The Best of the Catalonian Celebrities

The Best of the Catalonian Celebrities

Catalonia is the province in which Barcelona falls under. It marks the northeast of Spain; a land of beach regions and mountainous inlands.

People from Catalonia are proud of their origins and don’t like to be confused with other regions in Spain. This is largely due to the country’s tumultuous history and segregation. Few people know that the eight provinces in Spain were actually individual countries in Europe for a long time.

They are Asturias, León, Galicia, Castilla, Navarra, Aragón, Basque and Catalonia. Before they merged into Spain they were very separate experiences. Catalonian culture and cuisine holds distinctly different characteristics to the other seven regions in Spain.

A few of the world’s most influential people call Catalonia their birthplace. How many of the following have you heard of?

Salvador Dali

Figueres, Catalonia

Despite living and working most of his life in Paris, the king of Surrealism was born and raised in Figueres, Catalonia.

The artist held his Spanish origins close, and frequently vacationed on the coast as well as bought multiple properties here for himself and his wife.

Salvador Dali – by Carl Van Vechten – Wikimedia Commons

The town of Figueres holds Dali’s name with great pride. This is now the location for the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí; a large museum dedicated to the preservation of the works of Dali and Gala, his wife, who was largely responsible for most of his success in the business side of the art world.

Dali is one of the most successful Catalonians of all time. Figueres is close to Barcelona and can be explored as a day trip via a two hour train or one and a half hour car ride. Take a guided walking tour and get yourself to the museum at some point during the day.

Joan Miró

Barcelona, Catalonia

Joan Miró is another of Catalonia’s highly esteemed artists. He was a painter, sculptor and ceramicist who spent his entire life in the city of Barcelona, where he was born and would eventually die.

Like Dali, he is considered one of the most important contributors to Surrealism in all of history. Miró lived in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona’s city center, drawing inspiration from the medieval streets that surrounded him. This is the start of Barcelona’s old town and a hotspot for Catalonian restaurants, bars and free guided walking tours.

Joan Miró – by Carl Van Vechten – Wikimedia Commons

To commemorate him, the Joan Miró Foundation was opened in the gardens of Poble Sec, just south of where the artist lived and worked. It’s a beautiful hilltop museum showcasing works that Miró left behind.

Miró is a point of great pride for the people of Barcelona, and greater Catalonia. Anyone mildly interested in art should take some time to connect to the work of this artist while visiting his home town.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION – Joan Miró Foundation

OPENING HOURS: Tuesday TO Sunday –  10am to 8pm

ADDRESS: Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain

METRO STATION: Poble Sec

Pep Guardiola

Santpedor, Catalonia

Everyday thousands of people from around the world travel to Barcelona just to watch a football game take place at the famous Camp Nou. This is the home base of the Barcelona Football Club, and one of the most prestigious sports grounds in the world.

It has a seating capacity of almost one hundred thousand people, making it the largest football stadium on the European continent. For many, just being here is a bucket list accomplishment in Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola – by Богдан Заяц – Wikimedia Commons

Pep Guardiola was born in Santpedor, a small town in central Catalonia. Today he is regarded as one of the most successful football managers of all time, but his work started many years ago when he was merely a football player for Barcelona.

He found his management calling after retiring from the game, and went on to manage the Barcelona football team for a number of years. He has since also managed Bayer Munich (2013), and later, in 2016, Manchester City.

Antoni Gaudí

Reus, Catalonia

To know Barcelona is to know the work of Antoni Gaudí. He is the biggest name tied to the Catalan Modernist Movement; an architectural movement that swept through the city in the 18 and 1900s. 

His most famous work to date would be the unfinished Sagrada Familia. The church towers over the city center, as do the ever present cranes that hover around it trying to bring it to completion.

Antoni Gaudí – by Unknown – Wikimedia Commons

The rest of the city’s neighborhoods are littered with Gaudi masterpieces. The Casa Mila, Park Güell, Güell Palace and Casa Batlló are to name a few. Gaudi also tried his hand at furniture making, pieces of which can be found in a few of Barcelona’s museums.

Most of Gaudi’s buildings were named UNESCO World Heritage Sites and live on drawing millions of people to Barcelona each year so that they too can explore them.

Silvia Pérez Cruz

Palafrugell, Catalonia

Spain on a whole has produced some of the world’s most successful singers and actors who have found huge success in the industries in the far west of America. Penelope Cruz, Manu Chao, Javier Bardem and Enrique Iglesias would be amongst the better known names; Sílvia Pérez Cruz is lesser known, but held with pride in her home land.

She was born in Palafrugell, Catalonia; a beautiful coastal municipality on the Mediterranean sea.

Silvia Pérez Cruz – by Ruben Ortega – Wikimedia Commons

Cruz found her success after attending the Catalonia College of Music in Barcelona. Despite her solo efforts, Cruz also spent some time working with her flamenco group called Las Migas.

Spain’s most prestigious film awards are the Goya Awards that take place annually. Cruz won a Goya for best original song for “No Te Puedo Encontrar” that was featured in the movie Blancanieves.