The Girona-Costa Brava airport continues to grow. Looking ahead to 2027, it adds to its flight offerings a new first-rate company that will operate on the Girona runways. It is the British EasyJet, one of the most important low-cost airlines in the world, with 370 aircraft and nearly 100 million passengers annually. It will operate two new routes to the United Kingdom, the country with which Girona airport has the most connections.

The first time Hugo Font got on a tandem, he felt dizzy. Going behind another person, without being able to see what was happening, gave him a sensation similar to riding a roller coaster with his eyes closed. “Until the body assimilates many new things and sensations...”, he explains in conversation with ARA. Now, almost five years after having joined ONCE, Hugo Font and Héctor Botí are about to face a much more demanding challenge and make history in a world competition: 109 kilometers of gravel at the Sea Otter Europe in Girona, alongside their guide pilots, Jordi Figueras and Charly Camacho from Lloret de Mar.

The Sant Narcís Fairs of this 2026, which this year are celebrated from October 23rd to November 1st, continue to bet on a musical deployment of thematic nights by style, with pop, urban music, rock, punk, and traditional music proposals spread between La Copa, in La Devesa, and the Parc del Migdia. Girona's main festival also maintains its commitment to creating its own identity: it launches a new website, incorporates hats for the correfoc, recovers the fabric handkerchief, and distributes free banners to dress the balconies for the Fairs.

Ayahuasca is a beverage made from Amazonian plants, with very potent psychoactive and hallucinogenic effects. In the Western world, it is often associated with the consumption of psychedelic drugs, as it causes intense visions, alterations of consciousness, and all kinds of physical reactions, often adverse and dangerous. Its origin, however, has been linked for thousands of years to indigenous Amazonian peoples, who use it as traditional medicine in shamanic rituals, spiritual ceremonies, and processes of purging and healing. For these peoples, ayahuasca is not just a mere substance, but also represents the neuralgic center from which they articulate their entire relationship with life and nature. This ancestral aspect, linked to anthropology and biocultural sustainability, is what the World Ayahuasca Forum aims to reclaim, which, for the first time, is taking place at the Girona Congress Palace Auditorium from September 11th to 13th.

For the third consecutive year, Girona has been the setting for one of the decentralized demonstrations of September 11th and, once again, the event has brought together thousands of people. 15,000, according to the Assembly, and 11,000, according to the municipal police. More or less the same as last year. The march began at 5:14 PM at Plaça Catalunya, packed to the rafters, and slowly headed towards the La Copa esplanade, where speeches and musical performances took place and a giant screen connected with Barcelona. The entire day unfolded in a festive atmosphere, with families, retirees, and also a great many young people who came from all over the region. An essentially citizen-led mobilization, from civil society, without partisan proclamations, symbols of political parties, or media figures hogging the spotlight.The spirit (although less crowded) recalled that of the first years of the Procés demonstrations, before the most tense and convulsive moments. Shouts of "independence", the singing of Els Segadors, proclamations of "the streets will be ours" and "we want, we want independence". Also human towers (castellers), brass bands and songs by Lluís Llach, Txarango and l’Elèctrica Dharma. A kind of happy déjà-vu and a feeling of national celebration. Neither reproaches to politicians nor tension.There has also been no trace of the tensions with the pro-independence far-right of Aliança Catalana, which did mark the Diada in the capital. There was only a brief moment of tension when a group of teenagers leading the demonstration, wearing football shirts, with estelada flags on their backs and painted cheeks, began to shout "Sílvia Orriols is the solution". They did so timidly and quickly gave up, but the chant caused a citizen passing by, outside the demonstration, to confront them and, then, an adult from the demonstration wanted to retaliate. The situation, however, did not escalate: they were separated and the rest of the young people there responded with anti-fascist slogans.Without the prominence of politicians or well-known faces

The festive and civic tone of the demonstration continued on the Copa stage. In fact, the speeches were delivered by anonymous people: two pro-independence activists, a veteran, and a young woman, in line with the "present and future" slogan of the rally. "Catalonia is experiencing a moment of unrest. Strained public services, healthcare with unacceptable waiting lists, education without resources, trains that leave us stranded, and impossible housing prices, neglected farmers, and precarious working conditions. These are not isolated problems; they are part of the same reality, a Catalonia that does not have all the resources or all the decision-making capacity to govern itself," they said.The day ended with the concert by Akoblats, a group performing lively covers of Catalan songs, a drinks bar, and food stalls. The younger audience stayed until the end and had a great time.

