La gralla

It was lying there, on the table. It was years since I last played it, and as I was not using it anymore, my father had lent it to a friend of his, and she had given it back to him. And yesterday I saw it lying on the table.

When was it that I last played it? Regularly, more than seven years. Occasionally, perhaps four or five. So, this morning, I picked it up again. I took it out from its hippy leather case and I saw it again. My gralla. It was a present for my (16th?, 17th?) birthday. My father had bought it for me because he had liked what it was made of: olive tree wood. I can remember that when I first took it out of the case it smelled like olive oil and wood mixed together.

My gralla and its case

My memory went back to 1997, when I first set my fingers on a gralla. In the village, there were other people that had been playing it for one or two years and they patiently taught me the basics. Later on, I took private lessons until I did not feel like playing it anymore (as a teenager, sometimes it felt like an obligation).

We rehearsed in what had been the old nursery school of Vilafant once a week, Saturday from 3 pm to 4 pm, just after lunch. We were not professionals and did not aim at it, but we liked to play. Without the company of the timbal and the caixa, the gralla felt lonely. So, these two percussion instruments were also essential in the music played. So, there was always a timbal and a caixa playing with us.

We rehearsed to prepare street parades that took place mainly in the spring and the summer. We were part of a bigger group of people called COLLA GEGANTERA (literally, "The giants group"). A colla gegantera is a group of people that carry and accompany the two gegants (giants): two big papier-mâché figures up that usually represent the traditional life of a specific village. But this is a whole post in itself... so for now, let's focus on the gralla.

The gralla is a traditional and typical Catalan music instrument. It doesn't have a translation other languages, not in Spanish either. It has been speculated that its origin has a connection with snake enchanters who play that special flute that seem to cast a spell on snakes. But I do not know if this is possible or not. What is certain is that it is often confused with a very similar instrument called dolçaina (in fact my first step into the gralla world was playing a dolçaina).

The gralla was named after a bird (in English, the name for the gralla bird is "jackdaw"), as its strident sound reminds the song of this bird. Indeed, the instrument has a very peculiar loud sound and it should be this way, as it is a street instrument.

Different gralles

Technically, it is a wind instrument and the playing mechanism is that of a flute: it has 6 holes on the front and one hole at the back, plus two extra holes at the bottom sides that only used to let more air out. Playing music with it consists in opening and closing holes using the fingers. To blow it, you need to use an "inxa" (a reed). To prevent the reed from breaking lips are pushed slightly to cover the teeth (how many reeds did I tore learning how to blow it properly!).

After playing the instrument is usually humid and it needs to be cleaned, which is easily made with a special feather duster (like the ones that come with a flute) and the inxa and the reed holder, called "tija" (a kind of holding-tube) can be separated from the main body to dry.

One of the first difficulties for beginners is that the gralla is tremendously difficult to blow and it is easy to run out of breath. The lips also hurt after a while and begin to tremble, making a funny sound which sounds like a fart. But if you insist a little bit and don't get discouraged, you can easily play for 1h-1h 30 without having much trouble.

Playing the traditional song "El ball de la civada"
(after not having played the gralla for a long long time)

Bonus videos: the gralla is not that easy to blow :P

I can't believe there was a time when I could play this for 1h 30...



Keep on trying and maybe you'll get the note...

Smell of Christmas (II)... - La Marató de TV3

Today is a day of solidarity. Since 1992, the Catalan TV station TV3 collects funds for research on different diseases.

First of all I'd like you to think about what is a TV solidarity programme for you. And then, read about "La Marató de TV3".

What is La Marató:

For me, it is a great fund-collecting programme (I am amazed at the funds raised!). A special TV show is broadcasted, there are information campaigns on the chosen disease for the yearly edition, testimonials are recorded and invited to the programme, several activities all over Catalonia (and other Catalan-speaking areas) are organized, people in the Catalan public sphere get involved in it, and a book of short stories and an album with Catalan versions of English songs are published. So as you see, despite the fact that La Marató is an idea born in a TV station, nowadays it has gone far beyond the mere TV show and it has really engaged people.

It is possible to make donations by participating in the activities, buying the book or the CD, by making a bank transfer or by telephone. All the funds are given to research foundations.

2009 Edition

This 2009 edition is about minority diseases. As my boyfriend Xavi explains in his blog about science (in Catalan, so here you have the translation):

I'll only tell you that minority diseases affect very few people (one out of 2,000, even less in some cases), but globally there are 400,000 people who suffer minority diseases in Catalonia. This might explain the poor private investment dedicated to these diseases, and therefore public investment to study them is necessary. Usually, minority diseases have a genetic origin; that is why they have such a low incidence: natural selection prevents transmission of the causing genes. You can find more information on the show and the many minority diseases that will be addressed (including personal stories) in La Marató's web [English version] and their blog [only Catalan]. You can also become a fan in Facebook.

Although La Marató is held today, since the beginning of December, there have been sensitivisation campaigns mainly in the form of ads. I would like to share this year's ad, which clearly explains the goals of the show, although it does not have much relationship with minority diseases. The spot's slogan is "Hi ha persones que neixen per ajudar els altres" (There are people who are born to help other people).



I would also like to share two ads of the 2005 and 2006 editions, which I specially like:

2005 edition focused on Alzheimer and other brain diseases. The ad is just brilliant, with background music of the Catalan version of "All my life" by the Beatles. Two kids are recording daily life common sounds for their grandma who suffers Alzheimer to help her remember.



2006 edition addressed chronic pain. No need for translation.



To watch all editions' ads, click here and look at the section "Els espots de les anteriors edicions".

