The dispute is an old one, despite that lately the etymology seems established that the word derives from the old habit in the Spanish taverns of covering the glasses of wine with some plates of food.

However it was, the famous tapas aren’t just one of the identity traits of Spanish gastronomy around the world but, also, in the words of Ferrán Adrià, a great contemporary driving force behind the concept who, a year ago, decided to revolutionize this phenomenon with the opening of his restaurant ‘Tickets’ in Barcelona, “this is the future of food”.

Although there aren’t many motives to give any part of Spain the maternity of tapas, a highly sociable way of eating that seems to prove Epicurus right when he said that there are no fundamental differences between a person who eats alone and a hungry wolf. Choosing who you eat with is much more important to the Garden philosopher than the nature of the food that’s being eaten. The 1956 edition of the Dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy, who defined ‘tapa’ for the first time seventeen years before, decided that the word came from Andalucía.

Although such criteria was duly corrected in later editions after 1970, there aren’t few Andalucians who consider their land as the cradle of tapas. And among them, of course, we find the people of Seville, who repute their beautiful and magical city as its Mecca.

Without sharing such hegemonic pretensions, it would be difficult to argue that the quality of the tapas in Seville is truly magnificent. Places like Bar Eslava (Eslava, 3) and its culinary mix of tradition and avant-garde shown in its tapas like honey ribs, are a good example of that.

El Rinconcillo (Gerona, 42) is not left behind by any means, with its over 300 years of history as Seville’s oldest tavern. Predictably, it has the most essential trends where, perhaps to avoid distractions from its excellent cuisine, standing out is strictly prohibited.

In the same traditional orbit, loyal to the local recipes, is Las Piletas (Marques de Paradas, 28), characterized by its famous gatherings and chats and its genuine bullfighting atmosphere.

And entering Triana, the district that encompassed the essence of Seville to such a point that its people don’t consider themselves from Seville, we find unmissable places such as Bar Casa Ruperto (Santa Cecília cornering San Jacinto), awarded with the Silver Chickpea prize from the incredibly prestigious New York Gastronomical Society for maintaining alive the flame of the city’s gastronomical traditions. La Primera del Puente (Betis, 66) also shares the quality of being excellent value for money with the previous restaurant and it also has a terrace next to the river that offers a fabulous view of the Torre del Oro.

Paul Oilzum

In any of these restaurants you can enjoy the excellent Andalucian tapas, regardless of any absurd hierarchy, if you have the immense luck of occupying any apartments in Seville

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Coinciding with the bicentennial of the enactment of the 1812 Constitution, Teatro Central in Seville presents a new version of “State of Siege” (1948), the play by the French Nobel Albert Camus (1913-1960). The play will be presented at La Cartuja stage from the 24^th of January to the 5^th of February. Feel free to visit the online magazine of the institution, where you can find more details of programming in the following address: http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/teatrocentral/pdf/TDM_CENTRAL_2011.pdf

Directed by Jose Luis de Castro, “State of Siege” recreates the Constituent Courts of Cadiz and the short liberal period that ended with the return to absolutism of Fernando VII. The French and Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, in “State of Siege” develops a similar topic, than the one covered in his emblematic work “The Plague”. While the last is physical illness (based on a historical event) that drowns, and kills the  characters of an Algier harassed  by an epidemic, in “State of Siege” there is a frightening political situation, which has imprisoned an entire nation. Camus addresses this short liberal period that culminated in an outrageous and absurd tyranny, as if it was a viral epidemic. “State of Siege” with a new style, which mixes all genres, has as main characters Death and Plague, symbolizing tyranny and injustice, which roam around a town that barely can get rid of oppression. In the text we can read see through all the background that overwhelms the nihilistic work by Albert Camus, at the same time there is a strong plea for freedom. Although it may seem distant, the background topic of “State of Siege”, with other historical conditioning, of course, it is still fully present.

The 1812 Spanish Constitution was the first attempt (which totally failed in practice) to establish a modern state. Although it was in applicable for a few years, with some interruptions, it failed in its development, since it was abolished with the restoration of Fernando VII. With this frustrated attempt to generate a weak democracy, with its separation of powers and freedom of press (history of freedom of expression), Spain lost its first historic opportunity to become a modern state governed by liberal laws and based on merit and education.

