The Mystery Play of Elche, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Mystery Play of Elche is a sacred musical drama of the death, the passage into heaven and the crowning of the Virgin Mary. Since the mid-fifteenth century it has been performed in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Elche. It is a living testimony of European religious theatre of the Middle Ages.
This old theatrical performance, which is entirely sung, comprises two acts, on 14 and 15 August. The texts are in Valencian language and Latin. Ancient aerial machinery is used to enhance the spectacle.


Photo of The Wide World Magazine (1900)



Photo of The Wide World Magazine (1900)

Access to the Basilica, both on the 14th and 15th, is free, with its doors remaining wide open. However, due to the popularity of the play, it is essential to arrive at the church several hours in advance.

On the 11th, 12th and 13th August, open rehearsals take place, when the whole performance is concentrated into a single day, and which may be enjoyed by purchasing a ticket. In addition, in even-numbered years, there are extra ticketed performances on the 29th, 30th October and free access on the 1st November.

More than 300 volunteers take part in the performance each year as actors, singers, stage directors, stagehands, tailors and stewards. This tradition was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO).

Ternari song video

UNESCO video

Practical tips:

The Mystery Play of Elche isn´t short, so the whole representation might not be the best option with small children (and for the people that don´t like this kind of  music). But the Mistery Play of Elche is really something extraordinary, and at least, you could take advantage of the open doors on the 14th and 15th August to take a look.

When the representation begins the temperature is still hot, so it´s a good idea to carry a hand fan and a bottlel of water.
And finally it´s highly recommended to get the guide of the representation, to better understand the scenes and songs.

Link to get the guide of the representation.

Photo of The Wide World Magazine (1900)

CURED HAM, A GOURMET TREASURE: BASICS FOR BEGINNERS.

When you ask spanish people that live abroad about the things they miss, the first place is mostly for the cured ham. With the Spanish food there is nothing so iconic as the ham, a gourmet food which is generally served in thin slices. If you are on holidays here, you definitely should taste it. But it's better if you read something about it before.



In the Serrano Ham the fat is mainly separated of the muscle fiber.

Ham has been elaborated for centuries in Spain, the largest producer in the world. Ranging in price from economical to very expensive, there are various types of cured ham,  the normal or Mountain Ham ("jamón serrano"), and the special or Iberian Ham ("jamón ibérico"). Both of them have differents qualities, that are sold in grocery stores, sausage shops and supermarkets, and sometimes with an Appellation of Origin.

Serrano Ham with toasted bread.

 The mountain or Serrano ham is made from several different breeds of pigs, that are fed mainly with cereals feeds. These hams are cured from 7 to 16 months.

The Iberian ham is made only from the Iberian breed pig (pure or mixed, both are allowed), and the curing process takes about 36 months. There are three types of Iberian Ham, depending of the pig's diet: Free range pigs that roam the holm oak forests, or the pigs are pastured and fed a mixed diet of acorns and grain, or the pigs are fed on grain in farm pigs. The first one is "Jamón Ibérico de Bellota", the finest and the most expensive of all hams.



Tipical image in the Iberian Ham, with fat very mixed with the muscle fiber.

 

So, the pig's diet determine the Iberian Ham quality... and the price, that are between 50 and 150 euros/kg.

And what´s the difference between Serrano and Iberian Ham? Mainly the lipid composition. The Iberian Ham is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, specially with high level of oleic acid (the same that in olive oil), due the feeding with acorn (“bellota”).

If you aren´t a little bit expert, it isn´t easy to know in a restaurant if the price of the Iberian Ham is correct with their quality. In this case it's better to choose Serrano Ham. The Iberian is best, but Serrano is also delicious. Maybe the price of the best Iberian Ham seems high, but it's really something special, it´s one of the greatest foods on the Earth. The only way to determine if it's worth is to taste it, buying some slices in a shop.

 And how to eat it? Always not cold, at room temperature. The Iberian Ham alone, without mixing with other food. The Serrano Ham is best with toasted bread, with a little olive oil or a little natural scratched tomato  (or both), and also in sandwich. Of course with their best companion, a good red wine.

Pomegranates time: the best way to peel it.

