Spanish Culture

June 11th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

Spanish culture is extensively known for its Bull fights, Flamenco dance and music, Beaches and sun shines in these beaches. But what Spain is known for?  Spain for years is known as the center for culture in European Continent.

The Spanish have a bizarre artistic legacy. The main artistic figures found in Golden Age were Diego Velázquez and El Greco, the Toledo based artists. Francisco de Goya had emerged during the 18th century AD as the most productive painter of Spain and he created some amazingly unappealing pictures of sovereigns. The artistic world during the earlier 20th century was prejudiced by a notable set of artists of Spain like Juan Gris, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, diplomats of the Spanish artistic culture.

Spanish architecture varies from primitive memorials in Minorca, the Balearic Islands, usually to the Roman remains of Tarragona and Merida, the ornamental Mudéjar buildings , Lonja in Seville, Castles, Gothic cathedrals, fantastic modernist tombstones and the Gaudí’s complex fabulist figurines in the city of Barcelona. They all are the representatives of the Spanish culture.

The invention of the musical instrument, the Spanish Guitar is also a good example of Spanish Culture. It was invented during the 1790’s at Andalusia. It was invented by adding a sixth string to the existing musical instrument, Moorish lute. It earned its contemporary shape during the 1870′s. The musicians of Spain have taken the modest guitar to unbelievable heights of talent and no one more than that of Andrés Segovia (1893-1997). It was he who recognized the classical guitar as a field. Flamenco, which is music that is rooted in the deep song (cante jondo) of the Gypsies (gitanos) of Andalusia, is facing revitalization. The best known guitarist of Flamenco at international level is Paco de Lucia.

His close friend Camarón de la Isla was with him till his death in the year 1992, the foremost light of existing cante jondo. During the 1980’s, flamenco rock fusion which is also known as “gypsy rock” was first created by the liked ones of Ketama and Pata Negra. It was then in the 1990s when Radio Tarifa rose up with a gripping mix of medieval sounds and flamenco.

Spanish Literature

The Spanish literature also forms a part of the Spanish culture due to the diversity in literature and the importance given to it. Here are some facts given below about the Spanish literature.

The word “Spanish literature” refers to the literature which is written in Spanish language, which includes literature poised by the Spanish, the other European and the writers of Latin American origin. It may also include Spanish novels, prose and poetry.

The Spanish literature is the name agreed to the legendary works on paper in Spain all through time, and also those by the Spanish authors universally. Owing to Geographic, historic and generational diversity, the Spanish literature has recognized immense number of authority and also shows its diversity. A number of chief actions can be recognized within it.

The German Fest

May 22nd, 2011 Becky Wildkid

The German Fest is a traditional festival celebrated in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin. The Henry Maier Festival Park is well known for its celebration found at the lake front of the great Michigan Lake. The beginning of the German Fest happens when Henry Maier, the mayor dared the local German-American residents’ community in a speech that happened on 20th May, in the year 1980. It was the 20th Anniversary of German American National Congress which is actually known as Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress (DANK) to arrange a festival for the Germans.

German Fest

Very soon after that, Walter Geissler, the President of DANK at that time, organized a five member committee and was the chair person of it which led to the foundation of the great event, German Fest. The events that have to take place in the German Fest were first consequently written in the month January in the year 1981. After this a lot of working was done on this and thus led to the first ever German Fest which was held in the month of August in the year 1981. It was then named as the German’s largest event celebration in the North American territory. It presently is celebrated during the last weekend completely in the month of July every year.

The German Fest also denotes the celebration the culture of Germany, also including the countries like Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, South Tyrol, and the German speaking communities all around the earth. Many people travel from the “Vaterland” to educate and perform at this grand Fest along with the traditional music.

One of the major attractions is the tent called as cultural tent. It is the best place where various groups which includes both the current and the former provinces which pompously call “German” themselves can be seen. The people range from Hessians (Hessen) and Bavarians (Bayern), to the other German speaking countries like the ones of Austria (Österreich), and these groups relocated by WWII whose home places are at present located at Poland (Polen) and also at the former Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia (Jugoslawien and Tschechoslowakei).

