Stick Dancers or Bastoners: Anklet with Bells Detail

Catalan folklore feeds on ancient traditions lost in the common past of Mediterranean countries. Stick dance (Cat. Ball de Bastons) was documented for the first time in Catalonia in XII a.d. and then more frequently after XVIII but it has always been part of this region's history besides the fact that it came either from the Greeks, some parts of Asia or even other regions in Europe. The exact origin is uncertain. In the Basque country this dance is very extended as well for example and each region has their own peculiarities when it comes to dresses, sticks or ways of dancing. I am not going to enter into that. Maybe talking about Bastoners or stick dancers as they are today, organized in groups or colles as they have been for the last three centuries according to historical records is easier. To begin with, let me say that there are more than 100 colles all over Catalonia perhaps and about fifty are grouped under the direction of Coordinadora de Ball de Bastons de Catalunya. They all have their own history that is normally linked to the town or neighborhood in which they live. The feet you see in the image, adorned with bells (Cat. picarols) sewn into this piece of cloth called camal or turmellera belong to a stick dancer from a group called Bastoners de Gràcia. I have more pictures of this colla to be posted here. I just want to add for the moment that these colles may be made up of 8,10,12 or 16 dancers. One of them carries a flag with their symbols and the name of the group and usually they also have that name or badge embroidered in their clothes. They carry handkerchiefs around their necks and a colorful waistband over white pants and shirts. Besides they wear espadrilles (Cat. espardenyes). More to know soon.

Portraits and Children's Spontaneous Poses

Chinese girl in Playground

Sometimes a nice spontaneous pose really makes the difference.

This beautiful girl, the daughter of the Chinese family running the bar at the corner, was not looking at my camera as I caught this with a telephoto. I should have come closer with shorter lens but that day I was taking pictures of a show at the local square and I needed more powerful lens. I thought the wooden framework of the slide was great to isolate her while she was in the middle of such fantastic and improvised performance. The light and kids in the background did the rest.

Sometimes kids are sort of funny actors rehearsing for the stark reality that lies ahead in the path of life.

Caramel Flan in blue

A flan is a flan here in Barcelona and any other place on earth, so if this custard were an animal or something, this picture would be called, common caramel flan. There is nothing new to it. I could be telling you that "this old English word "flan" and the earlier forms "flaune" and "flawn" come from Old French flaon (modern French flan), in turn from early Medieval Latin fladōn-em, derived from Old High German flado, a sort of flat cake, probably from an Indo-European root for 'flat' or 'broad'" and I would be quoting wikipedia, as in fact I am doing right now. I could even give you a link to some nice flan recipes, like Spanish flan and I would dare to recommend you try to use condensed milk for that (my favorite choice) but, nah, that would be too boring a post much more related with Spanish cuisine than with Barcelona. But it happens that I shot this bluish picture in some Spanish restaurant in Barcelona and I enjoyed the display and the light and the perspective so here we are talking about nice looking custard for a change. Enjoy it!