You Can Go Your Own Way: The Divorcing of Spain
Regional Flags in Valencia City
The region of Catalonia in north-east Spain took a step closer to full independence from Madrid this month when a small town in the province voted for Catalonia to go its own way. Anyone who’s travelled around Spain will know that there are numerous strong factions with varyingly legitimate claims to full autonomy in the Iberian Peninsular. While touring around Spain on your bike you’ll see independence demands on walls – and pavements – in just about every province outside the two Castilles.
Some autonomy movements are armed with historical argument and enjoy popular support – such as in Catalonia or the Basque Country, while some others are just laughable. For example, seeing ‘Fora Estrangers’ (‘foreigners out’ in Valencian) in the Valencia Community made me laugh – what was that independencianista’s economic strategy for Valencia’s autonomy, sell oranges?
However, the Spanish state is looking increasingly fragmented as the recession continues to deepen in Spain, but I have a cunning plan!
I reckon ten years of self-governance is enough time for any area to prove whether it can stand or fall as an independent state. My idea? Give every squealing community a vote to have a ‘trial separation’ from Madrid where they’d get to enjoy ten years of self-rule. Then, after ten years (which will probably include one recession, at least) the citizens of that state could vote for full separation or a return to the old Spanish collective. That way everyone’s happy and can stop ruining historical buildings with black spray just to reaffirm their identity.
Sing a Song of Cycling
OK, if something’s good it’s worth singing about, right? And cycling’s good, right? So why haven’t people sung about it as much as they could have? More obsure modes of transport have been hailed, after all. One thinks of the Housemartins’ Caravan of Love, hell, Led Zeppelin even named themselves after an airship! Well, I suppose there is the Bombay Bicycle Club, but just who sings about cycling?
Here are a few:
Bicycle Race – Queen: “Fat-bottomed girls they’ll be riding today, so look out for those beauties, oh yeah” – isn’t that the most obscure lyric in the history of modern music?
Bike – Pink Floyd: This is another song from leftfield, probably the whole posh uni background thing. The bicycle is clearly an essential for pulling girls. Never worked for me…
Back to the Old House – The Smiths: “When you cycled by, it started all my dreams, the saddest thing I’d ever seen”. Morrissey keeps an eye out for the cyclists, even if it dampens his mood (further).
This Charming Man – The Smiths: It’s a common theme in Morrissey’s lyrical consciousness, clearly. “Punctured bicycle on a hillside, desolate…” – I imagine it was raining, too.
Bicycle Song – Red Hot Chili Peppers: A lovely B-side. “How could I forget to mention, the bicycle is a good invention” – damn right it is, Anthony.
Riding on my Bike – Madness: Suggs is racing for a charity in this song. He’s also ditched his car as it’s too expensive. I can relate to that…
Tour de France – Kraftwerk: (pictured) Kraftwerk clearly thought cycling was so good they wrote a whole album about it…
Nine Million Bicycles – Katie Melua: There are nine million bicycles in Beijing, according to Melua, and as long as they don’t all become car owners we should be alright…
I’m sure I missed some, so if you’ve got any suggestions I’d love to hear them.
Spain on Film: Ten Must-See Spanish Films
Pan's Labyrinth
Beyond the effervescent Pedro Almodóvar, it’s probably fair to say that little is known about Spanish cinema outside of Iberia and the wider Spanish-speaking world. And that’s a shame, because the standard of Spanish cinema is extremely creative. I’ve put together a list on ten films that all hispanophiles should watch. In no particular order:
1) Belle Epoque (1992): My personal favourite, not solely because I would just love to swap places with Jorge Sanz in this movie, but because this film has genuine warmth and humour. A deserter turns up at a remote farm where the owner has four beautiful young daughters and Jean de Florette meets Sirens. Magnificent.
2) Hable Con Ella (2002): I don’t want this list to be an Almodóvar-fest, although his contribution eclipses other Spanish directors. To be honest, I don’t like his ‘shock at all costs’ approach, but in Talk to Her he has produced a gem. A hospital nurse falls in love with his comatose patient and I won’t spoil the story for you but this is engaging, thought-provoking, surreal and utterly Almodóvar, without being too Almodóvar…
3) Pan’s Labyrinth (2006): Excellent direction from Guillermo Del Toro gives us a surreal fantasy set in post-Civil War Spain. Graphic and certainly not cheery, Pan’s Labyrinth is an atmospheric tour combining reality with fantasy, filmed in the eerie ghost town backdrop of Belchite, which I thoroughly recommend visiting. You will recognise at least two actresses from Belle Epoque, underlining the strength in quality in this movie.
