Andalusia rules at the Goyas

Andalusia ruled the waves at the Goya Awards 2015.

Established in 1987, the Goya Awards are the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards (the 'Oscar'). They are organized around the end of January and exist of awards given to films produced during the previous year. 

This year it was the 29th edition and the main winner was Andalusia. First and foremost because 'Marshland' ('La Isla Minima') won no less than 10 Awards. Director Alberto Rodriguez took home the small bronze bust of Francisco de Goya for Best Film as well as Best Director. 

But this thriller set in the marshlands outside Seville also received the awards for Best Actor (Javier Gutiérrez), Best Original Screenplay, Best New Actress, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. 

Also the main competitor, 'El Niño', winning 4 Goyas in the technical categories, is set in Andalusia (in Algeciras). 

And then of course there was the lifetime achievement award, going to Antonio Banderas. Malaga's most known and most popular son (OK, maybe after Picasso) finally grabbed the highest possible honour in Spanish cinema.   Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar praised the 54-year old heartthrob, the only Spanish actor to achieve success in Hollywood, for 'litting a fire to Spanish movie screens in the 1980s'. 

And thus Andalusia keeps being movie land. From 'Lawrence of Arabia' to 'Doctor Zhivago', James Bond to Indiana Jones, the corners or landscapes of southern Spain have been the backdrop of many a famous scene. 

www.inlandandalucia.com 

Property viewing trips in Andalucia

At 87.268 square kms or 33.694 sq mi, the area of Andalucia is twice as large as the Netherlands and 3 times Belgium. 

For property viewings, you either want to pinpoint your ideal region beforehand, or be sure that the properties you will visit have potential. 

That's the reason for our our YouTube channel. Here we let the camera walk through and around the property. 

In a not so distant future, as soon as the regulations are known, we might start with images from drones, so you can also see the wider region. In the mean time we give you the best possible idea. For example, in this video, we've chosen the music that goes best with the (wonderful) area: 

  Property in Cordoba. Textual information here. 

The music in this particular video is the famous Andalucian song 'Morenika'.

It is one of the few remaining and known songs from 15th or 16th century Andalusia. It was originally sung in Ladino, the medieval judeo-spanish (Spanish with influences from Hebrew and Mozarabic, but also with touches of Portuguese, French, Italian and more). 

We chose it here for it fits with the surroundings and the region. By details such as these we give our clients the best possible idea of what to expect when going on a viewing trip. 

If you are interested in a viewing trip, read everything about our property viewing trips.  

Or simply contact us at info@inlandandalucia.com or browse our website.

Greetings from our offices in Mollina and Alcalà la Real!

Al-Andalus, role model of tolerance

As with most history, we idolise.

Al-Andalus, role model of tolerance? Example of the peaceful co-existence between Muslims, Christians and Jews? 

For sure we see it as such. Inland Andalucia communities have retained their 'family values' quality, an idyll in our time. Therefore it’s easy to picture people living here in harmony.

What we do know is that the 3 main religions did live in relative harmony, especially when compared to the tumultuous times. 

This was especially true in Cordoba, at that time the world’s biggest city. 

Little wonder that it’s university boomed, and it’s knowledge expanded. Where people are allowed research, debate and mingling, there’s always a spike in knowledge. 

In those days, Europe was not the best of places. The whole continent was divided into hundreds of small kingdoms and counties, all in friction or war with each other – so Cordoba towered over everything, with its university and peaceful coexistence, and that reputation casted a very long shadow across Andalucia. 

Maybe, maybe that is why harmony is far bigger today than it was 800 years ago. Andalucia and intolerance just do not match in one phrase. If anyone is tolerant, it’s the Andalusian. If you can relax, if you can smile, if you show interest in the language and customs, you’re a champ. ‘Un maquina’. 

Part of that tolerance also comes from that sense of village life where 'family values' are so strong. If you live in a big city, you are naturally drawn to peers, those that studied or do the same work or have the same background as you. It becomes highly likely that you live in an intellectual or cultural or social ghetto, so to speak. 

No such thing in inland Andalucia! 

You sit in a bar with an olive picker, a lawyer, a construction worker, a bank clerk, a shop assistant, an architect, a celebrity and a gypsy flamenco singer… All learning and talking about each other’s professions or lives. 

