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

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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

iii. Valencia

Valencia’s identity blur is largely forgivable, the clash of

traditionalism and progress a symptom of Spain’s rapid

recent development. Lying south of Catalonia on the

Mediterranean coast, the region’s Costa Blanca draws

most of Valencia’s four million annual tourists, in search

of glorious beaches and throbbing nightlife. Benidorm

andTorrevieja dutifully serve up the goods. On the Costa

del Azahar the beaches and towns, like Peñiscola, are

quieter. A short distance inland, through citrus groves

and market gardens, another Valencia unfolds, one of

mountains and unspoilt medieval towns – Morella, with

its unbroken fortress wall, is a fine example.The city of

Valencia, birthplace ofpaellaand third largest city in

Spain, is the region in miniature, juggling hedonism,

ancient architecture and busy beaches.This part of Spain

has always been swayed by different influences: ruled by

the Moors for five centuries, Valencia was wrestled back

to Christianity by the Catalans.The use of Valenciano,

thought to be derivative of Catalan, confirms the region’s

ties with its northern neighbour.

Salvador Dalí(Catalonia) Iconic paintings, films and facial hair – what more could

you ask of the man from Figueres?

Francisco de Goya(Aragón) The artist from Fuendetodos painted King Carlos IV but

later turned to rather desolate themes, moved by experiences of war.

Joan Miró(Catalonia) Barcelonan Miró spent much of the 20thcentury subverting

conventional painting styles in favour of something more surreal.

Antoni Gaudí(Catalonia) They’re still trying to finish his cathedral in Barcelona 80

years after the maestro ofModernismewas downed by a tram.

Joaquín Rodrigo(Valencia) Yes, that’s right, he of the famous guitar concerto; born

in Sagunto, a town just north of Valencia city.

Five cultural icons from the east

Over a thousand
years ago the Moors
developed the irrigation
systems that quench
the rice fields and citrus
groves of the long,
fertilehuertasbetween
coast and mountains.

Who threw that?
Las Fallas de San Hosé
in Valencia city is
one of the biggest
annual jollies in Spain.
Thefiestacelebrates
St Joseph’s Day, 19th
March, yet the city’s
inhabitants begin the
party a week earlier.
Enormous papier mâché
and wax effigies (fallas)
are burned,paellas
consumed and fireworks
tossed around the
streets with deafening
abandon. Don’t expect
any sleep. In nearby
Buñol, the annualfiesta
sees the streets run red.
Underdressed hordes
gather in the centre of
town on a Wednesday
near the end of August.
At noon a raft of trucks
arrive and unload their
cargo on the crowd –
more than 100 tonnes of
overripe tomatoes. Cue
the world’s biggest food
fight, La Tomatina.

The walled medieval
town of Peñiscola
welcomed Charlton
Heston, Sofia Loren and
co when it played stand-
in for Valencia city in the
filmEl Cid(1961).