According to the organizers: “The result [in "State of Siege"] is an intensive and eclectic mix of Euripides with self-sacramental and the echoes of The Camus’s Plague. The dialogues speak of the repeated concerns of the author: freedom, tyranny, death, love and faith in the light of the Mediterranean as a cure for the ills of the spirit in the West. “

Candela Vizcaíno

The Pearl of the Guadalquivir is beautiful even in winter. Book apartments in Seville You’ll be amazed with the golden light of its sunsets.

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Translated by: Hans
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Seville is one of the most touristic cities in Spain. There is a legend that says that Hercules founded the city in ancient times. With a deep history and tradition, Seville is also a place that offers a wide variety of culture, museums and galleries, and a rich nightlife if you’re looking for some fun and excitement experiences.

Before organizing a trip to Seville, consider all the possibilities that each season brings along, as well as the activities that are best for you and your traveling companions. Usually traveling alone is one of the best ways of traveling. As in the past it has been exposed, there is nothing better than having the freedom to do whatever you want during your holiday trip. Sometimes, many people travel to Seville to disconnect themselves a little. Certainly, the pace of cities like Barcelona or Madrid is completely different. The hectic pace of these two cities, probably because they are a work activity cluster, commercial, etc, is a bit more suffocating than in other parts of Spain. Undoubtedly, the pace of life in Seville is much quieter, and the warmth, because of its people and their affection that give you a much better traveling experience than the Spanish or the Catalan capital.

If you are traveling accompanied, whether in a romantic plan, or with friends, choose well your destinations and with plenty of time, in order for you to have peace in mind. If traveling with family, the story is different, it costs a bit more, but, Seville will offer historical and tourist places for both your children and family, play areas for children, and more. If for example you travel during the winter, around the Christmas dates, you will see the streets beautifully adorned, lively people singing carols, and some of that solidarity feeling that Christmas brings in the air.

Many people, including Sevillians, complain of the extreme heat experienced during the summer time. Thus, many people take refuge in their houses until the heat goes down. Usually nighttime starts around 10 pm and the weekend parties go till dawn. You can thus enjoy a cold beer and delicious tapas on a terrace, meeting new friends and enjoying the generosity of Seville. Perhaps the best times to visit Seville are the spring and the autumn, usually the best times to travel throughout Europe, because it is when it is easy to go walking the streets, visiting churches, archaeological sites and being outdoors. For more information on the attractions of the beautiful Seville, visit this website: http://www.turismosevilla.org/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Seville and experience this pleasant city and the warmth of its people. Seville offers a culture-filled space, comfort and relaxation for you and your family.

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Translated by: Hans
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Pedro Guerra has a new album! After his last album released in 2009, we have the arrival of ‘El Mono Espabliado’. The Teatro Lope de Vega in Seville presents the new material of this Canarian singer/songwriter in mid-January 2012.

His fans awaited him, and it had been some time since Pedro Guerra surprised us with something new. Pedro Guerra is one of those singers who knows how to enjoy music and life, and that can be strongly noticed in his lyrics, their freshness and the tenderness that they’re composed. Silvio Rodríguez was his childhood idol and Pedro wanted to develop a similar type of music, which came into contact with people’s feelings. He’s an emotional singer who also takes advantage of his music to make social complaints, just as it happens with other classic singers. According to Pedro, life is short, beautiful and simple, something which he can transmit perfectly to the crowd in his concerts.

The magnificent accoustics and magic at the Teatro Lope de Vega will be perfect to present the new songs of this unique artist.

‘El Mono Espabliado’ (The Savvy Monkey) is a curious and funny name which is the title of one of his songs which also gives its name to the album. The new work includes 13 songs and two luxury collaborations. Miguel Poveda and Iván Ferreiro participate singing together with Pedro in the songs ‘Mi Locura’ (‘My Madness’) and ‘Aquella Vieja Canción’ (‘That Old Song’) respectively.

