Christmas In Spanish Speaking Countries

Once Thanksgiving is over it is time to get into full-fledged Christmas mode. Why not take the opportunity to spice up your holiday season this year by celebrating Christmas Spanish style! You could plan a trip to Mexico or Spain to enjoy the festivities and experience how another culture celebrates Christmas or you could simply recreate your Christmas into a cultural experience right in the comfort of your own home by adopting some of the traditions.

A Spanish Christmas follows many of the traditions that the rest of the world engages in at Christmas. In Spanish-speaking countries Christmas Eve, or la Nochebuena, is celebrated on December 24. Typically, families get together to enjoy each others company and indulge in special meals, food and drinks. Traditional dishes are served however these traditional foods can vary depending on which country you are in. For instance in some countries the traditional dish may be tamales and empanadas. In Spain the main dish is turkey while in some South American Spanish-speaking countries cold dishes are served as Christmas occurs during their summer time.

The festivities for Las Navidades usually start in the beginning of December and can last all the way until the first week in January. Of course Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the exchanging of gifts and this is no different in Spanish-speaking countries during Las Navidades. Like English-speaking countries, the Spanish-speaking countries participate in the exchanging of gifts on December 25.

Of course during this season it is very appropriate to wish someone a Merry Christmas. To do this in Spanish you would say Feliz Navidad, just like the song!

The perfect Spanish omelette

Serves 4 as a meal, 8 as tapas.

300ml olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
600g waxy potatoes such as Jersey Royals or Charlottes, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices (like thick crisps)
6 medium eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame, add the onion and cook gently for 20 minutes until soft and brown. Rinse the potato slices under cold water and pat dry. Add the potato to the pan – if it seems overcrowded, you can cook them in a couple of batches. Cook until the vegetables are tender and on the point of falling apart, then drain well, keeping the oil for your next omelette.

2. Add the potato and onion to the beaten eggs, season well, and leave to stand for 10 minutes, or longer if you prefer a stronger onion flavour.

3. Put a smaller pan (about 22cm) over a medium heat and add the extra virgin olive oil. Turn to coat, and then, when hot, add the mixture – it should almost fill the pan. Cook until it comes away from the edge of the pan, and looks about two thirds set.

4. Place a plate, or a saucepan lid, over the pan, and invert it so the tortilla flips on to the plate. Slide it back in, tipping any liquid egg in with it. Cook until it is springy to the touch: be careful not to overcook it: it should still be moist in the middle, even if you prefer it cooked right through.

US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico, according to a new study published by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes.

The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who are bilingual, mainly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).

Among the sources cited in the report is the US Census Office which estimates that the US will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on Earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.

By state the highest concentration is in the former Spanish colonies of the south and south-west, with New Mexico top at 47%, followed by California and Texas (both 38%) and Arizona (30%). Some 18% of New Yorkers speak Spanish while only 1.3% of West Virginians do. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 6% of Alaskans are Spanish speakers.

The report, El español, una lengua viva – Spanish, a living language – estimates that there are 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide, a figure that includes 470 million native speakers and those with some command of the language.

The Instituto Cervantes was established in 1991 to promote the Spanish language abroad and last year had more than 200,000 students registered on its courses. It estimates that 21 million people are currently studying Spanish and here, too, the US leads with 7.8 million learning the language, followed by Brazil and France.

The report adds that two-thirds of Spanish-linked GDP is generated in two areas: North America (US, Canada and Mexico) and the European Union.

Between them they account for 78% while Latin America only accounts for 22%. It calculates that altogether Spanish speakers contribute 9.2% of the world’s GDP.

The Index of Human Development ranks Spanish as the second most important language on earth, behind English but ahead of Mandarin. It is also the third most widely used language on the internet, although less than 8% of internet traffic is in Spanish. The report says that Spanish is the second most used language on Twitter in London and New York. It also comes second on Facebook, a long way behind English though well ahead of Portuguese, Facebook’s third language.

The soothing soup: Red bean soup with charred corn, feta and pumpkin seeds

When the skies are grey, this sweet and salty soup will hit the spot. Chuck in whatever spices you fancy – some chilli flakes would be good. Toasted sunflower seeds, almond flakes or even sesame seeds can always be used instead of the pumpkin seeds.

