You can't reach the top without effort, hard work, and passion. And these are precisely the values that have been championed by the team at El Celler de Can Roca for the last 30 years. Ever since Joan and Josep Roca opened their own restaurant alongside their parents' eatery in August 1986, they have not ceased in their pursuit of excellence and their total commitment to what they do: delivering a unique experience to everyone who takes a seat at one of their tables.

So many things have happened that it seemed like an eternity when we got back on the road for the great summer that was approaching. Unfortunately, my health started playing dirty tricks on me again and I couldn't compete in Montreal. Actually, I was eager to play because the previous week we had trained very hard, both physically and on the court, in Los Angeles and I was ready. But I couldn't, I just couldn't.

The New Deal, the interventionist program Roosevelt promoted to soften the blow from the 1929 Wall Street Crash, meant that investment and retail banking must operate separately for the first time in history. After being separated in 1933, they began to develop independently during a period of economic boom in the U.S.

The third edition of the BBVA Foundation Grants for Researchers and Cultural Creators has ended with grants awarded to 60 individuals for a total of 2,200,000 euros. The funds are destined to supporting projects in a variety of fields of knowledge; from cancer research to protecting the environment.

The Valley of the Sun got even brighter last week as the world-renowned Roca brothers trekked into Phoenix as part of the 2016 BBVA-El Celler de Can Roca Tour.

The history of banking is a story that must be told in stages. It starts with its birth after the 1929 Wall Street Crash with the Glass-Steagall Law, and continues to present day with the Dodd-Frank Law Barack Obama signed after the 2008 financial crisis.

The BBVA-El Celler de Can Roca tour has touched down for the first time in Asia, with a week of events in Hong Kong. Wine-tasting, cooking and pastry-making masterclasses and a series of dinners in the Hotel Peninsula in this international setting have once again served to enhance the reputation of Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca.

The end of the first leg of El Celler de Can Roca’s world tour was marked by the standing ovation from the almost 400 BBVA clients that had been invited to enjoy a special menu that paid homage to the British capital’s cosmopolitan spirit.

Almost 1.2 billion people – one out of every seven people in the planet – traveled abroad in 2015. And 37% of these international tourists chose their vacations based on the cultural offering of the country of destination: monuments, museums, festivals and folklore compete with the beaches and the sun over a business that moves billions of dollars every year.