Specialized Online Reference Site (2)

"Spain Culture - Guide to the Culture of Spain." 2002. Spain4UK. 2 June 2008 http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/hotels_spain_festivals.htm.

This online guide Spain provides tourists and researchers alike with important information about Spain. Spain4uk was established in 2002 to promote tourism in Spain to residents in the United Kingdom. The web site is hosted by Fred Tompkins & Associates web designers who specialize in European marketing. The link above would be of particular interest to a journalist looking for information about the Spanish fiesta and the culture that surrounds it. The website provides a table organized by months of the year. It lists more than 15 fiestas, from the most popular ones to the lesser known ones. The table also provides areas in which each festival is celebrated, as well as a short description of each. There are also helpful links with many of the festivals which provide even more detailed information that is easily accessed.

“Spanish Fiestas. Pictures of Fiestas of Spain.” 2008. Don Quijote. 27 May 2008 http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/fiestas/.

The Don Quijote organization was established in 1986 to create schools that promote education about the Spanish language and culture. From the 1990’s to 2000, the organization created several schools in Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Mexico and the United States. The organization also promotes online-education, and the website is a very powerful tool for that. This source would be great for journalists interested in the fiesta culture of Spain. There is an entire section of the website dedicated to this topic, and the site includes an extensive list of more than twenty fiestas, as well as descriptions and pictures for each. Some of these festivals include Las Fallas, the April Fair, Holy Week, and the Running of the Bulls. Bits of information provided with each description includes facts about the religious and secular histories of the events, musicals aspects and specific traditions. This is certainly one of the best sources for a person researching this topic.

Specialized Print Reference Book (2)

Rodgers, Eamonn, Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. London and New York: Routledge, 1999.

This encyclopedia is a specialized print reference book that targets the contemporary culture of Spain. The publisher, Routledge, distributes academic books, journals and online resources in the humanities and social sciences on a global scale. These reference works have earned a credible reputation and have been recommended by organizations such as Booklist, Choice, and Library Journal, to name a few. This source would be helpful to a journalist because there are many easy-to-find entries that are extremely relevant to this topic. For example, relevant entries include those about Fallas, Holy Week processions, Sanfermines (the running of the bulls), Moors and Christians, the April Fair and Corpus Christi, which are all major fiestas in the country. Furthermore, this is an important source because there is an entry simply about the culture of the fiesta. This entry will give an easy overview of the importance of the Spanish fiesta, without overwhelming the reader with long extensive lists of the fiestas. Individual fiestas are in separate entries, which allows the reader to have better understanding of the topic as a whole.

Truscott, Sandra, and María García. A Dictionary of Contemporary Spain. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998.

This dictionary of contemporary Spain includes more than 2,000 entries pertaining to words that may appear while researching any topic about modern Spain. For this reason, this is a pertinent source for any journalist researching this topic. It would be handy to keep during the entire research process as a reference for when the researcher finds unfamiliar concepts or Spanish words. The publisher, Fitzroy Dearborn Publisher, issues scientific, academic books and journals internationally. FDP specializes in producing reference materials in the arts, humanities, business and sciences subject areas for public, high school, college/university and libraries. It publishes about 25 new books per year and has a backlist of 350 titles. Under the “fiesta” entry, one will find seven subsequent entries explaining some of the region-specific celebrations, all of which are relevant to the topic of the Spanish fiesta. These subsequent entries address several of the main Spanish festivals, and provides the reader with a brief summary of what is to be expects of each festival.

Trade Magazine/Scholarly Article (3)

Kenwood, Alun. "Teaching Sociological Literacy. Spanish Fiesta. Babel: Australia. Oct-Dec 1998: 10-13, 34-35, 38.

This scholarly article by Kenwood describes the rich, historical tradition of festivals in Spain. Unlike many sources used in this project, he explains that a multidisciplinary focus is necessary to understand the full significance of fiesta in Spain. This means to fully understand the rich culture of the Spanish fiesta, one must encompass geography, history, music, literature, and the fine arts into the study. This is not a common view when discussing the Spanish fiesta, which makes it such a beneficial source for a journalist researching this topic. He feels that in order to develop a deep understanding of the diversity of Spain's culture as a whole, journalists and researchers should to study Spanish fiestas.

Moreno, Teresa. "Recreational atmospheric pollution episodes: Inhalable metalliferous particles from firework displays." Atmospheric Environment. Feb. 2007: 913-922.

This scholarly article touches on effects some Spanish festivals have on the environment in terms of pollution. In many of the major festivals, large quantities of fireworks are used, sometimes every night over the course of a week. This article discusses the harmful effects these large quantities of fireworks can have on the environment. The article specifically looks at the 6-day festival in Valencia, Las Fallas, which features fireworks not only during the nights, but also during certain days for the "mascleta." This article is useful for a person researching the Spanish fiesta culture, especially because scientific aspects of the fiestas rarely become present in popular literature about the topic. It is important to have a well-rounded and interdisciplinary view of the topic.