The conversations, of course always include latest town gossip, but the openness revolves around those strong family values that continue to exist. The numerous fiestas throughout the year, although they have particular themes, they are all a celebration of life. 

Andalusians read less than the average Spaniard, who reads less than the average European – but on the other hand, there’s much more poetry here, in music, lyrics, dancing, the atmosphere in villages, the colours, the views… 

Why would one need to read if literature and the art of friendly conversation is all around you. 

Andalucia simply promotes tolerance.

It’s the feel-good region of Europe

www.inlandandalucia.com 

The inexplicable beauty of inland Andalusia

This is an article about 'duende', the dominating atmosphere of inland Andalusia. 

Duende, as most of the very best things in life, is inexplicable. 
You can't catch it in words, and you definitely can't explain it to others.
You feel it. 

If you prefer to hear and feel rather than to read on, definitely open this song in YouTube: 'Hijo de la Luna' by Mario Frangoulis. It might be a glimpse into the ancient heart of Andalusia - which still exists today.

For there's Andalusia, it's coasts and gorgeous touristy cities... and there's inland Andalusia: a land of gypsies and farmers, cultural highlights and a stunning history, under a Moorish moon.

It's 2015 and 1492 at the same time. You can walk through modern towns with all the amenities and services of the 21st century, and at the same time feel the way of life of the 19th century. 

How can we foreigners who live in inland Andalusia explain to friends in northern Europe why it's sometimes so heartbreaking to leave Andalusia? Why if you live here for a year and slowly start to feel it rather than to just see it, it's a bond for life? 

It's that heightened sense of emotion, expression and authenticity... the 'duende'.

Slowly, very slowly, it sneaks into our own lives and that makes that Andalusia is not just a place where you've been, but that you carry with you. 

Hemingway felt it, Orson Welles is buried here. Carmen, the cigarette girl is from here, as well as the original Don Juan. Foreigner after foreigner, after first having felt no connection whatsoever with the 'fandango', suddenly says: now I get it! 

The 'route 66' feel of stopping at a Venta (a diner) long a windy road, the sitting at a fireplace in a bar, the wind carrying the voices of people practising the next procession, a youngster playing a 'rumbita' on a Spanish guitar... other people saying 'olé' for loving the twists and turns of the voice... and then obviously that great big and pure love for living, breathing, singing, dancing, tasting, loving...

Olé! for inland Andalusia, that distinct, unique and stunning corner of Europe. 

May you too be so lucky to feel and be carried away one day by its duende! 

www.inlandandalucia.com 

The 3 Christmas traditions in Andalucia

What do Andalusians do or prepare for at the turn of the year?

1. Go where the Christmas lights are!

They are stunning. The tradition to illuminate the town centres is quite a new one, started by Malaga, and they drew in so many visitors that many towns along the coast followed - and now the pride of the inland villages demands they follow suit.

If southern Spaniards spot a chance to exuberance, they grab it. Many a foreigner is flabbergasted by the elegance and festive feel of the lights. Follow the lights!

(Remarkably enough Andalusians are not big on Christmas itself: it's spent at home, with close relatives, without the tradition of dinners and presents of northern Europe).

2. The lucky grapes of New Year's Eve

Before midnight on December 31st, head for the main plaza. You will be surrounded by many, all waiting for the magical moment.

And when it happens, everyone pulls out grapes.

To be precise, 12 of them.

And at every chime of the clock, you eat one.

According to the tradition that dates back to 1895, and became popular at the beginning of the 20th century, this will lead to a year of prosperity.

Ask an Andalucian friend if you can join him or her, for 'las doce uvas de la suerte' is - as anything else in Andalucía - a social habit, enforcing the unity between friends or in families.

3. The King Cake at Reyes

'Reyes' means Kings. And is the name by which all know Three Kings Day.

Put it in your diary: January 6th is the day of days.

Far bigger than Christmas actually: this is a day no Andalusian can miss.

It's a Must for families to gather, with as highlight the dividing of the King Cake.

Traditionally a small plastic or porcelain baby is hidden in the cake (usually gold, green  or purple, the colours of this holiday).

Whoever finds it in their slice, will enjoy a year of luck and prosperity - and is responsible for making or purchasing the cake of the following year.

We from InlandAndalucia can't send you a cake, but wish you luck and prosperity. May 2015 be a very special year for you and your loved ones.

Merry Christmas everybody!

www.inlandandalucia.com