Serves 4
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick
250g butternut squash
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
300g cooked red kidney beans
600ml vegetable or chicken stock (or water)

To garnish
1 sweetcorn cob (optional)
A handful of pumpkin seeds, toasted
100g feta cheese, crumbled
A handful of coriander, chopped

1 Heat the oil in a large casserole. Add the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika and cinnamon stick and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes or until the onion and garlic start to caramelise a little.

2 Halve the squash, deseed and thinly slice. Add the squash to the casserole. Cover with the lid and cook on a medium heat for another 10 minutes or so, stirring from time to time.

3 If using sweetcorn, heat a griddle pan and grill the cob on all sides until charred. When cool enough to handle, slice the corn in two, stand each half vertically and slice off the kernels.

4 Add the tomatoes, beans, stock or water to the casserole and season to taste. Cover with the lid, season well and cook for another 15 minutes.

5 Make sure the squash is cooked through and blitz or leave chunky. Garnish with feta, sweetcorn, pumpkin seeds and torn coriander leaves.

What's so great about Spanish food?

The Spanish food tradition has varied ancestry, though most Spanish dishes have rather humble origins and are the result, over time, of ingredients put together by poor peasants, farmers or shepherd families; many times using leftovers, or at the very least products from their own farms and orchards.

So how come Spanish cuisine is so diverse? The answer is simple, and it's all related to history and location. First of all we must consider that being in central Europe Spain had great Roman and Greek influence; think only of olive oil and wine, then the Moorish influence in the Spanish cooking tradition produced marvels such as gazpacho and nougats and the Jewish gastronomic tradition contributed to the preparation of stews known as olla (pot).

However it was Christians who began with the tradition of one of Spain's most notorious and sought after products: Spanish ham, which is not only consumed as tapas in bars, but also accompanies many dishes. Unquestionably pork is par excellence the favorite Spanish meat: everything is used, nothing is wasted. However, the Spanish like to make use of all of the ingredients they can and often include a number of different meats in the same dish.

Of course there are many other meats served in Spanish tables including lamb, beef and chicken. But Spaniards are not exclusively carnivorous, there are many vegetarian stews and other dishes that are enjoyed from North to South, from East to West. Vegetables are grown throughout the country, and the varied climates and terrains in Spain mean that a variety of different vegetables are grown. As a result, the vegetable dishes in Spain tend to vary from place to place.

Along the way a new continent called America was discovered, which brought not only gold and precious gems, but something that would one day save the Old Continent from famine: potatoes, the main ingredient of Spanish tortilla, tomatoes, some pepper varieties and many other vegetables.

But what makes Spanish food so popular is the quality and variety of the ingredients used. For instance, it was the same Romans that imported rice to Spain, giving way to the creation of the Valencian paella and many other rice dishes. Since then, these dishes have come to form part of the typical, if not iconic, dishes of Spain and are a definite must for any travelers who are planning on visiting Spain and doing a bit of gastronomic tourism.

There is also a great variety of seafood, including fish, mollusc and crustaceans from the coast areas, which are used in the preparation of many delicious dishes. The fish industry in Spain is extremely important and forms part of the livelihood of many of the population. Furthermore, Spain is a country that is blessed with such a large and varied coastline, including the Bay of Biscay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This gives rise to a whole manner of different species of fish and seafood being available for Spanish chefs. Therefore the range of Spanish seafood dishes is endless!

Many typical Spanish products have denomination of origin such as ham, cheese, fruit and vegetables, seafood and sausages. These are some of the most common ingredients found in Spanish cooking and can add a touch of Spain to any other dishes you may decide to make. However, many of them go well by themselves, and they make perfect tapas.

When it comes to sweet things, Spain has a very rich dessert tradition. On one hand it was also influenced by the Moors, and on the other many of them are centuries old creations from nun convents. If you have a sweet tooth we recommend you to sample some of the many deserts Spain has to offer.

