Speak the Culture: Spain: Be Fluent in Spanish Life and Culture

15

1. Identity: the
   building blocks of
   2. Literature
   and philosophy
   3. Art and
   architecture
   4. Performing
   arts
   5. Cinema
   and fashion
   6. Media and
   communications
   7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
   the details of

v. Navarre

Navarre is tugged in different directions.The misty,

western reach of the Pyrenees anchors the region to

the French border, while the Ebro Valley and plains of

the south reach out for a much drier Spain.The Euskadi

way of life is ingrained in much of Navarre’s north,

but the rest of the region resists any marriage with

neighbouring Basque lands, pulsing instead with the

strong Navarrese spirit, a reminder that the kingdom

of Navarre had considerable clout in the Middle Ages.

Pamplona provides an easy to love melting pot for

the different factions, its aged heart unspoilt by the

city’s recent prosperity. Elsewhere, the architecture in

smaller towns like Olite and Estella recalls the region’s

medieval heyday.

Something in the wind

Navarre has taken a

strong lead on the use

of renewable energy

sources, most notably in

its development of wind

power. Nearly 70 per

cent of its energy is

derived from wind and

sun. The region aims to

take all of its electricity

from renewable sources

by 2010.

Grabbed by the bulls:

Los Sanfermines

Perhaps the most

famous of all Spain’s

fiestasis the week-long

Los Sanfermines, held

each July in Pamplona.

Each day begins with

the blood-pumping

encierro, in which six

bulls – and anyone

suffering an excess of

bravado or booze –

rampage through the

narrow streets to the

bullring where their

day goes from bad to

worse. Fireworks,

bands, processions and

monumental drinking

keep the punters happy

at all other times.

Los Sanfermines has

been a Pamplonan

institution for centuries

but Hemingway alerted

the wider world to its

riotous charms with his

rendering of theencierro

inThe Sun Also Rises

(1926). Other towns in

Navarre host similar bull

runnings.

A dressing down

for theencierro

Animal rights protesters

have begun holding a

‘Running of the Nudes’,

pre-empting the annual

Los Sanfermines by

parading through

Pamplona in little more

than a red necktie

(as per the regional

costume).