Catalans love to visit La Rioja and vice versa. These two autonomous communities have many things in common and some differences that we are going to highlight in this article:
1. La Rioja and Catalonia are a land of wines... and what wines!
We, the people of La Rioja and the Catalans, are fortunate because our territory produces excellent wines that are on the most important tables both nationally and internationally. A Rioja wine or a bottle of Catalan cava is a must for all those who like to drink well.
2. In La Rioja and Catalonia, water sports are practised in lakes and rivers.
While in La Rioja you can enjoy water sports for the whole family in one of its rivers or at the El Rasillo Sailing Club, in Catalonia you can also enjoy water activities in its river basins, lakes and spectacular reservoirs. Some of the most outstanding are the Noguera Pallaresa and Ribagorçana rivers, the Segre and the Freser.
River Noguera Pallaresa, in Lleida, as it passes the Camarasa reservoir. Author: Héctor Blanco de Frutos
3. Dinosaurs were in La Rioja...and in Catalonia too...
More than 120 million years ago, when dinosaurs populated the Earth, they swarmed through the lands of La Rioja and Catalonia. During the Cretaceous, the Cameros Basin, in the Iregua, Leza, Cidacos and Alhama valleys, was an extensive delta formed at the mouth of the river, a place where dinosaurs lived. The Enciso Palaeontological Centre (near Arnedo) or in the different sites such as those of Senoba, Navalsaz or Villar-Poyales, you can see the remains and ichnites (footprints) of these animals. In Catalonia, meanwhile, in the Lleida region of Pallars Jussà there are sites and museums dedicated to these prehistoric animals.
Ichnites in Enciso. Author: Txo
4. In Catalonia there are beaches and in La Rioja... yes!
In Catalonia we have the Mediterranean and spectacular beaches all along the coastline. In La Rioja there is no sea, but there are some coves. The beach par excellence in this autonomous region is in the González Lacasa reservoir, between Ortigosa and El Rasillo, where the El Rasillo Sailing Club is located.
Trawlers in the González Lacasa reservoir. Author: Club Naútico El Rasillo
5. The Riojanos ski in Valdezcaray and the Catalans in the Pyrenees.
Another sporting activity that La Rioja and Catalonia have in common is skiing. While the people of La Rioja enjoy the snow in Valdezcaray, the Catalans have more to offer in the Pyrenean resorts.
6. La Rioja and Catalonia, lands of monasteries
The cultural and architectural heritage of both communities is exceptional. If we focus on the monasteries, the Riojan monasteries have Suso and Yuso as their greatest exponents. Meanwhile, in Catalonia, the triad of Poblet, Vallbona de les Monges and Santes Creus are indispensable on a visit to the counties of Tarragona.
Baroque door of the church of the Monastery of Poblet, Tarragona. Author: Pap3rinik
7. Raquel Meller from La Rioja lived almost all her life in Barcelona.
Many people from La Rioja have lived in Catalonia and vice versa. Thus, the famous singer, actress and cupletista, Raquel Meller, grew up in Inestrillas (although she was born in Tarazona, Aragon) and after travelling halfway around the world and triumphing in theatres such as New York and Paris, she settled in Barcelona, a city where she lived and triumphed.
Raquel Meller in the film Carmen, 1927. Singer, cupletista and actress, during the 1920s and 1930s she was the Spanish artist who achieved the greatest international success.
8. In La Rioja we have the Museum Vivanco and in Catalonia, the Vinseum.
The importance of wine in both communities is reflected in the museums dedicated to this drink. Briones is home to what is considered to be the best wine museum in the world, the Museum Vivanco of Wine Culture, while Vilafranca del Penedès, the Catalan capital of wine and cava, is home to the Museum of Wine Cultures of Catalonia.
Museum Vivanco of Wine Culture. Room 1, "Nacer, Crecer, Madurar", where the origin of wine is contextualised, with a focus on the cultivation of the vine and the winemaking process.
9. And the difference between Catalans and Riojanos lies in...
According to the Index Life report, a barometer of the concerns of Spaniards drawn up in 2014 by the Instituto de Prospectiva Internacional, the Cofares Group and the Efe Agency, the people of La Rioja are the happiest in Spain, while the Catalans are at the bottom of this ranking.
Do you know of any other similarities between Riojans and Catalans?
And with La Mancha ? and with the place of La Mancha "Vva. de los Infantes" : Calle Vara de Rey (his family and mausoleum is in the cemetery of my village .... ? My friend Luis, a worker of yours, lived in this village of mine. I have been half a year living in Logroño, c. Vara de Rey. Vara de Rey, I have tasted your wine thanks to him, ENGRATULATIONS. PS. Espartero manchego also from C.Real and the riojanos of EDF LOGROÑES in which my children were in, COJONUDOS !! and VALE -last words of the book Don Quijote de la Mancha-.
Hello Jose Vicente,
We are glad that you like the wines Vivanco, thank you for your words. We will take note of the idea of La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha.
Greetings!