When I went to Vegas and I was sitting on the 22nd floor of the MCM Grand hotel, my memories brought me back to my childhood. I remember when, as a child, we went through the dessert-like landscape in Los Monegros, a county in Saragossa (Aragon) that resembles a lot the surrounding areas of Vegas.
I thought that it would be great that Catalonia starts to invest in Los Monegros and creates a "Las Vegas" type of set up with nice hotels, celebrity shows and "bullfight arenas".
You know that I am totally for banning bullfighting in Catalonia as soon as possible for two main reasons: first, it has nothing to do with our culture (we only have it now to satisfy the appetite of misguided tourists), second, because I think Catalans should not support an activity where people get excited watching an animal suffer. For those reasons I am hoping that the Catalan parliament will pass a law forbidding bulfighting in the Catalan territories (I assume this will happen soon after the new Catalan Estatut is approved. Doing it before that happens,would endanger the objective to have the Estatut passed in the Spanish parliament).
In the picture you can see a protest from the anti-bullfighting party (PACMA) staged in front of the seat of the Catalan government and the Barcelona Town Hall. Surprisingly, this is the same location where the Nativity scene was located. Remember that the "caganer" was banned from that display, what I interpret as: "you can pull down your pants, as long as you keep control of your sphincters".
So why would I like to have bullfighting in Los Monegros? I like Aragon and the people there. Setting up something like a "Las Vegas" there would create employment, would develop the area and would add some additional attractions to the vicinity of Catalonia without having to develop the oversaturated space in the Principality. We could have one or two days tours originating in Barcelona to attend a bullfighting show, a David Copperfield magician-like show and gambling for a while in Los Monegros. I would encourage Catalan businessman to invest heavily in Los Monegros, but do it low key. They should avoid the boycott (or boyCATt) prone hotel names as the Maragall Grand or the Carod-Rovira Imperial Palace. Just invest in hotels and give them standard names (I would even consider Melià Sol as provoking), theaters and other touristic attractions, link them with stays in Catalonia and we are all set.Some of you maybe asking why do I support bullfighting in Los Monegros and not in Catalonia. Frankly speaking, I think that if bullfighting bulls were asked, they would prefer to continue to die in the arena, rather than being forced fed in overcrowded farms and killed slowly but surely hanging from a conveyor hook in a modern slaughterhouse. Therefore I leave it up to the Spaniards what to do with it, I just want it out of Catalonia. If one day, farm bulls and cows are roaming freely on the prairies for a few years and after that driven in stretched limos to the slaughterhouses, where they are killed through lethal injection after being sedated by an anesthesiologist, I may change my mind and campaign for a ban also in the rest of Spain. In the meantime, let's invest in Los Monegros (Saragossa).
9 comments:
Since I don't have any money and I am not a business man, I can't say anything, but I would invest, if I could. I think it is a brilliant idea.
About bullfighting: I dislike it totally, though, I wouldn't vote 'non' if I was asked if I mind it in Los Monegros. A Las Vegas kind of resort there would be just perfect with an arena.
BTW, why do you say Saragossa instead of Zaragoza? The second one is the official and, as per Wikipedia, the first one is not used anymore in English. I think it is important that we keep official names.
interesting idea- but i think the tourists that come to europe are looking for that 'old world' charm... the 'historic' feel - the old buildings and stuff- even the most ignorant tourists. do you think they would want to visit a newly built-up area...?
Habibi:
Both Zaragoza and Saragossa are correct in English. All serious dictionaries show both denominations as synonims.
My philosophy regarding toponyms is as follows: I always like to use the toponym that is mostly used in the language I am using, not the toponym in the original language. For example I will say New York when I speak English, Nueva York when I speak Spanish or Nova York when speaking in Catalan. Similarly I will say Aquisgran in Spanish, Achen in German or Aken in Dutch.
I am not planning to use Caesaraugusta (the original name of Saragossa) to please the Romans. This is my philosophy, but it is up to you to use whatever toponym you want, I can understand most of them.
Ale,
you are maybe referring to American tourists and it is true that many of them want to see the historic part of the old continent, but I have to tell you that a Las vegas type of resort 150 miles from Barcelona would be full of Spaniards, Europeans, Asians, etc. and even Americans that would go there to watch bullfighting in a one day trip.
