in 1980s Chicago.

In their opinion, it gives the music character and authenticity.

The tracks are lengthy and minimal, yet catchy and stunning despite their foggy and out-of-focus sound.

In fact, it is this exact thing that makes the music different from ordinary house. Swedish producer DJ Seinfeld sums it up perfectly in this quote from an interview: “I think [Lof-fi House] shares some similarities to the whole punk and metal genre; you won’t always have clear and crisp tones, but that was never the point of it, and

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now with all the production soft ware available, the lo-fi bedroom producers are the dance music equivalent of people rocking out in someone’s garage somewhere.

I think it invites some listeners to be a bit more curious and thoughtful about what they hear, and maybe make them rethink the whole paradigm of pure-sounding dance music.”

As the new subgenre becomes more and more popular, we might also see more people reconsidering whether or not music has to be perfect and polished in order for it to be good, and maybe realizing that flaws and minimality do make songs genuine and original.

Manu Clavel

Europe’s Hidden Gem: Insider’s Guide to Poland’s Capital

Zuzanna Waszak

When planning a weekend getaway, most of us probably think of the same old places as destinations: Paris, Madrid, Rome, the list goes on. While I too enjoy all of these great European cities, there is another city that is often overlooked but holds up equally in terms of culture and excitement. This city is, of course, Warsaw. Not even the most popular tourist destination in Poland, (that spot belongs to Krakow), Warsaw is a city that can no longer be neglected. It’s a city full of history, culture, architecture and life and it is perfect for any student wanting to take a break from the monotony of everyday life. Ranked as the cheapest city for cultural purposes in Europe, it is also a very affordable destination in many other senses.

After visiting all the most touristic spots, I recommend you to consider looking at Warsaw from a different perspective. In order to understand better the fashionable, modern side of the city, I’ve assembled a list of some of the most popular venues, as well as my personal favorite spots in the city, focusing on places that are often underestimated but that are beloved by locals. Keeping up with the theme of going back to basics, many of the following places offer natural or minimalistic products and are independently owned. Choosing to visit these is not only a great way to get fashionable and niche items, but also a way of showing your support for smaller retailers and designers.

2. Chylak x Le Petit Trou (Koszykowa 14) 1. Ojeju (Mokotowska 71) As one of Poland’s best natural beauty stores, Ojeju offers a huge selection of both Korean and Polish cosmetics, turning into a must for any beauty lover. The staff is equally amazing, with a great knowledge of the products, and they will be able and welcome to solve any doubts you might have, plus don’t even get me started on the interior design!

Zofia Chylak has been an such international sensation that even the likes of the British influencer and fashion designer Alexa Chung has been spotted wearing her signature bags. Though you will have to sign up for a 15,000 people waiting list for some of her bags, the final price tag will not hurt your wallet too much and it will definitely be an investment piece that will last you a long time

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ak Known for their minimalistic designs and signature V-shaped cuts on the back, this boutique is a must on the fashion map of Warsaw. Their designs beautifully show off a bit of skin and would definitely look amazing with a taste of a Barcelona tan!

After being closed for many years due to renovations, the luxury hotel finally reopened its gates last year. Though the room prices are not too apt for the average student budget, their breakfast service is open to everyone and it is one of the best in Warsaw.

3.The Odder Side (Koszykowa 5)

4. Raffles Europejski Breakfast (Krakowskie Przedmieście 13)

5. Nocny Market (Towarowa 3) If you’re planning on going to Warsaw during the summer, the Night Market is definitely worth visiting. With a large selection of the best food trucks in town, everyone can find something for their taste. The selection offered changes from weekend to weekend so you might even want to consider paying them multiple visits during your stay. Funnily enough, if you want a tattoo or a haircut, they are also available. I suggest coming for the food though.

6. Warsaw Rising Museum (Grzybowska 79)

The museum dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 to commemorate one of the darkest moments in Poland’s history. It shows the struggles of Varsovians in their attempts to liberate the city from Nazi oppression. If you’re going to have time to visit just one museum during your stay in Warsaw, I suggest you make it this one to understand one of the most important parts of the city’s history. Though it is a quite popular destination for foreign tourists, I chose to stress the importance of it as the key museum to understand the history of Warsaw and the country as a whole.