At the central portion of the Fest grounds, a parade passes by periodically which showcases the different German-American heritage associations, the local German fascination schools, and the others who celebrate the German heritage of theirs. The German cuisine will also be an important feature of the German Fest. Most of the well known restaurants of German style and the food services of that area can be found during the happening of the great fest which also includes Bavarian and Mader’s Inn. It also gives place to Usinger’s , which is renowned as the Milawaukee’s biggest sausage maker . Adding to it, the Usinger’s celebrated the 125th anniversary of theirs in 2005, which was along with the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the great German fest. The 2010 was the 130th and 30th anniversary of the Usinger’s and the great German Fest. The 2011 German Fest is planned from 28th to the 31st of July.

French Etiquette – A Unique Set of Manners

April 29th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

The French people have their own style of Etiquette and food habits. These are some of the basic table manners that if followed will be good.

The seating arrangement in French tables is man, woman, man, woman. This has to be made sure that it is first followed. It has also been taught there that it is not polite to place the hands on the dining table, though, the French say that, hands should be placed on tables generally else it will look impolite. Also the fact is that, keeping elbow on the table is again impolite which is the very important table manner of the French. If not followed, eyebrows can be raised on them.

The hostess must place her napkin first on her lap after which we should place ours. Until then should wait. Furthermore, the hostess must give the toast and clink the glasses with all the guests in the table. Eye contact must be made with all the guests that time. Let the hostess begin her meal only after which we should start.

Wine, Mineral water and Bread are provided at all times during the meal. Usually, bread is placed upon a table-napkin. At times bread plate will also be given to place the bread. The Bread should be broken down into small bitable pieces because biting whole bread would be impolite. Wine is provided always with any meal and is filled three-fourth of the glasses. The knife should be held in the right hand and the fork on the left. The remaining cutlery which is not used presently must be placed at 4 o’ clock and 8 o’ clock to denote that the meal is not complete yet.

Eat slowly synchronized with the speed of the others in the table and making sure the meal finishes at the same time with the others. Do not cut the salads with the fork and the knife, rather it must be folded gently on the fork and then eaten. Make sure there are no left overs on the plate. Also make sure the plate is wiped clean of sauce, of course with bread. This is to be done if different plates are not offered at different courses of the meal. The wiping down of sauce with bread should be done with a fork to which a small piece of bread is pork. Moving the piece with fingers will look awful. If more wine is needed just finish the glass and it will be served automatically. If wine is not needed then leave the glass almost full.

Speaking lightly is preferred during the course of the meal. Avoid bringing up controversial topics like politics, religion or money. The French usually eat the sea foods with the help of their hands, hence there is no problem in picking up mussels or oysters from the shells and eat. Avoid cutting and eating them. The fork and the Knife must be placed parallel to each other at the center part of the plate which shows that you are satisfied with the meal. If placed in a crossed position denotes a conflict so avoid it.

Experience the Glitz of Cannes Film Festival

April 18th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

There are number of film festivals that are being conducted in different parts of the world to acknowledge talented actors and inspiring movies every year. The most popular film festival is the Le festival Cannes which is celebrated in France each year. Cannes film festival was initially founded in the year 1946 and is still considered to be one of the most prestigious film function all over the world. The festival usually happens during the month of May every year at the resort town in the city of Cannes.

Cannes film festival is considered to be a great platform for the European films and actors. The awards are given to people who are talented in different sectors of the film industry. Some of the popular films in the world are even premiered during this festival. There are various awards introduced by the Cannes film festival committee on different aspects of film making. There are more than 30 different countries that take part in the festival every year. There has been a huge number of films that are being screened every year to attract the audience.

The Cannes film festival is usually categorized in various aspects in order to identify and appreciate the talents of various artists worldwide. Cannes classic is a program conducted during the festival that highlights the past heritage and culture of a country. There are around 20 films that are short listed every year in different languages and countries. They are then analyzed by the judges and the best film receives the award every year. The other movies are screened for the people during the Cannes film festival. There are special screening for the best short films and school presentations from all around the world.