]]>

The best photographs by Miquel Varderi only had family and a few friends as a loyal audience. The slide projections in the dining room at home were a strict liturgy that included technical comments with mentions of ISO or aperture. They were the result of a hobby he had cultivated with almost professional rigor and aesthetic criteria by which only images that were up to the mark deserved to survive. "My father took photographs all his life, everywhere and of everyone. Then he would make a meticulous selection and keep the ones he liked the most," explains his daughter, Mònica Varderi. The chosen slides remained jealously guarded in an untouchable drawer, cataloged in boxes with labels with names such as "Girona", "Costa Brava", "Bullfighting", "Rugby" or "Types".

]]>

The Temporada Alta festival will celebrate a new edition between October 3rd and December 8th and will once again turn Girona and Salt into capitals of the performing arts. Great international masters, radical voices, and cult companies will meet there. We offer you a selection of the proposals that should not be missing from your agenda.

]]>

After the summer lull, the cultural season begins in the Girona regions with a brand new edition of the Temporada Alta festival, the 35th, which will be held from October 3 to December 8. The theatrical autumn in Girona and Salt will feature 91 shows, 131 performances, 21 co-productions, and 22 premieres, four of which will be firsts world. The opening ceremony will be Has been, on the subject of growing up in the performing arts world. It is a premiere in the State that will bring together for the first time the languages of the choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and of circus and movement artist Martin Zimmermann.

]]>

It is not easy to interview Joan Pujades, from the La Puntual bakery. He does not like the spotlight. The long queues in front of his bakery in the Devesa neighborhood have not come from major marketing campaigns, but from consistency, good products, friendliness, and, above all, humility. When he agrees to do it, after much insistence, he sets only one condition: that it be while he is delivering bread. This means spending an hour chasing his tricycle through the streets of Girona. At every corner, someone greets him. A customer, a shopkeeper, an acquaintance. He exchanges a few words with everyone, always by name. He gives away a fritter, a slice of cake, or simply a “good morning!” “I’m a bit like Girona’s Snowflake. And they haven’t thrown peanuts at me yet, but it’s not far off. Since there are few bicycle delivery people in Girona...”, he says, laughing.

]]>

When Laia Palau (Barcelona, 1979) stopped playing basketball in 2022 to start a new stage at Uni Girona, she bought herself a bicycle. For years, contracts had forbidden her from cycling to avoid injuries. She went into Decathlon and came out with “the horse,” as she calls the bicycle that today is an extension of herself and accompanies her everywhere, even to buy bread each morning. "When I start going to Fontajau every day, I think I'm taking a wonderful path – she explains as we cross the bridge over the Ter River. I cross the Devesa, I cross the river, I see the mountains, some amazing sunsets... I thought of all my people from Barcelona and said: 'You guys are losers!' Every day I thought: 'How lucky I am'.

]]>

The until now mayoral candidate of ERC in Girona, Marc Puigtió, has renounced this Thursday to be the republicans' candidate for the city. He renounces it one day after the party leadership opened an informational file on him following the leak of some audios in which he was heard projecting the disposal of the local leadership and the current councilors. Puigtió has justified the decision by "dignity and responsibility" and has acknowledged having made "a serious mistake," for which he assumes the consequences. Now, according to consulted sources from the republicans in Girona, the party will have to re-convene primaries to choose its candidate for mayor of the city. So far, however, they have not set a schedule.

]]>

Of all the surgical instruments on display at the pharmacy I am visiting today, the one that impacts me most is a saw. Doctors used it to amputate. Since there was no anesthesia (patients were often given a few drops of ether, and that was it!) operations had to be done as quickly as possible. The most prestigious surgeons were the fastest.This collection of surgical instruments – very varied: some curved ones stand out, such as scissors, which are clearly not hairdressing scissors – is one of the elements that most catches the eye in the pharmacy – now a museum – of the old Santa Caterina hospital, in the center of Girona. In baroque style, like the entire building, the pharmacy also preserves mortars, scales, and a large quantity of pots (vases and jars). The jars are empty, of course, but they say what they contained. One says "belladonna", a substance that dilates the pupils. Some high society women used it because they said it made them more beautiful.Walking through the pharmacy takes me on a journey to the 18th century, when epidemics like cholera, plague, smallpox, malaria... were frequent, and to the 19th century, when tuberculosis and respiratory diseases reigned. The pharmacy was also active throughout the 20th century, but the diseases are now more similar – in reality, almost the same – to those we know today, although new ones have appeared, even epidemics, like covid. The one that has never been absent, of course, is gastroenteritis, which those of us outside the medical field call a tummy ache.The pharmacy, formed by two spaces (the sales area and the back room, where the laboratory was), is the great treasure of this hospital. But there is more. For example, the magnolia courtyard, a place of peace that gives access to a good part of the dependencies of the old hospital, including the pharmacy itself. The walls are lined with sgraffiti, which are not from the era when the building was constructed, but later, from 1928. What a delight the courtyards of Girona are! And how beautiful when the Flower Time arrives. A third treasure: the chapel, essential to any hospital. If the doctors didn't arrive, God did the rest, even if it meant taking the patient to the other world. It is certainly a large temple. In this way, both the sick and the entire congregation of the neighborhood or the city could attend mass (the pharmacy also served the population). The chapel, desacralized, is today an auditorium named after Josep Irla, who presided over the Generalitat in exile for many years. It is the seat of the Generalitat of Catalonia in Girona. Given its dimensions, a few years ago one of the largest paintings in Catalonia was installed there: The Great Day of Girona, by Ramon Martí Alsina. It is about 5 meters by 10 meters.