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Earthy, muted colours... the essence of less is more.

Here we go back to basics with a toned down, neutralcoloured and natural look.

MODELS Max Kramer, Baptiste Richard & Ninon GahĂŠry PHOTOGRAPHER David Moral & Pol Puig STYLIST Claudia Puig LOCATION Garden Pizza Sant Cugat

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ZERO waste in Barcelona

The zero-waste movement has a common ground in minimalism. Living

zero waste is a great way of being richer with less stuff. When you desire less and expect less, you create less waste and improve the environment as a result. Here is how you can reduce your waste in Barcelona.

Not so long ago, Natura opened a new zerowaste product line. The range of products is huge: in a Natura store you can find some reusable bags, so when you go to the supermarket you can weigh the products and not waste plastic bags. There are also some cooking products: bamboo coffee cups and straws, reusable cotton cases for food preservation, tea ball strainers, and so much more! Basically, in Natura you can find a lot of products that are frequently used in our daily lives and find a reusable (and therefore a zero-waste) alternative.

Talking about food, Barcelona has a lot of zero-waste grocery stores.

“Yes Future” is one of them. Located on Calle Viladomat 66, you can find more than 300 products in the “Yes Future” store. Cereals, spices, dehydrated fruits, nuts, infusions, legumes, pasta, seeds, mushrooms, teas… you can buy it all zero-waste by bringing your own glass containers.

As for cosmetics, things are a bit more complicated, although you can find some zero-waste cosmetic products in Lush. If you buy five black pots (of any product) you can return them to Lush and get a free face mask! Lush has also opened some revolutionary zero-waste stores, where literally all products are zero-waste, in some European cities,

Kristina Luginina

however, not in Barcelona, so we hope that the store will open in Barcelona soon.

Living a zero-waste lifestyle can be a bit more expensive, but you are contributing to something big: saving our Mother Nature.

Zero-waste is a great example of less is more: the less waste you have, the more you are in harmony with yourself and with nature.

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ESADE X C 1.

H A N G E

Mariona Planella Xenia Martinez

We are excited to announce the launch of a new section in our magazine!

Everybody is normally freaking out prior to choosing their exchange location since it is a complex decision to make. Therefore, we want to ease this step and present to you some of the experiences that ESADE students are living right now. Each new issue of the magazine will count on the contribution of some of them, the first locations to be featured being: LA, Bangkok, Paris and Singapore!

Which location did you choose?

Did you go alone or with somebody else from ESADE? I chose Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. I went with 5 other people from ESADE.

Why did you choose Bangkok as your location for your exchange program?

Has it lived up to your expectations?

I chose Bangkok as I really wanted to live the Asian culture, get a feel for the country without spending as much money as I would have to in Hong Kong or Singapore.

So far, the exchange has been great! I’ve met a lot of people from the exchange and they are very interesting students and individuals.

However, I do regret not having the opportunity to meet a

lot of Thai people. It is quite difficult to meet locals here as Thai is a difficult language and hardly anyone speaks English, not to mention the cultural differences that you can feel in every interaction.

Where are you staying?

I’m staying at a student residence with most of the exchange community. It is a nice place, but the reason we all chose it is for the community aspect.

We frequently meet on the rooftop to share beers before going out. There is no real center in Bangkok but several activity centers, and my residence is not near any of them, but a cheap taxi ride and lots of patience will get you around the trafficpacked metropolis.

You can expect to pay between 200€ and

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300€ depending on the size of your room and your consumption of utilities.

What do you usually do on a typical day?

On a typical day, I will go to class at 9am either by splitting a taxi with other people (which comes at a cost of 0.30€ per person) or taking a ferry boat across the river. Then in university I attend the classes. Most of them are quite easy and require little effort so I work on other topics while I am in class.

After that, I try to get some exercise at the university gym. It’s very small and old but it gets the job done. I also go to play football on a weekly basis.

What do you usually do in your free time and/or weekends?

On weekends, I try to escape the Bangkok heat and pollution and go out to discover a new place in Thailand. It’s quite easy and cheap to get around the country form Bangkok.

Can you tell us any highlights from your experience so far?

