Spain: What's On In 2008 - More Planes, Faster Trains, An Expo And Eurogames; CaixaForum Opens; Madrid Presents Goya, Modigliani, Picasso

Last year American visitors to Spain were up an impressive 22 percent – and total arrivals grew as well, to 59.2 million. This year with more airline service and faster trains, it will be easier than ever for Americans to visit. And there's a lot to entice them. Zaragoza will host a summer-long international expo and Barcelona will welcome the Eurogames. Last year Valencia played host to the America's Cup, and this year will be the venue for a European Formula One Grand Prix. Art is everywhere – from Romanesque and Renaissance to Surrealist and Minimalism – as the country's museums have been expanding to show more of their treasures.

The Big Event

Zaragoza is gearing up for the International Expo to take place June 14 to September 14 with more than 100 countries participating under the theme: "Water and Sustainable Development." With six million visitors expected, the expo is forecast to bring in $1.2 billion in tourism revenues to Spain's fifth largest city. A collection of singular buildings and public spaces designed by an impressive roster of architects – including the Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid – has risen beside the Ebro River. Non-stop entertainment is planned with 3,400 shows featuring renowned artists and groups such as: Daniel Barenboim, Montserrat Caballé, the Carolyn Carson Dance Company, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with Zubin Mehta. Every day a parade created by Cirque du Soleilâ„¢ will snake through the Expo's grounds.

New Cultural Centers, Expanded Museums and Art Exhibitions

Last week, Madrid's newest cultural center, the $96 million CaixaForum was inaugurated by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía. Designed by Herzog and de Meuron, the seven-story complex will present art exhibitions, music and poetry festivals, film screenings, conferences and workshops. An eye-catching vertical "garden" covers one side of its façade. And now that the city's three major museums have doubled in size, they are mounting major shows to display works from their extensive collections.

¨ Continuing to celebrate its $208 million expansion, the Museo del Prado will present, "Goya in Times of War," a major exhibition focusing on the last 25 years of the artist's life. Running from April 15 to July 13, the exhibition, which coincides with the 200th anniversary of the start of the Spanish War of Independence, will have about 60 works including two great canvasses, the 2nd and 3rd of May 1809 in Madrid, which were recently cleaned and restored. "Portraits of the Renaissance" (6/03-9/07), organized with the National Gallery in London, will showcase European Renaissance paintings from the 15th and 16th century.

¨ The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is presenting "Modigliani and His Time" through May 18. With 130 works, the show analyzes the career of this great 20th century figure, juxtaposing works by others who influenced him like Cézanne, Picasso, Brancusi and Chagall, Soutine and Zadkine.

¨ Currently the Reina Sofía has an exceptional exhibition on through May 5 with some 400 paintings, sculptures, ceramics, drawings, prints and notebooks from the "Collection of the Musée National Picasso in Paris."

¨ The Juan March Foundation is presenting "MAXImin: Maximum Minimization in Contemporary Art," through May 25 with 110 works by 82 artists in collaboration with the Damier Art Collection, Stuttgart.

¨ Last fall, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao celebrated its 10th anniversary with "Art in USA: 300 Years of Innovation," that continues to April 27. "Surreal Things" runs February 29 to September 7 and a major show, "Masterworks from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna," opens October 1.

¨ Barcelona's National Museum of Catalan Art (MNAC) will focus on one of the most brilliant and creative periods of Catalan art when Romanesque Art and the Mediterranean. Catalonia, Toulouse and Pisa (1120-1180) opens on February 29. Running through May 18, the show will bring together 100 major 12th century works from museums in France, Italy, England and the United States.

¨ Several exhibitions are being organized in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Barcelona's Palau de la Musica which will be shown at the Caixa Forum Center and the Palau Robert from February to May.

¨ The city has introduced the Arqueoticket that provides admission to five of the city's museums that have archaeological collections: Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, Pre-Columbian Art at the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Egyptian Museum of Barcelona, Barcelona City History Museum and Barcelona Martime Museum.Valid for a year, a ticket is about $25.30 (an $11 savings.)

