It's cold in the storage room of the Historical Archive of the Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul, located in the same modernist complex, below the lobby, the old hub of the hospital center, where admission records were once kept and where carts carrying patients passed on their way to their respective wards: women with infectious diseases, women with non-infectious diseases... (and the same for men). The temperature inside is always low to properly preserve the invaluable documents it houses (on a series of compact discs).

"You have to imagine everything around you without any buildings," says the guide. We're at Casa Vicens, on an exclusive tour for the ARA Premium ClubIt's a jewel of Modernism that attracts visitors from all over the world every day. For many tourists, it's common to visit the Sagrada Família and then this treasure nestled among other buildings. Gaudí had a wonderful time, and he had a large team of artisan collaborators (and workers who probably labored in appalling conditions). When this house was built—in just two years, between 1883 and 1885—Gràcia was still an independent town, not yet annexed to Barcelona. It was built as a summer home for Manel Vicens, a stockbroker, and his wife. When Vicens died, it became their residence. Currently, Casa Vicens is owned by the Andorran bank MoraBanc and is open to the public.

"Wow, how beautiful." The comment is from one of the members ofPremium ClubThe ARA newspaper reporter, upon seeing the majestic portal of the Santa Maria de Ripoll monastery, was captivated by one of the jewels of Romanesque art. The large group of subscribers (all places were sold out) were awestruck by this masterpiece. Their fascination with the image conveyed by this great sculpted stone—an open bible divided into heaven, earth, and hell—contrasted sharply with the reaction of the ARA journalist accompanying them. A Ripoll native, he was accustomed to this portal, which time has transformed into a routine entrance for baptisms and masses for the locals. Surely, all Ripoll residents should take this guided tour at least once a year.

"Not everyone will be able to say, 'I was there when it was being built.'" This was one of the comments made by members of the Premium Club At the start of last Sunday's guided tour of the Sagrada Família, places had been sold out for days (another tour will be scheduled soon), demonstrating that this modernist temple—with elements of contemporary architecture and sculpture—which remains the tallest building in Barcelona and the tallest church in the world, attracts tourists not only from around the globe but also from within Spain. Participants learned little-known details about this unique building, which is a "bible in stone" (it contains numerous elements that explain episodes from the life of Jesus). Macarena Bergada, an art historian and guide at the temple for the past fifteen years, explained to the attendees that the Sagrada Família project began in 1882 with the aim of creating a neighborhood parish church, promoted by a religious association and under the direction of an architect who was not Antoni Gaudí. A year later, Gaudí took over the project and completely transformed its design. The brilliant architect from Reus retained virtually none of the ideas from the original project.

The gravestones, mausoleums, sculptures... of Poblenou Cemetery "tell" many stories of Barcelona over the last two centuries. Adrià Terol, a historian of Barcelona's cemeteries, has guided a large group of visitors through the cemetery. Premium Club (The places were sold out) and he revealed a lot of stories related to this necropolis which, when it opened, was not well received by many Barcelonans, because it meant burying their relatives outside the city walls and very far away.

Anna Ortiz is passionate about Mercè Rodoreda's novels. She's read quite a few. Not all of them, though. "After seeing the Mercè Rodoreda exhibition at the CCCB, I'm really looking forward to reading the ones I haven't read yet," she says. Anna attended the exhibition with about twenty subscribers. ARA Award, on the guided tour of this exhibition, which delves into the creative universe ofauthor of The Diamond Square, Prize of Honor for Catalan Letters in 1980. Rodoreda, a forestCurated by Neus Penalba, the exhibition brings into dialogue the work of the great novelist with plastic and audiovisual works by artists from different eras, and also incorporates original documents from the Mercè Rodoreda Foundation collection and numerous photographs.

One of the main proposals on the cultural agenda of the Catalonia La Pedrera Foundation These are the art exhibitions. Visiting them, in addition to being able to enter this building on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia, designed by Gaudí at the height of his career, allows you to get to know great contemporary artists. ARA Premium Club has visited numerous exhibitions of the Catalonia La Pedrera Foundation, such as those dedicated to Miquel Barceló, Antonio López, Jaume Plensa, Stone art (of various artists)... The most recent visit was to the exhibition of Basque sculptor Cristina Iglesias, which sold out. Some of the club's most active members, as well as new members, enjoyed the visit. It was a great discovery for all of them.

