Friday, July 30, 2010

La Tomatina

Well, I think that most of you would be familiar with this festival. It is rather epic by any standard and to top it off, this is one event that we may very well be able to attend. Much to my delight. I have always been keen for a food fight but it has to be worth it. You can't just waste food for any old reason and this one is certainly the greatest excuse. It has history, tradition and thousands of willing participants.

How this blessed event had it's origins is anyones guess and the stories I'm sure are endless. However we do know that it started in the town of Buñol around the 1940's and now encompasses other events including a Paella cooking contest. I should start practicing. It is also done in the honour of the town's patron saints: San Luis Bertrán and Mare de Déu dels Desemparats (Mother of God of the Defenseless) Ironic patrons to have since Bertrán apparently had no sense of humour and the other for the vulnerable village people. Many shopkeepers have to drape their buildings with plastic to protect them from the onslaught of about 150, 000 tomatoes. That's a lot of tomato sauce of which I can't help but calculate how many meals you could make from all of that sauce. It's also not for the self conscious because the dress code is white for woman and no shirts for the men. I now have an incentive for gym.

It's a human meat ball.

Sagrada Família



So, I was thinking about some cool things to write about this morning, and found this church in Barcelona.

Firstly it’s privately funded by the Catholic Church and has been under construction since 1882. It will only be completed in 2026... Holy Cow!!! 144 years to build one building. Come to think of it. It sounds like a housing project in SA!

The building has 3 parts (or facades):
1. Nativity
2. Glory (under construction)
3. Passion

Honestly, I don't see it. Pictures obviously don't do it justice!

A portion of the building's interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September 2010. (Awesome for us)

Considered the master-work (?) of renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project's vast scale and distinctive design have made it one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions for many years. The church is to be consecrated and proclaimed a Basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on November 7, 2010, during his visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona.

Well, I don't know whether I am impressed or think this is a bit of overkill but it looks good at night, possibly because it hides the flaws.
We may have to return to view the completed "masterpiece" in 2026!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Percebes

El tres amigos had dinner with some folks on Tuesday night and happened to watch the BBC programme QI with Steven Fry. In the episode we watched they brought up the subject of gooseneck barnacles. Anyway, I descided to do a bit of research. Low and behold it turns out that the little crustaceans are a very popular dish in Spain and are called Precebes. They are boiled in salt water with lemon and bay leaves then served on a bed of curly lettuce. Apparently the taste is like an angel kissing on your tongue. They fetch quite the price so it's not a meal for the end of the month. But that's not all that's interesting about them. Back in the good old days folks believed these barnacles where the progeny of the barnacle goose.

Exhibit A:

You can see where they got the idea. This is before observational science progressed from “Hey, that looks like that,” to realising that birds migrate and have babies in other places. A trying to get his name in the books monk from the twelfth centuria claimed to have seen a precebes transform into a beautiful goose. Question on my mind is how did they reckon the goose “deposited” the barnacle? Other questions plague my mind. Is there a Princess Swan/Ugly Duckling parallel? Is this where we get the origin of the word “hard-ass”? I suppose we can't know everything.

Bullfighting


Bullfighting (known as "corrida de toros" in Spanish) is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, some cities in southern France and in several Latin American countries, in which one or more bulls are ritually killed in a bullring as a public spectacle. It can be considered a blood sport.

On further investigations of this so called "Spectacle". I have discovered that it is not just a Matador running around with a red cloth teasing a Cow with horns. There is more going on till the final killing of the Bull if the Matador is successful. Furthermore, I would go on to assume that this is where the Rodeo probably derived from, even though the Americans will state otherwise.

This morning on Our local news reported that the Province of Catalonia have officially banned the bullfight spectacle, as animal rights activists claim cruelty to animals. However, this is a tradition that goes back to the Roman Empire period, so traditionalist may argue that it is part of there culture and it brings honour to the bull.

So with this mornings report, my inquisition was stirred and this is what I learnt...

Participants

The teams comprise of 7 participants:
• The Matador
o 2 x Lancers “Picadors” who are mounted on horseback
o 3 x Flagmen “banderilleros”
o 1 x Sword Servant “Mozo de espada”

Parts of a bullfight

There are 3 distinct parts of the Bullfight:
Stage 1 - Tercio de VarasFirst greeting and ceremonial introduction, then (the interesting stuff)...
The Matador observes the movements of the Bull while the “Banderilleros” thrust capes at the bull. He will monitor what the bull’s weaknesses are and if it moves to it own territory or if it just attacks the Capes (The territorial bull is more dangerous).
Then the lancers, on there heavily padded and blind folded horses, encourage the bull to attack the Horses. The Picadors will then draw first blood by stabbing the bull in the neck. This cause the bull to charge the horse and lift it with its neck, this is to weaken the neck muscles and lower the bull’s horns during the next stages. This is to the Matadors advantage as it is less dangerous, and allows him to perform the passes done in Modern bullfighting.
This is a compulsory stage of Bullfighting...