But why ‘El Mono Espabilado’? Where does that title come from? The answer is in a scientific book by Robert Sapolsky, ‘Monkeyluv’, which translates in Spanish as ‘El Mono Enamorado’, the monkey in love. According to Pedro we’re just a monkey who has been savvy enough to fall in love. Extracting a song from every experience or other artistic works is something commonplace in Pedro Guerra’s music, and in the same way that it happens with the song ‘El Mono Espabilado’, the author bases himself on the director Andrei Tarkovski, school teachers, anthropological images. R.L. Stevenson, stories by Perrault and various books.

The album has something which makes it special for Pedro, not only on an artistic level but also on a professional level, because this is the first time that he’s released an album on his own record label. Mansi Producciones is the new record label of the Canarian author, who has brought to light this wonderful album.

On the stage we can expect a very intimate show where illustrations of the singer will appear, the same ones that we can find in the booklet and cover of the album. Luis Fernández, José Gómez and Marcelo Guebión will accompany Pedro with the piano, bass and drums to delight the Sevillian crowd with the new and old songs, such as ‘Contamíname’ (‘Contaminate me’), ‘Debajo del Puente’ (‘Under the bridge’) or ‘El Marido de la Peluquera’ (‘The Hairdresser’s Husband’).

The concert will take place on the 16th of January 2012 at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Seville at 8.30pm, and the tickets cost from 18 to 35 euros, depending on the type of seat. For more information:

http://www.teatrolopedevega.org

Fernando Paterna

He who decides to go to Seville to see the presentation of ‘El Mono Espabilado’ has to know that not only he will come across a luxury concert but also enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The rental of apartments in Seville is growing, so you don’t have any excuses to stay a few days in the Andalucian capital.

Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Miguel Ángel Poveda León was born in Barcelona in February 1973, and with nearly 40 years of age he managed what all artists want: the recognition of the public and his colleagues. This man is one of the most famous flamenco singers in the whole world, even though he’s known by the name Miguel Poveda. Since the age of 15 he’s dedicated himself to flamenco music, but it was running through his veins since he was in his mother’s womb.

His professional flamenco career began in 1993 after having won various famous national awards which made him famous around Spain first and then around the world. And so, step by step and with a lot of care and work, Poveda won many awards for his artistic work. Some of the latest are the Catalunya National Culture Prize this year, a special prize given by the Local Federation of Flamenco fanclubs in 2009 during the 13th Jerez Festival, and many others.

By winning prizes, the people and his musical colleagues got to know him. Today he’s a well-loved artist by all the public who love flamenco, both from and out of Spain. He played in the most important cities in the world representing his culture and his passion. For example, he played a concert at the Odeon in Paris, at the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, and in many other places in a never-ending list.

As well as being a very charismatic man, he’s good looking and the women die for him when he shouts his classical ‘olé’ and puts on his most heartfelt facial expressions. But Miguel Poveda isn’t just a pretty face. Film directors such as Pedro Almodóvar and Bigas Luna called him to participate in their films. The same happened with other artists who wanted to sing with him, such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Pasión Vega, Raphael and others.

The citizens and visitors of the city of Seville will have the pleasure of being able to listen to this privileged voice at the Maestranza Theatre, in three exclusive concerts which will take place on the 10th, 11th and 12th of December of 2011. The time will be at 8.30pm and those who attend will fall in love with his songs which will go back to his greatest hits from his career from his eight recorded albums. ‘Copias del querer’, his latest album, is already in platinum.

And that’s how the classic flamenco from all times is still alive in the hearts and the blood of all good music lovers. Miguel Poveda knew how to adapt to the cultural changes of recent times and, today, he’s the modern symbol of transformation of the musical genre.

For more information on this series of concerts, you can visit the Maestranza Theatre’s website, where you can also buy the tickets for his show:

http://www.teatrodelamaestranza.es/secciones/prog/prog_ficha.php?id=508

d.b

If you rent apartments in Seville in December, you’ll be one step away from listening to the best contemporary flamenco singer, which is an ideal plan for a tourist who wants to get to know the culture from a new country, its people and its music. Also, the Maestranza Theatre is an emblem of the city which you should visit if you’re visiting it.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Until the 15th of January of 2012, the Centro de Arte Andaluz Contemporáneo de Sevilla (Andalucian Contemporary Art Centre in Seville) presents the work ‘Constructing/Dismantling. Margin and city’, by the Austrian conceptual artist Andreas Fogarasi. The work which will be presented in the Claustrón Sur (South), corresponds to the first individual exhibition of the artist at the CAAC, and it’s under the frame of the Margin and City session.

