One of the reasons to pack your bags and travel outside of Spain is to discover new cultures, but sometimes the interesting thing can be to discover the legacy of our culture in other countries. And this is what we propose, that you follow in the Spanish footsteps in London, where one of the most important flamenco festivals in the world is held every year, where the first bilingual theater (Spanish-English) in the United Kingdom and where 82 paintings from the Spanish royal collection are exhibited with which Napoléon Bonaparte tried to escape from Spain.
Albert Bridge, London.
ESPUERTAS SPANISH ART
London is a benchmark for enjoying Spanish art outside our borders. In ApsleyHouse they have the Wellington collection with 82 paintings from the Spanish royal collection, among which are paintings by Diego Velázquez such as the famous still life El Aguador de Sevilla.
All the paintings belonged to the collection of the Spanish Crown, but in 1813, in the battle in which Napoleon Bonaparte fled from Spain, the Duke of Wellington found that the French soldier left behind a very valuable booty in Vitoria: more than 200 paintings from the royal collection of Spain.
Once in London, the Duke wrote to King Ferdinand VII to inform him that he had the paintings and that he would send them back, but the Spanish monarch, as a sign of gratitude, told him that he could keep them because he had saved the country”, says Josephine Oxley, curator of the collection.
ApsleyHouse.
A fascinating story that explains why paintings by Velázquez and José de Ribera have ended up hanging on the walls of an English mansion near Hyde Park. Oxley comments that the paintings are not exhibited as in a traditional museum but as in a historic house in which they try to show them as they were in the house of the first Duke Wellington in 1830.
In London there are also temporary exhibitions such as Picasso Ingres: Face to Face at the National Gallery until October, which Picasso painting exhibited for the first time Woman with a Book, which is normally in the Norton Simon Museum in California, next to the painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Madame Moitessier, a work on which the Spanish painter was inspired for his canvas.
THE CERVANTES THEATER, THE ONLY BILINGUAL THEATER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Do you want to see a play in London but your English is not very good? Would you like to see a Spanish play performed in English? The Cervantes Theater is the perfect place for this as it is the only bilingual theater in the United Kingdom in which Spanish and Latin American works are performed, in English and in Spanish.
“It is a window for the internationalization of Spanish culture and our language. It is the first bilingual theater in British theater history. It is our hallmark and what makes us unique”, says Paula Paz, who together with Jorge de Juan founded the theater in 2016. Since then, works by 40 authors have been performed with their own productions and invited companies.
The Cervantes Theater is located a five minute walk from Southwark tube station, on the Southbank, the place par excellence of the theaters in the British capital where they are Globe, The Old Vic, The Young Vic and the National Theater. "It is a very special space because it is located under the train tracks, in one of the arches," says Paz.
Shakespeare Globe.
FLAMENCO AT THE HIGHEST
Dance lovers know that every year at the end of June and beginning of July the Flamenco Festival is held in London, which brings together traditional Spanish artists, such as Estrella Morente, Sara Baras and Jose Mercé, and new generations to dance in the theater of Sadler's Wells.
“It is the only flamenco festival of these dimensions outside of Spain. More than 200 people flock to London. 15 companies with 21 shows. You can see something like this in Seville or Jerez, but there is not in many other cities in Spain”, comments Miguel Marín, director of the Flamenco Festival.
In the 2022 edition, the leitmotif is 'Create in the present. Transforming the future'. “The artists want to make the public reflect on issues such as gender identity, aging, the role of women in flamenco and the importance of historical memory”, explains Marín.
One of Manuel Liñán's shows.
The Manuel Liñán company presents the show ¡VIVA!, in which the Spanish dancer and choreographer refers to a memory of his childhood in which “as a child I locked myself in my room and dressed in the skirt my mother's green She adorned my hair with flowers, put on makeup, and danced behind the scenes. That dance was unthinkable outside those four walls”, says Liñán.
The dancers explore the universe of transvestism on stage, which break social and artistic rules that impose in some way that the artist must manifest himself according to his gender.
CERVANTES ROUTES
In 2022, the Cervantes Institute in London began a new program of guided tours called Rutas Cervantes, which invite you to tour the British capital to discover the traces of the presence of the arts, culture, literature and history of Spain and Latin America through its key characters of all time.
The objective of these routes is to “give visibility to a Spanish footprint in London that is many centuries old and has multiple facets, but not so much is known yet”, explains the director of the London Cervantes Institute, Ignacio Peyró.
The routes that were carried out in March, April and May They focused on discovering emblematic places related to the Protestant (16th century), Liberal (19th century) and Republican (20th century) Spanish exiles. It is planned that this summer new itineraries will be offered that will take place on Saturday mornings in Spanish and will last two hours.
EAT LIKE AT HOME
London's gastronomic offer is very extensive and if you miss Spanish food on your trip, you will have no problem finding a restaurant with squid tapas, tortilla and padrón peppers. Moreover, the difficult part will be choosing where to go.
Bibo is Dani García's restaurant that opened last year in the London neighborhood of Shoreditch. It is the chef's first restaurant in the United Kingdom, which is committed to bringing the concept of the Andalusian brasserie to the British capital with typical dishes such as Andalusian gazpacho, Iberian pork or shrimp with garlic.
“It is a culinary travel guide focused on Spain, created to enjoy a cuisine from my roots”, said Dani García when the place was inaugurated.
If you're walking the streets of London and You get a craving for a Segovian suckling pig, no worries! set course to Taste, the restaurant of the Biscayan Nieves Barragán that won a Michelin star in 2018.
The place has three different spaces: the Bar, the Bar and the Grill offering a different culinary experience. It is in the Asador where you can taste the suckling pig made in a wood oven, assembled by Segovian experts.