Invidual residencies / Andorra
FERRAN PORTA I AGUILÀ
From Monday, 8 March 2021 to Monday, 29 March 2021
Bio
While he was living in Ecuador with his family as a teenager, Ferran Porta discovered the attraction for other cultures, languages and traditions. That vital experience plus his innate passion for writing and discovery ended up leading him to study journalism and tourism.
Ever since, journalism and tourism have been the focal point of his career. He has collaborated with several media, in particular from Berlin, where he settled in 2007. There Ferran set up itineri.de, a company that offers guided tours in Germany.
From Berlin he wrote his first book, “Diari de Berlín”. He’s currently working on a new literary project addressed to the German public. It’s a historical, cultural and touristic portrait of Andorra, a country he has a close connection to.
Ferran is an enthusiast of nature, photography, genealogy and lifelong learning.
Project
Literature in German language always presents Andorra as part of a geographic area that surpasses its borders, either “Andorra and the Pyrenees” or “Catalonia and Andorra”. Obviously, Andorra cannot be explained without its historical and geographical context. Nonetheless, its extraordinary heritage more than justifies a book written in German and crafted for German readers where Andorra is the only protagonist. This is my project.
Staying at Faberllull Andorra will allow me to visit places and conduct interviews with tourism managers, cultural agents and historians. It will thus help to shape this book with greater depth and perspective and further fuel my enthusiasm for this literary project.
My stay in Andorra in March 2021 was a golden opportunity for the project I am currently working on: a book about the country, written and designed for German-speaking travelers and readers.
The Faber Andorra Residence has been the "base camp" from where I have been able to delve into the country's cultural and natural heritage, with interviews in the field of culture, tourism or history, and many visits. It didn't start from scratch, much less: my paternal grandparents had lived in the country, that's why stays and excursions in Andorra have been part of my memory since I was very young. It was, therefore, a matter of staying long enough to be able to revisit some spaces and document myself thoroughly for the book. Goal achieved, no doubt.
Europeans in the “German-speaking space” (Deutschsprachiger Raum), as the linguistic area shared by Germans, Austrians and some Swiss, among others, is known in German, highly value preserved natural spaces and heritage. historical-architectural. In this sense, Andorra surely fascinates them from the moment they discover it. Hopefully the book will contribute, even in a small part, to expanding its knowledge.
I am very grateful to Faber Andorra for accepting my candidacy for this stay - but also, and not least, for the support I have received at all times to be able to carry out the planned work. Thank you very much - Vielen Dank!
