In my new life as retiree my blog is my biggest entertainement and before anything else, I like to thank everyone of my readers and followers to stay with me over the years since November 26 2010 !!! Thank you !!! Especially my first likes from former travel forum friend Jeannette I decided to trim some of my older posts in my series Some news from Spain and condense them as not to lose the most important parts, me think, of them, Therefore, this is my new work, the condense news of my dear Spain, Hope you enjoy it as I.
Some news from Spain XLVI July 5, 2017
The wonderful water parks with the top in Tenerife ,the Siam Park chosen for the 4 year in a row as the best water park in the World by TripAdvisor surveys. However, there are other nice waterparks in Spain such as Aqualandia in Benidorm 2nd place in Spain, Then, you have Water World in Lloret de Mar in 3rd place in Spain and named the best aquatic attraction in the Costa Brava; others were the Aquapark Flamingo in Alicante, port Aventura Caribe Aquatic Park in Salou ; Aquopolis Costa Dorada in La Pineda, Aqua Brava in Roses, Aquapark Ciudad Quesada in Alicante, Aqua Natura in Benidorm,and Parque Acuàtico Aquarama in Benicassim.
And as the Feast of San Férmin in Pamplona and the running of the bulls is approaching; a bit of history and information. According to legend Fermin the son of Firmus ; a senator in the Roman city of Pompaelo or current Pamplona was converted to Catholicism by the pervert Honesto and made bishop with only 24 yrs old in the French city of Toulouse. After ,he evangelise the Galia (France) and traveled a bit ,he ,also started to do miracles like curing lepers and paraplegic people, return the sight,and calm the epilectic suffering. After this incredible acts and to recuperate the cult of Jupiter and Mercure, the Roman governor Sebastian ordered Fermin to be jailed and finally decapitated with a sword. This is why now to remember his martyrdom, the local folks of Pamplona weared a red hankerchief on their neck during the nine days that last the festivities including the Sanfermines. This later one that dates from the Middle Ages is celebrated on October 10th to remember the entrance of San Fermin in the Cathedral of Amiens (France). This is now done in July 6 in the Plaza Consistorial that gives the beginning of 204 hours of uninterrupted festivities with music, folklore concerts etc. The bulls running or encierro is done every morning by running the bulls thru the streets to take them from the Corrales of Santo Domingo to the bullfight arena. This year we will have the bulls of Cebaga (second farm with the most encierros and most horns wounds has left). After the running you go the religious celebration of the procession of San Fermin from 10h in the Church of San Lorenzo. There is solemn Mass to honor the Saint here presided by the bishop of Pamplona . Later by 18h30 every evening until the 14 July you have the Feria de Toros or the bullfights most prestigious of Spain with the principal matadors of the day with colorful local costumes dresses for men and women animated with singing and music.
Festival Internacional de Mùsica y Danza de Granada, until August 13. Shows of the Ballet del Teatro Di San Carlo de Nápoles (Napoli), Ballet Nacional de Holanda(Netherland) , María Pagés, Ballet Nacional de España.(Spain). At the La Alhambra on its 66th edition with a new production of Cenicienta (snowwhite) and along it the show of Roland Petit with Pink Floyd, HET (Ballet Nacional de Holanda(Netherland)), with classics like Don Quijote. From Spain, María Pagés, that will interpret Yo, Carmen, or with the Ballet Nacional de España (Spain). The group of Antonio Najarro playing Homenaje a Antonio Ruiz Soler (homage to ) as well as time for the classical music by the London Symphony Orchestra , Festival de Verano de San Lorenzo del Escorial from July 20 to Agust 5. Shows such as the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Ballet Víctor Ullate Comunidad de Madrid.; all at the Teatro Auditorio de la Comunidad de Madrid en San Lorenzo del Escorial. Program of classical music and dance with such showing as Free Bach 212, from La Fura del Baus ; a contemporary poetic flamenco and electronic music from Bach. For the dance you can enjoy the antology of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, headed by Alicia Alonso showing such classics as Giselle, La bella durmiente, El cascanueces or Coppelia. And the Ballet Víctor Ullate Comunidad de Madrid will show the upswing version of Carmen
