Spain IS Progressive

So, in addition to 1980s fashion trends finally reaching the Iberian Peninsula (or is that regressive?), two very interesting things are going on in Spain that could/will forever change the cultural landscape of the country. First, recently the autonomous regional government of Cataluña passed a law that bans bullfighting in the region. I'm not sure exactly what to think about this. On one hand, the whole bullfighting process, or "corrida", is incredibly cruel to the animal. While I have not seen a bullfight live, I have seen a number of them on live TV. Before the matador, or torero, actually "fights" the bull, the animal is stabbed repeatedly with very sharp spears by Picadores. This weakens the bull tremendously (as you can imagine). Once the bull has about 3 or 4 spears sticking out of his body and his tongue hanging 3/4 of the way out of his mouth, the matador enters the ring. The matador plays around with the bull for a number of minutes in order to impress the crowd, then ultimately stabs the bull in the shoulder blades, hoping for a clean, quick death.
On the other hand, to stop bullfighting in Spain would be to take away one of the most iconic aspects of the country. I would be willing to put good money that bullfighting is one of the top two things that come to mind when people talk about Spain (Flamenco being the other). Almost every city has a very impressive bull ring and the day of a bullfight is an impassioned event (if the price is right for the next bullfight in Granada, I will probably go). Another point that was made on a recent "No Reservations w/ Anthony Bourdain" episode is that if the bullfight is removed from Spain, then the bull is removed from Spain, thus eliminating two other extremely important parts of the country. One, all the land that is used for grazing would be turned into condos and development, which would have obvious negative effects on the amazing natural landscape of the country, and two, most important to me, the production of delicious, damn-near-sensual, jamón would decrease. In neighboring País Vasco, the government is currently debating whether or not to adopt the same ban on bullfighting as Cataluña and it will be interesting to follow this issue over the next few years.

The second sign of major progression in Spain brings me great joy. On January 2nd, 2011 smoking will be PROHIBITED indoors in all public places. I heard about this law a few weeks ago and I've been literally counting the days until I can go out to a bar and not have my clothes smell like an ashtray for the following three days. QUE BIEN! However, this law does raise two very interesting questions. The first was brought up to me by a teacher at my school. Since smokers can't be in the restaurant to get their nicotine, will outside patios now be chalk-full of smokers? Probably. You can't change eons of culture in one day. This means the noise level on the street intensifies immensely and residents of the quieter barrios are going to be very upset. Plus, the amount of trash on the street, that is especially noticeable on the weekend, increases ten-fold. The second question is, how will businesses be effected? My guess is not much because people will still go out for beers and a tapita, this is as much a part of the culture as bullfighting. Nevertheless, bar and restaurant owners are very worried about the negative business consequences of this law, in particular because of the dire state of the Spanish economy due to "La Crisis". I don't know what the fines for violating the law will be, but I imagine local governments will see their coffers filled significantly over the first few months of 2011. Or we may see the Apocalypse happen right here in Spain in the form of massive smokers' revolts. Vamos a ver...

My next suggestion for progression would be to NOT shut down an entire city for 3 hours in the middle of the day, then complain about long work hours because your store stays open until 10pm. (Although, besides for some minor shopping inconveniences, I do like this part of the Spanish culture).

Until next time...que todo os pase muy bien!

Flat Tops, Hi-Tops, A 9-5, and Food Porn

So, apparently the '80s just reached Spain. One of the most glaring fashion trends currently sweeping through Spain (besides the obvious scarfs, skinny pants, and over-the-knee high boots) is hi-top shoes in various bright colors made my all the name brands (nike, adidas, reebok, puma, etc) and flat tops. Maybe I'm missing something that's going on in the U.S., but I'm pretty sure shoes that look moon-ready have not made a come-back. Although I do remember having a pair of L.A. Gears with dual-colored laces, circa 1989. Now, when I say flat top I'm not referring to a classic '50s crew cut, I'm talking about a legitimate 5-6 inches of hair sticking straight up from someone's head. The thing about these flat tops that differs from the original high-top fades of the '80s is that the people sporting them here are European (read: White). Therefore, I can only imagine the amount of hair product needed to execute what I imagine to be a difficult task. While I'm on the topic of hair, let me discuss very quickly two of my other favorite hairstyles of Spain. These would be the Drullet and the Frullet. The Drullet is an amazing combination of dreads and mullet. There is nothing about this haircut that says "business", only "I drink liters of beer on the street in plain view day and night and I probably roll my own cigarettes." The Frullet is a meeting of the epic '90s style of "frosting" one's hair and a mullet. Usually, the frost takes place down the middle of the haircut and runs all the way from the front to the back. Often times, the Frullet has natural curls or has been permed as well. Hopefully, I will be able to post some picture illustrations, but is has proved to be difficult to capture the true essence of these haircuts (without clearly stepping over cultural boundaries).

A little about my school...I work at a vocational school for hospitality and tourism called C.P.I.F.P. Hurtado de Mendoza. Tomorrow will mark the end of my 1st month in the school and so far I love it. The students are all very motivated, have great personalities and always display positive attitudes. The closest thing I can compare this school to is a junior college in the U.S. However, its way better than any junior college because it has the specific aim of teaching the students how to work in a very specific industry with a very well-designed program. The overall English level of the students is medium to high and those that might fall just below the medium level are improving everyday and making up ground rapidly. Another huge bonus to this school is that along with anything hospitality/tourism related, comes a culinary aspect. Therefore, there is a whole wing of the school made up of kitchen-classrooms and there is a cafeteria on campus that serves food made by the students. They serve bocadillos, pastries, toast, and coffee for now, but I'm hoping they add more to the menu as the year progresses. I'm also hoping to get in good with some of the culinary teachers and be able to observe some of the cooking classes.

Speaking of food...Tapas continues to be, and probably always will be, one of my favorite things about this majestic city. Sure, there are many other amazing things here (La Alhambra, the now snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, churches built in the 16th century, the million and one plazas dispersed throughout the city), but who can argue with a small plate of food (and sometimes big if you know where to go) every time you order a drink at a bar. Plus, the options about where to go are endless. Of course there are traditional Spanish tapas, but you can also get Japanese tapas, Brazilian-Caribbean tapas, Chinese tapas, and Irish/American tapas. Some places have a tapas menu that allows you to choose what you want and many other places are a complete mystery. No matter what its a small piece of culinary heaven.

Not a tapa, but delicious helado: top scoop=rum ice cream w/raisins; bottom scoop=cookie ice cream

 P.S.- To my family and the 5 other people that may be reading this, I promise to cut down on these rants and update this with shorter, more frequent posts.