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This Culinaria title whets your appetite to explore Spain with all your senses. It describes an incomparable panorama of cultural and culinary traditions, as well as an overview of the most important winegrowing regions of the land. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Great series of cook books
All of the Culinaria cook books are wonderful.Great reading as well as recipes.

que bueno!
Ordered this book a few months ago in preparation for my trip to Madrid and Barcelona, I wanted to better understand the food cultures from there. I found the book very excellent for what I was looking for, I wouldn't say it's the greatest recipe book but it is great for understanding the culture of different areas.

The Be All and End All in Spanish Cooking
This book is so impressive and comprehensive that I can thumb through the pages over and over again to come up with impressive culinary creations from all over Spain. I have MANY friends from Spain and they are awed by the accuracy of the recipes and the fact that all of their favorite dishes are represented.

Treasure of Culture and Cuisine
This is a cookbook for reading as well as for cooking! I have this book to thank for introducing me to Spain and its many fascinating regions. Regretfully, my knowledge of this country, its people and food are limited. Through reading Culinaria Spain, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation for the country.

Like all other books in the 'Culinaria' series, it is arranged in sections by region, not by food or meal type. I enjoy getting to know each area along with its history, people and foods together, rather than having a chapter on history, another on ingredients, etc. It gives a more complete picture of each region. And the pictures! Hundreds of color photos of a vast array of people, terain, fruits and vegetables, and so on.

I will be reading this book for pleasure, for reference and for making dinner for years to come.

My FAVORITE cookbook series!
I have loved the CULINARIA series from the very first volume that I was given as a gift. If you are interested in lerning the history and culture of Spain by learning about the food eaten there, this is the book for you.

The book is divided into chapters by geographic regions. Each region is described by the physical features that make it unique, the foods and ingredients that are special to it, and recipes are given for the dishes that define it. There are abundant sidebars about significant topics either historical, political or cultural in the region that have shaped the food or people.

Then there is the photography. Beautiful photographs of the landscape, detailed photographic charts of ingredients, appetizingly displayed prepared dishes, step-by-step series showing ingredients being made, and people lovingly portrayed going about their daily lives.

This book is BIG, no bedtime reading with this one, you won't be able to hold it up! If you love cookbooks for the way they tell the story of a country, the CULINARIA Spain is not to be missed.
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Mann examines how the financial patronage of newly empowered local rulers allowed Romanesque architecture and sculptural decoration to significantly redefine the cultural identities of those who lived in the frontier kingdoms of Christian Spain.

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The Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila (1515-82), author of one of the most acclaimed early modern autobiographies (Vida, 1565), has generated a wealth of literary, historical and theological studies, yet none to date has examined the impact of textual models on Teresa's self-construction. In looking at the issue of the self, Carrera draws on revisions of the hermeneutic process (Ricoeur) and on analyses of the connections between discourse, power and the subject (Foucault), and applies a valuable historical perspective. Through a close reading of contemporary Spanish devotional books and confessors' manuals, she establishes important connections between Teresa's autobiography and the practices of meditative reading and sacramental confession in sixteenth-century Spain. ... Read more

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The 750 A-Z entries in this new work cover the cultural and political developments throughout Spain, including the culture of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque country. Coverage spans from the end of the Civil War in 1939 to the present day, with emphasis on the changes made since the demise of the Franco dictatorship in 1975. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture is an invaluable resource for students of Spanish or European studies, professionals working in overseas and "hispanophiles" at all levels. ... Read more

