Andalusian rap. Seville's case

Sevillian rap artists (raperos) are the true spokespeople of the pueblo (people, society in general) speaking out about everything from politics to religion and from economy to morality. Out of all of them I suggest you to study closer the following performers: DEKOH, SFDK, Zatu, ToteKing, Shotta, Zeropositivo, Juaninacka, Xinkoa, DJ Makei, Puto Largo, Acción Sánchez, La Alta Escuela, and El Tralla. You can find information about them all on the Internet, but mostly in Spanish. Therefore there is no point in adding all the links here for your consideration. Though, I have the whole thing stored.

I have tried to cover the entire metropolitan area (area metropolitana) - including the localities up to 10-15 km from the city, which is everything there is between Rinconada and Dos Hermanas, Sanlúcar la Mayor and Alcala de Guadaira - for not leaving the rap artists from smaller towns out, like Dogma Crew from Mairena del Aljarafe for example.

I'm not a rap addict myself, but I can't deny the poetry of the lyrics sung by the Spanish-speaking raperos, especially by those from Spain. They are the best lyricists in the Spanish music industry (no ofense). The examples I give you are a good way to listen to the sound of Castilian spoken in Andalusia as well as to see what are the streets of Seville and homes of Sevillians like. You should watch the videos for that reason alone. It would be, of course, better if you understood Spanish to appreciate these guys and to enter into their mentality. But maybe you do.

Anyway, what they all have in common is that they are committed to their city and their neighbourhoods. Here you have just a piece to prove my point. Then, they often show themselves in their videos with a local graffiti artists (grafiteros) and tattooists (tatuadores), and they use from time to time the English words you can only understand knowing their dialect (e.g. harcor for "hard core").

Sevillian rap, here it comes:

There is also a documentary made about the rap and graffiti artists from Seville called Sevilla City! Día a Día de los Mejores Raperos Sevillanos! that was awarded in 2006. It's available on YouTube in Spanish in about 10 minute parts: 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5 and 5/5.

Holy Week in Seville - What is it all about

Holy Week in Seville (Semana Santa de Sevilla) is probably one of the most extraordinary celebrations in the Christian world, which explains why it attracts both national and international media attention (see an illustrative news item) and brings together that many religious people and unreligious rubbernecks from Spain and abroad: there are estimably around 3 million people in Seville during that time of the year. 

How come that they have developed such a celebration?

To start with, the Holy Week processions are prepared and staged by religious brotherhoods, which are exclusively male. During these processions they carry, in true unity, huge images of Christ and the Virgin, called pasos, through the streets of Seville, the saint's image being their most important ritual object. From there, Dutch anthropologist Prof. Dr. Henk Driessen (University of Nijmegen) points out that the Holy Week in Seville is above all a high time of male sociability. According to him (see the references), religious brotherhoods were historically organised along class lines. American anthropologist Prof. Dr. David D. Gilmore (Stony Brook University) brings the same to attention: he has also found that the only people who joined the brotherhoods back then in the 70s (at the time of his stay in Spain) were members of the wealthiest class (one per cent of the population of the area studied).

These days money and status are not even an issue anymore. Men keep joining the brotherhoods and Seville keeps celebrating Holy Week in its characteristic way. I asked myself, since when? Now I sort of know. Musicologists Corinna Kramer and Leo J. Plenckers, who have studied saetas, rhythmically free flamenco songs that deal with suffering of Christ or the grief of his mother Mary performed in the religious processions held in Andalusian towns during Holy Week, argue that the tradition of singing saetas in front of an image existed already in the nineteenth century, but the tradition of carring images in Holy week processions may be much older. So, it dates back to centuries.

Example of a saeta

In any case, these brotherhoods are activated only once during the year for Holy Week. Many nazarenos nowadays are not even religious. They pay their share, practice for the synchronised movements of the pasos, are there for Holy Week, and that's more or less it. But it's not by far insignificant as this is the intensest period imaginable. It's a hell of a contribution to their brotherhoods, families and society in general. Driessen says that fireworks, the monotonous rolling of the drums, the excessive drinking during processions, sleeplessness, the carrying of the heavy floats through the winding and inclined streets, hoarse competitive shouts like "Long live Verónica" (those of El Valle), or "La Soledad is the best" dramatise the atmosphere of the celebrations. The downside to all this extremity is that the processions often end in chaos. The men all worn out. But look, it's highly significant that women are part of the audience, proudly watching their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and fiancés act out their masculine role. It's a men's thing, unquestionably.

