The definitive impulse to start writing, a self-confidence therapy, the stimulus to tell that story that is kept in a corner of the soul or a creative activity for an active retirement. The students of the Vicenç Pagès Jordà Writing Room of the Girona City Council are as diverse and heterogeneous as the motivations that have led them to want to write. But all of them, despite their different origins, ages or abilities, are touched by the same passion for writing. And for reading! Since the founder of the school, the late writer from Figueres Vicenç Pagès, did not conceive of one activity without the other.

Joan Vinyes Miralpeix (Anglès, 1918 - Barcelona, 2009) could not long resist the hypocrisy of priestly life, the total submission of the Church to Francoism, nor the celibacy (only apparent) that his condition as a priest imposed on him. All these contradictions, and some more, converged in his last mass, on Sunday, October 1, 1950, when from the pulpit of the church of l'Escala he announced to his astonished parishioners that he was ceasing to be a priest. It was the first case of apostasy in Francoist Girona, which tried by all means to bring him back into the fold of the Church, even through institutional conspiracies to make him appear mad and lock him up in a mental asylum. "In the time of national-Catholicism, it was an act of total rebellion and they could not tolerate it, which is why they considered that he could only be mad," explains Josep Maria Vinyes i Vilà, who has taken care of the memoirs written by his father.

Just as tourists climbing the shady Carrer de la Força in Girona for the first time are dazzled when the imposing cathedral appears before them with the scenic power of its baroque staircase, the audience and musicians entering the Las Vegas concert hall in Sant Feliu de Guíxols for the first time can hardly imagine that behind a modest facade will emerge a venue of retro majesty that will transport them to the 80s, with three well-stocked bars, tables and chairs with gold finishes arranged in an amphitheater, two indoor stages, and a pleasant terrace, all with a capacity for almost 900 people. Perhaps Luz de Gas (slightly smaller) is one of the few comparable venues, although due to its long history, some compare Las Vegas to Sala Apolo or La Paloma. The venue was built in 1962, but its origins date back to an open-air terrace dedicated to shows for the first tourists, which began operating in 1958 under the same name. The current director, Marc Recolons, goes even further back, explaining that his great-great-grandfather was a true pioneer of cinema in the Girona region, who in the early 20th century began showing silent films in a circus tent in Llagostera, with a projector bought from the Lumière brothers at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. The grandfather and two brothers later managed cinemas in various towns, including Calonge, Palamós, Palafrugell, and Figueres (here also named Las Vegas).

Pere Garcia (Girona, 1946) knows the secret to enduring 42 years in a job as a payroll specialist, a job he absolutely hated and which he readily describes as odious. He handled payroll and employment contracts. His was a particularly unpleasant department because "I always had to side with the company owner," and if an employee ever came to me, "I also had to agree with them and navigate any conflicts." He acknowledges that his loyalty to the company, which began at age 16 after finishing secondary school, was also largely due to the fact that the company, the prestigious Cànovas consultancy in Girona, "was excellent, as were the owners, department heads, and colleagues." However, the determining factor in his long tenure was his great passion for his leisure time: musicals.

The vast warehouse of Airearte, in Sant Jordi Desvalls, is like an expanding continent, capable of absorbing everything that boils in Lluís Mohedano's mind. A space that grows like one of the giant inflatables that have allowed its creator to literally live off the air for forty years. The building, a former onion and potato drying facility, has become over time an artifact difficult to classify: an art gallery, a concert hall, a stage for theater, dance, and poetry. coworking It's an improvised space for workshops and, at the same time, a bar where cocktails and small plates mingle with relaxed conversations. Initially, it only opened occasionally, coinciding with exhibitions, but since last summer, now with a bar license, it's open every day and hopes that a growing clientele will validate its original and constantly evolving concept.

The persistent rains of the past few weeks have revived magnificent waterfalls that hadn't flowed for years and have also filled reservoirs to capacity, such as Sau and Susqueda, and especially Darnius in the Alt Empordà region, until recently the driest of them all. The abundant rainfall has once again transformed rivers and streams, bringing them back to life with a vitality that still lingers. Let's take a look at some of these waterfalls, most of them ephemeral, which can still be visited for a few more days. These natural phenomena occur when rivers or streams encounter a drop in elevation, an ancient scar in the terrain where the hard rock resists and the adobe gives way. When the flow increases, as it has in recent days, the waterfall reveals itself in all its power and beauty.