Thailand is a very touristy country. As a person of European origins, people do not normally pay special attention to you since there are many more

tourists that are present.

Nevertheless, when you leave the tourist paths, you get lots of looks of surprise and people will randomly come and talk to you.

As I was completing the half marathon in the northern city of Chiang Mai, many people were surprised to see a European participate in the race and I was asked several times to take a picture with people. It made the whole experience feel more authentic.

It was pretty great!

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What would you tell other people that are thinking about applying to the same location?

Classes will likely not be your main focus while here.

You’ll learn plenty about people, get social skills and get to live in a new culture.

Do you have any tips for people that are traveling / doing the exchange in Bangkok?

Take every opportunity that is given to you to go out your comfort zone and learn something you never thought you’d know.

2.

Which location did you choose? Did you go alone or with somebody else?

I chose HEC, Paris and I went with one other ESADE student.

Why did you choose HEC for your exchange program? Has it lived up to your expectations?

I chose HHEC Paris because I knew it was a school that has a great reputation and at brand level, I have noticed it.

It has totally lived up to my expectations as everyone has taken it into account, as well as at an HR level during all the recruitments I have gone through, such as at Procter & Gamble, Deloitte and other interviews. Not only was the university’s reputation the reason I chose it, but also the learning I could take from it and obviously the location and proximity. In my case I wanted to go to Europe.

All these factors made me decide to choose HEC Paris over all the other options.

Where were you staying?

I was accommodated in the campus housing, which was in Jouy-en-Josas, 5 minutes away from the town center, 15 minutes by car from Versailles and 1 hour and a half from Paris by train. The accommodation consisted of a shared room; in fact, it was called “cochambre”. We shared the kitchen and a bathroom, but each of us had our own room.

If I’m not wrong it was the cheapest room, because there were different options such as “co-douche” (sharedshower room) or individual accommodation.

However, I opted for a shared room as I was going with another student from ESADE and this room was a good option. It is worth mentioning that the furniture’s quality and the room’s modernity level were quite low. In contrast, other installations and the sports center were in really good condition. In fact, I remember there was new housing being constructed, so maybe now the accommodations are newer and more modern.

What did you usually do on a typical day?

I had for 2 months one type of subjects and then in the two following months they changed, in such a manner they were really intense subjects in a short period of time. After all, in both cases I think I had a good work-life balance, because I read the syllabus from the subjects I chose in order to ensure I liked those courses, I really recommend to do it.

The first 2 months I only had three days of classes and during the two following months I had 4 to 5 days, depending on the week. I also had the opportunity to take two subjects in French with the level I had coming from ESADE. However, compared to ESADE, there wasn’t a heavy workload so I had plenty of time to enjoy other aspects of my exchange experience.

Every day after class, I would go for basketball training with two of the university’s teams.

Moreover, I played one day with the volleyball team and went with the rowing team to a lake 15 minutes away by bus, which was a great experience.

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you usually As you probably know, your free during the first weeks of weekends? the exchange there is an introductory period, during During my free time, apart which there was a welcome from doing sports, we had party organised at the Eiffel parties every Thursday Tower, where you get to know called POW, which means the exchange people. With a Party Of the Week. They group of them I travelled to even did sometimes POW London, Mont Saint Michel every day sometimes. and some more places.

We had a lot of activities in the university as there What would you tell were 3 student associations to the people that are competing to be the thinking about applying leaders on campus. This to the same location? was a competition done in February and these 3 What I recommend to people associations were giving considering this option is to gifts and organizing activities place it in the first position in order to gain votes from if they really want it. They students. I remember they should forget of strategies assembled a bumper car and rankings, because you track, an excursion with don’t lose anything. They aerostatic balloons, a kind should also be clear that of free fall in inflatables… All the distance from Paris is these activities compensated not a problem for them. the fact that we weren’t in a centric location.

What did do on time /

Do you have any tips for people that are traveling to Paris?

For me the most important tip is related to choosing the subjects, which is something I valued a lot.

In the case of HEC, they give you the possibility to download the syllabus with all the details weeks before starting the program. It is very important for students going there to read it and find out all the details because the evaluation is different for each subject.

There are some with more difficult exams and other ones with team projects.