]]>

Houses built or renovated with wood, earth, straw, or a wide variety of biological materials are proliferating in the Girona regions thanks to a unique ecosystem in Catalonia that brings together dissemination and training entities, architects, surveyors, and all kinds of sustainable construction professionals. It is a very well-connected network that helps, among many other things, to train self-builders, share experiences, resolve doubts, obtain labor, and find natural materials with a zero (or negative) carbon footprint.

]]>

Historically in Catalonia, 'masovers' were peasant families who lived in a farmhouse that did not belong to them, in exchange for working the land, looking after the livestock, and guarding the property. However, in recent years, a new form of 'masoveria' has emerged, adapted to modern times: 'masovers' are responsible for rehabilitating and renovating a dilapidated farmhouse that is not their property, and in return, they can live there for years without paying rent. This formula of reciprocal exchange allows families who do not have the necessary resources to make their dream of living in the countryside a reality, while at the same time preventing ancestral homes, often inherited, from deteriorating and losing valuable architectural heritage. A win-win according to the rules.

]]>

When four years ago I returned to work from Girona, after years covering political information in Madrid, I set out to understand the cycling boom that the city has experienced. One of the first people I spoke to was Anna Gibert Sau (Riudarenes, 1977), a Mossos d'Esquadra officer specialized in gender-based violence and co-founder of Girona Gravel Girls, a community made up exclusively of women that now exceeds 430 members.

]]>

Ten days after leaving Girona's municipal government, Junts has made a significant announcement for the upcoming municipal elections in the city. Alongside Gemma Geis, who will repeat as the head of the list, Carles Puigdemont's party has confirmed the incorporation of Carles Ribas as number two. A former member of Convergència and a councilor during Marta Madrenas's term, Ribas ran four years ago with his own brand, ARA Girona, but narrowly missed entering City Hall after obtaining 1,579 votes (4.6%). These were insufficient to surpass the 5% threshold to obtain a councilor but were key to understanding that Junts lost half of its votes in the last municipal elections. Ribas is currently part of the Partit Nacionalista de Catalunya (PNC), founded by Marta Pascual, and will run in the city in coalition with Junts x Girona.

]]>

Disney has landed in Girona with a team of 500 people to shoot the live-action version – in English, live action– from the film Tangled, his adaptation of the Rapunzel tale. It is a remake with real action from the original animated film, which will be shot this July in the city and is expected to premiere from 2027.

]]>

After Franco's death, social movements moved intensely to the streets. During the first semester of 1976, in Girona, unauthorized strikes and demonstrations were seen, which led to detentions and fines by the governmental authority. Those that, during the month of March, were led by construction workers, and the so-called March of Freedom, organized peacefully in the first week of July to claim basic freedoms and the Statute of Autonomy, were especially repressed.

]]>

A bag of salad, some cookies, cat food, or the plastic label from a water bottle. It's hard to find a supermarket without some kind of flexible packaging. They are present, on average, in half of the products, even up to 80%. But behind these wrappers lies an industry practically invisible to the consumer, yet essential for products to be promoted on shelves. From Riudellots de la Selva, in the urban area of Girona, Comexi has been developing the technology for over seventy years that allows for the printing and transformation of this type of packaging, a global market where it competes with some of the world's leading manufacturers.

]]>

After 30 years living and working in New York, the artist Lluís Lleó (Barcelona, 1961) has decided to settle in Empordà. In Serra de Daró, between Montgrí Castle and the Iberian settlement of Ullastret, he has his studio, which occupies half of a large, open, and spacious industrial warehouse with a very high ceiling, from where he continues to explore new lines of creation, on the hybrid border between painting, sculpture, and installation. With one foot in the Empordà plain, but always with an open gaze to the world, Lleó boasts a first-class international career. While working with gallerists and curators from Mexico and Venice, this July he has just inaugurated at the AWL gallery in GironaVeure amb les mans (Seeing with hands), an exhibition of very powerful pieces, which are a very vivid reflection of his current moment of maturity.

]]>