4) Le Chien Andalous (1929): Put surreal artist Salvador DalÍ and film maker Luis Buñuel in the same room and you’re bound to end up with something experimental, strange, shocking and utterly bizarre. The Andalucian Dog ticks all these boxes and more. It’s short enough, though, so you can watch it over lunch. Actually, don’t; the ants-in-the-palm and the eyeball scenes will put you off your food!
5) L a Cabina (1972): This 35-minute wonder was apparently the basis for 2002 ‘thriller’, Phone Booth, with Colin Farrell. A claustrophobic’s nightmare, a man gets trapped in a telephone kiosk and no one can help him…
6) The Orphanage (2007): Del Toro again in this The Others (also his) meets Amityville –style horror. I’ve heard from more than two people that it was the scariest film they’d ever seen.
7) Jamón Jamón (1992): It’s about sex and ham. No, no, sorry, it’s about manhood and emasculation, no, wait, it’s really about naked bullfighting? Hell, I don’t know, but it introduced the world to Penélope Cruz and also stars Javier Bardem, who I think is Spain’s best actor.
8) El Amor Perjudica Seriamente La Salud (1997): Love Seriously Damages Your Health features some of the elder statesmen of Spanish film, namely Ana Belém (Spain’s answer to Joanna Lumley) and Juanjo Puigcorbé. The omnipresent Cruz stars yet again in this Madrid-based story of nostalgia.
9) Vacas (1992): A solid directorial debut for Julio Medem, Cows is a costume drama set in the Basque Country focussed on local feuds throughout the decades. The film was made in 1992, a very impressive year for the Spanish film industry and, indeed, Spain in general, with the Olympic Games in Barcelona and the Sevilla ’92 expo.
10) Carne Trémula (1997): I really had to go with one more Almodóvar, given his wide filmography. With such a range of choice – Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Bad Education et al – I just had to run with Live Flesh. It’s very earthy and Javier Bardem is excellent in his lead role.
While most Spanish films are worth watching at least once, avoid Tristana, as Buñuel’s protracted and depressing film will make you reach for the Samaritan’s phone number. Similarly, Tesis is a disappointment, but if you want your ears bashed with 60s kitsch then check out ¡Tombola!
Of the non-Spanish films set in Spain, definitely watch Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom but steer clear of the disappointing Vicky Cristina Barcelona which, given the quality of the director and cast, is at best average in my book.
Got any recommendations? I’d love to hear them.
Essential Reading: Ten Great Books on Spain
Sometimes it takes the outsider to see a country for what it is. Thankfully we have plenty of Anglophonic hispanophiles over the years who, like millions before and since, have fallen for the enigmatic seduction of Spain in all its crazy, brilliant glory.
Ernest Hemingway's bust outside the bullring, Pamplona
While a great deal of writing about Spain can be off-putting ex-pattery, about moving into a shack in some godforsaken place but Pedro the neighbour had a donkey so everything worked out OK, there is a rich, rich pool of literature – fiction, autobiography and academic – that helps us, the outsider, piece together the Spanish experience throughout the last century. Reading these books you’ll see how much Spain has changed over the last hundred years but then again, in so many ways, stayed the same.
