Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Sitges
settlement type	Municipality
official name
native name
image shield	Escut de Sitges.svg
pushpin map	Spain Catalonia
pushpin map caption	Location of Sitges within Catalonia
pushpin map1	Spain
pushpin map caption1	Location of Sitges within Spain
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name	Spain
subdivision type1	Autonomous community
subdivision name1	Catalonia
subdivision type2	Province
subdivision name2	Barcelona
subdivision type3	Comarca
subdivision name3	Garraf
subdivision type4	Judicial district
subdivision name4	Villanueva y Geltrú
seat type
coordinates type	region:ES_type:city
coordinates display	inline,title
elevation m	10
area total km2	43.85
established title
population total	27668
population as of	2009
population demonym	Sitgetans
population density km2	auto
blank name sec1	Official languages
blank info sec1	Spanish Catalan
timezone	CET
utc offset	+1
timezone dst	CEST
utc offset dst	+2
postal code type	Postal code
postal code	08870
area code type	Dialing code
area code	93
leader title	Alcalde
leader name	Jordi Baijet i Vidal (2007)
leader party	PSC
website
footnotes	}}

Sitges (, Catalan for ''silos'') is a Spanish town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival. Located between the Garraf Massif and the sea, it is known for its much-frequented beaches, nightspots, and historical sites.

While the roots of Sitges' artsy reputation date back to the late 19th century, when Catalan painter Santiago Rusiñol took up residence there during the summer, the town in the 1960s became a centre for the counterculture on the mainland of Spain (then still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco), and became known as a sort of "Ibiza in miniature". Nowadays it is a popular destination for gay and lesbian travellers, as it has become one of the most gay-friendly places in the world.

Today, Sitges' economy is based on tourism and culture offering more than 4,500 hotel beds, half of them in four-star hotels.

Almost 35% of the approximately 26,000 permanent inhabitants are from the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and Scandinavia, whose children attend international schools in the area. There are 17 beaches. Sitges was also the site of the annual Bilderberg conference held in June 2010.

Real estate

Sitges has been referred to as the St. Tropez of Spain, with property prices approaching those of the most expensive European cities, the main reason for this being the setting by the sea and the surrounding ''Parc Natural del Garraf''. Proximity to Barcelona International Airport is also a major advantage.

History

Human presence in the area dates to at least the Neolithic area, and an Iberian settlement from the 4th century. In the 1st century BC it included two separated villages, later absorbed by the Romans.

During the Middle Ages, a castle was built in Sitges, owned by the bishopric of Barcelona, which later ceded it to count Mir Geribert (1041). In the 12th century the town fell under the rule of the Sitges family. The latter held it until 1308, when Agnes of Sitges sold the town to Bernat de Fonollar, after whose death it went to the Almoina family, to which it belonged until 1814.

In 1814 Facundo Bacardí, founder of the international rum brand Bacardi, was born in Sitges before emigrating to Cuba where he set up his company.

Sitges economy was mostly based on the production of wine until the economic boom of the 1960s, after which it became a tourist resort.

The Carnival

For over a century, Sitges has been celebrating nonstop — between the months of February and March, according to the liturgical calendar — Carnestoltes, or Carnival.

The festivities begin on Dijous Gras, or Fat Thursday, with the arribo, King Carnestoltes’ spectacular arrival. From the moment this character appears until the burial of the sardine — late afternoon on Ash Wednesday — you could well say that life in Sitges moves to a new beat.

Folk dances and xatonades (traditional local salad served with assorted omelets) are also characteristic carnival elements. The two most important moments are the Rua de la Disbauxa, or the Debauchery Parade, on Sunday night and the Rua de l'Extermini, or Extermination Parade, on Tuesday night. Some forty-odd floats with more than 2,000 participants fill Sitges.

Main sights

Church of ''Sant Bartolomeu i Santa Tecla'' (17th century). It houses two Gothic sepulchres (1317 and 1322), belonging to the an older church located on the same site. The baptistery has paintings from Pere Pruna, while the high altar has a Renaissance retablo (1499).

Cau Ferrat Museum, the house-cum-studio of artist and writer Santiago Rusiñol, one of the leading figures of Catalan Modernisme.

Palau Maricel built by the American Charles Deering to house his art collection in an attempt to copy the precedent set by Cau Ferrat. In 1921 Deering returned to the U.S. and the palace was emptied. In 1969 however, the building regained the use to which it had seemed destined since its creation, by welcoming a major private collection, mostly dedicated to medieval art.

Museu Romàntic "Can Llopis", reproducing the lifestyle of a family of Catalan householders during the years of Romanticism.

