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THE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE: THE WHY, WHICH AND HOW OF IT
September 19, 2023
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SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 2: FAULTLINES IN A VIBRANT DEMOCRACY
September 4, 2023
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STATESIDE STORIES: Trump Faces More Federal Charges
August 21, 2023
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A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “La Chunga: A new Beginning”, 19 June 1970
August 21, 2023
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A SECOND OPINION: Wildfires Blaze in the Summer Heat
August 9, 2023
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HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD, AND MORE TO COME!
August 5, 2023
ON THE TOWN
Restaurants and bars, movies, theater, dance, sports arenas, even the home… Keep abreast of what’s going on where, and how you can have the greatest fun.
RIBADAVIA’S MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL: HOW TO RECREATE A GLORIOUS PERIOD OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY WORTHY OF WORLDWIDE RECOGNITION
Get into the immersive, colorful, absolutely exciting, medieval Galician Festa de Istoria: kinghts in shining armor, lovely damsels, medieval actors, handcrafts and cuisines with ccenturies of tradition behind them. . . It's a reenactment but it's redolent of history and tradition, and the whole town's labor of love. Festa de Hisoria is vying for the distinction of “Festival of International Touristic Interest” How can it not get it!
VAN GOGH ON THE GO
I was indulging my bibliomania while engaged in vinicultural pursuits, okay, so I was drinking wine and browsing Amazon books, and came upon Sonia Castaño's "Van Gogh in La Mancha". Why not La Mancha? Maybe Van Gogh's stay at the asylum in St. Remy was fake news and he slipped over the border into Spain. In any case, it goaded me to see the exhibit at The Met titled "Van Gogh's Cypresses" which ends on the 27th of August. Want to know more? Read on!
THE BULLS OF PAMPLONA ARE ON THE LOOSE AGAIN!
Sanfermises 2023 kicks off on Thursday, 6 July, and will close to the tune of "¡Pobre de mí!" on Friday the 14th. Get all the info you need here.
MADO ’23, THE BIGGEST OF STREET PARTIES WITH A MISSION
The fiestas of Madrid Orgullo (Madrid Pride, aka MADO) is – would you believe? -- the biggest Gay Pride festival in Europe. When it comes to partying there are no people quite like the Spanish people and their friends, LGBTIQ+ and all else. Come on over and join the most colorful (Rainnbow colors!) event of the year!
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “Spanish Fashion Holds Its Own,” 24 July 1970
In the summer of 1970, GUIDEPOST reports: "Spain’s fashion designers bowed to the applause of buyers and members of the press who came from all over the world this week to preview what you might be wearing come September. Of all the collections, Pertegaz’s was the most expensive; Pedro Rodriguez’s, the most conservative, Elio Berhanyer’s, futuristic and Lino’s, the most elegant. However, Marbel Jr.’s collection seemed to demonstrated how to dress to look like a tart. And Herrera y Ollero’s collection was one hundred pieces of general unexcitement."
THE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE: THE WHY, WHICH AND HOW OF IT
The concept of the European Capital of Culture puts culture at the heart of European cities. It highlights the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe and celebrates the cultural features that Europeans share. To date, more than 60 cities across the EU and beyond have been designated European Capital of Culture four of which were Spanish cities.
SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 1: Sanguinary Civil War, Ferocious Fascism, and the Dawning of a Better Life
Here is an enthralling personal account of fascism and the Franco dictatorship by the author who was in Spain in the mid-1970s on the University of California Berkeley’s Education Abroad Program: "The last time I set foot in Spain in 1974 and 1975 fascism and the Franco dictatorship were in their last last legs. Returning 47 years later I braced myself for experiencing big changes."
SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 2: FAULTLINES IN A VIBRANT DEMOCRACY
Guernica, a powerful anti-war statement · Going through the battlegrounds of the Spanish Civil War where a historical walkabout could get booed · Casa Pepe, a sojourn into fascism and the Franco dictatorship · A new encounter with the Cordoba of the Three Cultures: "Relearning its exceptional period of harmony gave me hope, making my trip to Spain nothing less than epic."
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “La Chunga: A new Beginning”, 19 June 1970
La Chunga went through a period when the purity of her dance was seriously threatened by the criticisms of those who wanted her to be more “sophisticated”. Came the dance lessons, arrangements, costumes and make-up came. Each one marked the threat of a gradual transformation into a good but no longer “different” bailaora. . . Chunga has recently “re-appeared” at the newly inaugurated Café de Chinitas. For many who have seen her dancing there in the past two weeks, La Chunga seems to be bringing back to life the legend that once made her the hope of flamenco purists.
POLITICAL SCIENCE 101: THE GHOSTLY WINNER OF SPAIN’S GENERAL ELECTION
For weeks now, many in and out of Spain are touting the misconception that the candidate at the top of the list of the party that garnered the largest number of votes “won” the general election. The implication being that, by rights, the top-listed candidate of the “winning” party should be invested President of the Government of Spain. True or false?
HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD, AND MORE TO COME!