Andreas Fogarasi was born in Vienna in 1977. He studied fine arts and architecture. He works of the political, social and economic role which culture and art in particular carry out, as a mean to understand the own mechanisms of production and reproduction. His reflection and critique to the economic and political interests which are hidden in the art world and the way in which they influence the spectator, is what his work reflects in a brilliant way.

As an architect and expert in how cities are articulated, constructed and reconstructed, Fogarasi focuses in a special way on contemporary cities. He takes architecture and urbanism which conform them according to the hegemonic vision of dominant culture, after hiding certain social and economic connotations, such as poverty, segregation and obscene richness in a minority.

The recurrent topic in all of his work is the commercialization of the city, built on stereotypes which mark images which go in detriment of plurality and heterogeneity of urban identity.

‘Constructing/Dismantling’ gathers a few of his interesting works. ‘Süden’, for example, made in 2005, investigates the process of the emergence of populations around the great car factories in the 20th century, and the culture of industrial development. This urbanization process begins with the process of development of the bourgeoisie of the 18th century, where the factory settles next to the house of the owner and it develops shacks for the workers to live in. As capitalism got stronger, the owners looked for more inhabitable areas where to install their mansions and the workers carried on living next to the factories, and as the welfare state st in, the shacks became populations and commerce emerged in the immediate vicinity of the large factories.

In his other works, such as ‘Kultur und Freizeit’ of 2006, Fogarasi makes a wooden construction as a device so that spectators observe and interact with the videos which are projected in the cultural centres of Budapest, where they’re given different uses to those which were meant in their construction, due to the political changes which happened after the fall of real socialisms. ‘Folkenmuseum’ made in 2010 documents a Norwegian museum in which they reconstruct the history of country life through a fictitious town.

‘Constructing/Dismantling’, made in 2010, is a video-installation which gives its name to the exhibition. It’s three videos which show different spaces in a city, and in this case it’s Santiago de Compostela. He focuses on representative buildings taking the City of Culture of the architect Peter Eisenman and other locations of temporary use such as fairgrounds.

For more information: http://www.caac.es/programa/foga11/frame.htm

Nancy Guzman

apartments in Seville is waiting for you to decide to spend a few relaxing days of good vibes in this city open to culture and difference. So come and visit this wonderful exhibition.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Maestranza Theater in Seville, located next to the homonymous bullring, is the operatic landmark of southern Spain and, if you ask me, even from all this part of Europe. Although regularly the season does not represent more than five or six titles, the productions are of sufficient quality to reach grandeur. This line inserts the ambitious project, which begun last season, aiming to stage the trilogy Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Anyone who wants to enjoy the entire series should know that already missed Das Rheingold, although it has not sold out yet (reservations are in great demand) for The Valkyrie, part of this colossal trilogy. The site we have already mentioned, the Maestranza Teather in Seville. The dates, between the 11^th and the 20^th of November 2011. Only four functions.

The Valkyrie, is according to all critics, the apotheosis of romantic drama. In the play, there is a mix of the fantastic stories of mythological gods with the underlying issues of the late nineteenth century, when the Freudian subconscious was already in the air. The plot revolves around the incestuous passion between siblings, between fathers and daughters and between gods and humans. While the gods are entertained by the vicissitudes of human beings, the cosmic forces help heroes to restore their identity, strength and courage. But not all the Valkyrie secret meetings, but the unfortunate death, as corresponds to a dramatic opera, is stalking the protagonists who succumb one after another to the fates, but not before proclaiming to the four invincible winds force their love. The drama, set in an indeterminate time in the forests and the creatures of nature are built in real stars, representing the apogee opera that gave way to more mundane plots (in the odd case) early Verdi or Puccini the twentieth century.

