Filling the Sink

Ukrainian refugees – first steps of a new life in Catalonia

As thousands of Ukrainian refugees take their first steps towards building a new life in Catalonia, we hear about the efforts being made to help them settle in, by the authorities and by ordinary people too.
Guifré Jordan travels to Guissona in western Catalonia, a small town with a significant Ukrainian population. He chats to volunteers Romaniya Dzhus and Ignasi Ribera, mayor Jaume Ars and secondary school teacher Jordi Ticó.
Gerard Escaich Folch meets Irina, a Ukrainian living in Catalonia, and her childhood friend, Alexandra, a refugee who fled Ukraine with her two daughters.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'allargar la mà', or, 'to give a helping hand'.
Presented by Lorcan Doherty.

Catalan in schools – reasons behind language immersion and why it’s in jeopardy

Catalonia has had an educational policy of linguistic immersion for over 30 years. In other words, teaching in schools is done through Catalan.
Gerard Escaich Folch and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to explain how the system works, the rationale behind it, and why it could now be in jeopardy.
We get the opinions of Ana Losada, spokesperson for School for Everyone and head of the Assembly for Bilingual Schooling; Albert Bayot Fuertes, the Girona representative of the Catalan Graduate Teachers Association; and Anna Rosés, a Catalan teacher at Escola Pia Sarrià-Calassanç in Barcelona.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'fer escola'. Literally 'to do or make school', it means to have disciples, followers or imitators. 

Changed lives – four stories to mark two years of Covid

Marking two years of the pandemic, four stories from people whose lives changed dramatically: 
Tony Martín, a language teacher and transplant patient with long Covid. 
Eva Celebrovsky, who has geleophysic dysplasia and whose son has a serious metabolic disorder. 
Dr. Robert Güerri, Head of Infectious Diseases and Covid-19 Hospitalization Coordinator at Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. 
Jeroni Castell, the Michelin-starred chef and owner of Les Moles in Ulldecona who reinvented his business.
Presented by Lorcan Doherty with Cristina Tomàs White, Cillian Shields, Gerard Escaich Folch and Guifré Jordan.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'tirar-se a la piscina', literally 'to throw yourself in the pool', it means to take a risk or 'to take the plunge'. 

Ukraine war impact in Catalonia – protests, donations, refugees

Since Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Catalonia – especially its 25,000-strong Ukrainian community – has reacted with daily protests, a massive humanitarian aid effort and by welcoming people fleeing the conflict. We hear from Ukrainians and Russians living here on the impact the war is having. Lorcan Doherty is joined by Guifré Jordan and Cillian Shields. This week's Catalan phrase is 'tenir mala llet', literally 'to have bad milk', it means to be nasty or have bad intentions.  

Cannabis clubs and weed farms – Catalonia, Europe’s marijuana hotbed

Catalonia is home to some 500 cannabis clubs, establishments that exploit ambiguities in the law to provide a space for members to socialize and smoke. Gerard Escaich Folch visits one in Barcelona and speaks to blogger Javier Díaz and Patrícia Amiguet, president of the Federation of Catalan Cannabis Associations. Catalonia is also the "epicenter of Europe's illegal marijuana market," according to police. Cristina Tomàs White speaks to Mossos d'Esquadra officer Joan Carles Granja and learns about the legal situation of cannabis from Joan Bertomeu, a lawyer at the specialist law firm, Brotsanbert. This week's Catalan phrase is 'fumar com una xemeneia' – to smoke like a chimney. Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 

Digital Nomads – the remote workers making Catalonia home (for a while)

If you can work from home, you can work from anywhere. That's the philosophy of the digital nomad. Cristina Tomàs White, Cillian Shields and Lorcan Doherty explore what makes Catalonia one of the top spots for people who want to combine work and travel. Núria Bernat from Coimpact Coliving tells us about creating a community space for digital nomads arriving in Barcelona. UX designer Nathan Dolan shares why he chose to set up in the Catalan capital. We look at the legal and tax implications for digital nomads in Catalonia, with tips from Alejandro Guayta, tax lawyer at DiG lawyers. This week's Catalan phrase is 'anem per feina', which literally means 'let's go to work', but has the sense of 'let's do this', 'let's get down to business'.  