Traditional Spanish dancing

Learn Spanish phrases: Talking about money

Learning Terms for Money

Conversation

Increíble, sólo llevamos diez días de mes y ya estoy en números rojos.
Unbelievable, we're only 10 days into the month and I'm already in the red.
Es que hay que gastar menos, ¡que estamos en crisis!
Well you'll have to spend less, this is the credit crunch!
¡Si sólo he pagado la hipoteca y las facturas! No sé cómo voy a llegar a fin de mes.
But I've only paid the mortgage and the bills! I don't know how I'm going to get to the end of the month.
¿Has pensado en pedir un préstamo o un adelanto en el trabajo?
Have you thought about asking for a loan or an advance from work?
Eso sólo sería aplazar el problema. Por no hablar de los intereses.
That would just defer the problem. Not to mention the interest.
Como esto siga así vamos a pasar más hambre que una garrapata en un peluche.
If things carry on like this we're going to be hungrier than a tick on a teddy bear.

The economy

la economía economy
el dinero money
el capital capital
rico rich
forrado loaded
pobre poor
paupérrimo extremely poor
estoy a dos velas I'm totally broke
el mercado market
la inflación inflation
la bolsa the stock market
el banco bank
el banquero banker
la crisis crisis, credit crunch
la cosa está muy mala things are really bad

Money issues

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los ahorros savings
las acciones shares
la hipoteca mortgage
el préstamo loan
el crédito credit
la bolsa ha vuelto a caer the stock market has fallen again
han subido las acciones the shares have gone up
la deuda debt
el acreedor creditor
el paraíso fiscal tax haven
los impuestos taxes
la evasión de impuestos tax evasion
el fraude fiscal fiscal fraud

How to spend it

comprar to buy
gastar to spend
ahorrar to save
malgastar, desperdiciar to waste
prestar to lend
pedir prestado to borrow
invertir to invest
perder to lose
jugar a la bolsa to play the market

Unemployment

el paro unemployment, the dole
estoy en paro I'm unemployed, I'm on the dole
me han puesto de patitas en la calle they've kicked me out
despedir to fire
el despido dismissal
está usted despedido you are fired
me han despedido I've been fired

Other things to say ...

no me queda ni un duro I haven't got a penny left
creo que tendré que robar un banco I think I'm going to have to rob a bank
¡me ha tocado la lotería, nunca jamás voy a trabajar en mi vida! I've won the lottery, I'm never doing another day's work in my life!
¿me prestas veinte euros? could you lend me €20?
tengo que ahorrar para mis vacaciones I have to save for my holidays
la libra ya no vale nada, al final acabaremos entrando en el euro the pound is worth nothing any more, we'll end up joining the euro

10 Facts About Clothing in Spain

Clothing in Spain

Fashion in Spain is an eclectic blend of traditional Spanish and contemporary Western style. Traditional Spanish attire was known its elegance and multicolored decoration. The fabrics were rich and embellished with metallic thread and jewels. Today's Spanish clothes are still colorful but with more of a Western flair for everyday wear. However, festivals, bullfights and ceremonies still call for traditional clothing.

Fabrics and Materials

Spanish fabrics consist of mostly cotton, wool and fine leather. Tailors in Spain are known for putting attention into detail and craftsmanship.

Footwear

Most shoes in Spain are made of high-quality leather. Women wear sandals, flats, high heels and athletic shoes. Men typically wear dress shoes or athletic shoes. Boots are popular for men and women.

Labels

Style-conscious Spanish people enjoy the same brands as Westerners. Brands such as Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Armani are popular in high-end boutiques.

Traditional

Spanish attire traditionally includes capes, heavy fabrics, corsets and other more cumbersome clothes. The fact that they hold fast to tradition and their refusal to constantly change with the times has kept them from becoming a fashion mecca.

Hair

For traditional religious celebrations, Spanish women often wear a lace scarf, or mantilla. This serves as a veil. A large comb, or Peineta, holds the hair in place and secures the mantilla.

Gilet

The Gilet is a vest-like jacket that can be any length, from the waist to the knee. These were originally embroidered, but they have become less ornate over the years.

Flamenco

For Flamenco dancing, women generally wear black or red-ruffled dresses and heels. Men wear matching tuxedo shirts and pants that allow freedom of movement.

Summer Wear

Light and loose cotton tops, pants and skirts are ideal for summers in Spain. With the hot summer sun, a cap, scarf or hat is often worn on the head.

Winter Wear

Winters in Spain can be quite cold. To protect from the harsh weather that is often windy, insulated coats and gloves are necessary.