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This title focuses on the uniqueness of both the Spanish people and their culture, and on examining what effect the differences have on the way Spaniards relate to people from other cultures and interact with each other. The author begins by looking at Spain's past and at critical dimensions of present-day Spanish-American relations. She then explores certain aspects of culture important in cross-cultural interactions: society and the individual; relationships; language and communication; and work and play. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Different... in spite of it all
This is a very useful book for people with little knowledge of contemporary Spain. In keeping with the goals of the Interact Series, of which it is a volume, "Spain is Different" highlights basic cultural differences between Spain and the United States. (The title refers playfully to a much mocked tourist slogan from the 1960s.) This brief book is not a travel guide, nor does it offer much in terms of historical overview. Wattley-Ames does, however, explain in straight forward fashion basic dynamics of Spanish society that will be unfamiliar to many Americans. Her writing is clear and to the point. (After an introductory chapter that situates Spain in relationship to Europe, Latin America and the United States there follow chapters on Society and the Individual; Relationships; Language and Communication; Work; and, finally, Play.)For example, her four page summary of Spanish family relationships is, with one exception that I'll get to in a moment, right on target. Not only does she situate family life in a broad social context that will be helpful to Americans planning a visit or move to Spain, but she also points out common Spanish feelings about American families: "As for the American habit of moving to the other side of the country or the world without a backward glance, most Spaniards are both envious and dismayed." It's a perceptive and accurate observation. Now, for the exception: in the same section on the family, she has this to say about the thorny issue of child raising in an American-Spanish marriage: "The American is inevitably stricter than the Spaniard about mealtimes, snacks, treats, and naps. Spanish children typically enjoy large quantities of attention and few rules at home." This last sentence is true, but a Spanish parent, especially a mother, may find American eating habits and table manners decidedly lenient. (And as an American married to a Spaniard, well, maybe I'm the exception to Wattley-Ames' rule...) Wattley-Ames' text is judiciously sprinkled with Spanish words and expressions that serve to underscore observations. She is clearly knowledgeable of her subject matter and the book is free of significant errors, although I might quibble with some omissions. (Her discussion of regional languages and linguistic politics, for example, is a little misleading and too brief.) On the other hand, her observations on Spanish social life are particularly astute. Just as importantly, she is well aware of the dangers of generalization and stereotyping, and combats this intelligently by accompanying her observations with appropriate real life examples, proverbs, quotes from respected Spanish observers, etc. Of particular value are the chapter ending "encounters", which provide concrete examples of situations in which an American would benefit from having 'cultural literacy' regarding Spanish customs and behaviors. There is a brief bibliography that includes a valuable section on recent Spanish cinema. ... Read more

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Goya: The Last Carnival provides a new and insightful reading of Goya, concentrating on the closing years of the eighteenth century as a neglected milestone in his life.Goya waited until 1799 to publish his celebrated series of drawings, the Caprichos, which offered a personal vision of the 'world turned upside down'. Victor I. Stoichita and Anna Maria Coderch consider how themes of 'Revolution' and 'Carnival' (both seen as inversions of the established order) were obsessions in Spanish culture in this period, and make provocative connections between the close of the 1700s and the approaching end of the Millennium.

The authors deal with almost unknown or neglected literary sources concerning Goya's intellectual environment. Particular emphasis is placed on the artist's links to the underground tradition of the grotesque, of the ugly and the violent.Goya's drawings, considered as a personal and secret laboratory, are foregrounded in a study that also reinterprets his paintings and engravings in the cultural context of his time.

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Explores new ways to think about privacy and disclosure. ... Read more

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Each February the Andalusian region of southern Spain erupts into a festival of riotous celebration. In this lively book, anthropologist David D. Gilmore explores the meaning of this carnival, with special attention to its songs, or coplas. Mining the rich vein of oral literature in carnival performances, the author offers a new understanding of Spain's celebration as well as rituals of revelry in other parts of the world.. ... Read more

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This book offers a comprehensive account of modern Spanish culture from its beginnings in the Revolution of 1868 to the present day. Specially-commissioned essays by leading experts analyze the historical and political background of modern Spain, the culture of major regions including Castile, Catalonia, and the Basque Country, and the country's literature. There are studies of painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema, dance, music, and the modern media.A chronology and guides to further reading assist in making the volume an invaluable introduction to the politics, literature and culture of modern Spain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Solid Introduction to Spanish Culture
This work is a comprehensive volume, well written, that examines the various strata of recent Spanish Culture.Unlike a previous reviewer, who seemed shocked at the notion that this work should include literature, art and music as "culture", I find it provides an adequate cross-section of various genres and media.This is not a "travel guide" or a touchy-feely "insider's guide" to Spain, but a serious scholarly introduction to the men and women who have defined Spanish culture in the 20th century.If you are looking for information on tapas, look elsewhere; if you want to know how the Spanish civil war impacted the arts, this is for you.

Not what I expected
For the purposes of this book, culture is defined as the arts, so the essays by various authors included in this book deal with literature, theater, dance, painting, etc., which could be very interesting, but not in this case.I got the impression that the essays were all examples of experts showing off how expert they are; very dry, lacking emotion, failing to inspire or excite.Too analytical, all head and no heart.For an excellent book on the modern life, living, arts, politics and all ofSpain is "The New Spaniards" by John Hooper.

BULLFIGHTING IS A CULTURAL ART
This well researched book gives readers a good overview of Spanish culture and Spanish history.

