Mangos don't get sweeter than this! Harvest time: September and October.
You can read more about Spanish mangos at the excellent site 'Food from Spain', from where some of the above info was captured.
Here in Axarquia, in our almost tropical climate, the mango trees that once only graced local gardens have successfully transmuted into cultivars grown in open-air plantations. Spanish mangoes are the only ones in the world that reach the marketplace clad in their own waxen coat and therefore not washed or treated with edible varnishes or fungicides. Mangos don't get sweeter than this! Harvest time: September and October. Spanish mangoes are discernibly different from others in flavor and aroma because they are harvested almost as soon as they ripen on the plant: as a result, they contain a higher percentage of sugar than any others in the European marketplace. They can reach 20 degrees Brix, compared with the 12 or 14 degrees found in fruits coming into Europe from other sources and harvested before they are ripe. The varieties most commonly grown around here are Osteen, Kent and Keitt, known for their melt-in-the-mouth flesh, citrus aromas and outstanding sweetness. These mangoes’ reddish-purple skins gleam in the sun from first thing in the morning during the harvest months of September and October, embellishing the Vélez-Málaga to Benamargosa stretch of the road through Axarquía, all the way up the hills.
You can read more about Spanish mangos at the excellent site 'Food from Spain', from where some of the above info was captured.
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Muhammad ben Ali al-Yayyar’s hopes came true when the three manuscripts he had hidden 500 years previously in a wall, supposedly in his home, were discovered when masons were working on the house on Calle Horno in the middle of the village of Cútar in June of 2003. Al-Yayyar had carefully encased the books in straw and mud and placed them in the niche in the wall later filling it to prevent it from sounding hollow when hit. This is his last entry: “The Lord of Castile broke the agreement and let baptize the people of Granada in the beginning of de yumadà al-ulà, which is equivalent to the middle of the month of duyanbir (december) of the year 905 (1500). Almighty God make them perish and treat them in a manner which only one who is decent and worthy is able to. It happened on a friday at dusk.” Muhammad ben Ali al-Yayyar, alfaquí, scholar of Islamic law, and imam of the mosque of Cútar, in la Axarquía of Málaga, must have sighed deeply. Something which gave a sign in some way of the pain and meloncholy that were produced by the thoughts that were envolved with scribing this note. It was included in his vademecum, manual and journal where he not only kept all of his legal references according to the laws of Islam that he would need in the function of alfaquí, but also many of the questions and observations he considered represented value to his Islamic culture. This culture that during 800 years had enriched the land of al-Andalus, but was successively reduced to the Nasarid Kingdom of Granada. After the seizure of the Guadalquivir valley, Jaén, Córdoba and Seville in the first half of the 13th century, the Nasarid Kingdom continued under constant threat of invasion from the Christian conquerors for another 250 years. This kingdom depended until that time on the cultivated slopes and terraces of Cútar and the neighboring villages. Its olives, and its vines which produced the most famous raisins in the world, in al-Yayyar’s day as well as today. It had been a month since the Catholic queen, Isabel of Castile, had ordered, under the council of Cardenal Cisneros, the ”general conversion” (forced) of the Mudejar of the kingdom which had been conquered a decade earlier. We don’t know for sure why al-Yayyar hid the books at that time, whether it was fear of being discovered as a Cryptomuslim, or whether he believed, as his fellow Jewish citizens believed 10 years earlier, that the circumstances surrounding their forced conversion would be temporary - That possibly in some 10 years or so the situation which had been the case centuries earlier would some how return to its natural course, that the followers of the three Semitic religions would once again coexist in al-Andalus. Land that once came from the Vandels and Visigoths, considered by the Arabs and Moor for centuries to be the anteroom to paradise. However, it didn’t turn out that, the intention of unifying everyone of Spain into one single faith was a fact. At this time it came to the realization of the Crypto-Jews, and not really much before. The Catholic monarchs began the expulsion, unique in the history of this country, and thereby the migration of the Hispanic Sefardim, taking with them their particular experience of al-Andalus to every corner of the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Baltic and North Sea and the Americas. The Muslims however prepared to put into practice for the first time since the inception of the teachings of the Profet in Mecca, the Koranic doctrine of concealment which allowed them to remain in Spain for almost 100 years longer, pretending to be Christian but practicing Islam clandestinely After leaving the pen next to the inkwell, al-Yayyar, closed his book. He got up, taking the explanatory notes, his book on Islamic law and the family’s luxurious, polychromatic copy of the Koran and went to the top floor of the house, where he waited for his wife and children. There, just above the door on the ground floor, facing the courtyard, he had prepared a small cupboard. In that niche dug in the stone, gravel and mud wall he had put some earth and straw. Al-Yayyar placed the three books on the bed of straw and covered them with more straw, then with more earth. This way he filled the entire space so that, once