Life (la vida) The Spanish have a passion for life that I believe is unsurpassed, particularly in Andalucia. They are so friendly and welcome people with open arms. Their passion for life is also expressed in song (canción) and dance (bailar) and of course fiestas!.

Flamenco An emotive dance form originating from the Gitanos (gypsies), which for the Andalucians is almost a way of life. the villages all have their own versions and Cómpeta is no exception, there appears to be a particular pride in each village having it´s own style. www.red2000.com/spain/flamenco

Bullfighting (corrida de toros) although dating back to Greek and Roman times it is widely accepted that it has become the province of Andalucia who have turned it into a spectacle, they have made it their own and whether you agree with it or not it is certainly an embedded tradition in this part of the world. www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/bullfight/ www.idealspain.com/pages/Information/Bullfighting www.andalucia.com/bullfight/home.htm

Food (comida) This section applies really to the whole of Spain, with each region having their own specialities , but I will content myself with my experience of food in Andalucia and in particular "La Axarquia"

Two of the specialties to Andalucia are patatas al la pobre (poor mans potatoes) and migas, both regarded as peasant food. Migas is usually eaten with salt cod and grapes. Patatas al la pobre is quite often served as a vegetable accompaniament to a meat dish for your main course in the local restaurants and is very tasty.

Perhaps one of the most well known snacks is (Tapas) single small portions of appetising food, ranging form salad to meatballs and everything in between. According to legend "tapa" (the Spanish for cover) originated in the campo (countryside) when workers would cover their wine with a piece of bread to keep the flies off their treasured drink!, from there they started to dip the bread in the wine to eat, and tapas was born, whether true or not, it´s a good story.

Probably the other dish that Spain is most famous for is paella (pronounced " Pa - e - ya" ) The name originates from the dish it is cooked in. The base of the dish is rice but the ingredients can be just about anything, rabbit, chicken, fish, shellfish or a mixture of all these, most good restaurants here have it on the menu as standard , possibly due to the abundance of fresh seafood, and it is usually excellent.

Pork and chicken are good value and of course fish. Those of you who have been to Spain, certainly in this part of the country, will probably have been to the markets and seen the tremendous variety of fresh fish, now of course in most major towns, there are hypermarkets and their fish and deli counters are something to behold.

Fruit & Vegetables are also excellent , good value, fresh and tasty , many of which are locally grown. Even with all the building that is going on there is still an awful lot of agriculture here. In the Sayalonga valley where Cómpeta is situated, everything from a tomato to a pineapple is grown. The farmers seem to use every available space and grow just about everything, getting two and sometimes three crops a year from the same piece of land. As an example of how fresh it can be, as well as selling the produce supplied by their wholesaler, our local shop, also sells vegetables grown by their family and sometimes customers. Those of you who can remember as far back as me will remember our Father growing veg in the garden, some of you may even have an allotment and will know that there is nothing like eating fresh fruit & vegetables.

We are lucky enough to benefit from having Spanish neighbours. Quite often there is a knock on the door only to find one of them proffering, grapes, almonds, leeks, etc, notwithstanding half a dozen eggs, some still warm, from the chickens in their garage.

There are also some delicacies from Cómpeta, such as Pasas ( raisins) these are Cómpeta grapes dried on the raisin beds, miel (honey) locally produced by bees & Caña (honey) locally produced through sugar cane. All of these are available in the local shops and are good value www.andalucia.com/taste/home

Wine (vino) Gone are the days when some Spanish wine tasted like cheap vinegar and wouldn´t travel. Spanish wine is excellent, from the inexpensive table wine (vino de mesa) to the more expensive, like Ribera del Duero, Faustino etc. Not forgetting our locally produced Cómpeta wine. Although it is only a personal opinion, I think Spanish wine is the best you can buy. and of course the Andalucians enjoy their wine as much as anyone! www.jrnet.com/vino/

Horses The Andalucians love their horses and are indeed great horsemen, it seems that as soon as the boys can walk they get on a horse. The Andalucian horse is famous throughout the world, extremely elegant, mainly grey or silver but can be bay or black. Every fiesta or feria (fair) would not be complete without the local horsemen showing off their horse riding prowess. www.andalucia.com/rural/horseriding/history.htm

Tapas Variadas