The World’s Premier Website for Finding Useful Information about Andalucia and Southern Spain established in 1996

World Consumer Day in Andalucia

What a great place to celebrate World Consumer Day! Where better than southern Spain? With such great weather, you can put together the perfect picnic and choose an ideal location to… consume, of course!

You can be sure that all of our local consumer organisations have been working hard this week, preparing information and alerts to raise consciousness on this important day, dedicated to one of the most practiced activities on the planet… consumption, of course.

Fuel prices are at the top of the lists of consumer concerns at the moment. However, one of my favourite alerts has been issued by FACUA, the Andalucian Federation of Consumer and User Associations: nine out of ten breakfast cereals are too high in sugar for our good health. Now who would have guessed? Must say I’m grateful though to have the backing of a heavyweight like FACUA next time I turn down requests to start the day “right” with a bowl of sugar coated sugar flakes. “Sorry kids, but FACUA says…”.

Here’s to another year of new, improved… consumption, what else?

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Food | No Comments »

The Socialist Reign Continues

Six times in a row! That’s Manuel Chaves for you, Andalucia’s president once again winning the elections. But not, however, without a new little twist this time around.

Even though Socialists once again swept the board across southern Spain, the opposition Popular Party has shown its strength - winning 10 extra seats in our regional parliament (while Socialists lost 5!). This is hardly surprising given that a conservative heavyweight, Javier Arenas, is back in his native Andalucia providing a strong lead for his party in this corner of the country.

But what happened to our regional party, the Andalucistas? As if someone waved a magic wand, they’ve dissappeared entirely from the scene, losing all five seats in a single round at the polls. We’ll be watching to see whether or not they begin the fight to make a comeback next time around… Possibly President Chaves has so championed Andalucian “nationality”, constitution and other aspects of southern Spanish individuality that people no longer see the need for an Andalucian regional party.

One thing is sure and that is that socialists will continue to rule with absolute majority (56 of the 109 seats in Seville’s parliament). The opposition has made an undeniable gain, however, and it will be interesting to see how the Popular Party makes use of its progress during this coming term - and whether or not it is able to continue to take us down a road that could lead one day to an historic conservative takeover of this decidedly left-wing region.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Culture and Customs | No Comments »

Fun with Science in Andalucia

If you’ve never been to the Parque de las Ciencias science museum in Granada (capital), I highly recommend you make a spot in your agenda.

This is a must see for kids of all ages - up to around 110 years old, I think.

In fact, as my family and I enjoyed a fun-filled day mixing with a zillion hands on exhibits and displays, I noticed there were actually organised groups of third age adventurers who seemed to be enjoying the facilities every bit as much as we were.

With more than 30,000 square metres to explore, I can guarantee you won’t run out of things to do and see at Granada’s Science Museum. Check out the biosphere, put science to the test in the hand-on Eureka room, take the little ones to an area created especially for kids aged 3 to 7 years old, learn more about astronomy at the planetarium, head outside to cross a central plaza full of interactive sculptures and toys. And take the glass elevator to the top of the observatory for panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and Granada - Alhambra included!

Honestly, this is one museum that is well worth the visit. And running right now through June there is a temporary exhibit of Poisonous Animals with a wide variety of live creatures as well as big screen multimedia presentations and a display that shows the effects of different animal poisons as well as their antidotes.

And one more plus - many, if not most - of the displays are accompanied by panels in both Spanish and English.

A word of advice to those planning to spend the entire day at the Granada Science Museum. This is a very popular destination, so expect crowds. Particularly if you’re going on the weekend, my recommendation is to either arrive slightly before opening time and be the first inside, or do like we did and eat your picnic lunch at the park across the street while everyone else endures hour-long queues. From this perfect vantage point, you can keep an eye on the queues and pop straight in once they’ve practically dissappeared.

The question of food and drink is also key as you’ll need a refresher at some point and the single (severely understaffed) cafeteria/restaurant can hardly keep up with the multitudes. There are picnic areas on site, so don’t hesitate to bring your own refreshments for a stress-free break!

As far as parking is concerned, there is a (miniscule) free parking area within the museum and a very nice, large public parking garage under the park across the street.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Travel Andalucia, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Happy Dí­a de Andalucia!

Time for yet another holiday here in Andalucia. That’s right, February 28th is a day to celebrate. It’s Andalucia Day thanks to this region’s founding father, Blas Infante, the man whose ideas eventually served to make this region the separate autonomous community it is today.

The question many foreigners living in Andalucia have is: what do people do on Dí­a de Andalucía. And the answer is bound to be found in the heart of your nearest town or city where municipal bands are generally called out to play the regional hymn (el Himno de Andalucia) and speeches are made on behalf of regional traditions and politics.

