Catalan mountaineering has made history. Bru Busom, Marc Toralles and Rubén Sanmartín have been awarded a Piolet d’Or, the most prestigious international recognition in mountaineering, for the opening of The essence of commitment, a new route on the east face of Yerupajá (6,634 meters), in the Peruvian Andes. It is the first award of this category granted to a Spanish ascent, a milestone that vindicates the exploration, autonomy and commitment of this route.

Fina Olivas is still going strong. At 68, she's the fourth generation to keep Can Candu alive, one of Menorca's oldest and most iconic businesses, along with Ca na Genera (Ferreries) and Ca n'Hernando (Ciutadella). Nearly 140 years later, it's surviving the onslaught of e-commerce. Her husband is ill at home, but every morning and evening, Fina heads to number 38 on the central Ramal street in Alaior to sell sheets, towels, and underwear to a loyal and large clientele. "And not just from Alaior. People from Mercadal and Migjorn Gran also come here to shop," she says. She laments that the recent traffic changes implemented by the City Council have reduced traffic in the town center, making it more difficult for customers from out of town to reach the shop and park nearby. "If they find the streets closed, it won't make things easy for me, because I'm barely scraping by with just the people from Alaior who come on foot."

On April 1, Vicente Cajuso, 73, lowered the barrier for the last time at Didasko, the stationery store he owned in an industrial estate in Maó. After having long considered the possibility of retiring due to his age and at a time when the business was increasing profits and revenue, he did so. While still considering it, he posted an advertisement on entrepreneurship websites and public administration programs to see if any Menorcans would take it, but he had no choice but to transfer the business to a Mallorcan company. "If I could have entrusted the stationery store to a Menorcan, I would have done it," he asserts. He also would have liked his children to continue with the "hard work" he did for 38 years, "as long as they liked the trade and it made them happy," he emphasizes with the sincerity of a father who wants the best for his children.