They have made a significant contribution, they have a powerful, inspiring, and sometimes little-known story. They all share the commonality of being from the Girona region—or living there—and they have appeared in the pages of the newspaper, recognized by readers, making their articles the most read of the day. They are the 25 people from Girona who have shaped our 2025 and who also The first ARA awards have been presented in Girona, those of the clever foxWe didn't want to award celebrities who would give visibility to the awards, but rather for the awards themselves to do the work. celebrities inconspicuous characters. In 2023 We begin this compilation with 23 names, and In 2024 we chose the Girona natives as the revelationSince then, the jury has been the readers.

The collection of signatures has already begun for one of the first popular legislative initiatives (ILP) in the field of social services in Catalonia: a proposal that seeks to safeguard care for people with disabilities through a non-profit model. The initiative, driven by a group of families and individuals connected to the disability community, originated from the concerns of a group of mothers and fathers in Girona, but it unites the entire Catalan disability community. The action advocates that the exclusive social contracting of services for this group be managed by non-profit organizations. The objective is to guarantee personalized, comprehensive, and continuous support, free from economic interests and focused on the real needs of individuals. The Parliament of Catalonia accepted the proposal for processing on October 9, and the official act of authorizing the notaries took place on October 20. Starting that week, the challenge for the organizing group is to collect 50,000 signatures within 120 days, an essential requirement to open the parliamentary debate.

A sinister black Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five, escorted by motorcycle police, triumphantly travels along the Barcelona-Girona highway while a crowd of children in shorts enthusiastically wave small Spanish flags. The photograph, taken during the official visit of dictator Francisco Franco to Girona on May 17, 1960, has become the cover of the book. Francoism in GironaThe book, which the Girona City Council has deliberately delayed in publishing as the official book of the Sant Narcís Fairs to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the dictator's death, is authored by seven historians from Girona and includes a foreword by the mayor, Lluc Salellas. It avoids simplistic views, and some of its articles, particularly the one by Josep Clara, Girona's most renowned historian of the Franco regime, meticulously detail, with exceptional archival insights, the tenacious and persistent repression that was relentless against the vanquished.

The trees have begun to turn yellow, the leaves are falling, the Indian summer of Sant Martí is saying goodbye, and Girona already has the scent of the fairs. The San Narciso festival. This year they claim to be a benchmark brand which aims to become one of the Principality's great popular culture festivals, on par with the Patum in Berga, the Santas in Mataró, Santa Tecla in Tarragona, and La Mercè in Barcelona. That's why the Fairs have a new logo and, for the first time, merchandising, with the continued desire for them to be much more than strolling among the attractions in the Devesa and having a drink at the concerts in the stalls at the Copa.

One of the most repeated comments among those who witnessed the surprising and unusual hostage robbery on Wednesday, October 1st, at the Banco Santander office in Girona's Eixample district is that the robbers had seen "too many movies." But perhaps if they had seen Black afternoon (Dog day afternoon), by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino as the early robber Sonny Wortzik, whose every move goes wrong, would have thought twice. In the film, just as happened in Girona, three robbers break into a bank and take seven hostages, but the plan quickly falls apart and the police surround the building. The final similarity is that the robbery of the First Brooklyn Savings Bank ends up being broadcast on television, turning into a veritable media circus, while the robbery of the Banco Santander, which also attracted countless onlookers and blocked street traffic, is broadcast via audio thanks to the indiscreet use of a cell phone. On the corner of Emili Grahit and Rutlla streets in Girona, however, the film ends after about 20 minutes, just long enough for the Mossos d'Esquadra and the local police to realize that the robbers are novices and, despite having hostages, decide to rush in and arrest the robbers. The assailants don't resist and throw to the ground the two fake pistols they had threatened employees and customers with. A happy ending, but with open questions.

The luxury Blau de Mar building in Playa de Aro, a spectacular six-story building with a communal pool on the seafront, overlooking the sea, could be a metaphor for the difficulties and helplessness that come with buying a new property with serious construction defects. More than a year ago, this building suffered a serious collapse of the concrete cornices on the balconies, which from an upper floor swept away the remaining overhangs like a house of cards. "A very serious accident that could have caused a disaster. We still don't know why it happened or when it will be fixed!" says the only neighbor who was sunbathing in the communal area last Sunday, prudently staying away from the balconies. The overhangs of the façade that suffered the collapse were completely demolished to prevent further fragments from breaking off, and the other façade has been replaced with cumbersome metal supports that detract from the aesthetics of the apartments that were advertised as "exclusive homes" and "a safe bet for." Prices for these apartments exceeded half a million euros, with some reaching as high as 800,000. According to the real estate experts consulted, price is no guarantee of quality in a new apartment.

