Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none ( Latin)"United virtue is str ...

is essentially

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

speaking. The country has contributed significantly to the Catalan heritage.

Language and literature

The official and historic language is

. Thus the culture is Catalan, with its own specificity. Two writers renowned in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and the region, Michele Gazier and Ramon Villero, both come from Andorra. In addition,

Ricard Fiter Ricard is a surname, as well as a Catalan name. Notable people with the surname include: *Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard (1771–1843), French general under Napoleon *Hámilton Ricard (born 1974), Colombian footballer *Jean-François Ricard (born ...

, a renowned writer, not only comes from Andorra, but also serves as the Principality's ombudsman. Yet the tradition of writing in Andorra dates farther back than the 20th century;

Antoni Fiter i Rossell Antoni is a Catalan language, Catalan, Polish language, Polish, and Slovene language, Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton (given nam ...

, from the parish of Ordino, wrote a history book of his lands called ''Digest manual de las valls neutras de Andorra'' in 1748, describing the feudal historical and legal setting of Andorra.

Music

Given the fondness of the Catalans for music, it may not be surprising to hear that Andorra has a Chamber Orchestra directed by the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist

Gérard Claret Gérard (French language, French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is ...

; and that it also stages an international singing contest supported by the Spanish singer

Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...

. In 2004, Andorra participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. This attracted media attention from

, since it was the first In 1968,

Joan Manuel Serrat Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages. Serrat's lyrical style ...

renounced to sing "

La, la, la "La, la, la" is a song recorded by Spanish singer Massiel, written by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. It is best known as the Spanish winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 in London. It was the first time that Spain won the C ...

" for Spain when the Franco government forbid the Catalan lyrics.

Massiel María de los Ángeles Felisa Santamaría Espinosa (born 2 August 1947), professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song " La, la, la", beating the British pop singer Cliff Richar ...

sung it in Spanish winning the contest. song to be sung in

. The song was eliminated in the semi-finals, and the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

and 2006 entries also met the same fate. In 2009 they were eliminated in the semi finals as well.

Dance

Typical dances, such as the '' marratxa'' and the ''contrapàs'', are especially popular at feasts. Among famous feasts are the one honoring

Sant Jordi Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a sold ...

, when books and roses are given as presents; the '' People's feast'', celebrating Saint John and the summer

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many count ...

, and the feast of

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

(Sant Esteve),

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

Andorra la Vella Andorra la Vella french: Andorre-la-Vieille is the capital of the Principality of Andorra. It is located high in the east Pyrenees, between France and Spain. It is also the name of the parish that surrounds the capital. , the city has a p ...

. Andorrans tend to celebrate their feasts gladly and loudly.

Media

Andorra's

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

provides for full freedom of the media. There are two daily newspapers published in the principality, ''

Diari d'Andorra ''Diari d'Andorra'' () is a newspaper of the Principality of Andorra. The paper is published in Catalan. It is headquartered in Andorra la Vella Andorra la Vella french: Andorre-la-Vieille is the capital of the Principality of Andorra. It ...

'' and ''

El Periòdic d'Andorra ''El Periòdic d'Andorra'' () is a newspaper of the Principality of Andorra. It has its headquarters in Escaldes-Engordany Escaldes-Engordany () is one of the 7 parishes of Andorra. The Escaldes-Engordany parish was founded on 14 June 1978 and has ...

''. Television services are broadcast by the public

Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra, S.A. (RTVA) (; "Radio and Television of Andorra PLC") is the public television and radio broadcaster in the Principality of Andorra. It operates a television channel, ATV, and two radio stations, RNA and AM, all o ...

. Apart from the public

Radio nacional d'Andorra Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

, there is also the commercial radio station called

Radio Valira Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

References

{{culture-stub

Language and literature

Music

Dance

Media

See also

References