Generalitat de Catalunya

Institutional activities

Open day at Palau de la Generalitat

There is also the traditional open day at the Palau de la Generalitat. In Barcelona, a rose stall is organised inside the Palau de la Generalitat. A group of organisations sells roses to visitors and the profits are given to charitable initiatives. Both visitors to the Palau and those walking around it can enjoy the music of the tubular bells, as there is a performance on this instrument for Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day), with popular, traditional music by Catalan composers.

There will be eight organizations that will sell roses for charity: Coordinadora Nacional Jubilats i Pensionistes de Catalunya; El lloc de la dona - Germanes Oblates (comprehensive support for women who work in prostitution and their families); Centre Unesco de Catalunya (promotion of peace culture in various environments); Acfames (care and support for persons with schizophrenia and their families); Fundació Comtal (education and insertion of children, adolescents and young people at risk of social exclusion); Grup Àgata (Catalan Association for Women suffering from Breast Cancer); Nenes i Nens amb Càncer (La Casa dels xuklis), and Fundació Servei Solidari (working against discrimination and social exclusion of former state wards and immigrants). 10:30am to 7:30pm. Access will be from Carrer del Bisbe .

Palau visits
Virtual tours

• 9:00am: Mass in the Sant Jordi Chapel. Officiated by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, with the presence of the President of the Generalitat, José Montilla; together with other members of the Government and authorities of Catalonia.
• 9:30 am: Blessing of the roses by the Archbishop of Barcelona. In the Pati Gòtic del Palau, with the presence of the President of the Generalitat, José Montilla. The rules of access are the same as for the previous event.
• 12:00pm to 1:00pm:The Carillon of the Palau de la Generalitat. By the carillonist Anna Maria Reverté, with traditional popular music by Catalan composers. The music can be heard from inside the Palau de la Generalitat, as well as in the streets of the Gothic quarter.

Concert programme (60')

• P.I. Txaikovski: Waltz from ballet "Swan Lake"; Barcarolle, from "The Seasons: June", Pas de fleurs, from the "Naïla".
• Catalan composers: Per tu ploro, sardana (P. Ventura); Pel teu amor, "Rosó" (J. Ribas); El cavaller enamorat, sardana (J. Manén).
• German Romantic: Little Wild Rose (F. Schubert); Spring Song (F. Mendelssohn); Water Songs (F. Schubert); Scherzo and Minuet (F. Schubert)
• Waltz: from the ballet "Coppelia" (L. Delibes)

• 7:00pm: Sardana dancing at Plaça de Sant Jaume.

"Homenatge al lector" ("Homage to the reader") 4:30pm. Plaça de Sant Jaume

This literary activity, promoted by the Government, will consist of a reading of texts by the poet Joan Maragall, to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth.

In addition, a group of school pupils from fifteen primary schools that carry the name of Joan Maragall will participate. The schools are from the following municipalities: Arenys de Mar; la Llagosta; el Prat de Llobregat; Rubí; Sabadell; Sant Andreu de la Barca; Vilanova del Camí; Esplugues de Llobregat; l'Hospitalet de Llobregat; Sant Cugat del Vallès; Ripoll; Lleida; Barcelona; Santa Pau and l'Institut Joan Maragall de Barcelona. The event will be directed by Joan Font and Jaume Bernadet, from Comediants.

Awarding of the Creus de Sant Jordi Wednesday, 21st April.

on 21st April, the Palau de la Generalitat will also hold the award giving ceremony of the Creus de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Cross). The event, which will take place at 7:00pm in the Saló Sant Jordi of the Palau, will be presided over by the President of the Generalitat, José Montilla. Also present will be the Vice-President of the Government, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira; the Minister of Home Affairs, Institutional Relations and Participation, Joan Saura, and the Minister of Culture and the Media, Joan Manuel Tresserras, as well as other members of the Government.

Audience for the Bakers, Pastry Makers and Book Sellers Guilds Thursday, 22nd April.

On 22nd April, President Montilla will receive in the Palau de la Generalitat representatives of the Bakers and Pastry Makers guilds at 5:00pm and at 5:30pm, respectively. On 26th he Hill receive representatives of the Book Sellers guild, at 5:00pm.