As might be expected, the holiday is also observed at schools across the region. However, because it always ocurrs during the “Semana Blanca” (White Week) half term holidays, it is celebrated the week before with the youngest ones colouring Andalucian flags and the parents associations at many state schools organising large “bread and olive oil” morning snack times to ensure children are well acquainted with the “bread and (equivalent of) butter” of Andalusian cuisine.

So there you have it - another reason to celebrate!

¡Feliz Día de Andalucia!

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Culture and Customs | No Comments »

Calling All Golfers!

Andalucia’s Costa del Sol is also known as the Costa del Golf, thanks to our booming golf industry and courses that spread gorgeous green fairways over much of Málaga’s province.

Now Andalucia.com is inviting all golfers to join the Andalucia.com golf team on March 7th at the Marbella Golf and Country Club.

The British Chamber of Commerce is organising this lovely Spring Centenary Golf Tournament and it promises to be a wonderful day out at one of our premiere courses.

The price of this unique day out is just 98 euros per person. That includes the works: green fees, buggy (to share) and a three course lunch with wine.

Don’t miss this chance to mix and mingle with some very interesting people on the Costa del Sol. For more information, drop an e-mail to info@andalucia.com.

Good luck!

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

I Love Fusion

I have a confession to make, and blogs seem to be the fashionable place to confess these days:

I am not a purist. I love fusion - flamenco fusion, that is.

And why not?

I know there is a movement pushing to preserve the heart and soul of traditional flamenco, and that’s fine by me. There’s nothing wrong with hanging on to Andalucian traditions, saving and preserving them for posterity.

But what’s wrong with innovation? What’s wrong with change, with mixing in new trends, sounds, ideas? That’s evolution.

This morning on the radio I listened to a hip new station called Radio Chanquete that serves up flamenco mixed with everything from heavy metal to disco to rap - sometimes just one song uses flamenco to string together a wide range of styles and sounds.

These days you can mix flamenco with tangos, rumbas, blues, jazz, american country… There is flamenco ballet in the dance department. Some of the best names in flamenco have even joined with orchestras. There is really no limit.

If you’d like to experience some very tasty fusion, try something by the late Manzanita or a bit of Tomatito. Ketama is also excellent. And let’s not leave out the female contingent with the likes of Chambao, Papa Levante and Los Ketchup. The list is as endless as the mixes they make.

Stop by your nearest music outlet and ask someone to point you towards the racks of flamenco fusion, or tune into one of the trendy, young stations that mix and match without shame. Canal Fiesta is a good one (at many points on your dial depending where you are in Andalucia) and this new Radio Chanquete, 95.2 F.M., might be worth a try - but look out - it’s what I’d call “anti-aging radio” - for the youngest, and the young at heart.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Music | No Comments »

Andalucia Strikes it Rich!

The big news this week is that someone - some lucky someone, or perhaps more than one someone - from the tiny town of Montefrio, Granada, has won the “Euromillones” lottery. At over 76 million euros, this is the biggest, fattest lottery prize yet to land on a Spanish town.

A town, you ask? Yes, a town, because a lottery prize in Spain is seen as a sort of common good. This is very difficult for outsiders to grasp, especially the most individualistic among us - mainly from northern Europe and North America.

But would you believe that yesterday I heard the mayoress of Montefrí­o interviewed on public radio, unashamedly suggesting that it would be nice if the winner invested in his or her home town? It was clear as the conversation progressed and follow up reports were made, that both the town’s leader and the reporter who interviewed her saw investment in Montefrio as not only a logical outcome, but practically a birthright.

Everyone - and it sounds like EVERYONE - in Montefrio is keeping an eye out for signs of a winner. No one is daring to schedule a holiday, says the mayoress - for fear of being a suspect. Woe to the one who stays home from work with a cold. The entire town could turn up to confirm the diagnosis.

Yes, the winner in Montefrio is laying low and probably with very good reason. Should he or she (or they) be found out, there would be no end to the hoopla this would create in a tiny town like Montefrio where everyone knows everyone… and no end to the expectations from old friends and even old, old, old friends?

Those of you who know the Andalusian way of purchasing lottery tickets in groups will know something about this group winner mentality. When the big prize monies are announced at Christmas there is always the hope that they will be “muy repartidos” (shared among many).

And it would be unthinkable to keep a lottery winning for oneself without spreading the wealth far and wide among the family network.

So what would happen if the Montefrio winner were discovered and it so happened that this person didn’t feel the town was fit for investment? What if he or she preferred to spend it all in the Bahamas?

Good question.

As it stands, whoever bought that winning ticket is staying well out of the picture. A savings bank in Granada was entrusted with the job of receiving the prize money on behalf of the recipient and, according to the legend so far, the lucky man or woman is handling the news in a sensible manner and has all the professional help necessary for managing the winnings, thank you very much.

Congratulations Montefrio… or not.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Culture and Customs, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Raising Kids in Andalucia

How often do we hear of yet another family that has moved to southern Spain because it’s such a great place to raise children?