"Despite having come in previous years, being able to enjoy it alone and with the pleasant and interesting explanations of Sílvia Omedes, director of the Photographic Social Vision Foundation, has made this visit a very good experience, even exciting at times," commented one of the members of the ARA Premium Club After the massive guided tour of the World Press Photo exhibition, which was hosted by the Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona until Sunday, December 14th. It is abouta splendid display of the best of photojournalism, which collects "unofficial" stories and images from around the world, such as the one published by Washington Post, after the attack (or alleged attack) on Donald Trump, in which he appears not with his fist raised –it is the photo that most media showed– but with a worried face.

Twenty-five members of the ARA Premium Club They participated in the guided tour of the Urgell Canal last Saturday, a particularly cold and clear day. The tour included a visit to the museum, which explains the history of this canal in a very educational way. essential hydraulic infrastructure in the countryLocated in Mollerussa, the tour included two key points along the canal: the extraordinary iron bridge of Agramunt and the source of the Urgell Canal in Ponts, where the weir with a fishpond facilitates the intake of water from the Segre River into the canal. "This weir, which is over a hundred years old, is a very well-designed structure," remarked Eloi Tarrés, one of the oldest members of the Premium Club—he has been a member since its inception—who thoroughly enjoyed the activity. Participants were able to see all the now-obsolete machinery: large iron wheels that were manually turned to open and close the sluice gates and regulate the flow of water. Now everything works automatically.

HeARA Premium ClubIt's growing in membership and activities (some proposed by the members themselves). Josep Terrés is one of the first members, along with his wife, Anna Maria Duran. "We've been ARA subscribers since its inception, and at the end of 2021 we joined the Premium Club," he explains. Josep had recently retired. He dedicated himself to the research and design of electronic equipment for aesthetic medicine, and his last years of work were especially difficult—as they were for most workers—since they coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his wife wanted to dedicate some of their free time to enrich yourself with new knowledge now continue current events are being reported more intensely on the ARA.

Election polls are inherently open to opinion, especially on the one hand kitchen which may end up taking on a new meaning (now, at the IEC, it already has seven) as a process of elaboration with the salt and pepper of demoscopy, and by a hermeneutics that must be the most important after the biblical one. Those responsible are the donkey of the critics' blows, for example, the tireless director of the CIS (Center for Sociological Research), José Félix Tezanos, a professor at the University of Santiago with numerous publications, who is criticized survey after survey. But for the moment, it's holding up; Jordi Muñoz, also with a spectacular academic resume, was not so lucky; he only lasted three years at the CEO (Center for Opinion Studies).

In a world where it's increasingly difficult to live in Catalan, reading a newspaper in Catalan every day is a space for linguistic freedom. The media are arguably the largest producers of verbal language, and it makes perfect sense that the linguistic debate occupies the top spot in the communications received by the Readers' Ombudsman.

Getting to know our country's natural treasures in detail is one of the goals of the ARA Premium Club. On the last weekend of September, several members of this club enjoyed two activities in two natural spaces in the Alt Empordà. Tickets for both activities sold out just days after they were announced. Therefore, the organizers intend to hold them again soon.

In the previous article, in which we addressed the topic of intrusive advertising, there were two comments in the digital magazine that questioned the possibility of increasing the subscription price to remove ads. One was under a pseudonym, and the other was from Josep Miramunt. I've also received calls in the same vein, which can be summed up as the classic monetary question: How much are we talking about? What would the subscription be worth if we charged it for the cost of advertising?

They are two quite different castles, and yet they are very close together: the castle of Les Sitges, essentially a warrior castle (protected by large buttresses), and the castle of Florejacs, stately, full of rooms and rooms for the lords, guests and servants. Many members of the ARA Premium Club They took guided tours in May, including a lunch in the small town of Montsonís, next to the castle of the same name. During the meal, they engaged in conversations about the experience and also about what connects them, whose journal they not only subscribe to but also loyal readers of. This lunch in Montsonís has become a classic among the Premium Club's offerings, as it is held every year.

Culture is the great protagonist of theARA Premium Club, along with meetings with journalists from the newspaper. Numerous cultural activities have taken place in recent days.