Thus, depending on the student going to HEC, one evaluation criteria or another might suit him/her better, and the most important part is to make sure they like the content of the subjects.

3.

Which location did you 10 of us in the same semester. choose? Did you go alone or with somebody else? Why did you choose Singapore as your location I went to NUS in Singapore for your exchange for my exchange, I was program? Has it lived up accompanied by 4 ESADE to your expectations? students, three of them from the BBA program and one I chose Singapore for 2 from the Double Degree. main reasons. The first one, However, in Singapore there because I was determined are 3 universities available to go to Asia as I had never for exchange, so there were been there. I thought that

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since I was going to be away from home for 6 months, it would be a great opportunity to discover a place I didn’t know and that attracted me so much. To add to that, Singapore is a well connected city, which makes it easy to travel to different destinations. The second reason is because it has the best business school in Asia.

Where

were

you

staying?

At first, I wanted to be in the city center but I finally stayed on campus as almost every exchange student in my university decided to stay there.

My residence was like two twin towers with around 30 floors. Each floor had 4 people each with individual rooms and they allocated you with students from different nationalities.

I was living with a Japanese girl, one Belgian and another one from Macedonia, and we all got along very well. Singapore is an expensive country, but the university’s accommodation is subsidized, so it was almost cheaper to live there than in Sant Cugat. I recommend it 100%, because it was just half an hour from the downtown area, so I could go there whenever I wanted to. The exchange students were together nearly everyday and I really think that they make up great part of this experience. I am lucky because at NUS, residences are distributed by randomly and out of all the options available, I had the one I wanted, which is in the new area with a swimming pool, gym and many other facilities only within a minute walk.

Moreover, there were lots of activities and competitions organized on campus, such as singing and dancing competitions.

As I was living on campus I made the most of all these opportunities!

the city and its surroundings.

I would not highlight anything special from my day to day, only that there were so many things to do and so many people to meet (there were more than one thousand exchange students) that there was always something interesting to do. In fact, I learned to dance salsa and bachata when I was there, as a I had a lot of free time that I had to fill with some hobbies.

Of course, it depends on what experiences you want to have, but you can more or less know if the place will match with your spirit or not. Personally, I really like being asked about my exchange and at the same time I feel nostalgic. I would return there and repeat the whole experience once again. I think those were were the best 6 months of my life, and definitely a remarkable once in a lifetime experience.

Can you tell us any highlights from your experience so far?

Without a doubt, the best thing about this experience was the people I met. I made really good friends and encountered a lot of international people I thought I wouldn’t see again. The other thing, and probably the best part of the exchange were all the trips we went on. I had the chance to visit amazing places and I absolutely loved every single one of them.

Do you have any tips for people doing their exchange in Singapore?

What would you tell the people that are thinking about applying to the same location?

I totally recommend it. In fact, the best you can do when you go on exchange is to talk to people who have already been there as they are the ones who can explain to you what they have lived.

What did you usually do on a typical day and during your free time / weekends?

It depended a lot. I had 4 subjects, 3 days a week, from Monday to Wednesday and then I was free the rest of the time. I didn’t have to study a lot, what I had more were group projects. For this reason, nearly every week we were travelling somewhere and the days we stayed in Singapore I was on campus or I was exploring

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Take full advantage of it, because having the opportunity to go for such a long period of time to a far place and have all that time to enjoy it is not something that is easily given and you don’t need to be afraid to live it. I travelled to 10 different countries with people from all over the world. In fact, I stayed behind to travel for a couple of months when I finished my exchange. One month I went backpacking with an Australian girl and I saw a little bit of everything: from big cities such as Hong Kong and islands in the Philippines and Thailand’s beaches, to unique places such as Myanmar.

4.

Why did you choose LA as your location for your exchange program? Has it lived up to your expectations?

I am a singer, songwriter and producer. That’s what I want to continue doing once I graduate. LA is the center of

music worldwide and I want to be an artist, so it made complete sense to come here.

The other alternative was London, because London is the capital of music in Europe, and LA is the capital of the music industry worldwide.

I had always wanted to go to the US. Some friends of mine, with whom I recorded a cover, had already told me about the school and how he attended some music industry courses.