Driving Over Lemons, Chris Stewart – Stewart has established himself as the premier writer on contemporary life in Spain, capturing the enchantment and frustrations that all outsiders will deal with when setting up afresh in Spain. OK, as Genesis’ original drummer it’s partly his fault that Phil Collins has a career, but he’s more than made up for it with four fantastic books on Spain
South of Granada, Gerald Brenan – Long before Chris Stewart there was Gerald Brenan, a de-mobbed Englishman who made his home in the Alpujarra Mountains in the 1920s and wrote about it
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, Lawrie Lee – A contemporary of Brenan, Lee walks all the way from Galicia down to Andalucia and is rescued by the Royal Navy just as the Spanish Civil War begins to kick off. Both Lee and Brenan capture the abject poverty of the country in those days
Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell – Another autobiography on Spain but this time from the possibly the greatest political writer ever. Orwell’s account of life on the Republican side will make you shake your head in disbelief and highlight just how the Left managed to do half of the Nationalists’ hard work for them through in-fighting and mismanagement
Spanish Civil War, Antony Beevor – Beevor is one of the leading military historians, so for those seeking to understand the origins of the Spanish Civil War, its machinations and its legacy should read this
Ghosts of Spain, Giles Tremlett – In the same vein, Madrid-based journalist Tremlett travels Spain in search of the legacy of that war which, unlike so many other conflicts, is still largely unaddressed
Franco, Paul Preston – The poison dwarf is exposed in this brilliant, if long, biography from one of the leading academics on Spanish history
Duende, Jason Webster – Another contemporary English writer in Spain. Webster searches for the roots of Flamenco, and gets into a number of scrapes along the way
It’s Not About the Tapas, Polly Evans – Travel writer Evans sets out on an epic solo cycle ride around Spain. As someone who’s also clocked up several thousand kilometres on Spanish roads – of widely varying quality – I found myself laughing out loud at some of her experiences
For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway – You didn’t think I’d do a journey through literature about Spain without mentioning Hemingway [pictured], did you? If I’m honest, I don’t like Hemingway’s writing. It’s so blatantly autobiographical, lacks description and rests heavily on (often confusing) dialogue. However good his journalism, his novel writing wasn’t quite as good, but he did help bring some of Spain’s history and tradition to the fore, such as Pamplona’s San Fermin Festival in Fiesta (The Sun Also Rises), so no write-up of books on Spain could be truly complete without the old man
Have you got any recommendations for great reads on Spain? I’d love to hear them.
The Real Madrid?
I’m always overly critical of travel journalists. Mostly because the majority turn up, spend a pampered weekend at the behest of an interested sponsor, muster up some stats from one of the regular tour guide series and perceive themselves as an ‘expert’.
Windows in Madrid's Plaza Mayor
A case in point that really drove me mad yesterday was a piece in one of the leading travel mags recently which tried to position Madrid as the ‘perfect summer city break’. This left me questioning the sanity of the writer, who appeared to be a resident ex-pat. Madrid is an oven in summer – a windless, merciless cauldron with temperatures reaching the mid-40s! It’s also largely empty of life as the locals have scrambled off to the coast for a month. Summer should be the season for city breaks in the major north European cities, with Madrid saved for spring or autumn, its best seasons. The other huge omission in the nightclub-heavy article was that there was not one single mention of Madrid’s key draw – art. It’s got to be one of the richest hubs of art in the world – El Prado, La Reina Sofia, Thyssen-Bornemisza but no one sings about it like they sing about Florence, Barcelona and Paris, for example. Madrid is an unsung hero.
I love Madrid, I went to university there and I’ve been there three times in the last nine months, so I’m extra sensitive to inaccurate write-ups. One day I’ll do one of my own, but for now I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to a really good article – yesterday’s Telegraph travel section on Cantabria. I am a big fan of Northern Spain and plan to spend a lot more time there than the south and east, which I feel I’ve exhausted.
Tilting at Windmills: Cycling Don Quixote Country
Consuegra's iconic white windmills
If there’s one figure that dominates Spanish literature it’s Don Quixote de la Mancha. In Cervantes’ iconic epic, the hapless knight and his squire, Sancho Panza, gallavant around dusty Castilla-La Mancha (south of Madrid) in search of adventure.
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the book, a cycling and walking network was established which makes Don Quixote country great for a cycling holiday in Spain.
Castilla-La Mancha is largely overlooked by tourists but it’s here that you’ll find the famous white windmills, which Quixote mistook for giants, great castles, vineyards and wildlife.
This area is great for cycling: undulating and quiet with wide roads, although there’s little shelter from the sun so probably best to do it in spring or autumn.You can read our guide here or watch the video here. The official site (in Spanish) is here.
San Fermin: Great Tradition or a Lot of Old Bull?
El Encierro - the Bull Run
Yesterday’s sixth running of the bulls at Pamplona’s San Fermin festival resulted in yet more injuries. No surprise there, then, but what did get me is that last week’s fatality was the first in 14 years, and while it ostensibly looks suicidal to get involved in the encierro (bull run), it doesn’t seem to be all that fatally dangerous. In fact, only 14 people have been killed since 1924.