Gastronomy

Xató is Sitges' most typical dish. It appeared in the press for the first time in a report about Maundy Thursday published in a local newspaper ''Eco de Sitges'' on 16 February 1896. The report refers to a meal that three days before had gathered together a selected group of Catalan artists and intellectuals, including Santiago Rusiñol, Miquel Utrillo and Gaietà Buigas. The name “xató” comes from an expression pronounced years before by Canudas, a member of the Rusiñol's group.

The main ingredients of xató are escarole salad, cod, tuna, anchovies, aubergine and black olives. However, the essence of the dish is its sauce, made with scalded chillies, toasted almonds, garlic, olive oil, salt, vinegar and hot peppers. The complete xató meal consists of some different omelettes or fricandó (a typical Catalan hot meal) and as a dessert coca de llardons (typical Catalan cake, made from pork scratchings), served with a bottle of Penedès black wine.

Apart from the xató, there are some other typical Catalan sailor's dishes which are very common in Sitgetan cuisine and which turn fish into an unequivocal sign of identity. Rice in the Sitgetan way, stewed sepia with potatoes and allioli (typical Catalan garlic sauce), bull de tonyina (typical sailors´ dish made with tuna fish), fideuada (typical sailors´ dish similar to paella, but with noodles and seafood) or stuffed peppers with cod. Such variety guarantees the extraordinary richness and singularity of Catalan's and Sitgetan's gastronomy.

As for drinks, malvasia is the most representative one. It is an oloroso and delicate liquor wine, excellent for desserts. The name “malvasia” comes from the Peloponnesian port Monembasía. In Sitges, the Hospital Sant Joan Baptista continues producing and marketing malvasia according to the traditional method and for charity. The annual production is approximately of 4,000 bottles (produced by the vines owned by the Hospital). The Sitgetan malvasia is produced and matured in the wine cellars of the Hospital.

Beaches

Sitges has 17 sand beaches. Four of them are in the East: the first one called Les Botigues at the beginning of the coast, next to the beaches of Castelldefels and the other three are following the coast of Garraf (Road C-31). One of them is Garraf village beach.

There are eleven urban beaches and two in the west. These last two have difficult access.

All the eastern and urban beaches have access facilities, flags indicating the state of the sea and most of them have quality diplomas and blue flags awarded by the European Union.

Sister cities

Bagnères-de-Luchon (France)

Motor racing

Sitges is part of the long history of motor racing in Catalonia. From 1908–1920 events were staged over public roads from Sitges to Canyelles to Vilanova i la Geltrú, and from Mataro to Vilassar de Mar and Argentona. In 1922 and 1923 the Real Moto Club de Catalunya ran the Penya Rhin Grand Prix over a 9-mile circuit around the town of Vilafranca del Penedès until it was replaced by a short lived purpose built circuit, the banked Autodromo Sitges Terramar, which is still visible at . Albert Divo won the only Spanish Grand Prix held at the banked 'Sitges Terramar' driving a Sunbeam.

See also

Sitges railway station

Garraf (Sitges)

References

Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).

External links

Official website of Sitges

Tourism website of Sitges

Gay website of Sitges

Gay Pride Sitges website

Sitges Guide, Calendar & Directory (English)

Sitgesonline, Hotels in Sitges (German, Catalan, Spanish, English, French)]

Practical guide of Sitges (Spanish)]

Category:Garraf Category:Municipalities in Barcelona Category:Tourism in Spain Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain Category:Populated places in Barcelona

ar:سيدجيس an:Sitges ca:Sitges cs:Sitges de:Sitges el:Σίτζες es:Sitges eu:Sitges fa:سیتگس fr:Sitges gl:Sitges it:Sitges nl:Sitges ja:シッチェス no:Sitges oc:Sitges pl:Sitges pt:Sitges ro:Sitges ru:Сиджес fi:Sitges sv:Sitges uk:Сіджас

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Joe Pass
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua
born	January 13, 1929New Brunswick, New Jersey
died	May 23, 1994Los Angeles, California
instrument	Guitar
genre	Jazz, bebop
occupation	Musician, composer
years active	1943–1994
label	Concord, PabloPacific Jazz
associated acts	Zack Charette
notable instruments	}}

Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua) (January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an Italian-American jazz guitarist of Sicilian descent. His extensive use of walking basslines, melodic counterpoint during improvisation, use of a chord-melody style of play and outstanding knowledge of chord inversions and progressions opened up new possibilities for jazz guitar and had a profound influence on future guitarists.

Early life

Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Joe Pass, the son of Mariano Passalaqua, a Sicilian-born steel mill worker, was raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Born into a non-musical family, Pass started to play the guitar after being inspired by actor Gene Autry's portrayal of a guitar playing cowboy. He received his first guitar, a Harmony model bought for $17, on his 9th birthday. Pass' father recognized early that his son had "a little something happening" and pushed him constantly to pick up tunes by ear, play pieces not written specifically for the instrument, practice scales and not to "leave any spaces" - that is, to fill in the sonic space between the notes of the melody.