Evening Wear

Most Spanish people dress like other Europeans during the day. However, they tend to dress up more in the evenings, often in formal wear for dinner out or a night on the town.

Tips for Planning Travel to Spain

These tips are for first time travelers to Spain. Many seem obvious, but one is always surprised at questions new travelers ask in the Trip Advisor forums. One has to do some homework if one's trip will be one of pleasure and have less stress.
1. Buy a book about travel to Spain. Read it and decide what parts of Spain interest you and which cities you want to visit.
2. Get an idea of the geography of Spain. This is a good article from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geograph...
Be aware that Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (after France) and one of the most mountainous (after Switzerland). The central meseta is a highland plateau and Madrid is on this meseta. Be aware of distances between cities. Google Maps or the Via Michelin website can tell you what these distances are.
3. The best time to travel in Spain is spring and fall because that is when good weather occurs. The months of April, May, June, September, and October are very good for travel. Summer is quite hot, especially in inland cities like Seville, Cordoba, and Madrid. The months of July and August are very crowded in resorts along the Mediterranean, so early reservations for hotels are required for these areas.
If one want to visit cities in northern Spain near the Atlantic, such as San Sebastian, Oviedo, and Santiago de Compostela and the rest of Galicia, the months of July and August are the best. Barcelona, the Costa Brava, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands are best from May to September.
The Costa del Sol and Almeria are the best places to visit during winter because they are the warmest. The Costa del Sol has balmy weather during summer. Almeria hardly gets any rain during the year. Nights in Granada are always cool because it is high up in the mountains. The central plateau gets weather extremes during summer and winter.
There are many weather sites that will give one the average temperatures by month for every city in Spain. It is best to check them before making travel plans. Be careful of traveling during winter, especially if you are driving. Many mountain passes get closed and having chains is very important to have in a car.
It makes no sense to travel to places like Leon, Burgos, Vitoria, Pamplona, and Logroño during winter. They get very cold and have much snow and ice. Not all of Spain is sunny all year long. Check the weather for each place you want to visit before making travel plans. The following site will give one average temperatures by month for each city.
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/f... spain&wuSelect=WEATHER
4. During fall, many resorts in the north of Spain and along the Mediterranean have many of their stores and restaurants closed for the season. This may happen in the middle of September. This never happens in the Costa del Sol, which is always open because there are many northern Europeans who migrate during this time and spend winter in the area.
It is also a fallacy that most stores and restaurants close up during summer in big cities. Madrid is a city of 5 million and most stores and restaurants are open all year long.
5. Madrid is in the geographic center of Spain. King Felipe II chose Madrid to be the capital of Spain for this very reason.
The best way to travel from Madrid to other cities is by the high speed train, the AVE. It beats air travel because it is more comfortable than the plane, because you can move around in the train and go to the cafeteria car to eat snacks. Airlines like to restrict movement of passengers within the plane. Spain is now the European country with the largest network of high speed trains. If you have never traveled on a high speed train, you will enjoy the travel on the AVE.
Read Buying Renfe Tickets Online. Study the map which shows what cities that the AVE goes to. You may be able to get the web discounts if you buy early.
If one is to travel between extremities of Spain, such as Malaga and Barcelona, then the plane is better because the time will be much shorter than the train.
Be aware that the AVE still does not go to Granada, so the best way to get to this city may be the plane or the bus.
A Rail Pass will be more expensive than buying tickets at Renfe directly. You cannot get the discounts that Renfe gives.