Finally, if you fancy a taste of how Catalan versions of English songs sound like, follow this link.

What about your area? Are there things like La Marató organised?

Smell of Christmas (I)... - Aim

Again, December. Again, time for perfume, chocolate, watches, Nespresso (¬¬) and cava (the Catalan version of champagne), ultrafrozen seafood and toys ads. Again, decorated fir trees. Again, those typical street lights. Again, everybody seems to be happy. Again, tradition is the rule. Again, Christmas is approaching.

Catalonia shares many Christmas traditions with the rest of Spain, but it also have traditions of its own. My aim during these special dates is to write about all these traditions (both the shared and the unique ones). This will be my particular way to share my Christmas with you.

I hope you like it :).

Per Tots Sants, PANELLETS i CASTANYES!

When I was a child I did not know what Halloween was about. In fact, I never heard that word until I began studying English at 10 and even then I did not understand clearly what exactly was. Things now have changed and Halloween is pretty common. However, what we celebrate in Catalonia on the 31st October and 1st November is La Castanyada and we eat panellets, which both fall under the celebration of "Tots Sants" or "All Saints Day".

La Castanyada
La Castanyada, consists in cooking and eating chestnuts. In Catalan, castanya is a chestnut, and "castanyada", means "eating chestnuts" (yes, we weren't very original in the naming...) Traditionally, the official date of this tradition is on the night of the 31st October, but you can do "Castanyades" all autumn long, until chestnuts' season finishes. You can cook chestnut in several ways -in the oven, on a pan in the cooker, etc-, but in my opinion, the best way to cook them in a special pan with holes in it on a fireplace (or barbecue) using a herb called "palla de vesc" which you gather on paths' borders. To properly cook them this way, you have to make a deep cut on the chestnut's peel so they do not explode and place them in a bowl of water for a while. This while is usually the duration of a proper meal. Then, you put the chestnuts on the special pan on the fire with some of the herbs. As the herbs burn, you add more. All the time you have to keep an eye on the chestnut to make sure they "sweat" properly (ie, they look wet) and keep moving them. After about 30-45 min they will be all black outside and cooked. Finally, you place them on a piece of cloth for a while and eat them, opening them by the cut. Be careful, they burn! They are simply delicious. Chestnuts can be accompanied by a sweet wine called Moscatell, typical from Catalonia and Spain or Garnatxa, also a sweet wine, from my area, the Empordà.

Els Panellets
On Tots Sants, 1st of November (today!), we eat a sweet thing called panellets (no translation available, in literal English "little breadies"). The word might come from "pa" (bread) but panellets are sweet and do not bear any relationship with bread: they are in fact marzipan balls coated with pine kernels or smashed almonds. At home, my father is the "panellet maker". He uses a traditional recipe, which does not use current or sweet potato, which is an ingredient most people use to do them. I love these panellets, and yesterday I had a panellets-cooking session with him.

I made pictures and videos so you might try to do them :). Here are the basic ingredients for the dough, according to the traditional recipe (my father adapted the quantities, so please if you want to make them, ignore the 3 eggs on the video and stick to the following quantities):

300 g of almond flour (or if you know how to do almond flour, 300 g of raw almonds)
2 eggs
250 g of sugar

(Text in Catalan: Per Tots Sants, Panellets. Per fer la massa dels panellets necessitem aquests ingredients: farina d'ametlla, sucre i ous // Text in English: All saints day, the day of panellets. To make panellets' dough we need the following ingredients: almond flour, sugar and eggs).

Elaborating the dough:
- Separate the eggs' yolk from the white.


- Whisk the eggs' white until they look like foam.


- With the sugar and a little bit of water, prepare some sugar syrup.


- Keep a little bit of syrup and mix it with the yolks.
- Mix the rest of syrup with the almond flour.


- Add the eggs' whisk to the mixture and mix again.



- Take the yolk-syrup and add it to the mixture, keeping a little bit for later on.


- Mix until the dough is homogenous and leave it rest 60-90 min.

(Text in Catalan: Ja tenim la massa feta. Hem reservat una mica de rovell amb almívar per "pintar" els panellets un cop estiguin fets // Text in English: We've already prepared the dough. We've kept a little bit of yolk with syrup to "paint" the panellets once they're ready to cook)

Coating the panellets:

- After the dough has rested, we can proceed with coating the dough.
- On different dishes, spread pine kernels, almonds and smashed almonds.
- Take small chunks of dough and make little balls with them.




- Coat the balls with the nuts.

- Creativity is allowed and panellets can be coated with coconut, or filled with quince jelly or mixed with hot chocolate to create chocolate panellets. You can do panellets of whatever you like (or think you will like)

Cooking the panellets:
- The oven must be heated some minutes before placing the panellets.
- Panellets must be placed on an oven plate, in which we need to spread some butter to avoid panellets from sticking on the plate.


- Once all panellets are placed on the plate(s), and just before cooking them, take the rest of syrup-yolk you left aside and, with a spoon, put some of the mixture on top of every panellet ("paint" them, as my father says).


- Place the plate full of panellets into the oven. Cook them for about 10 min at a temperature of 180ºC. IMPORTANT NOTE: as you may have realised, some measurements are vague (a little bit of this, a little bit of that)...sorry, this is how we Catalan/Spaniards work :P. And the cooking time of panellets is vague too: I wrote 10 min, but the best thing you can do is keep an eye to them and take them out of the oven when the yolk on top is a bit brown).



There is only one thing left to do now: ENJOY EATING THEM! Bon profit ;)

PS: If you try to make them, let me know or send me pictures :)

Special thanks to my father, the great panellet cook!