That was in the back of my mind as I wanted to do that as well, so then I decided to apply to USC. The university is insane, in all aspects: the campus is huge, there are astounding buildings, and everything is so beautiful.

The first time I walked

around the campus I had my mouth open all the time.

The classes are great, the professors are awesome. I am very thankful as I have been able to take some music industry courses (I’m doing 5 courses at USC, 3 of them are music related while the other 2 are pure business).

One of the professors used to be the manager of famous superstars such as Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and Aerosmith, amongst others. I also have another professor who used to be the COO at LiveNation. He’s put a lot of shows together, and I’m learning a lot from him as well.

Where are you staying?

I’m staying in an AirBnB, which is 2,5 miles away from campus so I bike every day to USC. I chose that option because the residence in campus, where 90% of students – including my three ESADE peers – stay at is a bit expensive: for the

price of a double room at the residence, I could have a huge individual room in a house. The house is very silent, which is of great importance for me, since I produce and record some demos in my free time. I live with a chief who has directed many plays in theatres.

Besides, the housekeeper used to be the drummer for many prominent artists ever since Rock ’n Roll appeared, and he even performed for more than 60,000 people.

Considering all those aspects, the accommodation choice has been a great decision.

Which location did you choose? Did you go alone or with somebody else from ESADE? I chose the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, USA, for my exchange semester. I didn’t go alone, I came with three more students from ESADE who I already knew given that there are quite a few spots for ESADE students at USC.

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What do you usually do on a typical day?

I usually wake up at 6:55am to go the gym at USC, which is free for students. At 10am my lessons start, and I normally stay on campus until 2pm or 8pm depending on the day.

After University, I just go home, as we would do in ESADE, the only difference is that we have less hours of class, so in a way it’s more relaxed.

Once I get home, I usually work on my music, produce songs (…) pretty boring stuff, but the subjects I’m taking – Concert Management, Audio Management, Songwriting, Mastering Decision Making and Global Marketing Strategies – are absolutely gripping.

friends and do sightseeing.

We’ve already been to the Hollywood sign, Venice Beach, and I did a road trip during the Spring Break across Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Las Vegas, Death Valley and Sequoia National Park.

Can you tell us any highlights from your experience so far?

The most beautiful and unforgettable experience was when I met a really important and famous singer and songwriter, Cam, who had come to the USC School of Communication to deliver a speech. Moreover, I also met one of the members of the “Tonics”, although he came after I had performed, What do you usually which was quite sad. do in your free time and/or weekends? What would you tell In my free time on the other people that are weekends I usually go to thinking about applying Santa Monica Pier to perform. to the same location?

The spots are allocated on LA is great in 2 aspects: the a random basis, so I may not weather is nice, and there always get the spot that I want are a lot of parties (that’s the on the pier. Most of the time, Californian Dream if you are I perform for a few hours to ready for it). If you are the type make some money to help me of person who loves cinema fund my career as an artist. or wants to be an actor, artist, The days I’m not performing, producer, filmmaker… USC has I stay home and produce, insane schools of Cinematic or just hang out with some Arts and Music, there are so

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many opportunities. If that’s what you want to pursue, don’t hesitate to come here because you might even be able to get in touch with tour organizers, private labels, management companies, A&R’s…

In this regard, it’s a unique opportunity!

Do you have any tips for people that are doing the exchange in LA? Public transportation is awful.

Besides running late, it’s quite unpredictable. If I were you, I would avoid walking alone at night, specially in USC or the downtown area, because it’s somewhat dangerous. When it comes to food, it is so different from Spain. Everything is much more expensive here, and not as good. Lastly, if you happen to come here, don’t forget to check out the Pier, the Hollywood sign, the Planetarium and some rooftops in downtown, they are all amazing!

MARIA

We are who we are. Our genes, our personal background, our family, our friends, our traditions…

These things are the basis of each person’s identity and they characterize us as the individual person we are.

VIDAL MARTINEZ

WHERE DO I From the 23rd to the 30th of March, I had the opportunity to participate in the cultural exchange “Where do I belong?”, which is organized by Erasmus+ and took place in Dresden, Germany. The objective was to talk about the problem of identity in Europe since due to the many different challenges that the global order is nowadays facing (such as migration, asylum, violence towards oppressed groups, borders and their meaning and many others), the topic of identity has become a key element to take into consideration to understand what is happening.