6. Do not plan to see too much of Spain at one time. Many want to see one new city every day. They may be unaware of the distances between cities and one does not want to be traveling every single day. It is best to stay in cities for at a minimum of two nights, preferably three. That way one can see a city in depth and remember it. Spain has to be savored slowly with time for one to sit at a sidewalk cafe, eating tapas and drinking a glass of wine while one sees the passing parade or contemplates a monument.
7. Most travelers will want to experience Andalusia. From propaganda in foreign countries, Andalusia will be more like what a tourist expects of Spain, being the image of Spain, with women dancing flamenco, and with flowers in their hair. There are many monuments in Andalusia, such as the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the No. 1 tourist attraction of Spain, getting 3 million visitors a year. If you plan to visit the Alhambra, read Buying Alhambra Tickets Online. Cordoba has the Mezquita, and Seville has its Cathedral with the Giralda Tower and many other monuments. Do not forget Malaga, which has many monuments and museums, as well as its beaches and the best weather in Europe.
8. Many say that Spain's best invention are its tapas. About 30% of visitors say they come to Spain for gastronomy. In most places in Spain one can eat marvelously. One can eat tapas instead of having lunch or dinner and enjoy a wide variety of food. Read the top question in the Trip Advisor forums for each city you want to visit to see if there are articles about good restaurants and tapas places.
9. The best way to get euros is to use an ATM machine. Spain is the European country with the most ATM machines and every block in cities has an ATM machine. Be sure to contact your bank that you will be using your ATM in Spain. The back of your ATM card will show what networks your bank is tied to, so using an ATM machine with the same network will minimize any currency charges. When you use an ATM machine, try to find one inside a bank for better security. Most banks will have an ATM machine inside the bank and another on the sidewalk.
You may want to opt to not purchase Travelers Checks. There very few exchange locations and rates are high. You could lose a great deal in the exchange. Spanish banks will not accept Travelers Checks, nor will businesses. If you do not have an ATM , your best option is either to buy euros from your bank  (the rate of exchange + % they add per dollar + flat order and shipping fee), or take dollars to Spain and exchange them at a bank (the rate of exchange + % they add per dollar or some banks will offer flat fee exchange rates per x number of dollars for euros exchanged). Spanish banks also close for the day typically by 2:30 p.m.  While you can find other exchange locations open after banking hours, exchange rates will be higher.
10. If you plan to rent a car and drive, read the Driving Guide for Foreigners. You will need an International Driving Permit. Be aware that it is almost impossible to find free parking on the street in cities. In big cities a commercial parking garage will cost between 18 and 30 euros a day. Hotels with parking will charge about 11 to 12 euros a night for parking. For Andalusia, check the top questions for parking guides for different cities. Rental Cars are available at any major airport with offices of the big international rental companies such as Hertz, Avis, Europcar...Some local companies received a lot of negative feedback such as Record Rent a Car.
11. You can see Spain with a group tour. However be aware that most tours of Spain will try to allow you to see the most monuments and cities, so they do not leave one with enough free time. One cannot dawdle with these tours. For many older travelers, they may be too fast paced and one may develop health problems because of this. Most of them go by bus, so it is not much fun to be traveling by bus all day. One can see Spain on one's own without a group tour if one plans properly. One is perfectly safe in Spain by going alone. If one is mature one does not need a chaperone or guide to tell him what to do all day long.
12. Read Money Saving Tips for Spain.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g18...
13. Electricity Info for Spain:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g18...
14. Have a Happy Trip in Spain!

