Tag Archive for: spanish culture

Festival of the Merce in Barcelona

Ever since the Virgin of Mercy saved the city of Barcelona from a plague of locusts in 1687, the city has been celebrating the miracle she helped create with the liveliest festival it has all year. Happening at the end of September and on the 24th this year, the parties will go on for four days through the night and early hours of the morning with wild fireworks, strangely costumed giants, colorful decorations and musical concerts lining the streets. It is a kind of end-of-summer celebration, so participants usually party as hardily and as noisily as they can.

 

 

The Spanish are known around the world for their love of Fiestas! Why not let us Customize a Private Tour of Spain for you, visiting some of the most authentic and wonderful Spanish fiestas- accompanied by only the best local Spanish food and wine!

 

The Story of Girona

Rich in culture, charm, and beauty and located just an hour north of Barcelona, the city of Girona boasts narrow cobblestone walkways with something new to discover at every turn.  The combination of chic boutiques and modern interiors juxtaposed against the backdrop of an ancient medieval village give this city a striking contrast between old and new. And with such close proximity to the beaches of the Costa Brava as well as the backdrop of the Pyrenees Mountains, Girona is a destination that should not be missed.

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Festa Major in Barcelona

The Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona lights up every year in mid-August for its week-long Festa Major. Every town here has a charming Festa Major during the summer, but as a particularly influential city in Spain and the world, everything about the celebration is done in bigger and more extreme ways. You will find that during  the Gracia feast the castells—or human castle competitions–are larger, there are more aisles of fireworks to run through, but the decorations are probably what stand out the most.

Each street is carefully and creatively themed with wild decorations everywhere. The beautiful floral decorations they specialize in are called arte festivo éfimero. Within the decorations visitors find orchestras, games, theater, music, dance and other activities, which combine for one energetic week-long party.

In order to experience the Gracia Festa Major yourself, join us on our private Barcelona Food and Wine Tour to enjoy the most authentic Spanish food, wine and culture in the city.

The Sardana- Traditional Catalan Dance

Every Sunday, Catalans gather outside in their city’s plaza to do Catalonia’s centuries-old national dance, the Sardana. It’s a very sweet patriotic dance we are quite enchanted by.  The most recently we observed sardanas it was when we were in a charming little medieval town called Besalu. Older Catalans are especially proud of doing it because the Spanish dictator Franco, a fascist who ruled from the 1930s until 1977, made it against the law for Catalans to speak their own language or do the sardana on Sundays. This dance is just one testament to the strong pride and energy Catalans Read more

Catalan Castellers

One of the most entertaining things to watch at the town festivals going on all over Catalonia, Spain,  from May to October are the castellers, or human castle builders, at work.  A tradition since groups around Tarragona started it in the 1800s, teams of castellers from all over Catalonia participate in competitions to see how fast, how tall or how big they can make their castles. Their size ranges from the most common—about 6-8 stories tall—to even more suspenseful heights and sizes in which daredevil athletes risk a dangerous collapse.

Who needs bulls running in the streets when these strapping Catalans can flex their macho muscles without them?As devoted admirerers of this local tradition, we always take our guests to see them, if available, during our private Food Wine & Cultural Tours 

Easter Processions in Catalonia, Northern Spain

Easter procession in Girona

Easter processions have been a tradition in Girona ever since 1566. Experience Easter in Catalunya, Northern Spain with a Luxury Food & Wine Tour of the Costa Brava.  Commencing near to the cathedral on Good Friday at 10pm it continues throughout the Old Town. Suffering and Death, accompanied with disharmonic music, have something to them that reminds the spectator of Verdi’s The Power of Fate. All penitents are traditionally clad in hooded cloaks with small peepholes for the eyes. Thus, nobody can be recognized and anonymity is guaranteed since penance is a private affair.  There are a number of different fraternities and they can be told apart by the different colours of their cloaks. Some pennants are also carrying big crosses made of wood and richly adorned altars. Standing on the latter, there are life-size figurines of Saints and different sceneries re-enacting the Sufferings of Christ, which are called Pasos procesionales. Chief Executive or factory worker, this day, it makes no difference. There is mystic, there is religion and there is mere Read more

Mona de Pascua Traditional Spanish Recipe

TRADITOINAL SPANISH MONA DE PASCUA….EASTER CAKE

Ingredients for Traditional Spanish Mona de Pascua

For the Sponge

  • 4 eggs
  • 150g of Sugar
  • 150g of flour
  • 20g of ground almonds
  • 5g of yeast
  • 2 beaten egg whites
  • 50g of butter

For the Filling

  • 300g of Peach Jam (or any other rich tasting fruit jam)

To Garnish

  • 250g of dark chocolate
  • 125g of butter

Instructions for traditional Spanish Mona de Pascua 

1) Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl

2) Mix the flour and yeast together in a separate bowl

3) Gradually add the mixture of flour and yeast through a sieve (to avoid creating any lumps) to the egg and sugar mixture

4) Stir constantly while adding the ground almonds

5) Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form peaks

6) Once they are half whisked, add 50g of sugar, once whisked blend in with the flour and egg mixture

7) Turn the final mix out into a greased and flour sprinkled mould

8 ) Place in the oven at 180 ºC for about 40-45 minutes

9) Remove the sponge, allow to cool, cut in half and spread with the jam filling

10) Finally, stir and melt the chocolate and butter together, cover the sponge with the chocolate and allow to cool. Why not try adding your own final touch, some decorated or coloured eggs? A few feathers? A few miniature chicks? Or a little rabbit?

If you would like to learn to cook like a professional then our private Gourmet Cooking Tours introduce you to the best of Spanish cuisine as well as a range of culinary delights such as Michelin starred dining, exquisite wine tastings and authentic gourmet tapas tours.

Christmas traditions in Spain

Christmas is a very religious time in Spain. It officially begins December 8, with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated each year in front of the great Gothic cathedral in Seville with a ceremony called Los Seises or the “dance of six”.

A very important Christmas symbol in Spain is the Nativity scene.  They are exposed in plazas in cities and small towns throughout the country, and can also be seen in the doorways and entrances of many Spanish homes, as well as in storefront windows.  In many small towns, plazas might even have a live Nativity scene, with actors and actresses playing the parts of Mary and Joseph and the three wise men as well as live animals. Read more

Festa de la Merce

Ever since the Virgin of Mercy saved the city of Barcelona from a plague of locusts in 1687, the city has been celebrating the miracle she helped create with the liveliest festival it has all year- known as Festa de la Merce.  Happening at the end of September and on the 24th this year, the parties for Festa de la Merce will go on for four days through the night and early hours of the morning with wild fireworks, strangely costumed giants, colorful decorations and musical concerts lining the streets. It is a kind of end-of-summer celebration, so participants of the Festa de la Merce usually party as hardily and as noisily as they can.

Among the events not to be missed are the huge casteller, or human-castle building, contests, as illustrated above left. 

To see the unique Barcelona Castells or to experience the celebrations of Festa de la Merce for yourself why not let us customize a private Food, Wine and Cultural Tour for you.

La Diada

Catalan people

The red and yellow stripes of the Catalan flag drape windows, balconies, walls, make up flower bouquets and wave in the fabrics Catalans hold up in the street all day on La Diada, or Catalonia’s national holiday. Celebrated on September 11, the day of Catalonia’s defeat under Spanish armies in 1714, La Diada brings attention to both the defeats and the optimistic future of Catalonia.

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