These audiences date back to the year 1977, when for the first time, representatives from the Pastry Makers Guild travelled to Sant Martin-le-Beau, to present the President of the Generalitat in exile, Josep Tarradellas, with the traditional Saint George's Cake. Since the re-establishment of the Generalitat of Catalonia, every year, both the Provincial Pastry Makers Guild and representatives of the Catalan Federation of Associations of Bakers Guilds, and the Book Sellers Guild, have continued with this tradition.

Palau de Pedralbes. Friday, 23rd April. 11:00am

Reception by the President of the Generalitat, José Montilla, of representatives from the political, economic and social sphere. With the presence of members of the Government.

During this institutional event, the exhibition "El Palau de Pedralbes, yesterday and today", will be inaugurated. This is a comprehensive exhibition of the history of this emblematic building, from its origins to its proclamation as headquarters of the Unió per a la Mediterrània. The exhibition will open to the general public on Saturday 24th April.

The rose stands installed in the precinct of the Palau de Pedralbes of the ATRA Association and the Lesbian and Gay Families Association will be open all day.

Palau Robert Friday, 23rd April

• 10:00am to 7:00pm:: live broadcasting of a special programme of Ràdio Flaixbac, to mark its 15th anniversary.
  • From 10:00am to 1:00pm: El matí i la mare que el va parir. Sant Jordi special, with Carles Pérez.
  • From 1:00pm to 3:00pm: Fórmula FLAIXBAC, with Albert Planadevall
  • From 3:00pm to 5:00pm: La llista, with Jordi Cuadras and Roger Carandell
  • From 5:00pm to 7:00pm: Feedbac, with Albert Planadevall and el Becari
• 10:00am: book and rose stands. The sale of books in the Jardí del Palau will be organized by the book shops Takatuka, Jaimes, Cavall Fort, Casa Anita and Editorial Base. Roses will also play a large part. The La Fundació Jubert Figueras (FJF) and Projecte Home Catalunya will set up two rose stands with the aim of raising money to finance their charity activities. The Fundació Jubert Figueras (FJF) works to improve the quality of life of families with ill members with few economic resources, with special attention to families forced to leave their homes to accompany the hospitalized patient or the patient under treatment in a specific hospital. Projecte Home Catalunya is a non-governmental organization which provides help with the treatment and prevention of drug addicts and with other addictions.
• 10:00am to 8:00pm: "Encomana el català": The campaign "Encomana el català" will be present for Sant Jordi in Barcelona with a competition based on a musical karaoke in Catalan and live musical performances. This year, this activity which is traditionally carried out by the Secretariat of Language Policy has been organized together with Ràdio Flaixbac. Between performances, an animator will encourage the public to participate in a karaoke competition. Similarly, a marquee situated next to the stage will be the information point and will give out promotional materials on the campaign.
  • Campaign "Encomana el català" (10-11h. Karaoke)
  • Bikimel (11-11.15h)
  • Encomana el català (11.15 -11.30h)
  • Vuit (11.30-11.45h)
  • Encomana el català (11.45-12h)
  • Gossos (12-12.15h)
  • Encomana el català (12.15-12.45h)
  • Els amics de les arts (12.45-13.15h)
  • Pep Sala (13.15-14h)
  • Red In (14-14.15h)
  • Encomana el català (14.15-14.30h)
  • Miquel Abras (14.30-14.45)
  • Encomana el català (14.45-15.30h)
  • Filippo Landini (15.30-15.45h)
  • Encomana el català(15.45-16h)
  • Cesk Freixes (16-16.15h)
  • Encomana el català(16.15-16.30h)

Other activities related to Saint George's Day in Barcelona 21 - 24 April.