¨ Through March 31, Murcia will be a veritable open-air installation as "Estratos" presents works by 23 contemporary artists. "Excavating" in the back streets of this old Moorish city to better understand the present, these artists have borrowed methods in an artistic variation on an archaeological dig.

¨ In Valencia IVAM is currently showing: "The Real Thing: Contemporary Art from China" (through April 27). Upcoming are exhibitions of Joseph Beuys (February 28-May 25) and Jean Tinguely (March 10-June 29) And a show at the Bancaja Cultural Centre that runs through March 31, "Sorolla: Visions of Spain," has been drawing record crowds to see paintings by the city's native son on loan from the New York Hispanic Society.

¨ Besides its collection of hundreds of paintings, sculptures, drawings and ceramic pieces by Picasso, the Picasso Museum Málaga hosts temporary exhibitions. Currently on view is: "On the Human Being; International Photography 1900-1950," with 112 images by 68 of the 20th century's leading photographers.

Performing Arts

Barcelona's Palau de la Música, the city's striking Modernist concert hall (and UNESCO world heritage site) is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a year-long slate of events, art exhibitions, concerts and other cultural projects. Valencia's Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, designed by native son Santigao Calatrava, kicked off its season with "Homage to Puccini" with the Valencian Regional Orchestra performing and Placido Domingo conducting on February 20. And the city's Palau de la Música inaugurated its full slate of operas and concerts with performances by Cecilia Bartoli and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Sporting Events

Valencia is celebrating 2008 as the "Year of Sport" with the World Indoor Championship in Athletics March 7 to 9. On August 24, formula one cars will race through the city's streets at over 180 milers per hour during the European Grand Prix, only the second street course on the circuit. In between there are sailing races, tennis tournaments and motorcycle grand prix. Barcelona will welcome up to 3,000 participants for the Eurogames, the 12th annual European Gay & Lesbian Championships, August 24 to 28. Part endurance race, part world-class sporting competition, the Volvo Ocean Race has been called the "Everest of Sailing." For nine months and over 39,000 nautical miles, sailors will race – sometimes for 30 days at a time. This year the sailing yachts depart Alicante on October 11 heading to Cape Town and on to 10 other ports around the world.

Airline service

Airlines are making it easier to get to Spain this year. American Airlines is launching nonstop service from New York's JFK to Barcelona on April 24. Delta Air Lines will inaugurate nonstop service from JFK to Málaga in the southern region of Andalusia on June 4. Last year Iberia Airlines inaugurated new service from Boston and Washington, D.C. to Spain increasing its US gateways to five. Four other airlines offer flights between the U.S. and Spain including American Airlines which code shares with Iberia, offering daily flights to Madrid and Barcelona from New York and many other US gateways. Continental has daily service from Newark to Madrid and Barcelona. Delta flies from New York and Atlanta to Madrid and Barcelona. US Airways offers flights from Philadelphia to Madrid and Barcelona every day.

Cruises

Málaga welcomed 180,000 cruise passengers last year becoming the second most important port in Spain in terms of number of cruise ship visits. The first phase of a $295 million port expansion has just been completed. Plans call for two new docks which will have restaurants, shops, gardens and recreational areas.

Trains

On February 20, the AVE, Spain's high speed trains, began serving the Madrid-Barcelona route cutting travel time to two hours and 38 minutes. When tickets went on sale, there were 20,000 bookings in one day. Last December new AVE service reduced trip times from Madrid to Segovia (from two hours to 30 minutes) and Madrid to Málaga (from four hours to two and a half hours).

Metro

In 2007, the Madrid Metro became Europe's second largest metro network after London with 282 stations on 176.4 miles of track.

For information about Spain, contact the Tourist Office of Spain in New York (212-265-8822); Miami (305-358-1992); Chicago (312-642-1992) or Los Angeles (323-658-7195) or go to www.spain.info

February 26, 2008   Posted in: Spain