#catalonia

#catalonia

As a child, Miquel Lopez Garcia was fascinated by the conch shell, kept in the bathroom, that his father's family in the southern Spanish region of Almeria had blown to warn their fellow villagers of rising rivers and approaching flood waters. The hours he spent getting that characteristically potent sound out of it paid off last year when the archaeologist, musicologist and professional trumpet player pressed his lips to eight conch-shell trumpets.

Ask anyone in Catalonia about last April - they'll remember. A massive blackout left thousands suddenly powerless in every sense: no lights, no banking, no news, not even a way to heat water for a cup of tea. Shops shut down, lifts froze between floors, and digital-life-as-we-know-it simply... stopped. Now, Catalonia's government is saying something many didn't expect to hear from officials: Be prepared. Just in case it happens again.

"Marc Bernal is one of the 22 players called up by the Catalan national team for the match on November 18," the statement revealed. "The midfielder from Berga has been called up by coach Gerard López and will wear the four bars for a very special and charity match against Palestine at the Olympic Stadium next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m." The 18-year-old midfield starlet, who has barely played since returning from an ACL injury back in September, will make use of the match to build some rhythm and get more minutes under his belt.

If you were anywhere near Barcelona at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 3, you probably jumped out of your skin when your phone suddenly started buzzing. You weren't alone. More than five million mobile phones across Catalonia received the same loud, startling message - a mass emergency alert test carried out by the Generalitat's Civil Protection department ( Protecció Civil). The alert, part of Spain's ES-Alert public warning system, reached people in Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat, Maresme, Vallès Occidental and Vallès Oriental, making it the largest drill ever conducted by the Catalan government. Even those just passing through on a motorway or train heard their devices blare the familiar emergency tone.

Esteve Fernández, the region's health secretary, has made it clear he wants a national law that bans smoking on the beach, full stop. He's hoping Spain's new tobacco law will stamp out cigarettes on every stretch of sand as well.