Ska punk-rock de lo bueno!
valencia
Carnaval de Benimaclet
Dolçainas, dancing, drumming and drinking: el carnaval de Benimaclet is back on the 27th and 28th of February. Read more here: Benimaclet Carnaval 2015.
Breweries, beer and craft ale in Valencia
It looks like you've finally caught up, Spain. Welcome to the era of the ale. I am British. And I love a good drink. Make of those two sentences what you will. If there's something special about British pubs, it's the ale. Drinking an ale, for me, conjures up feelings of "home"; of sitting in a countryside pub in Yorkshire next to a crackling fire. A quick glance down the bar of any pub anywhere in the country is testament to just how many beers and ales call the UK home. It's common to see 3 or 4 different varieties in any standard pub, often rotating and changing in accordance to … [Read more...]
Benimaclet Carnaval 2016
The annual Benimaclet carnival is back this year on the 13th of February. Festivities include a fire run courtesy of the local Colla de Dimonis and typical local music by the Colla Dolçaina i Tabal Roja de Benimaclet, organised by Joves Benimaclet and the Benimaclet neighbour's association. Parades, dancing, castells (human towers) and communal meals follow. The Benimaclet carnival is usually celebrated one week after its famous counterparts in Tenerife and Cadiz, yet this year shares the same weekend under the new name of #Festimaclet. Just like other years we'll witness the XXVIII … [Read more...]
Valencia Underground II
"There’s something rumbling in the Valencian underground..." Last year I saw fit to write about the Valencian underground music scene. Or, at least, that's where it started. The truth is that Spain is in the midst of an alternative music boom, with gigs of both nationally famous and local bands taking place nearly every weekend, filling venues with loyal fanbases. Just this week basque rockers Berri Txarrak sold out in Barcelona and Valencia. Last month madrileños Toundra had a hugely successful run in Spain and are currently on the UK leg of a European tour. And not to mention the recent … [Read more...]
Berri Txarrak @ La Rambleta
How's your basque?
Cuello + Chesterton @ Magazine
Valencia punk-rock darlings Cuello give us a preview of their third album.
Small café, big heart: La Ola Fresca
La Ola Fresca is a charming delicafé with a lively atmosphere and terrace. Grab a pew among the quirky decorations and bookshelves and take advantage of tasty food from the regularly changing menu in this lovely delicafé on pedestrianised street, Calle Músico Magenti in Benimaclet. laolafresca.com boasts, “We are food enthusiasts, always keen to try new ideas - traditional favourites enlivened with our ‘Fresca’ twist of maybe lime, ginger, chilli, lemongrass or other mystery guests”. A great array of teas and coffees are available as well as craft bottled beers including BrewDog Punk IPA and … [Read more...]
Tales of Línea 1
You may have heard some disconcerting stories about the Valencian underground: delays, reduced services, untoward methods against heavy rain featuring conspicuously placed buckets... The truth of the matter is that metrovalencia leaves a lot to be desired when compared to its sister system in Madrid and paints even less of a pretty picture in comparison to the ever-efficient London tube. In Valencia you often find yourself stood waiting, desperately staring up at the boards, with the only things making an appearance being more and more people piling into the station while the "expected … [Read more...]
The bizarre world of Spanish squats
It's 5am and you're sat on a wooden box painted to look like a coffin in the middle of a muddy garden drinking a can of Carrefour beer. To your left there's a group of people clapping and singing flamenco; to your right, a gaggle of punks huddled around a threadbare sofa. This was the scenario we found ourselves in last weekend after we unwittingly stumbled upon L'Eskombrera - a CSO (Centro social ocupado, or squat house) in the vegetable fields around Benimaclet, Valencia. The huge building, which was probably once used as an alquería or farm house, lies at the end of a dark, narrow road … [Read more...]
Viral videos that you might have missed
There are fewer things more satisfying than breaking up your day at the office with a bloody good video. Here are some of the best viral videos to hit the web in recent months... "Shia LaBeouf" Live - Rob Cantor “SHIA LABEOUF” is a song by Rob Cantor. It tells the true story of an actual cannibal. You're walking in the woods, there's no one around and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot him (Shia LaBeouf) This is how the musical masterpiece begins - an epic 3 minute breakdown of a gory battle to the death with Hollywood superstar Shia LaBeouf, backed up by a … [Read more...]
Bares míticos valencianos (or the return of the charming ‘old-man’ bar)
Don't be fooled by their dark, old-fashioned interiors - you, amigo mío, are in for an authentic taste sensation. Brunch. The hip "new" meal that you can find emblazoned across menu boards of happening bars in Ruzafa. But, come on, we don't want any of that pretentious bull mocking us with pompous use of the English language (what are we, #brunchers?) - we want to experience pensioner chic while propping up the bar with Anacleto and Vicente and knocking back a late morning cassalla. According to the food-centric Spanish timetable, almuerzo is one of the standard 5 meals a day. It can … [Read more...]
9 d’Octubre en Valencia: una fiesta secuestrada
[Si vols llegir l'article en valencià punxa ací] La procesión cívica del llamado Dia de la Comunitat Valenciana del año 2014 nos dejó, una vez más, la bochornosa estampa de grupos fascistas desfilando con algo más que impunidad por el centro de Valencia a escasos metros de las autoridades autonómicas y municipales; unas autoridades que no parecían demasiado alarmadas por su presencia. La exhibición de símbolos nazis tampoco parecía inquietar a la fuerza pública. Ver a la alcaldesa de mi ciudad y al supuesto presidente de todos los valencianos posando tranquilamente a escasos metros de un … [Read more...]
9 d’Octubre a València: una festa segrestada
[Si quieres leer el artículo en castellano pincha aquí] La processó cívica de l'anomenat Dia de la Comunitat Valenciana de l'any 2014 ens va deixar, una vegada més, la lamentable estampa de grups feixistes desfilant amb total impunitat pel centre de València a escassos metres de les autoritats autonòmiques i municipals; unes autoritats que no semblaven massa alarmades per la seua presència. L'exhibició de símbols nazis tampoc semblava inquietar a la Policia. Veure a l'alcaldessa de la meua ciutat i al suposat president de tots els valencians posant tranquil·lament a escassos metres d'un … [Read more...]
