Category: customs

Tunas Galore!

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Sevilla has been inundated with Tunas recently, from all over Spain.

It seems there have been a few national competitions going on lately, and so Tuna sightings of late are not just of the usual youthful university students decked out in their strolling minstrel attire, hanging out at bars to make a bit of beer money and attract some attention of the female persuasion.

These days there has not only been an increase in the number of Tunas, but many of them include more mature members (university profs?) and have a much more professional look about them. I ran into one such group having tapas last Saturday while out on Tapeo Extremo II and found out they were from Málaga.

And last night while I was out on a Tapas Tour we came across a rather large group of Tunas taking up at least four tables outside a bar near the cathedral. So of course I had to ask what was going on, as they didn’t seem like the typical Sevilla Tunas – and sure enough, it turned out they were from Granada.

Then this morning I came across a rather swish looking group of Tunas coming down my street and I had to stop them and ask what was going on. They were on their way to the Facultad de Derecho for today’s competition and seemed very excited and I am sorry to say I forgot to ask them for a photo.

But here you can see last night’s group. A bit wobbly in parts as I only had my iPhone on me, but they were lovely guys and you can see how much fun they were having. I love the Tunas.

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vizLblyxjpw”]

Churros & Chocolate

azahar

Churros are a fried dough snack that is made throughout Spain and much of Latin America. The dough is squeezed through a nozzle and deep fried in a special vat of hot oil. There are two basic types, a fat round spiral, usually known as “porra” but commonly known as “masas” in Seville, and a thinner, ridged version called “papas” (for years I thought these were made from potatoes, but no). In Seville they are normally eaten with a thick hot chocolate drink as a breakfast or mid-morning snack, and are also served in the early evening for “merienda”. They are also a popular as a “hangover cure” and some churrerías (also known as calenterías) open as early as 6am weekend mornings to catch all-night revellers on their way home.

Below is a short list of some great places to find churros in the centre of Sevilla. Do you know of any others that you’d like to recommend?

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Rocio 2011

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Yesterday I saw the Macarena hermandad leave for the Rocio for the first time. Living next to the Cathedral for more than 16 years I was quite used to seeing Sevilla leaving on the Thursday of Rocio week, but had never seen any of the other groups. This was also the first time the Macarena passed under the Setas (aka Metropol Parasol) and I managed to get a few snaps.

Butting Out

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Today marks the beginning of the new smoking ban in Spain, which effects all “enclosed spaces of public or collective use”. There are many opinions surrounding the new anti-smoking law, both positive and negative, including worries about the possible adverse effects on bars and cafés, as stated here by Graham Hunt. And many people think that Spaniards will just ignore the law and continue to allow smoking in their establishments.

I’m not so sure. First of all because bar owners would face being fined, but also because when the first stage of the anti-smoking law came into effect in 2006 people adjusted to it surprisingly well. Used to be I’d walk into the bank or post office and workers would be sitting there with heaping ashtrays on their desks, and almost every tapas bar was so full of smoke that it would seriously interfere with enjoying a meal. These days – at least in Seville – I seldom notice smoke in tapas bars and restaurants, so it’s hard to imagine that taking this next step is going to prove too difficult for smokers to handle, or that it would seriously affect their social habits. Also, there have been a lot of comments by Spanish people on places like Twitter saying how great it’s going to be not to have to put up with second-hand smoke anymore, so there is clearly some positive opinion about the anti-smoking law.

What do you think? How will the new law effect you as a smoker, a business owner or a client? Are you for it, against it, indifferent?