Super Seville

by Neil Woodburn on

When I
made the decision to live abroad a number of years ago, I narrowed my choices down to Prague and Seville. 
Although Prague eventually won out, I still look fondly upon Seville and what might have been.

A recent article in The
Guardian (UK) has so perfectly encapsulated this amazing city that it has made me rethink my Prague decision and
wonder if perhaps I had made the wrong choice. 

Journalist Robert Elms’ evocative piece begins by briefly describing Seville as “a city of toreros and
flamencos, dark-eyed beauties and white-washed alleys, unforgiving blue skies, never-ending late nights; parades,
fiestas, siestas and blood.”  Wow. 

Elms stokes the flames even higher as he waxes on about Seville’s labyrinthine alleys, ornate palaces,
bullrings, tapas, Serrano ham, sherry, flamenco and more.  Wow again.  This is truly a wonderfully written
essay that provides an inspiring glimpse into an old Spanish town that has a way of grabbing hold of your heart and not
letting go.  Trust me.  I know this for a fact. 

 

The Cost of Being Hip: Sections of Old Madrid Losing Character

by Neil Woodburn on

There goes the neighborhood.  Such sentiment is often uttered on our fine planet whenever the wrong neighbor
moves into the wrong neighborhood.  In the case of Madrid’s Las Letras quarter, this unwelcome newcomer is
Europe’s first Hard Rock Hotel. 

Las Letras has historically been the literary center of Madrid, its narrow alleys, aged buildings, and
salt-of-the-earth character is quintessential old world Spanish charm.  According to The New York Times,
however, the area is quickly gentrifying into
a hip neighborhood full of nightclubs, restaurants, luxury lofts, boutique gift shops, and now, the Hard Rock
Hotel. 

While this may sound appealing to Spanish hipsters and foreign tourists, local residents are tragically lamenting
the loss of the “old town” atmosphere that has made this quarter so quaint and wonderful over the
years.  Dale Fuchs of The New York Times covers the interesting, yet oft overlooked side effect that such gentrification has upon the
character and atmosphere of gracefully aging parts of town.  Hip, his article reveals, is not always cool.

 

Movies: Americano

by Adrienne Wilson on

Even though
Americano has yet to be released nationwide it has already been given great praise in one
of the film biz’s toughest cities, Los Angeles, where the film opened last Friday. A travel tale of a recent college graduate (Joshua Jackson) backpacking
through Europe who begins to question his future during the running of the bulls in Pamplona’s San Fermin festival is
said to capture the spirit of travel the same way "The Motorcycle Diaries" did and "Before
Sunset" too. World
Hum does a fine job summarizing the film and Director, Kevin Noland’s words on what inspired such a beautifully
shot, well cast film and culturally rich story out of northern Spain. In the end Noland states and hopes "…Americano will inspire further exploration of
one’s self through the world of other cultures."

The film is running in Los Angeles and will open in
New York on April 14. For the rest of the world – just stay tuned…

Gadling Spring Cleaning: Cordobes Hat Shopping

by Adrienne Wilson on

It’s day two of spring and your closet
cleaning progress is slow but coming around. As you’re digging through clothes that fell out of style decades ago you
stumble upon your favorite hat. You hold the hat up thinking about the numerous bad hair days it rescued you from and
rainy weather it covered you from – memories. As you begin to rest the well-broken in cap on your head you begin to
second guess yourself on keeping the item. Sure you fancy the accessory, but it has had it’s time and even with all the
fond memories it holds perhaps you can make new exciting memories in a new hat.

My recommendation for hat
lovers: Grab a Cordobes hat and get to Spain! Nothing makes a
man more handsome and magnificent than sporting a Cordobes style hat around town especially during the April Seville Fair in Seville,
Spain. It is said that women wear these wide-brimmed black or red hats as well during bull-fights or flamenco
performances and look just as sharp underneath them as well, but it is the men who look most stellar. As you start your
planning for one of Spain’s most famous fiestas where the merrymaking is non-stop and memories sure to be made remember
not to forget your hat. You’ll need it Señor.

For Cordobes hat shopping online and more check out
these links:

  • Flamenco
    Export     – Good selection of cheap costume hats or the real deal Cordobes and Sevillano hats.
  • Flamenco Shop – Small variety of quality hats, including Panama
    style Cordobes.
  • Savvy
    Traveler     – An excellent hat primer from the Andes to Cordoba.
  • Spanish-Living.com – Provides the
    411 on the April Seville Fair and why you won’t want to miss it.

Spanish Protest by Getting Drunk

by Erik Olsen on

Do the Spaniards know how to protest or what?
Forget placards with slogans and squatting in the way of tanks, they just get hammered. Or so went a recent protest in
the city of Grenada where some tens of thousands of Spanish
youth decided they’d had enough with high bar prices, and decided to stage a "drink in"…or as they
called it "macrobotellon" (big bottle party). Gotta love the Spanish. I lived in Madrid for awhile, and I
know how seriously the Spanish take their partying. I spent many an early morning drinking potent red wine and
wondering when the people around me were going to finally hit the sack. We have to work tomorrow, people! No matter,
this is my kind of protest. Let’s take a lesson from the Spanish the next time we’re upset about something, eh?