Consequently, this program aims to give the chance to understand some of the current global challenges, as well as to promote values such as tolerance, openness, diversity and intercultural dialogue.

BELONG

?

With this experience, I have realized that in this day and age, it is widely believed that the place where we live, as well as the people with whom we spend our time, define us. We are constantly becoming a part of communities with other people with whom we share the same ideas, clear examples being our family, our country or even our nation, as all these groups are formed by not only psychical ties but also emotional ones such as cultural, religious or linguistic ones.

Nevertheless, what happens when all or part of these elements are not met? Do we then lose our identity?

For example, what happens to the identity of refugees who find themselves fleeing a national war? What happens with the sense of integration of people who belong to the LGTBI+ community in a country where their sexual orientation is not accepted? Or to people that are oppressed due to their political orientation?

Or because of their language? They are all groups who have had to leave their country for certain reasons and are now looking for another opportunity in a different state. Have they lost their identity because of their change in nationality? From my personal standpoint, they don’t because even though a person’s identity seems to be directly related to a community, when such community ceases to exist or is torn apart, identity by itself does not get lost: it goes beyond borders.

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In other words, it is true that the people you sorround yourself with may affect you, but this does not mean that when there is no such influence, identity does not continue to exist. At the end of the day, individuals need to be put before collectivities.

Thanks to this project, I have been able to get acquainted with the process these individuals had to go through. I’ve learnt about the reasons why a wide range of people had to flee their country, the procedure they had to stick to in order to obtain the asylum status, find a job and house to live in. Everything to survive.

Moreover, I have realized how much these people have had to leave behind. Sacrifice some things for others. Family, friends, studies… But still, they leave.

Because they believe they can find a better life in another country that accepts their ideologies, their way of being, their identity.

Pascale Piccotte What was your favourite thing at ESADE? The welcome for the exchange students was really fun!

Sirine Douhane Who is your favourite teacher at ESADE and why?

Ferran, he is the most captivating teacher.

ESADE talks Nuria Freire What do you expect from your exchange programme?

I expect to meet new people from different cultures and travel a lot.

Marcos Ripoll What was your favourite year at ESADE? My 4th year last year, because of my exchange in Hong Kong. I loved the new experiences.

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Laura Santoponte If you could describe ESADE in 3 words, what would they be?

Involving, Inspiring, International.

John Permenter What did you expect from your Master’s?

High quality professors and education.

Silvia Cavasin Were your expectations met at ESADE? I think the level of this school is good and I’m overall happy.

Martino Armanini Would you recommend a student to join a student association?

Definitely, it’s one of the most important parts of ESADE life. It allows you to meet new people and learn from people with different interests.

PHOTOGRAPHER David Moral

INTERVIEWER Apolline Le Rudulier

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A Transcendent Experience Valentina Donado

A wise man once said “happiness means making someone else’s problem your own”, it takes some time to actually understand the magnitude and importance that this phrase holds. Every day, hundreds of volunteers travel across the globe to contribute and plant their seed in community projects through a two-way exchange of ideas, perspectives and skills, and they often discover it has a profound and lasting impact on their lives.

Rebeca and Ana, two ESADE undergraduate students, traveled 5,485 miles across the world and touched down in the beautiful country of Ecuador with nothing but high desires of adventure. They arrived with zero expectations and with a high willingness to leave everything out on the field despite lacking an instructions book.

E

D U S E SAD

As they begin their life changing experience they notice certain unexpected milestones.

Working and living in totally different circumstances from which they are accustomed to was a hard rock to jump.

It was impacting and hard to get used to sleeping in someone else’s home, changing the meal plan, waking up to rough field work, no Wi-Fi or cable, slow pace of work and even days without showering. However, this did not stop them. They took some measures between each other to be able to work better as individuals and especially as a team.

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Throughout their three months abroad, they got to meet extraordinary people. Starting from their boss who became a father figure to them, all the way to random workers who gave them lessons that left them speechless.