Families from northern Europe and North America are especially charmed by the warmth of this family-centred Mediterranean society. It’s hard not to notice how children are accepted wherever we go - at restaurants and other public venues - at all hours of the night and day. Many of us feel like we’ve taken a trip back in time to a friendlier era where things were “different”… better perhaps?

The truth is that while modern Spain is a nice place to bring up kids and society is still somewhat “old fashioned” in its values, young people are definitely speeding ahead to keep up with the times and they are not so different from their counterparts across Europe.

The results of a recent University of Huelva survey of 2,560 young people aged 12 to 16 shows that their number one favourite past time is spending time with friends, followed by listening to music at home and then either watching television, spending time on the Internet, playing video games or participating in sports (the order of importance varies depending on the age). For all ages, reading is at the bottom of the list with the percentage of those reporting they spend their free time on books dropping as age increases.

The study “Los Adolescentes Andaluces y La Droga” (Andalucian Adolescents and Drugs) looks at various aspects of young people’s lives in order to see how these might correlate with rates of drug use.

We learn, therefore, that the number one drug of choice is Alcohol with nearly 70% of this age group reporting they’ve tried it and just over 24 percent indicating they are regular consumers. Tobacco is next with nearly 48% having tried it and 15 percent recognising they are smokers. Cannabis comes in third place with around 19 percent having tried it and over 5 percent regular users. Drugs like amphetamines, tranquilisers, cocaine and heroine are much less represented, hovering between one and three percent having tried them and less than one percent reporting regular use in any category.

These figures are worth taking note of if you are raising kids in Andalucia. Yes, this is a wonderful place for them to grow up and in many ways the area seems to offer such a wholesome environment. Parents still need to be on guard, however, as unsupervised youth will of course find they have at their disposal everything they need to get in trouble.

On a positive note, studies like this show the deep concern such statistics generate on the part of researchers, organisations like Proyecto Hombre - an organisation working to prevent drug dependency and also involved in carrying out the study in question, as well as teachers, and government policy makers.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Culture and Customs, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Who’s the best?

Lately I’ve been studying the way festivals are celebrated throughout Andalucia. It’s often interesting to see how one single festival is celebrated differently from one town or city to another.

To be honest, at first glance, all the carnivals looked alike to me, as did all the ferias or semana santas. But I’ve long known that locals don’t see it this way - people of each town or village believe they have their own, entirely unique take on the observance of each special day or festival.

This point really hit home when I was comparing holy week processions throughout our region. From the start, I was amazed at the amount of detailed information available in Spanish on the Internet even for small towns in the “middle of nowhere”. The passion for Semana Santa that I had always known existed (and had marvelled over in the local press every spring) took on new meaning as I realised just how dedicated some people are to each and every detail of their local processions.

The clincher for me though, has been that just about every description of Semana Santa (again, in Spanish) begins by informing the reader that the particular celebrations of the town or city in question is truly unique and THE BEST in Andalucia, THE MOST worth visiting and seeing.

I fell for this the first time I read it, especially because the processions in the town in question had been declared of “National Touristic Interest”.

“I’m on to something here,” I thought to myself, sure I’d found the Andalusian Semana Santa of all Semana Santas…

…Until I came to the next village with the same national stamp of approval, and the next and the next…

I’ve come to conclude that it is definitely worth getting to know the different expressions of Holy Week - and Carnival and the ferías and the San Juan celebrations and so many other curious festivals that take place in this region. However, it’s best to be prepared for the fact that everyone in every city, town and teeny, tiny village, is sure they have the best of the best.

What’s more, there are people working hard throughout the region to earn special stamps of approval that attract tourists. These stamps are probably well deserved, but that doesn’t always mean that one particular event is actually better than all the rest.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Culture and Customs | No Comments »

Land of the Olive

Would you believe that there is a GPS co-ordinate on record for every single commercial olive tree in Andalucia?

That’s right.

That’s how serious the olive production industry is in southern Spain. And with EU subsidies funding this industry we should hardly expect less than tight control (which is why a group of farmers who recently tried to fool authorities by planting sticks and then filing for subsidies, didn’t get very far).

Right now - and running through the end of April there is an amazing series of exhibitions and activities in the Province of Jaen called “Lands of Olive Trees” (Tierras del Olivo) that looks at the past and present of olive oil production around the world. It will include perspectives on industries as far ranging as Peru and Tunisia, from Jordan to New Zealand - 30 countries in all.

If, therefore, you are a fan of olive oil, this is your big chance to get on over Jaen to taste the world’s olive oils - not only in special tastings, but also in dishes from around the world that depend on this liquid gold as a main ingredient. This will also be a chance to learn more about the industries of this ancient crop around the world today.

The Tierras del Olivo exhibition series will take place in four cities: Jaen capital, Baeza, Úbeda and Baena. You can find out more by ringing 902 195 195.

Click here to read the full article...

Posted in Food | No Comments »