Spanish Culture
Widely known for Flamenco music and dance, bullfights and fiestas, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine, Spain has much more to offer than that..
It is, and has been for thousands of years, one of the cultural centres of Europe. Spain is different!, Spaniards use to say. They do not specify compared to what... to the rest of Europe, to the rest of the world, or even to itself ? We do not know either, but we do our best to supply you with lots of information so you can find the answer to this question and many others by yourself.
Spain has an extraordinary artistic heritage.
The dominant figures of the golden age were the Toledo based artists El Greco and Diego Velasquez. Francisco Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spains most prolific painter and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty.
The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí.
Spains architecture ranges from prehistoric monuments in Minorca in the Balearic Islands, through to the Roman ruins of Mérida and Tarragona, the decorative Lonja in Seville, Mudéjar buildings, Gothic cathedrals, castles, fantastic modernist monuments and Gaudís intricate fabulist sculptures.
The guitar was invented in Andalusia in the 1790s when a sixth string was added to the Moorish lute. It gained its modern shape in the 1870s. Spanish musicians have taken the humble guitar to dizzying heights of virtuosity and none more so than Andrés Segovia (1893-1997), who established classical guitar as a genre.
Flamenco, music rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gitanos (gypsies) of Andalusia, is experiencing a revival. Paco de Lucia is the best known flamenco guitarist internationally. His friend El Camarón de la Isla was, until his death in 1992, the leading light of contemporary cante hondo. In the 1980s flamenco-rock fusion (a.k.a. gypsy rock) was developed by the likes of Pata Negra and Ketama, and in the 1990s Radio Tarifa emerged with a mesmerizing mix of flamenco and medieval sounds.
MOORS & CHRISTIANS CELEBRATIONS
Virtually every village, town and city will have their own celebration during the year - from the world renowned celebration in ALCOY to the numerous small hamlets and villaged in rural Spain. These celebrations are to recognise the recapture of much of Spain from the Moors and normally stretch over 3/4 days with processions every night, much eating, drinking and dancing - often until dawn! The costumes are fantastic and must be seen to be believed. A word of warning - these celebarations are often accompanied by Spanish fireworks and there is a tendancy towards very loud bangs!
GASTRONOMY
Sun and oranges, delicious seafood, vegetables and very good wines D.O. Utiel-Requena and Valencia ... those are catchwords characterising one of the finest cuisines of Spain. Also rice which is produced here in large quantities is a protagonist in many typical dishes. The Valencianos understood to combine those ingredients to perfect masterpieces, Paella Valenciana being the most famous example.
There are many variations of this recipe, and even experts cannot determine which one is the original Paella. Best known is what Valencianos call Paella Marinera: rice with saffron, sea-food and vegetables. Often is added chicken to it (Paella Mixta). The Paella which Valencianos use to call Valenciana is all different: it consists of chicken and snails (plus the base of course, saffron-rice and vegetables).
By the way, a really good Paella cannot be made at an electric range, but on charcoal-fire in a flat pan of impressive diameter, called Paellera. After all the ingredients have been added you cannot stir it around anymore. Only artists of cuisine neither burn the dish nor serve it raw - but then results are overwhelming.
Fideuá is similar to Paella, but the rice is replaced by a particular kind of noodles. Another speciality is Arroz Negre, "Black Rice", which owes its color to the ink of cuttlefish.
If you need a refreshment somewhen, try a drink called Horchata. It is made of the milk of a plant called Chufas (somewhat similar to rice) and is served ice cold.
