A lifetime of encounters with Spain.
Posted in Amigos, Fairs, Feasts and Fiestas, Reflections on Spain on Aug 9th, 2010
Ferias and celebrations are part of every day life in Spain all year long. Their roots are in the religious and agricultural cycles of traditional life, although, with some notable exceptions, modern Spaniards largely focus on fiestas as joyful events for the extended family to mingle with the rest of the community. Earlier this year [...]
Posted in Amigos, Corners of Spain, Reflections on Spain on Jun 1st, 2010
Both Juan and Elena Yurrita are in their mid-thirties, from the generation that grew up in the heady years when Spain was emerging as a young democracy after the rule of Francisco Franco. The vision of these young people looks outward to new possibilities, after so many years of national isolation that was typical of [...]
Posted in Amigos, Corners of Spain, Reflections on Spain on Apr 12th, 2010
For just a brief moment, all of Spain was focused on a deep valley in the dramatic Picos de Europa, bounded by almost vertical canyon walls. Like a shooting star, events in the bucolic valley of Covadonga and the village of Cangas de Onis flashed across the sky, and after a few dramatic years returned [...]
Posted in Amigos, Reflections on Spain on Mar 15th, 2010
I have been writing reflections about Spain and her culture over the past several years. The prevailing theme has been that the bedrock of the traditional Spanish culture is the importance they place on being together as a family, including the extraordinary way they cherish their children. A few years ago, this was the normal [...]
Posted in Amigos, Corners of Spain, Reflections on Spain on Feb 16th, 2010
In the early years of La Tienda, a young man named Tomás Lozano contacted me. At the time we were experimenting with many new products from Spain to discover what our customers would like. We featured ceramics, foods and a handful of hand-carved reproductions of medieval art, including wooden panels and crosses. He wanted to [...]
Posted in Amigos on Feb 9th, 2010
I would like to introduce you to A Taste of Spain, a small boutique agency specializing in the design and organization of culinary tours and activities throughout Spain.
Here is a fascinating project for someone who loves to cook. Nochebuena is Christmas Eve, and for the occasion my dear friend Miguel, forwarded to me his traditional recipe for the Roast Pork he serves his extended family each year.
The intriguing feature is that it requires injecting the leg with up to a liter of bandy and Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez, letting it marinate for a couple of days.
Posted in Amigos on Oct 23rd, 2009
I learned that what makes America powerful is not the strength of a great army but the flexibility of its social system, the incredible capacity to accept and include others.
Posted in Amigos, Reflections on Spain on Aug 10th, 2009
I would like to tell you the story of some remarkable women my wife Ruth and I met last spring. Our hearts were warmed by being with people for whom adversity became an opportunity to do something better. Through their vision and hard work they found a way to assist working mothers, preserve a precious social tradition, and make available to all of us the artistry of their cooking, even though we may be a continent away …
Posted in Amigos, Reflections on Spain on Jan 21st, 2009
It seems that when King Alfonso X re-conquered Jeréz de la Frontera from the Moors in 1264, Don Alonso Valdespino, Miguel’s ancestor, was one of 24 Knights of Jeréz granted land as a reward – mostly vineyards that were being cultivated by the Arabs at the time.
It was not until 300 years later that the fruit of the vineyards would become commercially viable. When the British fleet launched the Raid of Cádiz in 1596, the officers and men were delighted to taste a new type of wine from Jeréz, which they tried for the first time in their forages across the countryside. The British corrupted the Spanish word “Jeréz” or “Xerex” which became the English word “sherry”.