They traveled to every corner and every mountain peak. Their happiness and joy blossomed from everyday experiences and teachings. The composition of all these moments are hard to summarize, but the SUD made them happy every day, even before arriving to Ecuador. Regardless of the harsh situations, they could not have been any more in love with the whole experience.

As their return home approached, Rebeca and Ana started to realize how impactful and fast everything was and that it was time to come back to their reality. They were able to achieve and deliver a marketing plan and a sustainable way to sell the alpaca fiber, as well as doing business with the biggest Ecuadorian textile company.

They learned to overcome all obstacles by simply saying “No pasa nada�. Sad to leave their hearts and souls back in Ecuador, they went home happier than ever and with a mark that will be with them forever as a constant reminder of their incredible and successful three months abroad.

Their biggest advice for all those aspiring to live this experience is to go with zero expectations, to know very clearly where and with who you are going because even though it is an amazing project and a very prestigious one, it is not intended for everyone.

Those who embark in this adventure must be willing to give everything in their power and with no doubt they will be rewarded. El SUD must be embraced, loved and valued.

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Netflix’s hidden tr La Catedral Del Mar

Based on the bestseller book written by Ildefonso Falcones, La Catedral Del Mar shows a story while the Santa Maria del Mar church is being built in Barcelona. This historical series achieves its objective of transporting viewers into the 16th century. Across the eight episodes of this series, we meet the protagonist since he is born and throughout the story, we see him grow and fall in love as he goes up the social ladder and overcomes the different conflicts shown.

The protector aka Hakan, the protector

The protector is Netflix’s first TV series from Turkey. It combines the genres of action, fantasy, sci-fi and suspense. Hakan is a young merchant who suddenly discovers he is the one in charge of the protection of the city of Istanbul, in Turkey. He obtains his powers from a talisman. He will soon have to learn how to use his powers in order to combat the evil forces of the so-called “Immortals”.

Sex Education

Sex Education is a British comedy about a socially awkward high school virgin who lives with his mother, a sexual therapist. He soon finds out that although he has no sexual experience, he knows how to advise other people on their sexual problems. With a friend, he sets up a sexual advice business in order to educate their fellow students in how to solve their problems.

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The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy is a TV series based on the comics “The Umbrella Academy” written by Gerard Way. It shows the story of a group of superheroes who are adopted by a millionaire inventor called Reginald Hargreeves.

Since they created this group called “The Umbrella Academy”, these superheroes who are also brothers and sisters have to work together to solve the death of their father. Along the series they have to make an attempt to avoid the apocalypse.

treasures by RAMON CODINA

La Casa De Las Flores

3%

The end of the fucking world

La Casa De Las Flores is supposed to be a thriving florist that gives off much happiness and union among the whole family of De La Mora, the owners of this business. But nothing is what it seems to be. Suddenly, the family meets the corpse of the father’s mistress. With this unexpected surprise, the florist will reveal everything that it hides: secrets, lies and family problems. This comedy was shot in Spanish and it is worth watching it in its original version.

The protagonist is called James, a boy who defines himself as a psychopath. He meets Alyssa, a girl who hates everyone. Leading an unhappy life unites them and they decide to flee their homes. Alyssa is attracted to James, but he only thinks about how to kill her. With this premise, they go adventuring while being sought by the police.

3% is a science fiction TV series that happens in Brazil. In this dystopian reality, people are given the chance to move to the “other side”, a place full of progress which contrasts with the devastation side. To do so, they have to pass a process that only 3% of the candidates can pass. If the candidate successfully passes the tests, any link with his family and his environment prior to the recruitment is cancelled. This system will test the candidates, but some won’t like to continue submitting the process in a totally unequal world.

Fariña aka Cocaine Coast

Based on real events, this TV series tells the story of how Sito Miñanco, a fisherman with a great dexterity driving motorbikes, started in the business of tobacco smuggling.

Soon he discovers the business of cocaine and the great opportunities it can bring him to earn bigger amounts of money. He will have to debate with his contraband clan whether they should diversify their business with cocaine or not. All this happens while they are being persecuted by the police because these activities are illegal.