Veranos de la Villa until September 3 and shows such as Acceso,of Pablo Larraín; Compañía Losdedae. The Great Tamer, of Dimitris Papainounnou…concerts with Christina Rosenvinge or Santiago Auserón, as well shows showing in the Naves del Matadero . The current center or Centro Internacional de Artes Vivas will be the site of Dimitris Papaioannou, one of the most important coreagraphers of Europe and showing The Great Tamer. Also dance with the group of Losdedae, Chevi Muraday, and Kamikaze, with its new work named Sumérgete
For the arts in museums , see Renaissance in Venice triumph of the beauty and destruction of the painting or El Renacimiento en Venecia. Triunfo de la Belleza y destrucción de la pintura. Portraits by Caravaggio, Tiziano,and Tintoretto. All in the Museo Thyssen Paseo del Prado,8: Until September 24th
Some news from Spain XLVII July 26, 2017
The museum of El Prado is getting ready for it’s 200 years anniversary (1819-2019). There are many offers on the table to coincide with November 19 2018 that will have the pinotheque opens with programs like “De gira por España” or the “El Prado Itinerante“. The museum will lent important works by a period of one month to several renown institutions; one for each autonomous region of Spain ,including Ceuta and Melilla, except Madrid, in the program “De gira por España”. The “El Prado Itinerante”, will have the exposition of “Las Meninas”, that will be installed in a vehicle to do a tour of Spain as an homage to the Museum of the People and the republican pedagogics with the opening shortly of the Jonic Gallery or Galería Jónica with classic sculptures. In addition, nine new rooms of the Flemish and Dutch sculpture of the 17C in the second floor north of the museum ,therefore making the entire building of Villanueva dedicated to expositions. All is preview for the opening of the bicentenary on November 19 2018. “Circa 1819” will the start of the event with 75 paintings done before or after the foundation of the Museum of El Prado with painters such as Goya, Géricault, Turner, Friederich ,and Delacroix, that will be on from November 2018 to March 2019. Also, in 2019 there will be other expositions such as on Velázquez, Rembrandt , and the Golden centuries of Spanish and Dutch paintings in collaboration with the museum or Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam; also, Goya Dibujos, Fra Angelico and the origins of the Florentine renaissance , Sofonisba Anguisola-Lavinia Fontana, two models of women artists and El triunfo de la muerte de Pieter Brueghel el Viejo.
The Festival Internacional de Teatro Clàsico de Mérida. 6 new shows with 7 montages and a historical moment for the 63rd edition of this festival that will look at the origins of our society; from the Democracy, Politics etc. Going on until August 27th. The Festival Internacional de Teatro Clàsico de Almagro, under the theme “Respira Festival” in its 40th edition. About 50 companies from 13 countries and 102 representations of which 25 will be first time showing. The premier of ‘La dama duende’, of Calderón de la Barca with the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico to open the festival. In it you will see shows on Shaskespeare, Quevedo, Cervantes, Lope de Vega or Molière etc. You will see Cervantes in ‘Las verdaderas aventuras de Don Quijote de la Mancha’ and ‘El rufián dichoso’,from the Fundación Siglo de Oro. Also, for the first time, the complete ‘El divino Narciso’, of Juana Inés de la Cruz; and the musical comedy ‘La Calderona, The Remix’ on hip hop beat with DJ included!; ‘Eco y Narciso’, one of the work less seen of Calderon. To finish the “ Sueños” and “La Ternura” by the Teatro de la Ciudad ; ‘Cyrano de Bergerac‘; ‘La vida es sueño‘ from the Teatro del Temple or the classic El Brujo. And more, to celebrate the anniversary of scene classics or ‘Clásicos en escena’ in the Plaza Mayor to more than 40 artists that had played in this golden age classics. All until July 30th The Festival de Teatro Clàsico de Olite. In its 18th edition with new director. Starts at the Palacio Real or Royal Palace with “Cuando el amor habla, el corazón canta’, (when love talks, the heart sings), a spectacle with wordings from Tirso de Molina, Calderon de la Barca or Francisco Quevedo ; a fusion of poetry ,and baroque music; until August 5th And my favorite; “Me vuelves Lorca” (give me back Lorca), in its 3rd edition in the Granadine Alpujarras inspired all by Federico García Lorca, and host by the village of Laroles. You have music by Jorge Pardo and Juan Perro with scenic propositions of the women of El Vacie, and their ‘Fuenteovejuna‘ and with an impressive monologue of “El minuto del payaso’ by Luis Bermejo. To complete the programming the dance of Belen Maya and Israel Galván with the improvision of the Jamming Compañía with ‘Jamming On Tour’. From July 28 to August 12
Some news from Spain XLVIII July 31, 2017