Stage 2 - Tercio de Banderillas
The 3 banderilleros each try stabbing 2 “flag like” sticks in the bull’s shoulders to further weaken the creature’s neck and shoulder muscles through further blood loss. They also continue to spur the bull on to make more ferocious changes.
The placing of the banderillas may be done by the matadors. If the presidente decides that the bull is extraordinarily weak or unwilling to fight, he may order the use of black banderillas, considered to be a disgrace to the breeder.

Stage 3 - Tercio de Muerte
In the final stage, the tercio de muerte ("death third"), the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape or muleta in one hand and a sword in the other. This cape is stretched with a wooden dowel and, in right-handed passes, the sword as well.
Having dedicated the bull to an individual or the whole audience, the matador uses his cape to attract the bull in a series of passes, both demonstrating his control over it and risking his life by getting especially close to it. The red colour of the cape is a matter of tradition, as bulls are actually colour blind. There are a number of distinct styles of pass, each with its own name.
The Matador will do a series of passes to show control over the bull, until the final death in which the Matador will manoeuvre the bull into a position to stab the bull in between the shoulder blades and through the aorta or heart.
The Matadors have fifteen minutes to kill the bull, if it is not done the Presidente will order the bull to be killed outside the ring or order it to return to its pen. This is to dishonour the failing Matador.

The bull's body is dragged out by a team of mules. If the presidente is impressed by the performance of the bull, he orders a tour around the ring to honour the animal. Very rarely, a bull will be allowed to survive a fight as an indulgence granted in recognition of an exceptional performance. The spectators will demand an indulto from the presidente, by waving handkerchiefs before the estocada. The matador will stop and look at the presidente. If he stands still, he will resume his action and kill the bull. But if he has an orange handkerchief hung on his balcony, the matador will imitate the estocada with a banderilla or with the palm of his hand and the bull will be "freed". Such bulls are generally retired from competition and raised as studs, as their experience in the ring makes them extremely dangerous opponents. A fighting bull is never used in the ring twice, because they learn from experience, and the entire strategy of the matador is based on the assumption that the bull has not learned from previous experience.
A trophy is the usual indicator of a successful faena. When the records of bullfights are kept, trophies earned by the matador are always mentioned.

So we will have to travel to northern Spain to probably view this spectacle, well thats if our stomachs can take it. I wouldn't go as far as say this brings honour to a bull however if your into gladiator style action, this may be for you!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Football


I am looking forward to a bit of Iberian Pig Ham and a great Cider to go with my Paella.Yum!

The question is, what is Spain really famous for? It's not such an easy answer. Unlike its EU Cousins Italy, Germany and France. Spain from a South African point of view is quite unknown.
I can give you many reasons to travel to France or Italy, even The Netherlands. Just find a cheese guru and a stoner and your set.

But we are set on Spain, well actually I am. My amigos may need some more convincing. So this is our Journey to discover what this nation is about. It will be our FIFA world cup Build-up to 3 spectacular weeks (We hope?) in a nation that, so far is famous for Cider, Paella and the Iberian Black Pig.

Moving on to football...

Football or soccer as it is also known, was introduced in the late 1800's when a couple of Migrating Englishman, a few bored sailors and some Spanish students returning from their studies in Britain started playing the game in Spain. So this began the Spanish love affair with the game which has become the nations most popular sport.

Well a whole lot of stuff happened between the 1800's and 1927, its all "yawn" material. Then Some dude, Alvaro Trejo proposed a national football league be created. Enter, LA LIGA!

Now we get the pleasure of watching some of the best Club's in the World. The most popular, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. My favorite, Barcelona!

Oh, and if your not aware. Spain just won the 2010 World cup in South Africa!!

Paella Valenciana

¡Hola! Soy Karlos and now it's my turn to add my major reason for travelling to Spain. No, it's not apples or cider for that matter of fact. Although cider has strong traditional value in northern Spain, they have festivals and everything...I might do a post for it when we lose interest in this blog and it goes dead for a few weeks. So check back in the middle of August and be educated.

Right, so as the title suggests and what you probably thought this post was all about but then forgot because I distracted you with apples, is actually about Paella. Paella Valenciana to be precise because although we have like the rest of the world jumped on the bandwagon of calling any throw together rice stew as Paella and then declaring it Spanish is in fact distorted. Fancy that. Spain recognises Paella as being a Valencian dish and it's fine citizens have embraced this proclamation with open arms. The other misconception about Paella is that it is exclusively a seafood dish but there are many versions and I am particularly interested in the meat one. It uses rabbit and chicken (or duck) with white rice, green veggies and beans. It also contains the magical credit card cancelling saffron and it's what gives Paella its distinctive yellow colouring.

That's all for me now but here's a video of how to make Paella. It's in Spanish so just pull a Pocahontas and listen with your heart.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Jamón ibérico de bellota



Black iberian pigs get fed acorns and then get turned to really expensive ham.

The Beginning

With the World Cup complete, and Spain the official champs of the world!, there is nothing better for us to do than, well, GO TO SPAIN! So we will be planning, learning and preparing for three weeks of Awesomeness...

And so the tale begins...