refinished, the wall would not sound hollow. In this way he placed the books, which symbolically and materially meant fidelity to beliefs and a way of life that had been declared unwelcome in a land which had contributed to its cultural splendor for 781 years. In less than ten years, members of the al-Yayyar family had gone from being free Muslims in an Islamic state to being Muslim citizens subject to particularly restrictive legislation applied by the Christian government. That is to say they became Mudejares (domesticated Arab Muslim), later to end up as Moriscos, Moors, or Christians of Muslim origins and in most cases, secretly continued practicing their former religion. We do not know what happened later. Whether al-Yayyar and his family remained in Cútar, quietly preserving their Islamic loyalties until the general expulsion of the Moors from 1609-1612, or if their descendants stayed in Cútar, integrating with other new Christians to the mass of former Christians, and today, are the direct ancestors of some of the residents of this Cútar (Aquta) in the Axarquia. Or if, as did many of his coreligionists, once forcibly converted to Christianity chose to flee to North Africa in the hope, distant perhaps, of returning one day to be Muslims in a new al-Andalus. However, something did happen that al-Yayyar probably didn’t expect. In June 2003, the Santiago family was getting ready to remodel their house on C/ Horno in Cútar. It was quite a surprise for the builders and children who were watching the demolition of the wall facing the courtyard. After the sledge hammer had pounded the wall, there appeared between straw and earth, some books with strange script in a language foreign to the present inhabitants. As an aside, manuscripts of this kind are usually found by albañiles (masons). This Spanish word comes from the most important mathematician of western Arab world (al-Andalus magreb). His name was Al-Banna. There were three books found: The first was a book of trade, a book of reference, that as an alfarquí, Islamic scholar of law, al-Yayyar, consulted when he needed to clarify any particular case relative to his position. It includes parts of notarial forms, affidavits, inheritance rights, mathmatics, traditions of the Prophet and legal questions concerning marriage. It is well known that alfarquis were able to access once hidden Islamic power in the peninsula. Jurisdiction over certain civil cases, while there was a Moorish justice, they were in charge of administering, controlling donations to mosques and practically monopolizing the office of notary in Arabic. This book is of paper with some loose pages and slips of paper some of which some were folded. The book is bound in parchment. The second book, unlike the previous, was more personal. This is where Muhammad al-Yayyar gives us data and dates of his life and his community, but there are poems contained prophetic invocations, sermons, hadith and other chapters of religious, magic and esoteric character. It was his vademecum or journal. This book is also of paper with inserted loose pages. The parchment cover has geometric designs. The back cover has tree type of Arabic script, possibly an earlier document later used to bind the book. Because the books were not reported the the Malaga Archive during the first week after their discovery, we don’t know if the placement of these loose pieces were of any significance. The third book is a copy of the Koran, necessary and essential for every Muslim and therefore, for a alfaqui, faqih. This is certainly the family Koran, and is the oldest of the documents, since it was, in the time of al-Yayyar, more than a century old, being from the 14th century. It is was scribed with several colors of ink and, unfortunately, is incomplete because it lacks a few final pages, which really doesn’t matter so much due to its great historical importance. The Andalusian government financed the production facsimile editions. One of which was given to king Mohammed VI of Morocco, another will be housed in the Monfí Museum in Cútar. Al-Yayyar was not able to retrieve his books, but their cultural successors, those who have found them, understand the significance that they must have had for him. We now have them to use and to treat them with due respect and appreciation. We can say then that al-Yayyar’s hope have been fulfilled in that his lost books together with his memories and those of his people are now preserved for the benefit of everyone. The source of the information used for this article is from the study by Maria Isabel Calero Secall, “Los manuscritos árabes de Málaga: Los “libros” de un alfaquí de Cútar del s. XV”, Nicolás Roser Nebot, Departamento de Traducción Monfi festival: Music, food and sweets of Al-Andalus, lectures on Andalusian culture and the three Arab language manuscripts found in Cútar, are some of the highlights included in the program of the two-day 2011 Monfí Festival in Cútar, Axarquia, this 8-9 October 2011. For more info, or for info on how to get there and where to stay; please contact laCultura