The grandeur of Der Ring des Nibelungen, of which the Valkyrie is part of, can not be explained without the detached patronage of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who did everything possible (paying debts, inviting Wagner to his court in Munich and putting all he needed at his disposal) the composer did not have to worry about anything different than create a complex work in terms of characters, plot and staging. This support came even to the construction of special Tannhäuser cave scenes, located in the basement of Linderhof Castle in Bavaria. Without detracting from his representations of this strange and fascinating theatrical scenes, presumably that same scene at Maestranza is just spectacular. Visit the link of the event http://www.teatrodelamaestranza.es/secciones/prog/prog_ficha.php?id=488 where you will find all practical information about it.

Candela Vizcaíno

: If you don’t live in Seville, but still want to attend this opera performance or other event, you can rent apartments in Seville The Maestranza is four steps away from the Torre del Oro and right across the Guadalquivir and Calle Betis.

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Translated by: Hans
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The tragic death of Andy Warhol by an unfortunate medical negligence- he, somehow was already dead, he who miraculously saved the life of Valerie Solanas in a brutal attack, two decades before (attack whose only positive side effect was perhaps to bring Billy Name to his legendary volunteer prison time in the darkroom, in which he took months and months locked up), he, who had managed to evade the date in which officially his days were due to end, to confirm his role of contemporary myth, just to  eventually end up in an aseptic room of a New York hospital away from any sense of threat almost at the worst time (although at these points, the best and worst moments, are only established, with perspective when everything is over and our existence is reduced to the amount of stories we want to count on) as Lennon, Marley, Harrison and even as Nico (What idiocy, to die falling off a bicycle in Ibiza after having gone through so much)

Like so many others that perhaps because they were too great the Moirae can not deal with anyone able to give them the death face to face, have to deal with this childish accident, carelessness, chance, a cowardly blow struck almost without wishing for any pusillanimous being often, as I said, almost at the worst time because it is bad time to die when we seem happy and even renewed, excited again with new challenges and projects, and work with so much life ahead, we’ve left behind gales and storms and managed to cross our Cape Horn and it does not seem like in any possible way, that the neglect of a racist or homophobic or simply tired, or depressed nurse, absent for any reason that day, ended out and finishing and clearing our steps in the world, this tragic death, I mentioned before, resulted in perhaps the only positive side effect of the matter, something had to rhyme with the departure of Billy Name, the darkroom, the meeting after many years without even talking, John Cale and Lou Reed to make Songs for Drella (1990), an exceptional tribute album. In one song, the extraordinary Trouble With classicist through Cale, we heard the voice of Warhol expressing his sincere admiration for the young junkies who use their spray to paint on trains and walls of the city center.

This fascination came, perhaps from both his unerring instinct for art, as well as his most classical wave (Warhol’s art education was impeccable), as in every city in the world, during thousands of years, it has been practiced in one way or another-and probably no other artistic activity and illustrate better reflects the heart, pulse and respiration of the city, the art of graffiti.

Paul Oilzum

The recent publication in Spain of the book ‘The essential names of street art and Spanish graffiti’ is a wonderful invitation to look at the urban drift, which is constantly reinventing the city. Dare to face the challenge, for example, by following the course of the Guadalquivir, when renting apartments in Seville

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Translated by: Hans
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On the 27th of October, the Andalusian Center of Contemporary Art in Seville opens its exhibition “Margen y Ciudad” from Spanish artist Lara Almarcegui. The artist has done some incredible work themed around cities and forgotten spaces, evoking the idea of loss of memory of those places which reside on the margins of the city’s collective consciousness as a result of being ruins.

Lara Almarcegui was born in Zaragoza in 1972. She studied Fine Art at the University of Cuenca, and later at the Art Department at the University of Lisbon. In the 1990s, she was invited by Werner Büttner to the Art Department at Hamburg, and later attended the School of Fine Art in Nantes in France, and also completed a post-grad at De Ateliers 63 in Amsterdam.

Her work in installation and intervention is known as Demolitions, Auto-constructions and Wastelands, and has led her to be a key figure in the studies of Urban Art, as she pays a special attention to the development of cities, and its treatment of its forgotten spaces. These are the spaces Almarcegui seeks out – those ruined, ignored areas of a city – in order to give them cultural visibility once again.