Men start acting an expected role when being very young. They go to football practice for not being considered gays by others. They join adult men with 5 years or less only, wearing a super cute mini version of nazareno's robe for participating in processions.

Nazareno boy of San Gonzalo, image taken from here

They have to be sociable, witty and amusing, with gracia (funny, with ease). Cachondeo, a particular type of joking, is very popular among Andalusian men, most seen in the streets, bars and cafés. The initiator of the joke tries to get a rise out of his victim. It is important for the victim to keep his face, withstand the jest, and strike back in a cool manner. They then stop at nothing in making an out of line joke (broma pesa). A man who looses his temper is despised by the audience. It doesn't have much to do with Semana Santa, but with being a man in Seville. It's all the same in the end. All about social norms.

Holy Week in Seville

The famous Semana Santa de Sevilla, the much-discussed must-see! What is it like? The avoid-like-the-plague instead? Well, it is a large-scale long-lasting mass event that brings millions of people together to share the city streets, so it has its cons of course. I haven't taken part in all of it. I went to see a procession of the Brotherhood of La Pasión (Passion) at the Collegiate Church El Salvador in Seville on Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo). La Pasión is quite a noble fellowship in fact, it was founded in 1531. 

El Salvador

The procession of La Pasión started to march out of the church at 8.30 PM and was expected to be back around 1.00 AM. Thus, a short one. Note that the moment the procession started all the people gathered in El Salvador Square (Plaza del Salvador) remained silent. Not a sound was made, not one single sound amongst the countless gathered bodies. In 2013 this brotherhood held the Holy Thursday procession in the participation of 1100 Nazarenes (nazarenos), penitents, clothed in black tail with black hood (capirote) and yellow straw belt. Some of them may have been barefoot, but I didn't see whether or not they were. What I did see was that many were marching with at least one 10-kilo wooden cross on their shoulders.

Capirotes of El Calvario, similar to those of La Pasión

In any case, this brotherhood had two images: Jesus with the cross on his shoulder and Virgin of Mercy (Virgen de la Merced) accompanied on the left by St. John the Evangelist. No music was played while marching with Jesus, and for moving the Virgin, a typical tune in a minor key was performed by a band: on cornets and drums before and on more instruments after her.

The paso of Jesus

Close-up of Virgen de la Merced

One must see that Holy Week is the highlight of the year for every true Nazarene, taking part in the movement of the floats (pasos) of his brotherhood through the city streets. The entire thing is like 3D version of the Stations of the Cross. The pasos are carried on the shoulders of costaleros, probably up to 50 men, all of the same height, working as a team to keep going for nearly five continuous hours. The costaleros work in shifts (cuadrillas) and since they cannot see what is going on outside (nor can you see them), they follow the instructions of the leader of the paso (capataz). Everything on the floating structures (canastillas) to display religious imagery moving it out of the church most certainly has a special meaning (lanterns in the corners etc.).

The paso of the Virgin

El Salvador itself is a big church, being home to two more brotherhoods (hermandades): El Amor and La Borriquita. They have other imagery and other everything. Their processions were held on Palm Sunday, opening the Holy Week. It's actually a science to know what to see, when to go, where to go and how to get there, as the city is overcrowded during the whole week, but there are some guiding materials designed for public use. Information about the itinerary of all the pasos is available both on paper and on the Internet. One can download it as a pdf-file, and also, luckily for smart phone users, as a free app called iLlamador.

In case my description still isn't clear enough, there is a 1992 documentary worth watching about Semana Santa directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, as stated by Manuel Trenzado Romero, professor (Political Science and Public Administration) at the University of Granada (see the references). You can read more about the film (in Spanish only) here and see it on YouTube.

Best time to visit Seville

The best time to come to Seville obviously depends on what kind of person are you. Every season has its distinct charm and appeal, however. In general, the best time to visit Seville is during spring and autumn as the temperatures are nice: it's warm enough - but not too hot - for eating in the open air and being comfortable.