Málaga is known for producing sweet wines from the varietals Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel de Alejandría, Muscat of Alexandria, both white wine grapes. This latter belonging to the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence, originating in ancient Egypt. However, relatively recently wineries in the province of Málaga have begun producing dry white wines from the Muscat grapes. Traditionally, these grapes were used to make sweet wines, as well as dried to produce fine raisins, delicacies exported to other parts of the world. This dry white wine is called ‘afrutado,’ fruity, to distinguish it from vino blanco seco, which is really a fino or Montillo type of sherry. Some regions of Málaga also produce red wines on a more limited scale, from Tempranillo, a very typical Spanish red varietal, but also from Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, and, to an even lesser degree, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinor Noir. There are four regions in Málaga which produce wine with two Apellations: Denominación de Málaga, mostly sweet wines, and Denominación de Sierras de Málaga producing dry whites as well as reds. The four regions vary, each having its own attributes. La Axarquía - is the valley just east of the capital, Málaga. This is where laCultura and our pueblo, Cútar, is located, a traditional Muscat producing area with a long history of wine and raisins. Here there are 4 wineries which produce sweet wines but also Muscat fruity, dry white wines. Many families produce wine, but the 4 wineries which hold the two appellations are: Bodegas Dimobe in Moclinejo producing sweet wines, a dry fruity Muscat and a dry red Syrah; Bodegas Jorge Ordonez in Almáchar and Vélez-Málaga, the capital of La Axarquia, produce sweet and dry whites, mostly for high priced export; Bodegas Almijaras in Cómpeta produce very nice Muscat sweet and dry wines; and Bodegas Bentomiz in Sayalonga. The first two wineries are very close to Cútar. The other two are on the opposite, east side, of the valley, but also close. Montes Area – is the area just north of the city of Málaga bordering La Axarquía. The five wineries that carry the appellation Málaga produce sweet wines: Bodega Antigua Casa de la Guardia is just north-east of Málaga, a few kilometers from Cútar located just outside the village of Olías. They also have an old wine pub in the old town of Málaga. Bodegas Quitapenas is located in the city of Málaga, also with a wine restaurant in the old town, serving wine, fish and shellfish, very pleasant. The other 3 wineries are located just east of the city of Málaga in the Guadalhorce river valley: Bodegas Gomara located in Campanillas, Bodegas Pérez Hildalgo in Álora, and Bodegas Sanchez Rosado in Cártama. Northern Area – is situated north of the city of Málaga and the coastal mountains of Torcal near Antequera in the southern plains of the Guadalquivir valley, the great river of Andalucía. Here there is the large cooperative, Tierras de Mollina, producing both wine and olive oil. They produce sweet wines, dry fruity whites, but also some reds made from local Syrah grapes. Cortijo la Fuente, also in Mollina, is a family owned winery producing very nice sweet wines, a dry fruity Muscat and an unreleased 2008 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, a full-bodied wine with fruit and spice. Bodegas Málaga Virgen in Fuente de Piedra just north of Mollina produce well known sweet wines, but also a dry fruity Pedro Ximenez white and a Syrah rose. Bodegas and Vineyard de la Capuchina I will review soon. It seems promising. Mountains of Ronda – is the high valley area west of Málaga with several wineries, few of which existed 15 years ago. Many are run by non-Spaniards and produce expensive wines which I’ve gotten the impression might not be worth the price. This area I’ll expand on in a later article. For the time being enjoy Málaga, east and north. We'll be happy to take you to the wineries reviewed upon resquest. Since Spanish is the language usually spoken, we can also act as translators should you need it. Please contact us if you want to know more Music, food and sweets of Al-Andalus, lectures on Andalusian culture and the three Arab language manuscripts found in Cútar, are some of the highlights included in the program of the two-day 2011 Monfí Festival in Cútar, Axarquia, this 8-9 October.
During this weekend, our small pueblo of Cútar relives its Moorish origins, unfolding along the narrow streets traditional aspects of Andalusian culture such as the souk, Andalusian and Sephardic music, mint tea and oriental dance, traditional clothing, falconry demonstrations, among other activities. The festival was founded in memory of those Moorish rebels called Monfíes (the dispossessed) who resisted the conquest of their lands, the kingdom of Granada - Málaga, Granada and Almería, as well as the suppression of their people, religion, language, culture and traditions by the Catholic monarchs in the latter part of the 15th century. After the Monfíes resisted this subjugation, without property they took refuge in the mountains of La Axarquía and Alpujarras, later uprising in rebellion which was soon suppressed. They were subsequently evicted from a land they had inhabited for eight centuries. The festival is aimed at promoting greater awareness and recovery of those cultures, which had advanced the search for knowledge during the previous centuries. Developed were the sciences, mathematics, astronomy, navigation, medicine and also knowledge of the ancient philosophy of Aristotle preserved in Arabic and translated into Latin during the 13th century. Initiation for creating the Monfí festival was the discovery in Cútar, in July 2003, of three books written in Magred, western Arabic, carefully hidden, wrapped in fiber and incased in mud and straw to prevent the package from being found in the wall in a house in the center of Cútar. Researchers say that the manuscripts were probably hidden between 1500 – 01 due to entries made in them. The continued decrees and royal orders increased tension only to be relaxed upon payment of exorbitant fees by the Muslim population. Much of the Moorish writings as well as property which had be past down from generation to generation became property of the crown, leaving the Andalusians dispossessed. This is the meaning of Monfí. The Monfi festival in Cútar was founded in memory of those who resisted the conquest. Welcome It’ s hot mid august in Andalusia. This time of the year our elderly neighbors always ask us to go with them down the hill to pick chumbos.
