Last Sunday was our local romería, which I’ve blogged about before. The Romería de Torrijos takes place in Valencina de la Concepcion, near Seville, on the second Sunday of October. I covered all the historical background in the previous post –…
Flamenco flashmob in Seville (and Rome, London, Shanghai…)
Last weekend I saw my first flashmob*. It wasn’t a political statement, or a piss-take – not that there’s anything wrong with them. It was people dancing because they love it – for the sheer joy of clapping and twirling…
A to Z of Sevilla: Part One, A-F
The Alcazar, Seville’s Mudejar delight: a perfect example of the synthesis between Spanish kings and Moorish craftsmen. What defines a city? What is that essence which gives it an identity all of its own – the strange, arcane customs? The architectural…
Feria II: Suits you, sir (and you too, madam)
Supremely elegant: an amazona in a traditional suit for riding side-saddle, at the Feria de Abril in Sevilla. Yes, I know it finished nearly a week ago, but I spent the last week catching up on all the work I…
The Andalucian-ness of Andalucians
Andalucians have a sense of local loyalty like noone I’ve ever encountered. They are fiercely proud of their Andalucian-ness, with famous cultural markers such as Moorish architecture, flamenco, bullfighting and Lorca inspiring the kind of adoration that borders on obsession. This sense…