As we're an Andalucian website, it would be a glaring omission not to talk about the campaign to have flamenco, the distinctive and wonderful form of musical and dance performance which originates in Spain's south, recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (I'll just refer to it as Cultural Heritage, CH).
Last Friday was the first day of Seville's new "Plan de Trafico", whereby motorists who stay in the centre (within the ronda, except for Marques de Paradas, part of the one-way system) for more than 45 minutes will be fined 70 euros; the restrictions (ie the cameras) are in place now, though the penalizacion won't start till after the puente at the beginning of December.
So, the next stage of the anti-smoking legislation , which first started back in 2006, will arrive at the start of next year. As from 2 January 2011, you will no longer be able to smoke in "enclosed public places", in other words bars, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs; but it also encompasses some open-air areas such as children's playgrounds, and the grounds of schools and hospitals. It does not, however, include university campuses, or certain other premises, of which more later.
At long last, Plaza de España has reopened, after its lifting, one of those English words adopted and comically misused by the Spanish (more often used in the plastic surgery sense, as in actresses aged over 40 who don't mind looking as if their face is covered in clingfilm). One of Seville's main tourist attractions is no longer an embarrassment, una verguenza, covered in scaffolding, fences and barriers.
So, they're all out. The 33 miners trapped 700 metres down a Chilean copper mine for 70 days have been rescued, in less than 24 hours.
So, in the end, it did go ahead. Our local romeria - the Romeria de Torrijos, in Valencina de la Concepcion, near Seville - managed to avoid the rain (well, mostly). After the correctly-predicted torrential downpours of Saturday, yesterday had strange weather, some hot sunshine, but a chilly breeze too, which as I mentioned in a recent post can present a sartorial challenge. After panicking after forgetting outer layers for everyone, in case of cold/rain, we were fine.
It's all so confusing, isn't it? The weather, that is. At this time of year, it can be boiling hot - bikini weather - one minute, and then fleece-chilly the next. First thing in the morning, you have to wrap you and yours up snuggly warm and put the car heater on, then a few hours later you're "glowing", stripping off and cranking up the air-con. Yes, I know we're into autumn, but otoño here in normally-sunny Andalucia is schizo.
It doesn't seem like an obvious meeting, but the project of a Moroccan-Belgian contemporary dancer and performer, and an Andalucian flamenco artist, both highly respected internationally, produced an amazing espectaculo which I saw this weekend at the Maestranza theatre in Sevilla.