While organizing the film festival the committee chooses the judge for the year and gives sole responsibility to them to choose the awards from a wide range of collections throughout the world. Popular feature films, short films and movies are short listed and given to the juries for further judgment. The most popular award that is given during the Cannes film festival is the golden palm award which is provided for the best film of the year. Other awards that are provided are the jury prize, best actor award, best actress award, best screenplay award and best director award.

The French Cannes film festival 2010 will be conducted from may 12th to 23rd. There are many new awards and programs that are going to be introduced this year as there has been an increase in popularity among the public. A new award has been introduced for the best short films this year. The committee has put Tim Burton as the head of the jury for judging the short listed films this year. Tim Burton is a Hollywood movie maker who is well known for his exceptional work. The Cannes film festival 2010 would be a great success this year with glitz and glamour. There are many new movies that would be premiered in May 2010 at the festival.

Fringe_festival_of_Edinburgh

The Fringe Festival of Edinburg

March 28th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

The Fringe festival of Edinburgh is known as the world’s largest festival of arts. It was established in the year 1946 and became an option to the international festival of Edinburgh. It usually takes place at the capital of Scotland especially during the four weeks of every August along with various other cultural festivals and arts. It is collectively called as the Fringe festival of Edinburg.

The Fringe habitually draws proceedings from the drama arts, predominantly theatre and comedy, though music and dance also figure drastically. The Theatre events can vary from the classics of earliest Greek, Samuel Beckett and William Shakespeare, through to the latest works, and in the year 2009, up to 37% of the shows were the world premieres. Nevertheless, there are no medleys for approving the entries. It is usually an unjuried festival, so any sort of occasion is probable. The Fringe frequently platforms untried works that may not be allowed to a more official festival. Street fairs also happen in addition to these ticketed events. It usually occurs at the Royal Mile. The organizers are the members of the Festival Fringe Society. They issue the events, sell the tickets and also provide advice to the performers.

In 2009 there were 1,859,235 tickets sold for 34,265 performances, having 2,098 shows at 265 venues, around 25 days. As time passed, this loom led to an adverse censure about the excellence of the Fringe. A lot of this disapproval comes from the individual critics in the field of arts especially in the national newspapers, hard-line enthusiasts of the international festival of Edinburg and irregularly from the festival itself. There is a frequent criticism which is very well aired all over the media over the past 20 years, which has been that the stand-up comedy is taking over the Fringe event, which implied that a huge proportion of latest spectators are attracted closer almost extensively to the stand up comics. Especially to the Comedy stars found on television in the popular venues, and also the fact that they are beginning to gaze at non comedy events just as “peripheral”. The year 2008’s Fringe event denoted for the very first time that the comedy has now become the largest track of entertainment rather than the other fields which, as said previously was called as Peripherals.

The liberty to put up on any liked show of their own has periodically given rise to controversies as and when the individual tastes in the religion or sexual explicitness have been breached or disobeyed. This has thus brought in some of them into disagreement with the local counsellors of the city. Unnecessary to say that there has been the infrequent groups who perform deliberately have tried to incite argument as the means of publicitizing their shows.

Venice Carnival

March 5th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

The carnival of Venice is a major event held in Venice, Italy. It is a very important feast and is conducted annually. The feast begins two weeks prior to the Ash Wednesday and terminates on the Shrove Tuesday.

This carnival is celebrated by all the people and does not have any caste discriminations. It is basically the time for expression and Celebration. People wear masks and hide their identities among the social classes. It was at the 1970’s when the Government of Italy decided to bring back the culture and History of the beautiful Venice and wanted to use the customary Carnival as the master piece of the efforts made by them. Now, around 30,000 visitors visit Venice every day for the Carnivals.