The coypu on display from the Onyar River near Girona create a great deal of excitement among passersby crossing the city's bridges. They are in greater demand than the classic carp, which has also been cornered by the Ebro thornback, another much more abundant foreign species that can reach comparable sizes. The coypu have found in the lower reaches of the river that runs through Girona, with its calm waters, rich vegetation, and naturalized banks, a perfect ecosystem for reproducing and forming families. They can be seen on the riverbanks or swimming in the water, and they do not flee at the presence of humans.

Maria Rosa López is one of the most punctual customers at the Verges market. Before eight in the morning, she's already waiting for the doors of El Café de la Plaza to open so she can take a sandwich to one of the stallholders. "The trust between vendor and customer is one of the markets' strengths; here we all know each other, we greet each other, and we catch up," López acknowledges. Verges is an example of the continued existence of small-town markets, with five or six stalls where one day a week you can find fruit, vegetables, clothing, or shoes. These types of markets are threatened by a lack of generational relevance, counterfeit products, government regulations, and a lifestyle that prevents younger generations from going shopping in the morning.

Girona faces the mid-term of a tripartite government, unprecedented in its history, formed by Guanyem, Junts, and Esquerra (Republican Left), with a particularly hot topic on the table: a change in the waste collection model. The daily recycling schedule, with the introduction of so-called smart containers, is unanimously considered the worst of Mayor Lluc Salellas's first two years in office, according to the eight sector representatives interviewed by ARA.

The investigation of cases of babies stolen from their mothers to be offered for adoption in exchange for money, such as those that took place in the La Alianza Clinic in Girona between the 1960s and 1970s, clashes with the caution of the archives, which must preserve the identity of personal data, but also with Law 16/2020 on the forced disappearance of minors in Catalonia, which has not yet been budgeted or implemented. The regulatory framework provides for a Victim's Office that should help clarify the truth, identify the biological parents and siblings of the abducted children, and provide legitimate reparation to the victims. Everything has been on hold for the past five years.

Can Gibert del Pla is a humble neighborhood in Girona with residents from 79 different cultures that is evolving positively against the current: it has plenty of subsidized housing, green spaces, public facilities, a dynamic neighborhood association, and a church that fills to overflowing thanks to the granite-like faith of the Latin American community. Now, it will also be close to and shared with Salt by the Health Campus, which includes the new Josep Trueta Hospital and the Faculties of Medicine and Nursing. The residents of this neighborhood, tucked between the River Güell and Passeig de Olot, believe that this new space for health, teaching, and research will give the area a new centrality, although they don't want the facility's urban counterpart to engulf Jordi Vilamitjana Park, a large green lung that connects them to Salt.

With the progressive easing of drought restrictions and the arrival of the bathing season, which begins every year de facto Rather, coastal municipalities have had to decide whether to reinstate beach showers or opt for some type of restriction. Except for Sant Pere Pescador and Portbou, where beach showers and footbaths will remain closed this summer, most municipalities along the Girona coast have decided to once again offer these services to bathers, although in almost all cases the number of water points will be reduced and flow reducers will be added. The ultimate goal is to reduce consumption, in some cases by as much as half, and raise awareness among the population about responsible water use in the face of the threat of further extreme droughts due to climate change. Some municipalities, such as L'Escala, Llançà, and Sant Feliu de Guíxols, have not yet made a decision on a debated issue: finding a balance between public service and water conservation.

Fifty years ago, thousands of people gathered at the top of Girona's Archaeological Walk, near the Torre Gironella neighborhood, attracted by the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The media of the time gave extensive coverage to the phenomenon, which even made the front pages of sensationalist newspapers such as The CaseMaría Mesa, a woman of Andalusian origin with eight children, claimed to have a direct connection with divinity and would enter a kind of mystical ecstasy in which she supposedly received messages from beyond the grave. She quickly gathered followers, curious onlookers, and a few opportunists around her, many of whom nourished a Via Crucis that, on the 4th of each month, began to follow the so-called Way of the Crosses, made up of fourteen small chapels where the stations of the Via Crucis are represented. At the site of the apparitions, a chapel was eventually built, embedded in the rock, which has remained to this day. Even last Friday, April 4th, a dozen faithful made the Via Crucis accompanied by one of Mesa's daughters.