It would be especially wise to take off on your trip in spring when the orange blossom is out and do that better in March, right after torrential February rainstorms. Note, that orange flower buds form in early winter and bloom in late winter and in spring. The orange blossom is a really showy flower and the smells of the city at that time are as sweet as it sounds. On top of that, Seville is known for its pompous public celebrations and now (in late March/April) is exactly when the Holy Week (Semana Santa) celebrations are on. So, it's a good time to be here and take part in the festivities. And, without a doubt, to stick around for the April Fair (Feria de Abril), immediately after Easter.

About the legendary Seville oranges. They are not edible raw. You could pick them, of course, the streets are hemmed in by orange trees for real, but they are good for nothing but pleasing the eye and nose.

Seville at orange flower bloom time

If you're coming to see the sights or visit friends and/or family, September and October are the best time to be in Seville. This is when we here have no distractions and may wander with you around the city, take photos of countless beauties (everything that reflects local customs, I mean) and have a wonderful time sitting outside to eat.

Typical morning moments of eating out

For lovers of Flamenco there is a wonderful international festival every two years, the Bienal de Flamenco, which takes place in September (next in 2014, for the 18th time already).

Places to eat

Despite the fact that I personally have some trouble eating out in Seville because of the kitchen opening hours of cafés, bars, pubs, taverns and restaurants which do not always coincide with the time I feel hungry, I would like to suggest you a few places to eat around here. And these are some of the places me and my friends love the most.

• Tavern “Los Coloniales”, my absolute favourite, near Plaza de la Encarnación that is known for a modern piece of architecture the Metropol Parasol

Image taken from the web site of an association of people

interested in jazz, wine, literature and good eating

• Wine and tapas restaurant “La Selecta Bodega” with its award-winning speciality “El No Se Qué” in Mairena del Aljarafe, a municipality in the province of Seville

• Restaurant “Kaori” at the Gran Casino Aljarafe of Seville in Tomares (another metropolitan municipality) offering the best Japanese food in the metropolitan area of Seville

• Restaurant “Los Jarales” at the Shopping Centre Aljarafe in Camas (another metropolitan municipality) offering authentic Mexican food

• First-class Italian restaurant “Il Basilico” in Mairena del Aljarafe

• Fine Italian Restaurant “La Oca Guiliva” in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Seville, 50 metres from Giralda and Cathedral 

• Tapas bar “Las Columnas” in the old town (Santa Cruz neighbourhood) of Seville, near the Church of El Salvador

• Small bar “Blanco Cerrillo” with its speciality “Adobo” also in the old town, near the street Tetuán

• Restaurant “El Cenachero” in Sevilla Norte for more special ocasions since its a bit pricey

Aleixandre's video poems

There are some submissions of video poetry that have been made available to a wide audience on YouTube and thereby give the reader, now the viewer, a new experience of Aleixandre's poetry through sonic and visual layering. The following links are a selection of the few video poems of different quality available on the web.

• Videos of original live poetry read by the poet

Vicente Aleixandre himself recites an old-age poem "Rostro final" from one of his last books “Poemas de consumación” published in 1968:

Aleixandre recites "Canción a una muchacha muerta" from his fourth collection “La destrucción o el amor” written in 1932–1933:

Aleixandre recites "Adolescencia" from his first book “Ámbito” published in 1928:

Aleixandre recites “Ten esperanza” written in 1977:

• Other people performing his poetry

Two video versions (one of which being only linkable) of “Unidad en ella”, an Aleixandre's poem also from his book “La destrucción o el amor” published in 1935:

“Ven”, another poem from Aleixandre's “La destrucción o el amor”:

Ramón Fernández "Palmeral" recites Aleixandre's poetry from his collection "Poemas Paradisiacos" published in 1952:

Mercedes Pérez recites "El último amor” by Vicente Aleixandre from his collection ”Historia del corazón” published in 1954:

Manuel Mulciber recites “Después del amor” by Vicente Aleixandre:

Manuel Mulciber recites “Mano estregada” by Vicente Aleixandre:

Luciano Torres recites “Para quién escribo” by Vicente Aleixandre from his collection “En un vasto dominio” published in 1962:

• Aleixandre's Poetry recited in English:

“The Dream” and “You Almost Loved Me” by Vicente Aleixandre.

For the whole list of his books of verse, click here.