To taste local food is one of the best ideas we can do when we are on holidays, and in this part of the year, October and November, here it is time to crop pomegranate. Cultivated since ancient times, it is one of the main farming in the south-east of Spain, specially in the area of Elche.

To eat a pomegranate, after it´s opened by scoring it with a knife and breaking it, the seed casings are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. But the most effective way of quickly harvesting the seeds is to cut the pomegranate in half, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl and smack the rind with a large spoon. The red seeds are consumed raw, or are used to get an excellent juice.

 

         Pomegranates have high levels of antioxidants, with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments. Despite of that more research data are needed, it is considered a fruit with potential health benefits, for example, in heart disease or in hypertensive patients.

 

 

PARAGLIDING AND TANDEM FLIGHTS IN GRAN ALACANT - SANTA POLA

Are you spending your holidays in Elche or Alicante?
And do you want to try a special emotion?

 A paragliding tandem flight is a good choice, because here you can find one of the best locations to practice paragliding, in Gran Alacant.  Due to its particular micro climate it´s possible to fly safety most days.

Tandem flights coast between 65-80 Euros (2013 prices). You don´t need previous experience. During the flight, that takes about 15 and 20 minutes and that is guided by an expert instructor, you can speak with the pilot and use your camera.

 

I have personally tried it and it´s awesome. The takeoff is very easy and quick. When you go up or down, the movement is slow and gentle, it is the opposite to a roller coaster. The sight is impressive and relaxing, all the time with great sense of calm while you only hear the wind sounds on the paraglider.

If you are interested, ask in www.parapentesantapola.es or in www.doyouwanna.net

You can also go to a paragliding equipment shop in Gran Alacant, in Escandinavia Avenue, 72  (www.kasana.es). Other option is http://www.summerparagliding.com/ , from Alicante and Benidorm.

If you like this experience, there are also available paragliding courses.

Enjoy it !!!  

COCA: Traditional bakery in the mediterranean coast.

 

  The word “coca” is used in the Spanish Mediterranean coast to name several types of traditional bakery, very easy to find, generally salty but also sweet (for example, the “Coca boba” sponge cake).

 

 

 The more popular is named simply “coca” or “coca salada”, so antique that nobody knows which one its origin.  It´s made of wheat flour, olive oil and salt, and in some bakeries it´s also added pig lard to the mass. On its surface it has small bobbles made of the same mass, and it may have a small slice of dry salted sardine. It´s delicious when is recently baked, and is very usual in picnic lunches. Coca is very appreciated here, because is very traditional and cheap (one piece costs between 1€ and 1.15€ ) .

 

At any bakery you can also find other different kinds of salty cocas:

 

Stuffed cocas (“cocas rellena”), have tomato sauce with vegetables, or peas, or tuna fish. Vegetables coca (“cocas de verdura”), are similar to the pizza, but older and made with rectangular shape, and the pieces are cut rectangular too. Red and green pepper, onion, and aubergine are the main ingredients. A piece of any of them costs between 1.20 and 1.50€.

 

 

 

 

Photos courtesy  of  “La Espiga de Oro”.

 

Med Arenales, a special beach bar on the shore of the mediterranean sea of Alicante.

(CLOSED IN 2015)

Med Arenales Sound is a special beach bar on the mediterranean shore, with nice design and pleasant surroundings. It's located between Arenales del Sol and Santa Pola, under Gran Alacant, and near to the Carabassi beach. You can find it beside to the small hermitage and the 'Embarcadero de Lucia' bar.  It's open only in summer, from the morning to the night. 

Video:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LESVQ7CGqmY&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLESVQ7CGqmY

The Pusol Museum: the best traditional culture center in Alicante.

Old drugstore and perfumery

The Pusol Museum provide an insight into the recent past of Elche. The Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO included it in the Register of Exemplary Practices in 2009.



Old grocery

 

 

It all began in 1969 in the unitary schools of the rural area of Pusol, a few kilometers from Elche (6 km), as an activity linked to educational plan "The school and its environment", whose subject was the study of the trades and traditions of  Elche´s countryside.



Old toy shop

The aim of this project was to make easier the understanding of the rural environment where it stood, and conservation of a culture, both tangible and intangible, which was rapidly disappearing by the mechanization of agriculture and the replacement of traditional crafts and culture other extensive and more productive.



