Anglo Spanish Society

2010-10-13 Coplas Night with Farsa Monea at Nueva Costa Dorada Restaurant

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:37:46 +0000

The Anglo Spanish Society invites you to an evening with Farsa Monea.

The Society is proud to present an evening of Spanish music and cuisine with talented trio Farsa Monea and renowned Spanish restaurant Nueva Costa Dorada in the heart of London’s West End.

It is a unique opportunity to hear traditional Spanish folk music known as Coplas from a talented young trio of musicians while enjoying Spanish delicacies at this atmospheric venue. Guitarist Maria Camahort, vocalist Violeta Garcia and percussionist Jon Desbruslais will perform passionate songs including Ojos Verdes, Tatuaje and Lagrimas Negras.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Date and Time: Wednesday October 13th, 7h30pm
Location: Nueva Costa Dorada (47-55 Hanway Street London, W1T 1UX)
Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road
Price: £25 per person (includes 3 course dinner, wine and entertainment)
How to pay: Send the name(s) of guest(s) and a cheque made payable to The Anglo-Spanish Society for the attention of the Events Secretary. There will be a guest list at the door. * Please let us know if you are vegetarian.

2010-09-11 Tapas lunch at Ibérica Food and Culture

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:10:36 +0000

Join Anglo-Spanish Society members for an authentic Spanish lunch at Ibérica restaurant in the heart of central London. The set tapas menu will include a delicious selection of cold and hot tapas and dessert.

Date and Time: Saturday 11 September, 1pm
Location: Ibérica (195 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5PS)
Price:£30 per person (includes full tapas menu and ½ bottle of wine person)
Pre-booking essential: Please call or email the Events Secretary (07903 801 576 / events@anglospanishsociety.org) by Tuesday 7 September.

QR226 – La Cocina de Mabel: White Bean Salad or Ensalada de Alubias by Isabel Marañón and María Belén Parker

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:03:46 +0000

Time of year: Summer

Open a tin of El Artesano Alubias or white beans, drain them with abundant water and dry well. Cut the tomato into chunks. Halve, core and deseed the peppers, then chop into 1cm dice. Trim and very thinly slice the onions. Cut the eggs into relatively thin slices.

Mix in a bowl the alubias or white beans with all the other ingredients. Add and toss salt, olive oil and vinegar. Serve straightaway.

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QR226 – Anglo-Spanish Society Visit to Sotheby’s By Paul Pickering

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:02:33 +0000

Members of the Anglo-Spanish Society gathered at Sotheby´s on 28th May for breakfast and a private view of Spanish paintings which were to go under the hammer on the following Wednesday. Our guide to the rich and eclectic collection on offer, Marta Enrile, is Senior Specialist at Sotheby´s. What a pleasure it was to be taken on a journey of the imagination through Spanish fin-de-siecle and early twentieth century painting by one who wore her expertise so lightly.

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QR226 – Book Review: ‘Scunthorpe hasta la Muerte’ by Iñigo Gurruchaga. By David Sharrock

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:01:50 +0000

Football, Inigo Gurruchaga tells us in his journey across some of this country’s lesser known soccer grounds on the trail of a Basque journeyman midfielder, is a game which commences at three o’clock in the afternoon on an English Saturday.

Gurruchaga is a Galactico, as Real Madrid’s star chasing president Florentino Perez would say, in his own right: veteran war correspondent, distinguished father of the house among Spain’s London correspondents and a man who has written with elegance and flair on soccer for decades at international level.

So what on earth possessed him to turn his famous hawk-eye for the telling detail on a subject as esoteric as the ups and downs of a relatively obscure northern football club eternally caught in an existential struggle for survival?

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QR226 – An English Environmentalist Shares his Experience of Living and Working in Spain by Carlos Oppe

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:01:22 +0000

I came to work in Madrid in 1988, at the tail end of the Movida, the social movement that evolved during the transition from the Franco era to democracy. Madrid was a very different place to live in then and during these 22 years much has changed.

This is probably the most striking aspect about Spain and its people, the ability to adapt to changes and move fast. I find the car a useful indicator of change. I remember when I first came to Madrid, a taxi ride was a very stressful experience as the driver would never anticipate a red light. The taxi would accelerate, in bursts, until a few metres from the white line and then suddenly break. No longer so. The driving norms have improved beyond recognition and one only has to look at the road fatality statistics which demonstrate a society that changes: 9.344 deaths in 1989 compared with 2.668 deaths in 2009.

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QR226 – The Anglo-Spanish Society Grants Awards Ceremony

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:50:06 +0000

This was the third year that the Society had met at the Embassy to award grants to students from Spain and Britain to enable them to carry out further studies and research into their chosen specialist fields.

Each year the number and quality of the applicants has increased, and the chairman of our selection panel, Albert Jones, has had a more demanding job in sifting through them and choosing winners. The areas of study range through the arts, sciences and humanities, and the Sponsors of these awards can see how well their grants are being used.

We are happy that the Society is able to bring together these two groups to their mutual benefit, and that of the Anglo-Spanish community at large. Members can read about the experiences of the becarios in future issues of the Quarterly Review (as this issue contains reports from the 2009 recipients).

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QR226 – Madness in Valencia by Lope de Vega by Tom Kearns

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:48:27 +0000

Opportunities to see Drama from the Spanish Golden Age performed in London are very rare and picking up a flier advertising this performance did much to take my mind away from the snow and freezing temperatures we have recently experienced in London.. Lorca has been performed in the National and Old Vic Theatres in the last few years, but to my recollection comedia works are rare treats in this part of the world.

Lope has been described in survey course of Spanish literature and drama as one of the greatest geniuses the dramatic world has known. His output was prolific. Equally he had an eventful life, which few of us could ever hope to match.

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QR226 – Intense Passion and the Dream of Freedom by Maria Camahort

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:46:57 +0000

I am a member of a fresh and vibrant ensemble, Farsa Monea, that brings new life to traditional and folk music of Spain and Latin America. We try to present our music with honesty, hoping to capture the stories that are told in each song. We focus particularly on a form of traditional Spanish music called Coplas. Outside of Spain this form of music is not generally known, but within Spain it carries a great significance. The emotive songs reflect the passion and dreams of the Spanish people after the Spanish Civil War, during the dictatorship.

Each copla is a small universe of circumstances, feelings, atmospheres. Each time we are told a different story through a clear narration which normally develops in two parts with a chorus in between and at the end, after the second narrative section. The main character is often a woman who endures tragic love, or experiences a beautiful but impossible love, and in any case deep, intense passion. Well-known titles include Ojos Verdes, Tatuaje, Lagrimas Negras and La Farsa Monea.

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QR226 – Tertulia at the Cervantes Institute: ‘Spain’s image in the British media’ by Jonathan Smith

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:44:07 +0000

Relations between our two countries have never been closer, healthier or built on so many levels, so could Spain really have an image problem in the UK? The idea seems virtually unthinkable to many of us, but the question merits exploration and an answer.

A panel of journalists from Britain and Spain addressed the issue as the Instituto Cervantes London launched its springsummer culture programme with a lively debate in front of a pleasingly packed house.

With proceedings moderated by a true Anglo-Spaniard, the Anglo-Spanish Society’s vice-chairman Jimmy Burns, we were assured of a fair and friendly discussion.

Anna Bosch, London correspondent for RTVE, made the point that Britain’s newspapers do at least mention Spain on a regular basis, unlike the press she was used to reading on her previous posting in New York.

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