Dance music by local voices. Rasel

There's a kind of a known singer, Rasel, who lives in my town, 5 minutes walk from my home. He's a young Sevillian guy, sexy as hell. I don't personally think too much of his music, but in the following piece, his famous collaborator, Carlos Baute, virtually looks and sounds like a total party killer. Look and decide yourselves:

Me pones tierno (You make me tender) by Rasel, feat. Carlos Baute:

I think, that's one groovy song alright, with such a hot tune, both melodic and catching. It so makes me move my hips. Great work, boy next door! 

Bars that date back to the early 20th century - La Bodega Mariano Camacho

La Bodega Mariano Camacho is a wine bar worth a visit when in Seville, during the snail season in particular. It's probably one on the best places in Seville to enjoy an appetizer (tapa) of snails (caracoles) seasoned with a spicy peppery flavour and richly served on a saucer. Another of the attractions of this bar you can not miss is its beer. The beer is always excellently cooled down to serving temperature and poured with care and attention. The fame of pouring perfect beer and serving Seville's best snails means this bar is usually pretty full, especially in the summer, but don't let that deter you from going - the waiters are fast.

Stew of snails and beer. Photos by Association Apoloybaco

Notwithstanding its evident antiquity, the narrow streets of the old town of Seville still provide an ample selection of modernised bars and cafés with trendy bar equipment and new décor in contemporary colours and classic lines, but La Bodega Mariano Camacho isn't interested in any of that, choosing instead to play the card of all the grace of an old bar. 

Old floor of the bar. Photo by Susanne Vogel

It has this uneven ceramic floor typical in older-style bars, particularly in unrenovated buildings. Your bill is written in chalk right on the bar counter. You have to use the almost nonexistent ladies' room with only a curtain to it, no door, and you have to ask the waiters to let you pass by the bar to enter it.

Interior of the bar. Photo by Association Apoloybaco

A real old time feel here. You can tell the interior has remained virtually unchanged over a long period of time, for more than hundred years. La Bodega Mariano Camacho is a symbol of the bars' Seville from the early twentieth century to the present day. It resides in a characteristic 18th-century house-palace located in the Pumarejo Square (Plaza de Pumarejo), in Seville's old town (Casco Antiguo) neighbourhood of San Gil.

View to the bar from the Pumarejo Square. Photo by Yelp Search

A bar where I feel like home - El Urbano

El Urbano (The Urban) is another bar in Seville that I find to be exceptionally comfortable. It's a cocktail bar decorated with the intention to give it an impression of street. Tables and chairs create an atmosphere as if it were a terrace, and there are many stepping stones laid on the ground to sit on. There are lamp posts, street benches and other street elements along both sides of its walkways. Men's room simulates a phone booth of London, it's red and all. Besides, you can watch in through the windows. Fortunately, it's not the case of ladies' room. 

Entrance of El Urbano. Image taken from a hotel searching site Trivago España

For me, it's not about the surroundings there. It's about people. These free and easy bohemians I miss so much. It just has a very hometowny kind of feel. It somehow brings together the types of people I understand best and feel comfortable with. It may be because the play rock, including the rock of the world. And this is something that knows no generational limits, attracting enthusiasts of all ages, which is exactly what I like in a bar.

A bar where I feel like home - El Perro Andaluz

El Perro Andaluz (The Andalusian Dog) is a cultural café-bar, a fun place to go. I have been there twice. On both occasions I went there with the same friend, and I'm thankful to him for taking me to such a dreamy place for a night. I hadn't had time to expect too much, because both times it was a spontaneous decision to go there. And seriously, I had no idea what sort of music they put out, which is always a kind of sensitive issue for people like me who are really into music, but only certain types of music. In the end, it turned out that I liked the vibe of the place from the minute I walked in and I will definitely go back there again and again, and again. And you know why? Because it brought me in my mind to the night life fun in my beloved Tartu, one of the coolest university towns in Europe, a town of cosy cafés, awesome bars and amazing people.

Interior of El Perro Andaluz. Image from their Google+ profile

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, the bar in Seville. I first got amazed with with it listening to a reggae fusion music project that mixes various styles, such as reggae, ska and rumba, called La Dstyleria. It was so unspeakably cool that I couldn't quite believe they were real and I literally fell in love with all the guys on stage. For more, see their Facebook or Twitter page.

Have a look at and listen to the band in action: 

There is always a new art exhibition on display in El Perro Andaluz that is worth checking out, and there are always some bands playing for free or poetry reciting or something else going on. Staff is friendly and the beer is cold as hell (well, as ice), and the service is decent, too. Visit their Facebook or Twitter page to be updated on upcoming events.

People enjoying a poetry recital at the bar. Image taken from the blog of poetry recital series

Curiosities in Córdoba

Fixed signs indicating street names are usually of quite large tiles in Andalusia, so it's not easy to get lost. If they are there, of course, I mean, the street signs, because in many cases there's nothing you can do but “grope in the dark”. Anyway, in Córdoba, there are some funny signs stuck up on white walls not representing the real street names. Killing, though.

 

 

Street in Córdoba - Estoy perdido (I'm lost). Photos by José Manuel Gallardo and Isa

The Rosary of Aurora

On September 22 the Rosary of Aurora (La Rosario de la Aurora) was held in Tomares, in the metropolitan area of Seville. The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows (La Virgen de los Dolores) was carried in procession through the town to the Parish Church of Our Lady of Bethlehem (La Iglesia Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Belén) for the pleasure and enjoyment of the members of the congregation, the penitents of the Sacramental Brotherhood of Tomares (La Hermandad Sacramental de Tomares) and the guests. 

Our Lady of Sorrows of the Parish Church of Tomares. Photo by José Manzano

The Hail Mary Prayer (Dios te salve, María) was breathtakingly sung by all present:

Hail Mary,

Full of Grace,

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit

of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary,

Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of death.

Amen. 

And it was very solemn and beautiful, as all the processions tend to be in Tomares, in fact. Watch the video by José Javier Comas Rodríguez here and see for yourself!

When they happen to strike

It's a nuisance when there's a general strike of transport workers in Seville, but it's even worse when there's one hitting refuse collection, street cleaning and other services of the kind. You can always see the streets a bit messy, but with the waste collectors and street cleaning workers on strike, you start seeing them in a real chaos. And, the more stubborn and consistent they are, the messier and smellier it gets. 

Meanwhile in Nervion, on my way to work

People in outdoor cafés not caring about the strike time discomfort. Photo by the news site El País