Traditional stable

It has thousands objects from the nineteenth and early 20^th century, the vast majority of which have been donated. Currently are deposited in it all ethnological aspects: agriculture, commerce, industry, folklore, traditions. At the Pusol Museum you'll be able to visit typical shops, see the traditional carts that were used to transport everything, take a look around a rural home, as well as admire the clothing and other artefacts. The Museum is not limited to retrieve objects, because also involves in this task to many local people. It´s really a charming museum.

 




The place to separate the wheat from the chaff

 

To read more:  http://es.scribd.com/doc/64671618/Cooperative-Safeguarding-of-Cultural-Heritage-the-School-Museum-of-Pusol-in-Elche-Spain

 Timetable: Monday to Friday, from 9 to 13.30 and from 16 to 19 (in summer only mornings). Saturday and Sunday: from 11 to 14. Closed 13, 14 and 15^th August. Free admission on Sundays.

 To arrive from Elche: take CV-851 road (Carretera del Leon), and about 5 kms, after Cachito Restaurant, turn the first to the right, by CV 857  https://maps.google.es/maps/ms?hl=es&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100472554001904324739.000484d67d27f73abd905&ll=38.252201,-0.699692&spn=0.188726,0.486145&z=11&source=embed

If you are hungry when you finish in the Pusol Museum and you want to eat a good paella or grilled lamb chops, Restaurante Cachito, open since 1935, is very near.

http://www.restaurantecachito.com/

 

 



Esparto grass handcraft

 

Traditional winery



Making a esparto espadrille

Traditional cart

 



Old agricultural tools

 

Traditional rural home kitchen

 

HORCHATA: A REFRESHING TRADITIONAL DRINK MADE WITH TIGER NUTS

The “Horchata” is a vegetable milk prepared with tiger nuts, water and sugar. The natural one is delicious and very popular specially in summer. In the traditional ice-cream shops you can find  Liquid Horchata and Iced Horchata (this one “granizada” in Spanish. It seems crushed ice). It´s easy to find horchata cartons in the supermarkets, but is industrially produced (sterilized or UHT), and the flavor it isn´t exactly the same, because the technological process transforms or eliminates totally or partially its contents of starch.

Horchata is more than a refreshing soft drink. It is a healthy drink very rich source of nutrients. The elaboration starts washing the tiger nuts (cyperus sculentus lativum) or 'Chufa' as it is known in Spanish, which is not actually a nut, but a small tuber.

Once they are washed, they have to be soaked by hours and then, they are grinded. During the process some water is added, and the mixture is left to macerate. When the proper time is spent, it is pressed and sifted and then, the amount of sugar is added and after the mixture is seeped again. Once this is done, it is just needed to cool down the mixture. 

The “horchata” can be found at any ice cream shop. But only a few are producers. In Elche a good place to taste artisan horchata is the terrace of Helados Illice, in Glorieta Square. They make their own horchata very near from this terrace.

ELCHE OLD CEMETERY

 ELCHE OLD CEMETERY

                                                                                            Shot Memorial.

The Old Cemetery of Elche began its activity in 1811. This year a lot of people died due to a serious epidemic disease. In its early stages, burials were performed in soil, but nowadays you can see mainly niches and mausoleums.  

Today is included in the city, though quite independently and maintaining a certain distance from the nearest houses. If you prefer arrive by bus, take the line  I,L, or K.

This cemetery is not just a place to remember those who left us. Old Cemetery of Elche is integrated into the Route of the European Significant Cemeteries, a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. It isn´t so big or so monumental as other European cemeteries of this Cultural Route, but it´s also culture, an outdoor museum, and a quiet place to walk.

                                              Mausoleum.

Vault

                                                  Garden of remembrance.

                            Remember the sleeping soul,

                            enliven the mind and wake up,

                            watching,

                            how life passes

                           (… how death comes, so quiet)

                                       I was what you are, you will be what I am

 

In memory of the defenders of freedom and democracy, shot in this cemetery between 1939 and 1940. Buried in a common grave, now lie in the ossuary that opens under this inscription.

                                              Mausoleum and niches.

                                                Mausoleum.

Photos in a niche.



                                                     Coordinates: 38°15'45" - 0°42'55."