One of the many fine things about Spanish culture is BULLFIGHTING!Bullfighting is highly regarded among many peoples of southern Europe (and beyond) because it represents masculine power, virility and danger.The matador often represents the bravery that most people would like to display in the face of deadly danger.The fine art of bullfighting is really a salute to bravery.Bullfighting also is a form of pageantry.

The picador ("picker") sits on a large horse, spear in hand.His horse wears a padded cover so as to be protected from the raging bull.He impales the bull with his spear.The bandillieros then impale the bull with darts and sever the tendons in the bull's neck.The bull then runs with his head in a lower position.

The matador is the last to enter the arena.He must demonstrate his bravery by a series of cape manuevers prior to killing the bull with his sword.The more dangerously close to death the matador is, the braver he appears.The closer the bull gets to the matador and barely missing the cape, the better the bullfight.Bullfighting is really a ballet of bravery; it is a pageantry of masculine power.

People opposed to bullfighting feel it is cruel to the bull and some "experts" have described this fine sport as being sado-masochistic.The bull's demise in the arena is far less cruel and gruesome than the death he would face in a slaughterhouse.Bullfighting adds pageantry and bravery into the mix. I love a good bullfight, myself.

Matadors throughout history have been regarded as very brave men.Manolete, Joselito, Belmonte, Ordez...these are some of the men who have made the fine art of bullfighting even more so. Bullfighting is really a cultural art. ... Read more

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Featuring full-colour photography, illustrations and maps, this title is suitable for those who want to know more about the history and art of the regions, cities, and monuments they visit. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

condescending
The author is clearly well-versed in social science jargon and methods, but this only seems to blind him to his own biases. One doesn't need to read far to realize that for Timothy Mitchell, there can be no question that rationality and reason are superior modes of knowing to passion and other forms of the irrational. The Andalusians cannot be blamed, however -- he reminds us again and again -- because their social and political powerlessness has forced them to embrace fatalism and fantasy. I feel rather sorry for the author, as his landscape of possible epistemologies and their liberating aspects should be so narrow. For him, economic and political "realities" -- which are simply given here, and not problematized -- determine everything. What a terribly fatalistic and powerless point of view.

buried treasures
If you can dig through his very constipated prose style, his totally unnecessary social science jargon and his irritating habit of announcing everything that he's going to write and has just written (thus only 4stars)--if you can plow your way through all that--there are somefascinating things to be learned from this book.I live in Andalucia, andfind Mitchell's historical and sociological insights quite helpful inunderstanding behavior and attitutudes that are quite apparent even today. ... Read more

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In this innovative synthesis of film history and cultural analysis, Marsha Kinder examines the films of such key directors as Buñuel, Saura, Erice, and Almodóvar, as well as works from the popular cinema and television, exploring how they manifest political and cultural tensions related to the production of Spanish national identity within a changing global context.
Concentrated on the decades from the 1950s to the 1990s, Kinder's work is broadly historical but essentially conceptual, moving backward and forward in time, drawing examples from earlier films and from works of art and literature, and providing close readings of a wide range of texts. Her questioning and internationalizing of the "national cinema" concept and her application of contemporary critical theory--especially insights from feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, and discourse theory--distinguish Blood Cinema from previous film histories. The author also makes use of a variety of sources within Spain such as the commentaries on Spanish character and culture by Unamunov and others, the contemporary debate over the restructuring of Spanish television.
Kinder's book moves Spanish cinema into the mainstream of film studies by demonstrating that a knowledge of its history alters and enriches our understanding of world cinema.
The interactive CD-ROM is available from CINE-DISCS, 2021 Holly Hill Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90068, (213) 876-7678. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Superb analysis ofthe unique power of Spanish cinema.
From the films of such towering directors as Luis Bunuel, Carlos Saura,Victor Erice, and Pedro Almodovar, Kinder traces influences to thepaintings of Goya and Ribera and the writings of Lorca and Galdos and tothe political events in Spain's turbulent history. Most original are herexplanations of what makes the melodrama and violence in these filmsspecifically Spanish. It argues convincingly that in order to understandworld cinema, one has to know the history of Spanish film. Illuminating andengaging, it is a highly readable, and well written exploration of Spanishart, history, and culture. ... Read more

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Women's Narrative and Film in 20th Century Spain examines the development of the feminine cultural tradition in spain and how this tradition reshaped and defined a Spanish national identity.Each chapter focuses on representation of autobiography, alienation and exile, marginality, race, eroticism, political activism, and feminism within the ever-changing nationalisms in different regions of Spain.The book describes how concepts of gender and difference shaped the individual, collective, and national identities of Spanish women and significantly modified the meaning and representation of female sexuality. ... Read more