Between Irùn Spain and Hendaye France there is a river Bidasoa and in the middle there is an island Isla de los Faisanes in Spanish or L’île des Faisans in French (eng. Pheasants). It only has 5000 square meters or 53 800 square feet of which 6 months each belongs to Spain and France! It is guarded each time by the commandant marine of San Sebastian (Donostia) and Bayonne. The island is 215 meters long by 38 meters wide in an oval form filled with black poplar trees , low grass and stone megalith that reminds us of a moment in history when on November 7 1659 the Treaty of the Pyrénées was signed here putting an end to the 30 years war. In one of the clauses of this treaty, the infant Maria Teresa of Austria daughter of king Felipe IV of Spain was to married king Louis XIV of France! In the years to come many marriages and prisioners of both countries were exchange here mutually; some of which were there in 1659 were D’Artagnan captain of the musketeers, and the painter Diego Velazquez . The deal was that was a cessation to France that before they belong to Spain. However, 200 years later the Treaty of Bayonne of 1856 did finally divided the island by the two countries, when the erosion in the river caused the island to shrink to about 80 meters long and 5 meters wide. The two countries combined for the necessary work to make it splendid again to the size we see today. The gardening and cleaning of it is share as well between the city mayor’s office of Irùn and Hendaye. The only things does not exist in the island is pheasants as Victor Hugo wrote in 1843
The fields of lavander are gorgeous by Brihuega and Villaciosa de Tajuña . In summer , in the La Alcarria they are 10% of world production or about 1000 hectares, and the fields of these towns are full of them in July especially. 2000 kg of the plant each harvest ,and broken down into 250 hectáres for perfums, cosmetic, medicine, and restoration as well as about 750 hectares for decoration and perfums. And you see the Festival of lavender of Brihuega again in July 2018
We have three main feasts or festivals such as those of San Cayetano, San Lorenzo , and the Virgen de la Paloma, all of them in the districts of Lavapiés and La Latina. The first one are those of San Cayetano,next August 3rd, but these can begin from today July 31st. My favorite and the one I always went with my mother first, and now with my family is the Virgen de la Paloma in the Plaza de la Paja to Plaza de las Vistillas. There are from August 11 -15 in honor of the Virgin of the Pigeon or Virgen de la Paloma. Activities for the whole family.
El Capricho, is one of the prettiest park in Madrid but also one of the least known! It is done in the style romantic with a beautiful botanical , sculpture and artistic details . This green lung of Madrid hides one of the secrets of Madrid a bunker from the Spanish Civil War unique in Europe in perfect state of preservation. It’s origins go back to the 18C when the aristocrat Doña María Josefa de la Soledad Alonso Pimentel, duchess of Osuna, decided to create a place for leisure and relaxation with nature. The park El Capricho is located in the Alameda de Osuna, just outside city limits, by Barajas. The bunker has 2 000 square meters built 15 meters below ground during the Spanish Civil War as well as the palace, dance room, and the ermite or chapel. The duchess of Osuna is credited with many feasts, events and talks that shows the literary wisdom of the times as well as the promotion of the arts with many donations and shows presenting even the one and only Francisco de Goya–. In 1834, at the death of the Duchess of Osuna the park began to decline each passing year worse until in 1974 the city purchase the land and started renovating it. The work finished in 1999 and since then it is open to the public
The wonderful Caixa Forum is exhibiting a great show coming from the British Museum that shows the beauty of the Helenic arts that the Beligian artists Jan Fabre will be showing in the Teatros del Canal. Monte Olimpo, an spectacle of 24 hours where he will make the public relives what the Greek of yesteryear fell . The exposition entitled Agón! La competición en la Antigua Grecia. The show opens with a beautiful statue of the goddess Victoria Niké, and close out with fries fragment of the mausoleum or Mausoleo de Halicarnaso,the giant tomb built by king Mausolo de Caria in the year 350 BC. This monument was considered one of the 7 wonders of the old world and the first time the British Museum loans it out Expo open until October 15.
There you go folks, a big task but a work of love to keep the best, me think of these wonderful older posts over the years, These are what I think worth keeping of my older Some news from Spain series, and I thank you, Again, hope you enjoy this post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 