Cabanyal is tile, the smell of the sea and resistance
'Who resists, wins', is the epitaph on the tomb of Camilo José Cela and also, the perfect slogan to define what has happened with Cabanyal and its Maritime Towns , in Valencia. Endurance , to begin with and going back a couple of decades, before the usual grays : the leather briefcases and the tassels on the carpet of the stale corridors of the Senate.
They wanted a little tambourine dubai but we, its neighbors (it is that the above signatory is silent neighbor ) we just want to continue buying the fruit in the market and l'esmorzaret of Saturdays where always. The truth: we never believed the story of the yachts, the wigs and the photos in the attics of another, that's why resisting was like breathing (we do not know how to do otherwise). But now, it turns out that the languid models are wearing tracksuits and taking photos in the neighborhood, urban roll ; is that you have to fuck.
The authenticity of Cabanyal that the big companies could not buy
These days Cabanyal is in the news because The Guardian has chosen it as one of the 10 coolest neighborhoods in Europe , close to the university area of Brussels, Bonfim in Porto or Neukölln in Berlin. It is signed by someone Nick Inman , which picks up the gauntlet of resistance and shouts to the world that “ wanted to build a new posh avenue on the picturesque streets and demolish 1,600 houses , many of them decorated with original art nouveau ceramics”.
Exactly, that's how it was: malls instead of taverns. And I say that some clothing store of a large chain where the usual fishmongers now live, a crime from which we would never have recovered . But we resist. Resist Canyamelar, Mediterranean and visceral ; neighborhood of anchovies, vermouth and clotxinas, where life happens at the foot of the bar, in front of a cane and a plate of squid. To live.
He says Kiko Amat in reality we never leave the neighborhood (as much as we try to run away from it) and perhaps that is why the hosting options that are working are the ones that have been best integrated into it, I am thinking of the seven Casa Montaña apartments in the middle of Barraca street ( Barracart ) or in The Harbor House , the above of the family of The prettiest.
Cabanyal is tile, the smell of the sea and resistance
Going up the imposing Las Arenas Spa Hotel , beachfront rooms in a historic space that forms part of the emotional memory of so many Valencians (somewhat because of those fabulous posters by Josep Renau) and the fact is that the origin of this seafaring neighborhood must be found in El Poble Nou de la Mar, that fishing village with barracks, shacks and canals lined up facing the sea. Finally, the municipality joined Valencia, but... has it really done so until now? We're on that.
Cabanyal vibrates , from the performing arts of Intimate Cabanyal even the small business, truly genuine; from the artistic avant-garde to the neighbor whose roots sink into the past, and it is that so many times you have to dive into the past to understand the present and the present is luminous in gastronomy: and here the lighthouse that illuminates the district is called Mountain House.
Stay on the warpath this century-old winery , one of the most traditional corners of the Canyameral after which they walk Emiliano Garcia (now less so, as he is a councilor for Tourism) and his son Alejandro, who is also responsible for lively wine tastings that animate the neighborhood and introduce interesting national producers. At the bar the padron peppers , the essentials michirone s or the potatoes from Guadalajara with which bravas, cod croquettes and ajo arriero are made; a jewel on a par with Bodega Ardosa in Chueca or Casa Manteca in Cádiz.
Anyora, the 'cellar of wines and menjars of semper'
We like it a lot too Anyora , this " cellar of wines and menjars of semper ” where the bar is the absolute protagonist but also the natural wines from the hand of Nicola Sachetta and the fabulous Roman Navarro kitchen , owner also of Tonyina. Popular cuisine in the best sense of the word: preserves, offal, seafood, titanium and classic tapas from the neighborhood.
More unique spaces? We have left over: merchandising by José Miralles, Hugo Cerverón and Nacho Medina, the Cabanyal market bar (a perfect iron family bar and coffee at duralux), La Aldeana Winery 1927 of Alfonso García, the sandwiches of The Easter or the salted ones in Taska The Queen.
The vermouth (and the concerts ) in The Ice Factory , anchovies from William House and epistolary paella in the best rice restaurant on the planet: Carmel House.
the neighborhood is nice and that's because smells of hope, saltpetre and future on the asphalt of our most maritime streets: in the Queen, Eugenia Vines or among the stalls of that Marine Market of Cabanyal so ours, and yet so unknown. The white light of Valencia filters through the boulevards and the desire to live. Who resists, wins.
Posters by Josep Renau