Carnival masks of Venice
The masks always are a basic feature of the Carnivals in Venice. Traditionally, it is allowed to the peoples to wear the masks in between the celebration of Santo Stefano which is celebrated on 26th December and during the commencement of the carnival and also the mid night of the Shrove Tuesday.

The Venetian Masks can either be made of leather or with the unique glass practice. The innovative masks were quite easy in decoration and design and frequently had a representative and practical purpose. These days, most of the people are prepared with the claim of gold leaf and gesso and all are hand painted making use of ordinary fine hair and jewelry to garnish.

Bauta
Bauta is the complete face, with an obstinate chin line, lots of gilding and no mouth. One can find the masks which are sold as Bautas so as to wrap only the superior division of the face from the forehead till the upper cheeks and the nose, thus obscuring the identity but allowing the possessor to speak, eat and drink with ease. It is likely to be the major type of mask that is worn at the time of the Carnival. It was later also used on various other incidents as a tool for hiding the identity of the wearer identity and also his/her social status. It would also allow the wearer to freely act in times where she or he needed to interrelate with the other associates of the civilization exterior to the limits of individuality and daily gatherings. It was therefore helpful for a diversity of uses, a few of them criminal or illicit, the others being just personal, like the romantic encounters.

Moretta
The moretta is an oval shaped black velvet mask which usually was worn only by the women approaching convents. It was first invented in France and then quickly became trendy in Venice as this mask unleashed the beauty of the feminine features. It was terminated off with a covering, and was protected at a place by a tiny bit inside the mouth of the wearer.

Larva or Volto
It was the mask which was very common and used mostly by the people in Venice. It was famous for centuries together. The term “Volto” means simple.

venice-culture

Venice and its culture

February 22nd, 2011 Becky Wildkid

 Are you an art and culture lover and interested in travelling? Then Venice is the best destination for you. It has many classic architecture and cultures which will impress you to a great extent. The splendid canal system in the city is world famous. There is no limit to the beautiful features seen in this city. The culture of this city is such an attraction that thousands of tourists flow into this city, every year. A perfect seven days will be enough for a traveller to witness some of the best teasures of this city. 

The Church of San Stae, is a historical important structure and at present it is the most beautiful structure. It was established in the year 1127. Giovanni Grassi, redesigned it and rebuilt it to give an outstanding look. The Oriental Art and Modern Art Museum have lots of paintings and will definitely be loved by art lovers. Hence, these must not be forgotten to see. The Grand canal is one of the attractive canal in the city of Venice. The Rialto Bridge is built over this canal. Many people visit this bridge to enjoy views of the city. The building of this started in the year 1588 and finished in the year 1591. This bridge replaced some wooden bridges which were built during the 10th century. Peggy Guggenheim Museum is a the best place for art lovers. Great artists like Picasso and Boccioni’s paintings feature in this museum. 

Now talking about the culture of Venice, the world famous Carnival is a great attraction to the tourists every year.  Apart from famous historical, cultural and artistic beauties, this Carnival makes the city of Lagoons more famous. Long back, during the 12th century, the Venetian Carnival originated. This carnival marks the starting of a season known as Lent Season.

The streets in Venice become the busiest place during the Carnival. Something will be happening every now and then on the roads. To enjoy more such events during the Carnival, one can go the centre of the city but it is very costly when fooding and lodging matters. Rather the Mainland of Venice is more cheaper in compared to the city’s centre. It is also easy to hire boats from here and visit other places in the city. 

Vaporetti, is a term used for water buses that are the means of transport on the lagoon. Murano, Burano are some of the eye-catching outlying islands of the lagoon. 

Most of us know that Venice is an expensive city. But many events which take place during the Carnival are free of cost. The most famous event is the Masked Ball event. Many people wear mask and participate in the events. Events include fireworks, parties, performances and children’s events.  Most of these events are free to be attended. Hence, a large crowd gathers on the squares and streets of this city. 