Without human-induced climate change, heatwaves would have been extremely rare. In China it would have been a 1-in-250-year event while maximum heat like in July 2023 would have been virtually impossible to occur in the US-Mexico region and Southern Europe, including Algeria, Greece, Italy and Spain, if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels.
THE SPANISH HORCHATA DE CHUFA, YOUR REFRESHINGest SUMMER DRINK
The ancient tiger nut milk is arguably the REFRESHINGest non-alcoholic drink you'll ever sip while spending some time in Spain during summer, so grab a tall glass and sip away -- in a leafy park, in the horchaterías across the country but most specially in Valencia, the Land of the Chufa. . . We'll even tell you here how you might try your hand at making your own horchata.
THOSE MARVELOUS MILESTONES REACHED BY SPAIN’S COUNCIL OF THE EU PRESIDENCIES
The historical milestones in European integration occurring during Spain's presidencies: the Economic and Monetary Union; the euro; Schengen; the Cohesion Funds, the Lisbon Treaty that gives the EU full legal personality vis-à-vis the world outside; the Treaty of Amsterdam that takes the EU further into supranationalism; the European Arrest Warrant, a face-off with transantional terrorism. . .
THE SPANISH PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION SPLASHES ICONIC MONUMENTS WITH ALLEGORICAL BLUE
Spanish buildings light up in blue, the color of the flag of the European Union, to celebrate Spain’s presidency of the EU Council. Spain is terrribly enthused and the European Commission is only too happy to fall under the spell of the irrepressible enthusiasm.
EUROPE’S SAHARA: HOW SPAIN IS TURNING INTO A DESERT
Heatwaves are but one of climate change’s serious “offenses” responsible for the devastating droughts that go hand in hand with desertification. In the European Union, Spain is the most threatened by desertification. Thirty-one point percent of its land is affected by desertification while 20% is already desertified. One may not put all the blame on climate change, though. Human activity is a major offender. And people in the country are guilty of abusive use of natural resources..
THE REAL MADRID
Any and everything about the fascinating capital city of Spain — and the Autonomous Community of Madrid — from its rich history through its vibrant present to what the future holds, recounted from every angle imaginable.
This category, however, goes beyond Madrid; it embraces stories of what occurred, are occurring, and will probably occur in the Spanish nation whose capital is Madrid.
YOUR DATE WITH THE VIRGIN OF LA PALOMA AT THE HEIGHT OF SUMMER 2023
To honor the Virgen de La Paloma, "patrona popular de los Madrileños": Religious activities, Chotis , Concerts, Shows, Contests. . . A most "castiza" fiesta in the heart of Old Madrid!
VERANOS DE LA VILLA 2023: COME JOIN THE FESTIVAL IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN MADRID!
For those who are staying put in Madrid because they want to, or can't travel outside for one reason or another, or those who have come visiting the nation's capital, LOS VERANOS DE LA VILLA is organized with you in mind. Come join the fun in the city whose love for fiestas is boundless!
SUNDAY, GRIM SUNDAY
The leftist parties suffered a debacle in the recent local elections thay they were not prepared for. The elections were a dress rehearsal for the upcoming parliamentary elections which were advanced by President Pedro Sanchez to 23 July of this year and from which a new President of the Government will emerge. As such, it's not quite likely that the "pregressives" could rise from their ashes even when that second defeat could mean the dismatling of Spain's welfars state.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “The Valley of Lozoya: Rascafría & El Paular,” 14 August 1970
The pine forest of El Paular in the Valley of Lozoya is the most beautiful of all Spain, so the people who live there claim. Thousand-year-old tales, as romantic as any ever told in Spain, originated in the valley which lies just behind the Guadarrama Mountain Range, visible from Madrid. Not only tourists and historians find a store of history here, but fishermen, hunters, hikers, skiers, bird watchers, swimmers and mountain climbers too. The visitor’s first surprise is a luxuriant green valley dotted with vegetable gardens, a contrast to the bleak Castilian plateau. But there was a time in the long history of Lozoya when, despite the prodigious gift of beauty from Nature itself, the valley lay in ruins.
MADRID’S MACHISMO ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Madrid is reputed to be the Capital of the Land of Machismo, home to the hotheaded Latin Lover who, self-serving, acts as though -- if not thoroughly convinced that -- he knew what was good for women and expects his womenfolk to take note. Whether this is pure myth in today’s modern Madrid or there’s a lingering truth to it, it should be interesting – elucidating – to see how Madrid celebrates International Women’s Day.
SNAPSHOT: NATURE TURNED INCANDESCENT FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Here's an option for you this Holiday Season: spend an evening among Nature (the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid really). Could be enchanting!
CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WAY UP HIGH!
Looking for Christmassy fun up in the clouds? You’re in the right place if you’re in Pozuelo de Alarcon, northeast of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. Because that’s where Madrid’s tallest Ferris wheel goes round and round this Season. On descent, it whirls at the heart-stopping speed of 126 km/h. And you get a memorable view of Madrid for miles around into the bargain. Who knows, you might even bump into Santa, with sackful of gift on his sleigh, when you're up there in the sky!
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, CHRISTMAS IS HERE! Free worshop on Ceramic painting for Christmas Decor
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