Time for extra helpings: a foodie tour of Cáceres, Spain

The first hurdle is the name, a volley of Castilian consonants that’s tough for non-Spaniards to get our mouths around. Then there’s the location. Remote and poorly communicated (the nearest Spanish airport is Madrid, three hours away by car), for decades this rough-cut jewel of a city has been waiting for a moment of glory that, with its election as this year’s Spanish Capital of Gastronomy, may have finally come.
It’s certainly puzzling that this gorgeous town, one of Extremadura’s two provincial capitals and the region’s historic hub, has remained so little-known, despite the free annual Womad world-music festival (held in May), not to mention the monumental stone citadel of the old town, built by the returning conquistadors with their new-world swag.

Migas at a restaurant in Caceres. Photograph: Alamy

But now it turns out there’s another great reason to go: the food and drink. Cáceres is a place of genuine flavours and simple preparation, reflecting the city’s proximity to rural Spain. Dishes include migas, a rustic fry of breadcrumbs, garlic, bacon, chorizo and peppers, and lamb caldereta, a shepherd’s dish flavoured with rich and smoky pimentón de La Vera – paprika, the star spice of Extremadura. The pungent vacherin-style sheep’s milk cheese, torta del casar, has been known to out-run even Monty Python’s “very runny” one.
You could easily spend a day – as, living close by, I sometimes do – trawling the old town for tapas, for three-course lunches at madly cheap prices, and for big glasses of artisan extremeño wines like Mirabel, a world-class red made by Anders Vinding-Diers (a resident Dane).
Fans of churros, the fried, take-no-prisoners Spanish breakfast snack will enjoy the insider thrill to be had at Churrería Ruiz (Calle de Santa Gertrudis 15), which has been frying since 1950 and where the thick porras are golden-crispy, not excessively greasy, and beg to be dunked in the morning’s first café con leche.
Cáceres has come quickly to the notion of food as souvenir. Among the legion of old-town shops advertising productos típicos extremeños, the one to look for is high-end charcutería Gabriel Mostazo. I go here in the morning to stock up on acorn-fed ibérico ham from the nearby oak forests known as the dehesa (a whole leg costs €280-plus, so ask for slices to be vacuum-packed). I’ll also buy tins of pimentón, jars of holm oak honey, and boxes of chocolate-covered figs from nearby Almoharín before heading for Plaza Mayor and the temptations of the midday aperitivo.

Fine slices of jamón ibérico. Photograph: Rex

Cáceres is one of those old-fashioned, generous Spanish cities (Granada is another; Barcelona is not) where you are still offered a free morsel, known here as a pincho, with every drink. My recent orders of icy Mahou beer have come with, for example, potatoes in alioli, stuffed fried mussels called tigres, and tortilla of wild cep mushrooms. The most popular and authentic pincho is a juicy slice of Cáceres’s signature sausage, patatera (made with pork meat, potato, and pimentón), on a piece of hot toast.
The pincho is one thing, but the soul of cacereño eating is in the tapería, a homegrown neologism for the tapas bar. For a crawl round the classiest taperias in town, start in the Plaza Mayor at La Minerva, head up to Tapería Yuste on the Plaza de San Juan, and thence to El Paladar de Felisa, Hornos 25, and, leaving the best till last, to La Cacharrería.
My personal favourite among the newer wave of gastrobars, La Cacharrería is tucked away among the stone corridors of the old town, hard by the cathedral. Chef Juan Miguel Arroyo’s cooking is imaginative and soulful: I’ve loved his tapas of pork loin with pimentón praline, his date and patatera croquette and his turrón of foie gras – and at about €5 apiece, they are also keenly priced.
It’s rare to find a restaurant in Cáceres that doesn’t incorporate a tapas bar – a reflection perhaps of it gregarious and leisurely drinking-snacking culture. Those I’ve enjoyed in the past, like Rafa Arnaiz’s excellent Mesón San Juan (two courses €17) and the posher Oquendo (mains around €20), are being joined by a new generation, often with younger chefs and further from the centre, like Javier Martín with his €30 tasting menu and Botein, with seven courses for €52.
If ever I get a craving for proper old-fashioned extremeño eating – wild boar stew, suckling pig, pickled tench – you’ll find me in the whitewashed, vaulted dining room of El Figón de Estaquio, where the menú regional costs €26 and some of the black-waistcoated waiters seem to have been there since the place opened in 1947.
But one place rules the roost in old-town Cáceres. Chef Toño Pérez and his partner José Polo opened Atrio in 1986, overseeing its eventual transformation from a bourgeois French-style joint in an ugly downtown block to a hyper-chic restaurant-with-rooms in an old-town palacio. The accolades for Atrio’s stunning redesign by architects Tuñón + Mansilla, to house José Polo’s immense wine list (rated best in the world by the Wine Spectator for several years running), and for the rooms above the restaurant (doubles from €280 room-only), hung with original artworks by Tàpies and Warhol, have been unceasing.

The kitchens at Michelin-starred Atrio

But the food’s the thing (tasting menu €129). Inspired by the simple truths of extremeño cooking, Perez and Polo have won two Michelin stars by creating the region’s pre-eminent alta cocina, arguably doing more for the image of their hometown than any number of tourist campaigns.
When it comes to selling itself, Cáceres has always been a little lukewarm. But in its brave new role as Spanish gastro-capital, it seems at last to be turning up the heat.