• 23rd April. 4:00pm. Prize-giving event of the Terenci Moix Award. President Montilla will present the Terenci Moix Awards at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. The awards were created in 2005 in memory of Terenci Moix and to highlight the values associated with his figure, such as the defence of human rights and the fight against social injustice.
• 23rd April. Open day at the Biblioteca de Catalunya: From 10:00am to 7:30pm, the Biblioteca de Catalunya will open its doors to all citizens. The tour will include an exhibition of the work of Joan Maragall; a selection of publications from the last one hundred years and other materials related to the celebration of Saint George's Day, and the display of the piano that belonged to Enric Granados, on which live music will be played every thirty minutes. Furthermore, the installations of the activity "Llegim al jardí" will be inaugurated, and which will remain open until 31st August 2010 and will permit visitors to borrow specific documents from the library and take them to read in the gardens, where there will be tables, chairs and a Wi-Fi service.
• 23rd April. Charity event "Roses contra l'oblit", by the Association of Friends of Senior Citizens: participation by the Minister of Home Affairs, Institutional Relations and Participation, Joan Saura (12:00pm), and the Minister of Governance and Public Administration, Jordi Ausàs (9:00am). Liceu de Barcelona.
• 23rd April. "Sant Jordi al Raval. El món a la teva plaça": the Language Policy Secretariat and the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística will take part in the event "Sant Jordi al Raval. El món a la teva plaça". From 11:00am to 3:00pm the programme "Voluntariat per la llengua" will be presented. Visitors will be able to take part in several short demonstration sessions of the programme.
• 21st-24th April. The Institució de les Lletres Catalanes collaborates in the organization of a cruise dedicated to reading and literature: to mark Saint George's Day, the magazine Leggere:tutti i Grimaldi Lines, with the collaboration of the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes, has organized the project Una nave di libri, a cruise with nearly one thousand passengers and which is exclusively dedicated to reading and literature. The ship sailing to Barcelona will leave Civitavecchia (Rome) on the night of 21st April with readers and various writers on board. Passengers will include the Catalan authors Maite Carranza, Pau Faner, Marc Pastor and Vicenç Llorca, whose works were translated into Italian in 2008 and 2009. During the crossing, they will take part in various activities, such as poetic ping-pong between Italian and Catalan authors, chaired by Ennio Cavalli. Inside the ship there will be a large bookshop managed by Grup Arion de Roma, open 24 hours a day. Once the ship has arrived in Barcelona, the books will be taken to a stand situated in the centre of the city. The programme of activities will continue on 23rd and 24th April at the Italian Cultural Institute in Barcelona (Passatge Méndez Vigo, 5).

• 23rd April. Morning: literary breakfast with writers, publishers and book sellers from the region of Girona, which will take place at the Casa Solterra, at the Territorial Services of the Ministry of Culture and the Media. The Government delegate, Jordi Martinoy will be present.
• 23rd April. All day: at 10:00am Open Day at the new building of the Generalitat in Girona, two months before it opens and is officially inaugurated. The aim is to show the building when it is completely finished, but before the furnishing of the territorial services department in order to facilitate transit through the building. Coinciding with Open Day, the Generalitat Bookshop -which will experience its first Saint George's Day in the new building- will have a stall inside the premises this year, in the Pati de les Magnòlies. The Bookshop will keep its traditional stand on the Rambla de la Llibertat.
• 23rd April. 10:00am: performance "Embolic a la granja", for schools. The event, organized by the Museu d'Art de Girona, will take place on the steps of the church of Sant Martí in Girona and 800 school children will attend.

• Wednesday, 21st April: reception for Lleida authors organized by the Generalitat, the City Council and the Diputació de Lleida. The Government delegate in Lleida, Miquel Pueyo, will be present. 1:30 pm. Llotja de Lleida (Av. Tortosa, 6. Lleida).
• Sunday, 25th April: festival "Canto sense vergonya 2010". The Government delegate will be present. 7:00pm. Cafè del Teatre de l'Escorxador (C. Roca Llaurador, 4 bis).

• Friday, 23rd April. 1:30pm: the Government delegate at Camp de Tarragona, Xavier Sabaté, will attend the reception for authors and cultural organizations "Festa modernista", held within the framework of the programme to celebrate the Centenary of the Teatre Metropol.
• Friday, 23rd April. 4:30pm: the delegate will attend the poetry recital by Tecla Smit, organized within the framework of "La veu em frisa", a new literary project of the Territorial Services of Culture and the Media. It will begin this Saint George's Day with the organization of recitals in residences for senior citizens. The aim is to take poetry and literature in general to communities which have difficulties in accessing it.

• Thursday, 22nd April. 4:00pm: the Government delegate, Lluís Salvadó, with the Director of the Campus Terres de l'Ebre of the URV, Azael Fabregat, and the President of the Fundació Ilercavònia Futur, Ismael Piñas, will present the campaign of dissemination and promotion of the encyclopaedia Història de les Terres de l'Ebre (4:00pm, at the headquarters of the Government Delegation).