In her work Auto-construction Installation in Amsterdam, made in 2004, she focuses on auto-construction and recuperation, with a series of 26 photographs on 20x30cm, and texts of 10x15cm which are placed on tables. With these interventions, Almarcegui hopes to draw to the attention of the public, and the urban community, and encourage them to acknowledge these spaces, and how their abandonment has become a part of collective memory.

This project was carried out in the French city of Saint Nazaire, where she used different recuperated and salvaged parts from the city’s shipyards, bringing them to the attention of locals. Each individual part spoke of the context and the society which had been created by its inhabitants – but above all, it referred back to the moment in the past when these abandoned elements had been of use, and how different the city was then.

Her conceptual work is an intense pursuit of the idea of memorialization – of the engagement of a city’s inhabitants with its past, and the changing circumstances which have been forgotten through time; and of the different models of the construction of the city, whereby many places have been condemned to abandonment, such as the big factories which prevailed during the high era of industrial capitalism, occupying now disused spaces, along side the also empty old worker’s houses.

The territory used by Almarcegui is the city. It is there where she conducts her dissection – in those areas well off the beaten path of the tourist trail. What she is looking for are the derelict and abandoned places which have been reclaimed by inhabitants without the knowledge of its past identity, or what its function or use was before it was empty. This could be anything from a trail line no longer in use, an old dockyard, or simply a family home which has been fled.

For more information http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/caac/programa/alma11/frame.htm

Nancy Guzman

A great work which connects us to the city, and its collective memory. “Margen y Ciudad” is on until 4th of March. So don’t miss out on your chance to see it when you rent apartments in Seville in the wonderful city of Seville.

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Translated by: Poppy
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Crossing the ancient Almohad wall, by the Arch of the Macarena, we enter one of the most popular neighbourhoods in the city, San Gil.

The heart of this neighbourhood is in San Gil Square (Plaza San Gil), which used to be presided by the parish which carried the same name and which now only preserves its Gothic front. In the 1940s, the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Esperanza moved to this church, building the Basilica of the Macarena, of classic Neo-baroque style, which occupies the northern part of the square.

Due to this, the false idea that this was the neighbourhood of the Macarena spread itself. But San Gil belongs to the old town district, inside the wall perimetre of Seville. La Macarena, however, as one of the city’s historical suburbs, is located outside the walls. The limit between both is established by Calle Resolana and Calle Parlamento de Andalucía. And so, the virgin is called ‘Macarena’ because of the neighbourhood and not the other way around, because the origin of the name is probably Roman.

We switch the register and go to another square, at number 3 where we find the Palacio de los Pumarejo, which gives the name to the field which was the residence of the Count Don Pedro Pumarejo, ‘Caballero’ twenty-four of the Lobby of Sevilla.

This 18th century house-palace became a Toribian school for boys in the 19th century. It finally became an inhabitable house in 1883. The top floor was restored to hold small homes, and in the lower floor they set up workshops and shops. Declared a Cultural Interest Heritage in 2003, it represents one of the most important examples of neighbourhood struggle so that such singular spaces aren’t allowed to disappear.

Walking down Calle San Luís we arrive to the church of Santa Marina, built after the Castillian conquest of Ishbiliya (Seville) in the 13th century, and it represents one of the oldest temples in teh city and a beautiful sample of Gothic style from Burgos and lower-Andalucian mudejar, inspired both by Christian spirituality as by Muslim mystique.

Lastly, following the same street, at number 27 we find the church of San Luís de los Franceses (St. Louis of the French), one of the most lavish Sevillian temples. Of Baroque style, it began to be built in 1699 by Leonardo da Figueroa, and it created its origin as a church of the ancient novitiate of the Jesuits.

Architectonically heterogenic and with a firm social identity thanks to the way of life of its neighbours, this is one of the neighbourhoods with the most popular, symbolic and imaginary strength in the city, the neighbourhood of San Gil.

Cinta Blanch

If you’re looking for apartments in Seville why not stay in the charismatic neighbourhood of San Gil, located in the beautiful historic part of the city.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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