(Fariña in Galician means “Flour”, which is a colloquial way of calling cocaine)

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PLASTIC COULD HAVE BEEN Xènia Martinez

tusk and horn. It also conduced an improvement of people’s lifestyle when packaging was introduced, since it lowered health-related risks. Building up on this idea, can you imagine yourself growing your own cereals, instead of going to the supermarket?

We are all guilty. How many of us have taken a really long and calming hot shower during a wintery cold day? How many of us carelessly throw wet wipes in the toilet? Or how many of us throw the plastic rings of the pack of cans into the garbage, uncut?

Maybe you don’t feel identified with any of the three. However, I would take for granted that if you examine your whole day, you would also be guilty, but you already know that. Now that we have established part of the problem, let’s go back to the beginning.

What I mean to disclose with the above is the way plastic has changed, not just how products are manufactured, but also how consumers have changed their purchasing and usage habits. Moreover, it made some products more accessible to people from lower economic backgrounds, as it was cheaper.

Everything started when plastic was created.

At that time, it was a revolutionary discovery that affected and contributed to the positive evolution of our society. Plastic was a clear protector of the natural world from human’s capacity of destructing everything they step on.

We have to bear in mind that during previous periods, the environment was the supplier of vast quantities and of most raw materials, such as wood, metal, stone, bone,

But, why are we trying to eliminate the use of plastic if it was beneficial in its beginnings?

According to some scientists, such as professor Anthony Ryan, a professor of physical chemistry at the University of Sheffield, it is not plastic that’s the problem, but rather the use we give to it. In other words,

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sustainability as the core of their activities or at least, have done or sponsored campaigns in favor of it.

A great example is the elimination of plastic straws from McDonalds in its UK and Ireland restaurants, substituting them for paper straws, or Starbucks USA’s same dismissal of straws.

Morrisons takes us to the past by using brown paper bags again, which in turn eliminates the use of approx. 150 small plastic bags for fruit and vegetables. Agatha Ruiz de la Prada has also promoted sustainability by decorating small trash bins to recycle not plastic but glass, by visually enhancing availability. Another company that has announced their responsibility for recycling is Danone, setting the goal to produce Evian Bottles from 100% recycled plastics by 2025.

in our desperate search for economic growth we have reached agreements between producers and consumers in order to establish a system in which productivity can be raised (lower prices can be offered to costumers while increasing revenues) through the introduction of single-use plastics.

Because of this viciousness — always so characteristic of humans — in seeking the economic benefit of society, people seem to have forgotten what has given us shelter for many years, generation after generation, the one that has provided us with water, light, raw materials: our planet Earth. That same Earth that gave us fire for the first time and has since then gotten hurt by the use we give to it, the same one that provides us with snow for winter activities and the one that allows you to get tanned in summer.

Although individuals and companies are working towards reducing plastic consumption and increasing awareness towards recycling, there are still plenty of areas that need to be taken care of. The good news is that organizations with legislative powers such as the European Parliament, which is expecting the approval of a ban on one-use only plastics to be implemented by 2021, are also acting on the issue.

Changes are being made, but we can do even more. Let’s take it a step further.

It’s our responsibility to give a fair use to different materials, not just plastic but also glass and paper, as an example.

Society, in general, is, as of recent, increasingly aware of the need to start taking action in order to reduce the consumption of one-use only materials and give a more durable utility to them.

That is the reason why some companies have already carried out different attempts to introduce

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BARCELONA STREET STYLE PHOTOGRAPHER JULIA MASSIN Barcelona Skyline Credits: Javi Blanc

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FASHION BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

WHAT DO WE DO? CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

SOLIDARITY PROJECTS

We contact with companies that work in the sector and are interested in sharing

We designed T-shirts and sold them in campus, all the profits were donated to

campus to explain her business model and future steps of her start-up with us!

was to do our bit to help investigate. We worked in collaboration with EMC.

their knowledge with students. Inés Arroyo, founder of Laagam, was on

AECC (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer) and La Marató de TV3. The aim

FASHION BUSINESS CONSULTING

We offer consulting services to companies in the fashion industry

it_esade

looking for fresh ideas by young BBA students, providing different and

innovative perspectives to the challenges they are facing. Currently, we are working together with La Comet.

itfashionesade.wixsite.com

itfashion@esade.edu

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