Love for poetry. Vicente Aleixandre

Even though people with philosophical and literary interests are not visible in the streets - like in the bars in Greece, for instance, where there're guys reading a book stooped over a cup of coffee and exchanging their observations spiritedly with one another, the owner or a waiter - there has always been a lot of remarkable intellectual activity to observe or engage in in Seville. This time I take the liberty to introduce Vicente Aleixandre, one of the most touching authors of Spain in the twentieth century.

Vicente Aleixandre, a Sevillian-born poet who lived a good long life in the years 1889-1984

I myself adore and admire his otherness, that is to say, his enjoyable style of writing and merely personalistic choice of subject matter of which the uniqueness of his spiritual realization being most worth your while. 

Handwriting sample of Vicente Aleixandre

As I said before, Vicente Aleixandre was born in Seville, but raised in Málaga that also lies at the heart of much of his work. In his early teens he moved with his family to Madrid, where he studied law and business administration and began a career in economic law. His first book was published in 1928. Around the same time, Vicente Aleixandre started to befriend with Pedro Salinas, Federico García Lorca, Jorge Guillén, and other Spanish poets based in Madrid, resulting in the novel literary movement referred to as the Generation of '27. The legendary writers of the group tried to bridge the gap between folklore, classical literary tradition and avant-garde phenomena. The influential group of poets wasn't exclusively located in Madrid, but rather spread itself out in a geographical constellation which maintained links together. By the way, the first formal meeting of the group took place in Seville in 1927, and, not surprisingly, two of its most important nuclei were in Andalusia: in Seville, around the Mediodía review, and in Málaga, around the Litoral review.

Monument to the poets of the Generation of '27 in Puerta de Jerez, a square in Seville

Moreover, great thinkers, writers and poets are generally loved and respected by Andalusians. There are a lot of streets (calles) in Andalusia named in honour of them. For example, streets named after Vicente Aleixandre can be found no less than in 24 municipalities of the province of Seville, in 14 municipalities of the province of Granada, in 10 municipalities of the province of Córdoba, in 8 municipalities of the province of Málaga, and in 7 municipalities of those of Huelva, Cádiz, Almería and Jaén. At least! 

Vicente Aleixandre Square

Promenade of Vicente Aleixandre

Vicente Aleixandre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977, at the age of 79. At the time, his poetry was barely known outside of Spain. Some of his work was translated into English in Twenty Poems of Vicente Aleixandre (1977) and A Longing for the Light: Selected Poems of Vicente Aleixandre (1979). But, as a matter of fact, prior to 1977, Aleixandre's works available to English readers, including Vicente Aleixandre and Luis Cernuda: Selected Poems (1974) and The Cave of Night: Poems (1976), had received little notice.

I translated a couple of his poems for your information and inspiration, but as I found later there were already some interpretations available online, I won't use mine though.

SIN FE

WITHOUT FAITH

Tienes ojos oscuros. Brillos allí que oscuridad prometen. Ah, cuán cierta es tu noche, cuán incierta mi duda. Miro al fondo la luz, y creo a solas. A solas pues que existes. Existir es vivir con ciencia a ciegas. Pues oscura te acercas y en mis ojos más luces siéntense sin mirar que en ellos brillen. No brillan, pues supieron. Saber es alentar con los ojos abiertos. ¿Dudar...? Quien duda existe. Sólo morir es ciencia.

You have dark eyes. Gleams there that promise darkness. Oh, how certain is your night, how uncertain my doubt. I see the light in the depths, and alone, I believe. Alone then, you exist. To exist is to live with knowledge blindly. For you approach darkly and in my eyes more lights are felt without my observing that they are shining in them. They do not shine, for they were aware. Is awareness knowledge? I do not know you and was aware. To be aware is to breathe with open eyes. To doubt …? One who doubts exists. Only death is knowledge. Translated by J. M. Cohen (see the references)

AMANTE

LOVER

Lo que yo no quiero es darte palabras de ensueño, ni propagar imagen con mis labios en tu frente, ni con mi beso. La punta de tu dedo, con tu uña rosa, para mi gesto tomo, y, en el aire hecho, te la devuelvo. De tu almohada, la gracia y el hueco. Y el calor de tus ojos, ajenos. Y la luz de tus pechos secretos. Como la luna en primavera, una ventana nos da amarilla lumbre. Y un estrecho latir parece que refluye a ti de mí. No es eso. No será. Tu sentido verdadero me lo ha dado ya el resto, el bonito secreto, el graciosillo hoyuelo, la linda comisura y el mañanero desperezo.