Spanish hospitality and hipster-free dining at La Vinia

Fernando Garcia first earned my respect whilst wielding a raw octopus.
It was the summer of 2001 and the Madrileño chef had invited me, a Star reporter covering the burgeoning trend of Spanish foods, into his kitchen. I watched as he dipped a limp purple octopus into boiling water six times, “to prevent the muscles from tensing up all at once,” before simmering it 45 minutes. The precision of his method, and the butter-tender results it produced, were remarkable.
Garcia was at that time chef at Piatto, an Italian restaurant in Mississauga. But Garcia wanted to cook the food of his homeland. So he opened the Spanish restaurant La Vinia in 2012, on a stretch of Lake Shore Bl. with affordable rents.
La Vinia is a temple of tradition in quiet Mimico. This is where garlic, olive oil and pimentón de la Vera — Spain’s finest paprika, milled from smoke-dried peppers — lay the foundation for classic and generally well-executed tapas and rice dishes. It is quiet, formal and decidedly unflashy, just a 32-seat dining room (the former Café du Lac) with paprika-red walls framing images of flamenco dancers and matadors. It is the antithesis of showy competitors Patria and Bar Isabel.
Garcia, 63, has no desire to reinvent or reinterpret Spanish cuisine, although he counts innovator Juan Mari Arzak as a mentor. He is proudly, resolutely, of the old school. His family ran a restaurant in Madrid for three generations; son Jaime is the fourth, serving La Vinia diners with a cloth napkin over his arm.

Garcia senior hasn’t lost his touch with the octopus ($13.75), which puts up the same resistance as Kim Kardashian to publicity: that is, zero. La Vinia (Spanish for “the vine”) isn’t cheap but it’s real. The wines come from Spanish vineyards Garcia has invested in, like the masculine red Bajondillo Jiménez-Landi from Méntrida with an endless finish at $15 a glass. I’ve paid prices like this on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, except in euros. The currency is more favourable here, even if the frozen Lake Ontario shoreline is no substitute for the sunny Costa Brava.
Love garlic? Let me count the ways La Vinia features the stinking rose. Garlic bulks up the beer used to steam mussels ($11.75). It perfumes the dressing on caesar salad ($8.75) with crisp serrano ham instead of bacon, and underscores the rich tomato sauce in which meatballs loll ($11.95). It infuses the mayonnaise served with a robust tortilla ($10.75). Does the potato-chorizo omelette need the help? No, but the combination tastes wonderful.
Then there’s the garlic soup ($7.75), a deeply flavoured broth served in a white bowl about the size of a baptismal font. It is a meal that originates in poverty, Garcia acknowledges, from ingredients found in even the simplest larder: olive oil, paprika, garlic, water, beaten eggs and stale bread. Think egg-drop soup by way of La Mancha. To heck with Don Quixote’s advice: “Don’t eat garlic or onions, for their smell will reveal you are a peasant.”
La Vinia is where business dinners unfold over shared tapas and a bottle of private import Rioja ($48) and where families celebrate birthdays. Garcia comes out of the kitchen to greet everyone, refilling glasses and gently urging children to finish their dinner with the promise of a special treat. (“He’s like a Spanish Santa Claus,” says the waiter, a Zaragoza native.)
Forget the pastas swimming in sauce. The thing to get is paella, served here in a traditional two-handled metal pan. A single serving is cooked in a foot-wide pan; each is made to order, a 15-minute process, and brought to the table on a cart. After it is shown to the diner, it is portioned out tableside.
Valencian paella ($24.75) disappoints one night, the chicken dry and the bomba rice hard and tasting mainly of green bell peppers. The seafood version ($26.75) is better. The rice is swollen with fish stock, slippery with olive oil and infused with saffron. Add to this tender calamari rings, firm chunks of lobster-like monkfish, tight peeled shrimp, fresh clams and mussels. It makes every homemaker-magazine version you’ve had instantly irrelevant. Don’t force yourself to finish the enormous portions; Garcia says leftovers, when splashed with water and heated five minutes in a 350F oven, are even better.
Still, it doesn’t leave much room for desserts ($9) such as chocolate-infused crème caramel. Or leche frita, freezer- and flour-firmed batons of sweetened milk breaded in panko and fried. With cinnamon sugar and honey to finish, you get why it’s a childhood favourite in Spain.
Speaking with Garcia on the phone for this review, my respect rises even higher. In his rumbling baritone, he repeatedly quotes the cardinal rule of hospitality: “You need to give the customers respect and love.”
I’ve seen this in action at La Vinia, watching Garcia offer complimentary desserts or glasses of Port. (If he recognized me after 13 years, he treated me no differently than other diners.)
Listening to him articulate his guiding principles as a restaurateur — always be on hand; be clean, knowledgeable and consistent; remember that customers aren’t numbers — is a balm after hearing so many chef/owners talk only of food in interviews.
“We have to service the customers. Sometimes, we chefs have too much ego,” Garcia says.