At the end of the day, one must be greatly relaxed and happy enough, after going through the scenic beauties of this city. One must not forget to participate in the Masked ball event. Afterall, this event will make your trip a memorable one.

western culture

Western Culture

February 18th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

Culture, an English word that derived from “cultura” in Latin, which in turn had stemmed from “colere” meaning “to cultivate”, though being aptly named, is one of the most misunderstood term. To sum it up in the words of German socialist Georg Simmel, culture is “the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history”.

Culture, around the world, is broadly classified into two categories, the Western and the Oriental. The origins of rudimentary culture in the sense of the word dates back to 9000 B.C. The Western culture, as we know it started in the area around the headwaters of the famous rivers Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan. In the present day, western culture is actually believed to be a set of traditional customs, social norms, ethical values, religious beliefs, political systems as well as specific technologies of the western world. Geographically speaking, the west of the present day refers to the regions encompassing the Catholic and Protestant Europe along with the overseas territories of the Anglosphere, the Hispanidad, the Lusofonia or the Francophonie.

Like all the other great cultures of the world, western culture gradually evolved with time. Many great empires rose like the mighty mountains, only to perish and fall to the ground. The mighty Greeks with all their grandeur were replaced by the Romans,the great conquerors. On the timeline, there are three broad demarcations-the classical Greco-Roman/Celtic/Germanic Europe,the medieval Europe with the Byzantine empire coming into prominence and finally the Modern Era.

Art has always been Man’s manifestation of the world as He perceived it. Dance, music and other forms of art are only the various modes to which man has resorted to express his inner feelings. Every culture has its typical dance, music and art forms. The western culture is no exception. It has given mankind various styles of pleasing music such as the symphony which originated in Italy employing the melodious instruments like the violin, piano, pipe organ, saxophone among others. Among the dance forms, the notable ones to develop were the ballet, the ballroom dance, the polka, the square dance and the step dance which made the people come alive and manifest their expressions through the artistic movements of their body. Speaking of literature, Homer’s Illiad is considered to be the timeless classic. However, the art of story-telling in the form of a novel originated only in the west. Literary giants like dramatist William Shakespeare, great poets in the form of William Wordsworth and John Keats have all enriched western literature. Speaking of painting and art, one can never forget perhaps the greatest genius to walk on this earth, Leonardo Da Vinci. He, along with all the greats like Michelangelo were the persons who revolutionized western art and ushered in what we popularly known as “Reneissance”. The Reneissance, meaning “rebirth”, was a cultural movement during the period starting from 14th century and extending up to 17th century which embraced classical sources as the sources of learning and purged the dark Europe of its malpractices.

Sports have always been an important facet of a culture as it expresses man’s desire to challenge and improve his corporeal skills. To emphasize the importance of sports, the Greeks created the ancient Olympic Games which were held in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.
However, they slowly disappeared only to be revived as the modern Olympics by the French baron Pierre de Coubertin. The first modern Olympics were held at Athens in 1896.Apart from this, the Romans invented gladiatorial fights in their legendary Colisseum, the Spaniards are accredited with the invention of Bullfighting. The Industrial Revolution made work more mechanized, bringing more leisure time to man and modern sports like cricket, football, golf, tennis and rugby emerged.

The western culture has given us most of the modern scientific technologies to such a degree that many associate “modernization” to the word “westernization”. Development of new technologies, atomic and nuclear power, etc. and invention of new materials revolutionized industries and made man’s life easier. Developments in scientific theories helped the inquisitive mind of man to understand his surrounding in a better way.

Thus, western culture has really made and continues to make a great impact on the present world scenario.

Cork-jazz-festival

Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland

February 11th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

The Irish cultures are very unique and different from the other cultures throughout the world and so are the festivals celebrated in Ireland. Some of the popular festivals that are celebrated by the Irish people are Arran folk festival, cork jazz festival, St.Patrick’s festival, Festival of world cultures and Wexford opera festival. Cork jazz festival is one of the top five popular festivals that are celebrated in Ireland. This festival attracts more than 50,000 jazz lovers throughout the world. There are number of jazz bands and musicians who perform during the arts and cultural event in Ireland. Every year during the month of October Cork jazz festival is celebrated for four days.