CNN was running a debate on whether the tradition should be banned. I’m not in favour of bull fighting, which is where they all end up, after all, but what about the run itself? Should the bulls be used for entertainment? I’m not entirely comfortable with the encierro, but I hope that various other Spanish festivals don’t become victims of political correctness.
There are two words you’ll hear more than anything in Spain and they’re muy tipico (very typical), and the encierro is
The San Fermin festival owes much to Hemingway's "Fiesta" (The Sun Also Rises)
so muy tipico of Spanish festival mayhem. There is no health and safety, and in a cotton wool-wrapped, litigation-heavy Europe I’m so very glad that these nutty, dangerous traditions exist. The tomatina in Buñol is dangerous, as are Las Fallas in Valencia, where you really have to look around you for explosions. In Barcelona they form human ladders. It’s what people do in Spain, no risk = no fun, it seems. But that’s what makes it unique.
I dearly hope that the European Union, with their grey hair and their clipboards, don’t traverse the Pyrenees in search of traditions with which to kill off in the sacred name of ‘Health and Safety’, because I promise you that every corner of Spain will send them homewards with their tails between their legs. The jury’s out on the San Fermin, though.
A Musical Tour of Spain
If a place is good it’s often worth singing about. Just look at all the songs written about California, for example, while no one I know has written an ode to Milton Keynes. Spain’s got some great places which I thought would be worth a whistle-stop tour. I’m sticking to the mainland here to avoid putting on any plastic tracks in praise of Ibiza…
So, to get in the mood to arrive in the country we listen to Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain and Christy Moore’s rousing Viva La Quinta Brigada before touching down in Barcelona, as sung by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé. We drive south and have a good listen to Jose Carreras welcoming us to land of flowers, light and love in Valencia before pushing onto party with the Pogues in Almeria.
Valencia's Manolo Bangs the Drums
Let’s head west to the Costa del Sol and get enchanted with the Malagueña before winding our way northwards to the ramparts of Sevilla, Carmen’s city. Let’s keep going north and stroll around the dusty town of Aranjuez with Joaquin Rodrigo before accepting Ketama’s invitation to ‘Vente pa’ Madrid’.
Are there no songs about the north?
Unmissable Cycling Blogs and Podcasts
If you haven’t listened to The Guardian’s new cycling podcast then you should download it right away. It’s a regular show containing reviews on new bikes and cycling holidays, as well as interviews with cycling stars.
If you’re interested in spreading your cycling blog wings further, you could do worse than check out the following excellent sites:
United Kingdom
London cycling commuters – of which I was one for five years in all weathers and seasons – there are some great resources out there. Try the Bike Shed to find where to securely store your bike while commuting, and keep in touch with London cycling try the London Cyclist.
If you want to hook up with other cyclists and get information on great routes and clubs, try either Me And My Bicycle or its sister site Cycle Social.
Blogs
The Tour of Britain race is on at the end of this summer. The Tour’s head of communications is Craig Brophy, who runs the popular Sweat n’ Gears blog, which gives you great information in the build up to the event and other related cycling views.
For a wrap up of the best cycling blogs, try BikeBlogs.com and the Cycling Challenge.
Finally, one fascinating guy well worth checking out is the Hungry Cyclist, who’s cycling round the world in search of good food. What a great concept!
It’s really refreshing to see the passion for cycling across the globe, whether it’s touring, racing or mountain biking. Keep the faith, folks, and keep on riding!
Brophy’s Law: Hill Training in the Heat
The British summer seems to have decided to take a break but no doubt the heat will be back (fingers crossed). In Spain the mercury just keeps on rising and it’s the safest time to be riding – certainly avoid midday until late afternoon, as the Spanish sun just seems to hang there, even after 6pm, right in your face.
One man that knows a thing or two about hill training and heat is Craig Brophy, PR manager for the Tour of Britain and author of the fine Sweat n’ Gears blog on all things cycling. He competed to a high level in his native South Africa, which, like Spain, challenges cyclists with long climbs and punishing heat.
Have a listen, hopefully you’ll find it useful.