Chumbo is the fruit of the prickly pear cactus that grows among the olive trees on the way down to the rio. They are ripe now, and delicious, but they have to be peeled carefully to remove the small spines on the outer skin before consumption. It is neither a pear nor a fig, but is a fruit from any one of the 300 varieties of cacti from this species. They appear in a variety of colors - green, yellow, orange, pink, or crimson. Inside, the flesh may be green, yellow, or red, with a melon-like texture. You find them all over the Mediterranean area: Libya, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, southern Spain and France, Italy, Sicily, Struma River in Bulgaria, in southern Portugal and Madeira, Egypt, Greece, Corfu, Cyprus, Malta... There has been medical interest in the plant. Some studies have shown that the pectin contained in the pulp lowers levels of "bad" cholesterol while leaving "good" cholesterol levels unchanged. Another study found that the fibrous pectin in the fruit may lower diabetics' need for insulin. Both fruit and pads of the prickly pear cactus are rich in slowly absorbed soluble fibers that help keep blood sugar stable. And, they might have a reducing effect on alcohol hangover by inhibiting the production of inflammatory mediators. Either way this is a nutritious fruit — high in vitamin C, fiber, and much more. Another interesting aspect to these cactus is the insect that feeds on them. These are the insects (Dactylopius coccus) which are famous for producing cochineal, the natural red dye made by crushing their bodies. AND THIS IS HOW YOU PEEL THEM: Some notes on Concrete Art in Spain - and how to make a simple cement / concrete foot stool12/8/2011 Concrete is used more than any other man-made material in the world. About 7.5 cubic kilometers of concrete are made each year--more than one cubic meter for every person on earth. Concrete solidifies and hardens after mixing with water, cement and aggregate due to a chemical process known as hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other components together, eventually creating a robust stone-like material. In Spain concrete is used to make architectural structures, pavements, pipe, foundations, roads, bridges/overpasses, brick/block walls and footings for gates, fences and poles etc - and to make art. The first week of August Judy Farrar held a workshop in Concrete Art at laCultura. Above are some examples of what she showed us: Jason deCaires Taylor was born in 1974 to an English father and Guyanese mother, spending the earlier part of his life growing up in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.In May 2006 he gained international recognition for creating the world’s first underwater sculpture park in Grenada, West Indies. His underwater sculptures, designed to create artificial reefs for marine life to colonise and inhabit, embrace the transformations wrought by ecological processes. The works engage with a vision of the possibilities of a sustainable future, portraying human intervention as positive and affirmative. Eduardo Chillida was born in San Sebastian in northern Spain 1924 and is perhaps one of Europe’s most prolific sculptors of the 20th century. His work is installed throughout Europe, Iran, Japan and the United States. In 1984, he and his wife bought the Zabalaga farmhouse in the town of Hernani, just outside of San Sebastian. They would slowly expand the property and restore the farmhouse until it was ready for unveiling as the Chillida-Leku Museum in 2000. Unfortunately, Eduardo died in 2002. Isac Cordal started the Cement Eclipses project in 2006 in Barcelona. Since then, the mini installations have spread over cities like Berlin, London, Brussels and now, Amsterdam. They are like the three dimensional family members of Claire Harvey’s little lonely characters that she painted on transparent foil; they look somewhat lost in their surroundings too. A newer addition to Spanish architectural structures made out of concrete is The Barcelona Torre Agbar or Agbar Tower from 2005. It iis a 38-storey tower located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona. It combines several different architectural concepts, resulting in a structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a facade of glass, with over 4,500 window openings cut out of the structural concrete. How to make a simple foot stool: Movie night, Aug 10