As early as 14, Pass started getting gigs and was playing with bands fronted by Tony Pastor and Charlie Barnet, honing his guitar skills and learning the music business. He began traveling with small jazz groups and eventually moved from Pennsylvania to New York City. In a few years, he fell victim to drug abuse, and spent much of the 1950s in relative obscurity. Pass managed to emerge from it through a two-and-a-half-year stay at Synanon, drug rehabilitation program. During that time he played guitar non stop and further honed his skills. In 1962 he recorded ''The Sounds of Synanon.''

Discovery and subsequent career

Pass recorded a series of albums during the 1960s for the Pacific Jazz label, including the early classics ''Catch Me'', ''12-String Guitar'', ''For Django'', and ''Simplicity''. In 1963, Pass received ''Downbeat'' magazine's "New Star Award". Pass was also featured on Pacific Jazz recordings by Gerald Wilson, Bud Shank, and Les McCann. Pass toured with George Shearing in 1965. Mostly, however, during the 1960s he did TV and recording session work in Los Angeles.

He was a sideman with Louis Bellson, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Della Reese, Johnny Mathis, and worked on TV shows including ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''The Merv Griffin Show'', ''The Steve Allen Show'', and others. In the early 1970s, Pass and guitarist Herb Ellis were performing together regularly at Donte's jazz club in Los Angeles. This collaboration led to Pass and Ellis recording the very first album on the new Concord Jazz label, entitled simply ''Jazz/Concord'' (#CJS-1), along with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jake Hanna. In the early 1970s, Pass also collaborated on a series of music books, and his ''Joe Pass Guitar Style'' (written with Bill Thrasher) is considered a leading improvisation textbook for students of jazz.

Norman Granz, the producer of Jazz at the Philharmonic and the founder of Verve Records signed Pass to Granz's new Pablo Records label in 1970. In 1974, Pass released his landmark solo album ''Virtuoso'' on Pablo Records. Also in 1974, Pablo Records released the album ''The Trio'' featuring Pass, Oscar Peterson, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. At the Grammy Awards of 1975, ''The Trio'' won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group. As part of the Pablo Records "stable," Pass also recorded with Benny Carter, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Zoot Sims, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and others.

Pass and Ella Fitzgerald recorded six albums together on Pablo Records, toward the end of Fitzgerald's career: ''Take Love Easy'' (1973), ''Fitzgerald and Pass... Again'' (1976), "Hamburg Duets - 1976" (1976), "Sophisticated Lady" (1975, 1983), ''Speak Love'' (1983), and ''Easy Living'' (1986).

In 1994, Joe Pass died from liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age of 65.

Legacy

In addition to his ensemble performances, the jazz community regards Joe Pass as an influential solo guitarist. His solo style was marked by an advanced linear technique, sophisticated harmonic sense, counterpoint between improvised lead lines, bass figures and chords, spontaneous modulations, and transitions from fast tempos to rubato passages. He would regularly add what he called "color tones" to his compositions, to give what he believed was a more sophisticated and "funkier" sound. As common in jazz, he would achieve this by taking the basic chord, for example G7 and would improvise or substitute certain notes, so would play for example a G13 chord or would add other tones such as flat or sharpened 5ths and 9ths to the chord. He would then often connect them chromatically using his walking bassline of root notes.

Pass's early style (influenced by guitarist Django Reinhardt and saxophonist Charlie Parker), was marked by fast single-note lines and a flowing melodic sense. Pass had the unusual lifelong habit of breaking his guitar picks and playing only with the smaller part. As Pass made the transition from ensemble to solo guitar performance, he preferred to abandon the pick altogether, and play fingerstyle. He found this enabled him to execute his harmonic concepts more effectively. His series of solo albums, ''Virtuoso'' (volumes 1 through 4) are a demonstration of Pass's refined technique.

Joe Pass let some instrument manufacturers use his name, but he only used those instruments to fulfill its engagement against those brands, or as travelling ones. He really used to play a Gibson ES-175 guitar (mainly) and a guitar made for him by master crafter Jimmy D'Aquisto; for a time he also played a Fender Jaguar, a rather unusual choice of guitar for jazz (being associated more with surf music). Epiphone has produced an edition of the ''Emperor'' line of semi-acoustic Guitar in his honour. Previously Ibanez had a Joe Pass model jazz guitar, as they continue to for influential jazz guitarists George Benson and Pat Metheny.