What I do not want is to give you the words of day dreams, not to spread the image with my lips on your face, nor with my kiss. I take the tip of your finger with pink nail, for my gesture, and, in this manner of airs, I give it back to you. From the grace and the lightsomeness of your pillow. And the heat of your exotic eyes. And the light of your secret breasts. Like the moon in the spring a window gives us yellow light, and a heart beat seems to flow back from you to me. It’s not that. Nor will it be. Your true sense has already given me the peace, the beautiful secret, the charming dimple, the lovely corner of your mouth and the weary morning. Translation (first draft) from the blog Spanish Poetry in Translation.

Spoon foods

Spoon foods are, strictly speaking, defined as a diet that does not require chewing. Porridge, as you know it, is not typically meant by that in Andalusia. It's not eaten. Besides, you can only buy oat flakes that by no means is a rich variety, and they are not used for anything other than baking here. Rather, thick soups and stews are beloved spoon foods (guisos) in Andalusia, especially during the cold season. They are considered heavy food because of high content of protein requiring more blood to flow into the digestion tracts since they are prepared with lightly fried meat, fish or other food and slow cooked in sauce with dried and soaked legumes, fresh vegetables and potatoes. Meat (take beef, bacon, ribs, cured ham and sausages or blood sausages for example) or fish (e.g. cod) are cooked in oil, boiled in water or stewed with plants (including pods of beans, chickpeas or lentils) in a large stewing pan or casserole dish.

Great variety of Mediterranean legumes

Spoon foods have always been enjoyed by Spanish people at home and are today regular items even on the most select bar and restaurant menus under such names (in Spanish) as guiso, cocido, guisado, puchero, olla, pote, potaje etc. They were already made famous in Cervantes’s Don Quixote, being in his time (1547-1616) considered poor people’s food. So what! One cannot really argue love for traditional flavours!

Potaje de tagarninas

Andalusian spoon foods are usually meaty and fatty, crazy rich, and not exclusively beef and/or pork based, but may also contain kid, lamb, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck) and/or giblets (liver, cheek, tongue, oxtail). Vegetables used are often seasonal, like artichokes (alcachofas) in spring. Rice, corn and peas are not common ingredients in these dishes, but the noodles sure are. And, of course, not a single miracle is to be expected in the kitchen of Andalusia without laurel and fresh herbs. Also, wine can be used while stewing, and beaten egg yolks can be stirred into the broth at the last minute before serving.

Now, a recipe for you to try at home:

Lentils Stew (Potaje de Lentejas)

Ingredients:

- Lentils

- Garlic

- Onion

- Green pepper (the one used for frying)

- Tomato

- Potatoes

- Carrots

- Laurel

- Paprika (i.e. mild powdered seasoning)

- Olive oil

- Water

- Parsley

- Salt

- Chorizos

Preparation:

Soak dry lentils (handful for every person and an extra handful, just in case) overnight (let's say, for 8-10 hours) in tap water. Throw the water away and rinse the lentils after soaking, put the lentils into a pot, chop vegetables (3-4 cloves of garlic, an onion or a half, a pepper, a tomato, 1-2 potatoes, 1-2 carrots) finely (I mean, really finely, like the same size as the little lentils) and add to the lentils together with 1-2 leaves of laurel and a spoonful of paprika, cover them with a glass of olive oil and water. Place the pot onto the stove and bring the water to a boil. Turn the burner on to low and simmer the food until fully cooked, for more than an hour. Take an occasional peek into the pot to make sure it hasn't gone dry. When cooked, add a little salt and parsley to taste. Boil the skinned and cut (into some serving pieces) sausages (use smaller chorizos) in another pot. Take them out of the water and place them onto the ready stew some time before serving to let them flavour it.

And, some possible changes to have a dish I love most:

At my home this stew-like thick soup is almost completely vegetarian as made without meat or fat, except that of low fat stock. So, I don't use any olive oil nor fatty spicy sausages, but some cayenne pepper to season instead.