Barcelona
Culture - Barcelona's culture is very enriched
in aspects such as theatre and dance, music, museums,
films, and literature. Catalonians take pride in their
culture and contribute to it´s expansion any
way possible.
Barcelona has a long-standing tradition of theatre,
but it has also opened its arms to the most radical
and daring new work. In fact the city today is a focus
of theatrical innovation for the whole of Spain. Barcelona
boasts a theatre-going public numbering more than
2 million people a year, and the city is currently
witnessing a significant expansion of Theatre
and Dance activity as a vital part of its
wider cultural panorama. In the field of dance, Barcelona
regularly welcomes leading international companies.
Music is a major part of the cultural activity of
Barcelona. In recent years there has been a significant
increase in the range of Classical Music
on offer thanks to the opening of new facilities such
as the Auditori (home to the Orquesta Sinfonica de
Barcelona), the Sala Winterthur, the Auditori in the
Pedrera, among others. Alongside these, the city has
other concert venues with an even longer history,
such as the Palau de la Musica, with a new extension
currently in construction.
The
Museums of Barcelona house a very
valuable heritage, and the conservation and popularizing
of that heritage, encouraging different sections of
the public to get to know it by means of exhibitions
and hands-on activities, is their primary function.
The level of public response is one of the keys to
success in the ongoing task of improving the city's
museums. The number of people who visit Barcelona's
fifty or so public and private museums each year is
currently running at 7 million. Of particular note
in terms of number of visits are the Museo Picasso
and the Fundacion Joan Miro.
Barcelona is a very active city in terms of Film
Production, and this is reflected in the
volume of production of Spanish full-length features
here, and in the significant increase in the number
of foreign productions shot in the city thanks to
Barcelona's high international profile. The city and
its surrounding area offer a huge variety of locations
for the recreation of different times and places.
The Literature enjoys prestige in
Barcelona, reflected in the fact that the city is
a centre of the first importance in the world of publishing
and a focus for writers working in both Catalan and
Castilian. The city is the world's Spanish-language
publishing capital (and the home of Planeta, the largest
publisher of books in Castilian), and Barcelona also
has a considerable number of professional translators
working into and out of Catalan, Castilian, English
and so on. Of note among the city's many sales outlets
for books and other printed matter are the historic
Casa del Llibre and the more recent bookshops in FNAC
and in the branch of El Corte Inglés department
store in the Portal de l'Àngel.