The annual cork jazz festival in Ireland is considered to be the largest Jazz musical event in the world and hence there are number of music lovers who visit Ireland just to have a glimpse of it. The festival was initially founded by Jim Mountjoy during the month of October in 1978.In order to promote the festival Mountjoy introduced Jazz train and Jazz boat in the United Kingdom. More than 60,000 people now visit Ireland for this musical event.

All the musical performance are usually conducted at the cork city that is located in the southern coast of Ireland. The cork city was a trading port initially during the olden days but has now become a city of musicians where musical lovers travel every year to look at their favourite musicians performing in the city. As there are a number of musicians performing every year at the cork city the musical event were named after this city “cork Jazz festival”. Some of the popular musicians who perform during the cork jazz festival are Peter Broderick. Dead cat bounce, Greg felton, Perfidia, Roaring forties, Skazz and Tony Milner.

There are a number of jazz concerts that are played in more than 75 venues in cork city. Hence one can choose the venue based on the artists who perform. Some of the legends who perform at the Jazz festival are Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald. The 2010 cork jazz festival is celebrated from October 22nd and October 25th.The Guinness festival club and everyman palace theatre are the most popular venues where popular artists perform during the festival. Guinness festival club has around six stages where number of artists performs everyday and they are most preferred by the music lovers as they can have a glimpse of all the six performance in a day during the festival.

One can get the tickets in advance for the musical performance at the cork city at the official site online. The price may vary depending on the musicians who play during the festival. Few of the musical performance have free entries and hence one can make use of the opportunity during the cork jazz festival. One can check out the list of plays that are performed at the cork city in the popular everyman theatre and granary theatre online. You can then choose your favourite and reserve the tickets.

Traditional Irish Music Festivals

February 9th, 2011 Becky Wildkid

Traditional music in Ireland has remained vibrant throughout the twenty first century. Many genres, and sub genres for that matter, in Great Britain and even in the United States of America have been greatly influenced by Irish music. From old country music to even modern rock melodies, Irish music is fused with many genres. Bands such as U2 and The Cranberries have received international success and fame. Such bands are a living proof of the fusion in todays music between Irish music and various other genres

There are many kinds of tunes and songs that are categorized as traditional Irish music. Such songs range from ballets to even drinking songs. It doesn’t matter if the singing is accompanied by instruments or not. They have a signature style of singing which can easily be classified as traditional Irish songs.

If you get a chance to visit Ireland you would certainly have your hands full here. If you have a taste for good music and want to experience something different than be sure to visit the many Irish music festivals here. The Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann is the national music festival conducted in August of every year. This particular festival features a number of traditional music acts and people from all over the world come here to be a part of this fantastic event.

The Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival is another must visit festival which has a vibrant atmosphere performing for singing and dancing along with the tunes. This is without a doubt the best and most well-known bluegrass festival held in Ireland. Here you really get to experience the sights and sounds of the true Appalachian folk culture.

If you want to treat yourself with traditional Irish music and want to experience the dance culture here, than the Tuam Trad Fesitval would surely do you justice. This particular festival is relatively new but shows a lot of promise. This event includes a wide number of activities from concerts to even dance lessons and music workshops. This festival is home to all the professional musicians from all over Ireland together with students from all over the world looking to sharpen their skills in the profession. For the younger audience is treated with Trad Disco which is an entertaining street performance by a group of young locals.

The half door club international music and dance festival is more then seventeen years old and dates back to the year 1993. After the huge success that it received afters it’s first year this festival kept on growing and it was only a matter of time that people from all over the state started pouring in to be a part of this event. Every year people gather together to take advantage of the hospitality offered here and treat themselves with classical Irish music and dancing sessions. This particular festival has a lot to offer and every year different bands and other musical acts are featured here along with various activities such as trips abroad etc.

« Older Entries
Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More

  • Categories

  • Recent Comments

  • Tags

  • BlogUpp

    • Buy This Link