La Tomatina

I can not wait for la Tomatina. It is hold in Buñol near Valencia and many people from abroad come to take part in this festival (last Wednesday of August). It is very interesting and amusing. People fight using tomatoes as weapons.

 Tradition of la Tomatina was born in 1945. Young Spaniards came to see parade of gigantes and cabezudos. During this festival they took tomatoes from stands and started to fight for fun. Police had to intervene. Many people were imprisoned for a short time. Next year they brought tomato and started fighting again. 

Until in 1975 local government accepted la Tomatina and started to organize it. Nowadays tomatoes are brought from Extremadura and houses are protected by owner. It lasts about one hour and starts at 10am in the Plaza de Pueblo. Citizens preparing palo jamón and everybody tries to take jamón which is on the top of it. If they get it la Tomatina begins. After one hour festival is over and the service start to clean the town. Also people can take a shower which are prepared for them by local government. 

   If you want to take part in Tomatina you have to register online on web The Town Hall of Buñol and buy ticket. There are limited number of people who can fight using tomatoes. 

 Palo jamón

Mojito drink

It is very hot outside and I would like to drink something cold and tasty. I found recipe for Mojito which is perfect for me.  
Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball. It contains white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water and mint (in Cuba yerba buena or spearmint).  It is very popular in Spain and other countries where summer is really hot.

 

The name mojito probably comes from Spanish word mojado (wet) or Cuban seasoning. 
Mojito was a favorite drink of Francis Drake an English sea captain and privateer. It was similar to other drink in 19th century which was known as "El Draque". Also Ernest Hemingway used to drink a cocktail from Cuba.
And this is my favorite recipe of Mojito!!!

Ingredients

Serves : 1 

• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
• 2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
• 5 or 6 ice cubes
• 1 shot of rum
• 120ml soda water

Directions

Prep: 10min , ready in: 10min

• 1. Place mint leaves and 1 of the lime wedges into a tall glass.
  2. Smash or crush the mint and lime to release the mint oils and lime juice.
  3. Add 2 more lime wedges and the sugar, and crush again to release the lime juice. Do not strain the mixture.
  4. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with soda water. Stir, taste and add more sugar if desired. Garnish with the remaining lime wedge.

Dancing andalusian horse

Can you imagine that horse can dance? It is popular in Spain in Andalusia where horses are trained for dancers.
This kind of horse come from Spain and is called Pure Spanish Horse (PSH). They are strong, intelligent, elegant and have long tail and thick manes. Most of them are gray but you can also find in other colors.  They are known as docility and sensitivity animals.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sWl9dm_gDs

Cactuses in Spain

There are a lot of cacti in Spain because it is one of the driest country in UE. I'd like to show you my favorite. I took pics in the University park.

Gazpacho from Andalusia

What to eat when outside is hot and it will be hotter. In my opinion the best food for summer is gazpacho. It is usually tomato based soup with different vegetables. It comes from Andalusia and you  have to serve it cold or with ice cubes. It is very popular in Spain and Portugal.

  Gazpacho from Andalusia

Andalusian dish is served from a long times. Ancient Romans and Moors also prepared it during the summer. They used tomato, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and stale bread.
Nowadays are many varieties of gazpacho with seafood, grapes, watermelon, avocados which do not contain typical ingredients.

Gazpacho Andaluz recipe:

• 1 Kilo tomatoes (preferable plum tomatoes)
• 1/2 small onion (60 grams)
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 small cucumber (the small chubby Spanish type)
• 1 small cup of olive oil
• 2 desert spoons of vinegar
• 200 grams of bread from the day before, soaked in water
• Small portions of diced tomatoes, red and green peppers, cucumber, onion and bread or croutons to sprinkle on top.

1. Put the tomatoes, onion, pepper, cucumber, vinegar, oil and bread into a liquidizer. If you want to dilute it, add a glass of water. Tip: if you want to go for a tangy garlic taste, add a small amount of fresh garlic to the mixture before liquidizing.

2. Put the mixture into a bowl, add salt and pepper and leave the gazpacho to chill for at least an hour. If you want to eat it straight away, you can put some ice cubes in to cool it down. Gazpacho is a Summer dish which is meant to hydrate and cool down your body. So the colder the better!!

3. Serve the gazpacho in soup bowls, with the portions of diced tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, croutons etc on the table, so that everyone can add them to their bowl as they prefer. Tip: you can also sprinkle diced serrano ham or hard boiled egg.

                                                   ¡Buen provecho!

  

Marina in Alicante

I would like to show you my favorite places in Alicante. Let's start from marina with great boats and palm trees!!!

 

 I want yacht!!!!!

The power of flamenco

Flamenco is a kind of Spanish folk music and dance which come from Andalusia. It grew up from Andalusian, Romani and Hindu music (motion of fingers, feets and hands). Some people say that flamenco comes from hindu dance katak.
Nowadays many flamenco's dancers are Romani people.

Typical women costume is a long, red or black dress with furbelows and high heel shoes. Men wear black or brown trousers, white shirt, heavy heels and hat.

Very important role plays Spanish  guitar, castanets and rhythm which is achieved by rhythmic stamping of the feet and emotional intensity and expressive use of arms.   




 Castanets

There are differents kinds of flamenco:

• Flamenco puro: dancer dances solo, it has influence gitano music and style
• Classical flamenco: the most popular flamenco in Spain, not to many hips movements, long arms and the body is tightly held 
• Flamenco nuevo: the newest style of flamenco, pared-down costumes, it has a lot of influence from other styles of music and dance

In present time flamenco is very popular all over the world. In many countries are established school where people learn flamenco. There are more flamenco schools in Japan than in Spain.