El Corazón de la Tierra - Heart of the Earth reveals an unedited page of Spanish history from more than 120 years ago and it deals with issues still very relevant today: the conflict between economic interests and quality of life, pollution, colonialism, human rights, and the exploitation of child labor. The film is based on a novel (Riotinto Mines/Minas de Riotinto) by the Spanish poet Juan Cobos Wilkins. It transports us to the Riotinto mine during the period from 1888 to 1957. In particular, the novel narrates the events of 1888, the year in which the Riotinto miners launched a rebellion against British rule. It's a historical drama, set around the British-owned copper mines of Andalusia's Rio Tinto in 1888 and depicts the friendship of two women, one Spanish and the other British, against the social upheavals of the time. Based on the true story of the arrival of Cuban anarchist Maximiliano Tornet, which resulted in a strike -- the first ecological demonstration in history -- and a massacre. Blanca Bossa, age 9, and her British friend Kathleen, daughter of the mine's director, witness the horrific living conditions of mine workers, as well as air pollution and acid rain.People living in the huge area from Seville to Southern Portugal suffer from the toxic fumes the mining produces--as do animals. Thousands of people from all over the Province of Huelva follow the revolutionary Maximilliano (with whom Blanca's mother falls in love) in the world's first ecological protest march. They peacefully demand better working conditions and the end of toxic gases, which British law had outlawed 30 years before. For economic reasons, the mine management refuses.Spanish soldiers, sent by the governor who is very loyal to the British mining firm, open fire on the protesters in Riotinto's Plaza. Decades later, Blanca and Kathleen, along with the mine owner and his bodyguards, attend a memorial ceremony marking the "year of the shots." In the 50s the mines were returned to Spain. The film is dedicated to the memory of everybodywho died in the square of Rio Tinto. 'Symmetries of a Space', photos by Antonio Perez There are plenty of museums in Malaga. 'Museum of Malaga' was set up to display the constant archaeological discoveries in the area around the Alcazaba and Roman Theatre in Malaga. The museum has two sections. The archaeological section is located on Avenida de Europa. The fine arts section can be found at the Palacio Episcopal and includes works by Delgrain, Belgrano and Nogales Sevilla – but here they also display smaller temporary exhibitions, often with contemporary artists. July 15 – Aug 15, 2011, a photographic exhibition organized within the framework of cooperation between Andalusia and the North of Morocco is on display. It’s a collection of snapshots, taken by the photographer Antonio Perez. Through a succession of contrasting images representative of both regions the exhibition shows the geographical contiguity, cultural and social cooperation between Andalusia and Morocco. It has been exhibited in Tetouan and will also be in Cadiz. Which side is Andalusia? Which side is Morocco? Open House Aug 6, 8 p.m. Results from an open workshop. Thank you all neighbors
Our guest Judy Farrar, community artist, sculpturer and scenographer with long experince of collaborative projects in Spain and in London, England, will be here to answer all your questions. While not so long ago you could count the women behind the cameras in Spain on the fingers of one hand, since the nineties Spain has become one of the leading countries in terms of numbers of female filmmakers worldwide.What's more, these days, films directed by women are not merely isolated cases with little media impact and a tendency towards the sweet or romantic. Instead, they enjoy great success at national and international festivals and are praised by both audiences and critics. Movie night, Aug 3 Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish actress, director and writer. She made her début when she was 15 years old. Hola, estas sola? (Hi, are you alone?) (1995) was her first feature film as director, a story about two young girls who dream of finding an earthly paradise, and undertake a long trip towards the sea. TAMBIEN LA LLUVIA is her tenth film as a director: Costa and Sebastian arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to shoot a period film about Columbus's arrival in the Americas. Sebastian, the director, wants to upturn the entire conservative myth of Western Civilisation's arrival in the Americas as a force for good. His story is about what Columbus set in motion; the obsession with gold, the hunt for slaves by Spanish mastiffs, and punitive violence to those Indians who fought back. Costa, the producer, doesn't care what happened yesterday never mind five centuries ago, he just wants to get the job done on time and within budget. The battle to get their film made intertwines with the fight of their Bolivian crew members, deprived of their most basic rights, prohibited from collecting even the rain. As Sebastian and Costa struggle with their film, the violence in the community in which they shoot increases by the day until the entire city explodes into the now infamous Bolivian Water War of April 2000. Five hundred years after Columbus, sticks and stones confront the steel and gunpowder of a modern army. David against Goliath once again. Only this time they fight not about gold, but the simplest of life-giving elements: water. Winner, Audience Award, Berlin Film Festival 2011 Bridging Borders Award, Palm Springs International Film Festival Four Progressive Film Awards Thirteen Goya Award Nominations Spain's Official Entry for the 2011 Academy Awards (Bookdata) |
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