A Whole Lot of Spanish, Right Here at Home
11 April 2011
You don’t have to be in Spain to immerse yourself in Spanish culture and customs – there’s so much going on here in Australia, from film to fiestas, food to flamenco. Here’s just a taste:
FILM
Proclaimed by the Spanish Government as the most important Spanish cultural event in Australia, the Spanish Film Festival screens annually around the country throughout the month of May.
La Mirada is another Spanish Film Festival that is run by ACMI in Melbourne. Screening in April, it features celebrity guest curators including Martin Scorsese, Antonio Banderas and Stephen Daldry.
What better way to get a taste of Spanish sensibilities than to grab a hot chocolate and a churros, and settle in for a movie marathon of Spanish cinema.
FIESTA’S
NSW - Sydney:
The Darling Harbour Fiesta claims to be the most significant Latin American and Spanish Festival in Australia. It’s held annually over 3 days at the start of October, and features music, open air dance floors, with Dj’s, flamenco and salsa dancers, zumba lessons and sizzling Spanish food all washed down with oceans of spicey sangria.
Sydney’s Spanish Quarter Festival is a feast for all senses, and takes place in between Liverpool and Kent Streets. A day of dancing and feasting, there are craft and food stalls to whet the appetites of every ardent espano-phile!
Victoria - Melbourne:
The Hispanic Fiesta is a rollicking street party, held late in November in Johnston Street, Fitzroy. Celebrated over 2 days, the fiesta is a cacophony of dance, music, theatre, film, sport, visual arts, and cuisine.
South Australia – Clare Valley:
For four days in April, the Clare Valley is home to one of Australia’s biggest Hispanic festivals – Romeria del Rocio. The festival celebrates the pilgrimage of the Lady (or Virgin) of Rocío, and serves up all the good Spanish music, food and festivities in the beautiful setting of one of Australia’s most famous wine regions.
BOOKS
If you’re more of an armchair traveller, and want to invite a little espanol into your home and imagination, then curl up with a glass of albarino or temparillo, and get reading:
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Set in Pamplona and San Sebastian, this famous book from the 1920s provides a traveller’s view of Spanish life, and includes delicious details on the Running of the Bulls festival and bull fighting.
Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain by Chris Stewart
The story of a Brit and his family who move into a rundown farmhouse outside of Granada that provides an entertaining insight into daily life in southern Spain.
The Blind Man of Seville by Robert Wilson
A page-turning, gruesome mystery set in beautiful Seville in Southern Spain.
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
A non-fiction account of what Hemingway considers the magnificence of bullfighting, and a thoughtful exploration of the nature of courage and fear.
South from Granada by Gerald Brenan
An auto-biographical account of life in a tiny village in the Alpujarras mountains after World War I.
Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes
One of the most influential books of literature from the Spanish Golden Age, dating back to 1605, this is often touted as one of the books you must read before you die – or at least before you’re next trip to Spain!
