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Last posts

Testigos del olvido at the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid

Mónica Boixeda Madrilenian, Only-Be

Walking down Alcalá street is like walking into the heart of Madrid. It is like a rule – anybody visiting the city has to take a stroll down one of the most beautiful, iconic and oldest roads in Madrid, born in the Puerta del Sol. In the 1940s, it was a tradition for anybody who visited Madrid to be photographed on this street, as symbol of having truly arrived in the city. And even today, it´s hard not to be taken in by the atmosphere of the place. For madrileños and other Spaniards, it is the place of all those films in the 1960s, with the Seat 600 cars zooming down Puerta de Alcalá. People visiting for the first time are not only surprised by the beauty of the buildings and monuments (the Post Office building, the Linares Palace, etc), but also its well-preserved, lined with trees and flowers. At number 49 of the street, by the metro station Banco de España, is the central headquarters of the Cervantes Institute. The public institute was founded in 1991 for the promotion and teaching of the Spanish language, and the Spanish and Hispanic-American cultures. As well as the other headquarters in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), birthplace of writer Miguel de Cervantes, there Institutes in all five continents. One of the Cervantes Institute´s objectives is to organise activities of cultural involvement with other Spanish organisations – such the collaboration with charity group Médicos sin Fronteras (“Doctors without borders“) and newspaper El País for the photographic exhibition “Testigos del olvido”. The testimonies of eight great writers are told, in Spanish, about different conflicts... read more

Seville April Fair

Mónica Boixeda Only-Be, Sevillian

This spring, the traditional Seville´s April Fair will be held from 3-8 May in the popular district of Los Remedios, where it has been held since 1973. It is an area of ??a kilometer and a half long and half a kilometer wide, where the streets are decorated with lanterns, where you can see horses, horsemen and carriages, people singing and dancing day and night showing off their gorgeous sevillanas and popular flamenco dresses. The beginnings of the April Fair date back to August 25, 1846, when Mr. José María de Ybarra (Basque) and Narciso Bonaplata (Catalan) drafted a proposal which they led to the City Council, where they asked to be authorized to organize an annual fair on days 19th, 20th and 21st of April. They were granted permission after several meetings and negotiations with the mayor. In March 1847, Queen Elizabeth II granted Sevilla the privilege of fair, and the following April the 3-day fair was held for the first time. The first livestock fair was at the Prado de San Sebastian and was very successful. It consisted only of 19 stands, that mixed farming and fun. It was from 1920 when the fair started to be more similar to what’s now, which is currently visited by many foreigners, onlookers, partiers and mostly artists and celebrities that give it an air of glamour. The main gate to the show is very characteristic, which stands at the fair since 1949. This gate is hand-made decorated is dedicated each year to some event or important monument of the city: the Torre del Oro, the Giralda of Seville, the centenary... read more

20th anniversary of the Wave Gotik Treffen

Mónica Boixeda Berliner, Only-Be

This year the famous and largest Gothic festival in the world is 20 years old and comes with everything, a lot of surprises, souvenirs and novelties that not only seduce people from the dark world, but everyone who loves good music and magic of the most beautiful costumes and staging of the Gothic scene. One of these first surprises is that it has changed its dates; the Treffen this year will be held between the 10th and 13th of June, which enables best weather for many activities planned. What has the Wave Gotik Treffen that other festivals do not have? Well, it has not earned the fame and good reputation in vain, one of the first things that stands out is that the city of Leipzig is turned into a great Gothic city during the three-day festival. The concerts are not performed in a single spot, like it happens with most festivals, but throughout the city, mobilizing all services at their disposal for the occasion. Thus, the TRAM service is free for everyone attending the festival. And the point is that the 8 or 10 scenarios prepared for the occasion, not to mention the activities devoted to classical or erudite music, deserve having free transport all day and night. The Treffen is unique in its kind. Since the first attempts to hold it, in 1987, with bad results due to the situation of in the country that time, to date, it has grown so much that it is now a fundamental part for tourism in Leipzig, as it is already part of its identity as a city, the huge... read more