About toponyms: sure, it is up to the user. Though, I thought you were using it in Catalan. Never mind. My philosophy is using the official form in the country's language(s) unless unrecognisable, e.g. I'd say London all the time (I don't speak any language that differs much from the original), New York, etc. Though, I am a bit of a fanatic sometimes and try to say Eire or Euskadi rather than Ireland or Basque Country, and I would say Florída instead of Flòrida as I think is a beautiful word in Spanish. And, since I saw in English news papers using Catalunya instead of Catalonia, I try always to say as it is. Obviously, I am not going to use Ulterior, Tarraco, Barcino or any other previous names (unless trying to be funny). Sorry if I bothered you.
About the resort: I am from Costa Daurada (Tarragona's coast) and I can certainly say tourists around here come for sun, shops, bars and ice cream –they'd go to Los Monegros to watch bullfighting and go to a casino or something. Perhaps this is mostly a German thing as Łeba (Poland), looks exactly like Salou. The American tourists I have met were school trips and they were so happy to be able to drink alcohol. Japanese are the only ones I see in big ammounts in cathedrals, museums and roman ruins –but I bet they'd go to the bullfighting arena.
Habibi,
You did not bother me, you never do.
I used Saragossa as the English version of Zaragoza, not the Catalan.
You know my opinion about Catalan, we should protect it, but not impose it to people outside the Catalan speaking territories.
hmm.. uuuh uhhh! will there also be mexican restaurants there serving up margheritas!??? :) jkidding!
Well, much to my father´s regret, I dislike bullfighting very much. I understand people who say it´s part of the culture though.
But I really don´t understand your point. If it´s evil, let´s ban it everywhere and not try and get benefits from it. If it isn´t, why taking it out of Catalonia, specially if Catalonia is going to make big cash from it?
I am quite sure you didn´t mean anything like: we´re too good for that, but let´s those barbarian people in the rest of Spain keep it.
But there´s something that worries me a little bit more, because it´s not the first time: you suggested a while back that Catalonia companies should buy competing sparkling wine companies from other regions, and now you´re suggesting that Catalonia invests in a region that doesn´t belong to it.
I´m finding out lately how useful the concept reciprocity is for human relations. Think how bad it would sound if I suggested that, being Madrid´s Sierra crowded as it is, why not create a resort in some hidden valley in the Pyrenees to take "our" tourists there.
Surely, we would develop it, but we would also make it depend on us. And that´s pretty bad.
I´m really trying to choke the little voice in my head suggesting that you want to choose what to do with your own, but also with other people´s.
Maria,
We are in a global economy. Autarkies, i.e., countries with a policy of national self-sufficiency and nonreliance on imports or economic exchanges, have very little future. I think Catalonia should invest overseas and invest in the rest of Spain. What's wrong with that? Do not you drink Coca-Cola, wear Nike sneakers or by a Sony TV. Look around you and you will realize that many international companies have invested in Spain. However, it is clear that many Spaniads prefer that foreign people invest in Spain rather than Catalans. A few weeks ago, I was amazed when I saw a poll in El Mundo asking whether people preferred that Endesa be bought by E.On (a German company) or Gas Natural (a Catalan company). 80 percent chose the German company.
Yes I think that Catalonia should invest heavily in Spain and overseas and should try to get some companies among the top 100 like the Netherlands or Finland. Unfortunately we are far behind those countries, especially, the Netherlands.
Regarding bullfighting, I never called Spanish people any names, first I am Spanish, second I like the people from the rest of Spain, third there is almost no difference between my DNA and the one from someone from Burgo de Osma, even though I cannot trace any ancestor coming from outside the old kingdom of Aragon or Navarre. I only said that I do not want to decide for the people in the rest of Spain. Even though I think that bullfighting is a violent show, campaigning against it outside Catalonia, is not one of my priorities.
Regarding investing in Monegros, I would invest in Hotels and Theaters, not casinos and bullfighting, in case you are interested.
Of course we´re in a global economy, which I think the best (but very flawed) system. Regarding the people who´d rather have Endese bought by E.on than Gas Natural, it has nothing to do with the Spaniards´ love for Germans (though I love that country) or hatred for Catalans.
It´s the fact that your politicians are using all kinds of ways to support something that should be only business. In the Tinell Agreement, there´s a paragraph about creating a big catalan energy company. The savings bank which owns much of Gas Natural has given a huge loan to the Catalonia Socialist Party, but they don´t seem to be thinking about paying back anytime soon. And the national government is making and changing laws ad hoc to benefit Gas Natural, which is already being investigated in EU institutions.
Why are great businesspeople like Catalans governed by politicians who ignore the very obvious difference between public and private?
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