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Life and Culture

Life and Culture

Joan Roca was the master behind the special menu that the Elton John AIDS Foundation served during its traditional charitable Oscars viewing gala. Nearly one thousand guests enjoyed the creations of El Celler de Can Roca, which combined some of their traditional family dishes and others incorporating local California produce. “This is an opportunity to showcase our work at the restaurant, but also to shine the spotlight on Spanish cuisine,” said Joan Roca. The involvement of BBVA's brand ambassadors in one of the year’s top events in Los Angeles was possible thanks to the partnership between BBVA Compass, the U.S. franchise of the Spanish bank, and the Elton John Foundation.

Some of the brightest stars from the worlds of entertainment, sports and more came together last night to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF) at the nonprofit’s annual Oscars watch party and dinner in West Hollywood.

Now in its 26th year, the Academy Awards Viewing Party was hosted by Sir Elton John and David Furnish. As one of the co-sponsors, BBVA Compass was honored to bring its brand ambassadors, the Roca Brothers of the Michelin three-star restaurant El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, to design and prepare dinner for the event’s more than 900 guests, all in support of EJAF’s important fundraising initiatives addressing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

The BBVA Foundation has granted Colombian epidemiologist Nubia Muñoz its Frontiers of Knowledge award in Development Cooperation, for her work in establishing that infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the principal cause of cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death among women in developing countries. Muñoz has also been instrumental in the development of the first effective vaccine against this virus, capable of preventing 70% of all cervical cancers.

Sixty per cent of Spaniards look for health-related information online, but only one third of themtrust their search results. This figure is in stark contrast with the level of trust that is placed on thepersonal advice provided by health professionals, about 92%. To address this demand for reliableonline information, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona and the BBVA Foundation have created PortalCLÍNIC.

The life of a salmon is a round-trip journey. Immediately after birth, it travels down river to the sea, where it lives until the time comes to procreate. The salmon them swims upriver, overcoming all obstacles, and reaches the same spot where its journey began – a point of departure to which it arrives enriched from everything it learned on the way, and determined to leave a mark on its birthplace.