Learn Spanish phrases: Social networking

Conversation

He visto que has subido al Facebook un par de fotos de la fiesta. I see you uploaded a couple of photos from the party on Facebook.

Bueno, las subió ayer Lucía y me etiquetó a mí y a las niñas. Well, Lucía uploaded them yesterday and tagged me and the girls.

Pues etiquétame también, y así puedo bajarlas y comentarlas. Well tag me too and then I can download them and make comments about them.

Supongo que no te ha etiquetado porque no te tiene como amigo. I guess she hasn't tagged you because she doesn't have you as a friend.

Es verdad, no había caído ... luego la agrego yo y le escribo un mensajito. It's true, I hadn't realised ... I'll add her later and write her a little message.

Muy bien, pero no me etiquetes en las fotos donde salgo borracha. Great, but don't tag me in the photos where I look drunk. Social networking
Online: things

el internet internet
la red network
la red social social network
la web, el sitio web website
la dirección address, URL
la aplicación application
la foto photograph
el texto text
el vídeo video
el mensaje message
el tablón wall, noticeboard
el correo mail
el ciberamigo cyber-friend
el cibernovio/la cibernoviacyber-boyfriend/cyber-girlfriend
el amigo friend
el conocido acquaintance
el contacto contact
el buscador search engine
la privacidad privacy
el Tuenti popular social networking website in Spain
Online: actions
Advertisement

buscar to search
compartir to share
conectarse to log on
colgar (fotos) to put up (photos)
subir to upload
bajar, descargar to download
etiquetar to tag
comentar to comment
escribir to write
publicar publish
mandar, enviar to send
contactar conto contact
recibir to receive
agregar to add
borrarto erase
conocer gente to meet people
Computers and technology

la informática IT
el ordenador computer
la pantalla screen
el teléfono telephone
el móvil mobile phone
el dispositivo device
Other things to say ...

¿me puedes pasar las fotos a un CD? can you put those photos on a CD for me?
me gusta tu foto de perfil, estás monísima I like your profile picture, you look fab
Juan se está poniendo cada vez más agresivo, irritable y molesto Juan is growing ever more belligerent, prickly and annoyed
Mari-Paz está disfrutando de una copa de vino en la azotea viendo a los niños jugar al fútbol en la calle Mari-Paz is enjoying a glass of wine on the roof terrace watching kids playing football in the street
acabo de borrar sesenta amigos y me siento más aliviado I've just defriended 60 people and feel much lighter for it

Dancer's attack on Spanish culture

Tamara Rojo, the Spanish ballerina who has taken the British dance world by storm, yesterday delivered a stinging attack on her country's attitude to culture. The prima ballerina blamed the Spanish government for failing to make the best of its home-born talent.
"I have no plans to return to Spain," she said. "In London, I am OK. The British make the best of each person. They don't have the same fears or complexes as here [in Spain]."
In an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo, Rojo, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, said good ballet had not been seen in Spain since Russian dance troupes toured it in the 1940s.
"For a long time we have not seen good ballet here. That's to say, good performances which merit being called ballet. That atmosphere has been lost. Nobody tries to carry on that tradition," she said.
"It is not this [elitism], nor the price of tickets - it is more expensive to see football. No, the real problem is lack of creativity and the lack of support from authorities makes dance distant from most people."
Rojo, 34, who was born in Canada to Spanish parents but grew up in Spain, has won a series of prizes, including the Prince of Asturias for Arts in 2005.
She has agreed to head a new Spanish national classical dance company, but so far nothing has happened. Rojo blames this on the fact that most of the talented Spanish dancers work elsewhere. "The politicians do not realise how hard it is to start a dance company when we are all abroad," she said.
Rojo also criticised the state of Spanish theatre and film, which were "not going through a great moment".
"Here they do not create the necessary structures to favour creativity, rather the different governments intervene without having a clue," she said.