October 2023 Ideas for your Performance and Educational Tours in Spain
That Special Festivity: El Pilar
Typical clichés of Spain
Music style: Pasodoble
European Folk Network Conference
El Pilar Festivity in Zaragoza
Discover Zaragoza. El Pilar Festivity.
Tradition and modernity come together to show you the best of Zaragoza. Every October, for ten days, the capital of the Ebro River shows its most cheerful, imaginative and colorful side and, above all, demonstrates its well-deserved reputation as a welcoming city. The squares of the historic center become stages for theater, circus, dance and humor, percussion, clowns, mimes and much more. Great concerts in the Plaza del Pilar, along with a stage specially reserved to showcase Aragonese folklore. Handicrafts take to the streets in the form of a fair in the Plaza de Los Sitios. There are also spaces reserved for the little ones to enjoy traveling theater shows. Cotton candy, caramel apples, chocolate with churros and porras and baked potatoes are not to be missed!
That Special Music: Pasodoble
The Spanish pasodoble, is a dance that all our grandparents practiced in the verbenas. Nowadays it is still played in all the popular festivities of the villages.
The Pasodoble has its origin in Spain in the years 1533 and 1538 as a couple dance used in different regions as a celebration. It is related to the garrotín, a simple and repetitive gypsy dance.
In the middle of the 19th century it was danced as the end of the scenic short play between acts and later it would begin to be used as a musical interlude in comedy shows. Today, the production of pasodoble is centered in the Spanish Mediterranean side and some of the most popular are “Suspiros de España”, “los nardos”, “Islas Canarias” and undoubtedly, “Paquito el Chocolatero”.
The pasodoble is not only played by orchestras, but its tradition is also maintained thanks to the Tunas. These are university musical groups from the twelfth century that also interpret this musical genre accompanied by acrobatic gestures with the tambourine and colorful movements of its banner and the characteristic capes worn by its members.
The pasodoble is a very simple and easy to learn dance. The couple stands facing each other and their bodies must remain parallel at all times. Following the rhythm is fundamental, one step is taken for each beat while the man’s left hand is held together with the woman’s right hand. Its musical structure consists of an introduction and two main parts.
The musical rhythm is binary, a 2×4; and the man tries to emulate the attitude and movements of the bullfighter and his cape.
Cultural Tips for your visit to Spain
Mealtimes. In Spain almost everything is done later than you are used to. You will notice this especially at lunch and dinner time as a common time for lunch can be 2 pm while for dinner it is 9.30 pm. The siesta. It is very typical that after eating, Spaniards lie down on the sofa or on the bed and sleep for a while. The siesta is a ritual that is performed every day that you can and that serves as therapy to rest, relax and stay awake longer at night. The spanish yoga. How do Spaniards greet each other?
The most typical way to greet a person is by giving them two kisses, even if they don’t know them, and they also usually say goodbye to the people in the group when they are leaving by giving them two kisses. Partying. Spaniards love parties, that’s why Spain is one of the countries with the largest number of popular festivals in Europe. They are celebrated at national, regional, municipal and even neighborhood level. The point is to have a good time and have fun with the people closest to you. Tapas and beer. It is very common that in the afternoon a Spaniard tells you to meet up for a drink. That “something” will be to go to a bar and have a beer and some tapas. This is the plan of the Spaniards since they practice it every week, no matter if it is a weekday or not. The Mediterranean diet. In this country people eat very well. The diet of this country is Mediterranean, so you will eat in a balanced and healthy way during your visit to Spain. The star product in the Mediterranean diet is olive oil and everything is cooked with it, from salad dressings to grilled vegetables.
We have been invited to attend the European Folk Network Conference in Manchester to talk about Music Tourism and tell our experience during all these years. A conference that coincides with the English Folk Expo. Happy to share knowledge and, also, attend dozens of concerts.
THINKING ABOUT TAKING YOUR BAND, CHOIR OR ORCHESTRA TO SPAIN WITH EXTENSIONS TO PORTUGAL OR FRANCE, CONTACT US FOR A TAILOR MADE PERFORMANCE OR EDUCATIONAL TOUR. info@spainismusic.com