Calçots and calçotades – Catalonia’s onion craze

From the outside, calçots may appear to be just a simple, humble vegetable, but for Catalans they are the centerpiece of the calçotada – big, social barbecues that are hugely popular during the winter and early spring.
Cristina Tomàs White and Cillian Shields travel to Valls, the center of the calçot universe, to discover the traditional way to cook – and eat! – calçots.
Laura Ricote and David Nieto from Casa Fèlix share their recipe for salsa de calçots.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'menjar com un porc', which means 'to eat like a pig'.
Presented by Lorcan Doherty.

Pyrenees-Barcelona Winter Olympics 2030 – to bid or not to bid?

Catalonia is divided over a potential bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Pyrenees and Barcelona, with differing opinions on climate and sustainability, sporting facilities, development and infrastructure, and, of course, costs. We hear the arguments for – from Mònica Bosch, president of the Catalan Winter Sports Federation and Gerard Esteva, president of the Catalan Sports Federations Union (UFEC) – and against – from Pau Lozano, a spokesperson for Stop Olympic Games and Ferran Canudas, president of the Group in Defense of Nature in Berguedà. Cillian Shields and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss everything we know about the bid so far. This week's Catalan phrase is 'paper mullat', literally 'wet paper'. It can refer to a document, agreement etc that ends up not being worth anything.  

Bofill, Bohigas and more – the architects who sculpted contemporary Catalonia

Cristina Tomàs White and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to remember two giants in the world of Catalan architecture that passed away recently: Ricardo Bofill and Oriol Bohigas.
They discuss their legacy and that of some other leading figures from recent decades that have made their mark on Barcelona and around the world.
Guifré Jordan is one of thousands to pay tribute to Bofill at his Sant Just Desvern workshop.
Stefanie Herr and Lorenzo Kárász from Guiding Architects Barcelona take us on a tour of 22@, the former industrial zone in Barcelona that's been transformed into a design and innovation hub.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'enlloc com a casa', which means 'no place like home'. 
Get in touch! fillingthesink@acn.cat 

Going underground – exploring the hidden world of subterranean Barcelona

Guifré Jordan and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to discover what lies beneath the streets of the Catalan capital. We go to a Civil War air raid shelter with local historian Josep Contel, learn about ghost metro stations and abandoned underground shopping centers from CultRuta tour guide Manuel Marina, and visit Barcelona's water control center and a giant water depository beneath Parc de Joan Miró. Architect Rosina Vinyes, director of urban planning in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, explains how the urban subsoil is essential for daily life. This week's Catalan phrase is 'pou sense fons', literally 'bottomless well', it's used when things continue going wrong with no end in sight. Get in touch: fillingthesink@acn.cat

Saturation point? – Development versus conservation on the Catalan coast

The Catalan coast is 580km of sandy beaches, hidden coves and pine forests, but also homes, hotels and everything else needed for people to live and work in coastal towns or spend their holidays by the sea. This week we look at a debate that's raged for decades in Catalonia: the balance between new urban development and conservation along the shore. Agustí Serra, the government's director of urban planning, and Dirk Ewers from International Friends of the Costa Brava talk to Cristina Tomàs White. Gerard Escaich Folch travels to Sitges and speaks to Eduard Terrado, the councilor responsible for urban planning, and Daniel Gracia, manager of Tomás Gracia Constructions. This week's Catalan phrase is 'tela marinera', which literally means 'marine fabric', but can be used to express surprise at the size, cost, difficulty etc. of something. Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 

The NIE nightmare – foreigners forced towards dodgy dealings to get ID cards

Residency red tape is all too familiar for foreigners moving to Catalonia, but an increasingly broken system is forcing many to pay over the odds to obtain the requisite documentation. Cristina Tomàs White and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to investigate what is going on with NIE (Foreigner Identity Number) and TIE (Foreigner Identity Card) appointments. Skye, Zach, Antonia, Daria, Rupert and Leslie share their Kafkaesque attempts to navigate Spanish bureaucracy. We ask Carlos Prieto Gómez, a representative of the Spanish government in Barcelona, why getting appointments is so difficult and what is being done to improve things. This week's Catalan phrase, or rather, word, is pocavergonya, which means shameless.