Discography

Selected bibliography

''Mel Bay Presents Joe Pass "Off the Record".'' Mel Bay, 1993. ISBN 1-56222-687-8

''Complete Joe Pass.'' Mel Bay, 2003. ISBN 0-7866-6747-8

Miyakaku, Takao. ''Joe Pass.'' Tokyo: Seiunsha, 2000. ISBN 4-434-00455-7 (photograph collection)

References

''Joe Pass Unedited'' article by Jim Ferguson

External links

Joe Pass guitar solo video (YouTube)

Joe Pass

Joe Pass guitar tab

Joe Pass Memorial Hall

Category:Bebop guitarists Category:New Brunswick, New Jersey Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Joe Pass albums Category:People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:1929 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American jazz musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from liver cancer

cs:Joe Pass da:Joe Pass de:Joe Pass es:Joe Pass eo:Joe Pass fr:Joe Pass it:Joe Pass he:ג'ו פאס lt:Joe Pass mk:Џо Пас nl:Joe Pass ja:ジョー・パス no:Joe Pass pl:Joe Pass pt:Joe Pass ru:Пасс, Джо

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Kodi Smit-McPhee
yearsactive	2005–present
birth date	June 13, 1996
birth place	Sydney, Australia
url	}}

Kodi Smit-McPhee (born 13 June 1996) is an award-winning Australian actor, most known for his roles as The Boy in the ''The Road'' and Owen in ''Let Me In''. He has also appeared in Australian films, ''Romulus, My Father'' and ''Matching Jack''.

Life and career

Kodi Smit-McPhee was born in Australia, the son of Sonja and Andy McPhee, an actor and former professional wrestler. His sister is actress Sianoa Smit-McPhee. He was trained at Drama with a Difference. He has had many roles in film and television, but is best known for his performance in the 2009 film ''The Road'', acting beside Viggo Mortenson. Kodi has also appeared in the Australian telemovie ''The King'' and the American television series ''Monarch Cove'' and ''Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King'' in the episode titled "Umney's Last Case". Kodi was originally cast in the role of Young Logan in the ''X-Men'' film, ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine,'' however he was unable to film because of his work with ''The Road''. In ''The Road'', he appeared as the unnamed son of Viggo Mortensen's also unnamed character in the screen adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. Kodi's performance in ''The Road'' has received mainly positive reviews from the critics. Therefore, he was nominated for Best Young Actor at the 15th annual Critics' Choice Awards.

On 1 October 2009, it was confirmed that Smit-McPhee would play the role of Owen in the film ''Let Me In'', which was directed by Matt Reeves and released in October 2010. In an interview at Comic Con, he said he has seen ''The Exorcist'' and it "scared the crap" out of him. He also said that he did not watch ''Let the Right One In'' before or during playing the part of Owen in the American remake of the film because he did not want to copy anything. But he did eventually see it and thought it was amazing "that someone could come up with that".

Smit-McPhee's favorite horror films include ''Friday the 13th'', ''Child's Play'', ''Jeepers Creepers'', and ''The Fourth Kind'', even though they all "freaked" him out.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
		Teddy
	''Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America''	Toby Connelly	TV movie
		Raimond
	Young John Wesley	TV movie
		Boy
''Tinytown''	Davis	Completed
	''Matching Jack''	Finn
	Owen
	''ParaNorman''	Norman	Voice
''The Congress''		Voice
''Romeo and Juliet''	Benvolio
Guest appearances
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Episode
		Brandon	Umney's Last Case
Jackson Evans
		Episode #1.1
Episode #1.6
Episode #1.7
Episode #1.8

Awards and nominations

Young Actor's Award rowspan=2 2009 rowspan=5>2010 Best Performance by a Youth (Male) rowspan=2>2011

Award
rowspan=2>Australian Film Institute	2007	|	<		rowspan="5"
Best Lead Actor
rowspan=2>Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards	2008 ||	Special Achievement Award	<
Best Actor – Supporting Role
rowspan=1>Young Artist Award	|	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor	<
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	|	Best Young Actor/Actress	<		rowspan=3
Saturn Award	Best Performance by a Younger Actor
rowspan=2>Australian Film Institute	Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor	<
Phoenix Film Critics Society	|		rowspan=3
Critic's Choice Award	|	Best Young Actor
Saturn Award	Best Performance by a Younger Actor

References

External links

Category:1996 births Category:Actors from Melbourne Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian television actors Category:Living people

de:Kodi Smit-McPhee es:Kodi Smit-McPhee fa:کدی اسمیت-مک‌فی fr:Kodi Smit-McPhee it:Kodi Smit-McPhee ja:コディ・スミット＝マクフィー pl:Kodi Smit-McPhee pt:Kodi Smit-McPhee