Pitt-Rivers, Julian. “The Spanish Bull-Fight: And Kindred Activities.” Anthropology Today. Aug. 1993: 11-15.

This is an interesting article that touches on one aspect of the Spanish fiesta culture—the Spanish bull-fight. This is an activity that occurs at almost every major festival in Spain. The bull is an important icon in the Spanish culture and the author, Pitt-Rivers, points out how the bull even has a religious importance in the ritual of the bull-fight. He did field work in Andalucía, Spain. Pitt-Rivers, who died in 1991, was a British social anthropologist and a professor at UC Berkley, the University of Chicago, theLondon School of Economics and several universities in France, including the Eole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. This scholarly article would be important for a journalist researching the Spanish fiesta culture because the tradition of the bull-fight is prominent in Spain, and can be easily misunderstood by foreigners. Thanks to Pitt-Rivers, many of the common misunderstandings are clarified.

Newspaper/Magazine Articles (3)

Coplans, Chris. “Fired up in Valencia.” Sunday Express 9 Mar. 2008.

This article by Coplans gives a great explanation of one of Spain’s most famous fiestas, Las Fallas in Valencia. He captures some of the feelings that are very specific to foreigners by addressing issues of safety and crowd control. Perhaps one of the most astounding aspects of Las Fallas, particularly to an American, is the fact that spectators stand only a matter of yards away from the 9-story tall flaming sculpture. This is an emotion that Coplans expresses in his newspaper article. I think this article is extremely beneficial to a journalist researching the topic of the Spanish fiesta because not all sources will explain some of the oddities of the festival quite like Coplans does. He uses words such as "pyromaniac," "bonfire," and "Dante's Inferno." These interesting and slightly comical words help to create this article that would help any journalist researching this topic.

Farnham, Alan. “Got a Match.” Forbes 10 Mar. 2008: 102-104.

This article highlights the annual Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain. It discusses components of the festival, including the loud fireworks, bullfighting, marching bands, and religious ceremonies. The article discusses the height of the festival which includes the burning of more than 700 oversized, flammable statues. The statues, called “fallas” in Spain, can be more than nine stories tall, and they mostly depict persons who have fallen out of public favor. They often exhibit artistic satire in the construction and in decoration. Some of the people who have been featured as satirical structures include performer Michael Jackson, Pope Benedict XVI, and the current mayor of the city of Valencia, Rita Barberá Nolla. This article would be helpful for a journalist because it does a good job describing the statues that are burned during the festival, which happens to be the most important component of the entire week-long celebration. A good understanding of the “fallas” would allow a journalist to comprehend the festival on a level at which natives of Spain do. This is helpful if the journalist is trying to present this aspect of the culture to one other than the Spanish culture.

Harvey, David. “Must-Visit Spanish Festivals.” National Geographic Traveler Sept.-Dec. 2002.

This article contains a large list of descriptions about various Spanish fiestas around the country. The author, David Harvey, is a photographer for National Geographic, and complied information he gathered during his tour around Spain, as well as photograph s from each fiesta. These photographs are extremely important to a journalist researching this topic because they allow the researcher to understand a visual part of the culture that would be impossible to understand without pictures or without actually attending the event. Not only does the site feature a list of more than 20 festivals with a small description and links, it also includes phone numbers to contacts for each festival who can give the researcher more specific information. This compilation of phone numbers would be extremely helpful to an individual interested in this topic.

Recent Books (3)

Dunlop, Fiona. The National Geographic Traveler—Spain. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2001.

National Geographic Society is the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization. The author of the book, Fiona Dunlop, is an expert in travel writing about the Spanish culture. In this book, Dunlop describes the atmosphere in a poetic way that captures the essence and the aura that is so specific to the Spanish fiesta culture. She also specifically talks about different fiestas in different regions including the festival of the Moors and Christians, the Running of the Bulls, Semana Santa, Los Mayos, Los Tres Reyes, Carnival, Las Fallas and San Isidrio. This book would be an extremely useful source for any journalist covering this topic for several reasons. First, the book is a guide book written for foreigners. Dunlop does a great job explaining cultural aspects that would be easy for a visitor to understand. Secondly, this book would be great because it has other helpful sections that would aid a journalist during his or her research. Some of these helpful sections include illustrations, pictures, vocabulary explanations, and phone numbers of important contacts.

Rambow, John D. Fodor’s Spain 2006. New York: Random House, Inc., 2006.

Fodor’s is an organization that provides travel and tourism information. Fodor's has produced guidebooks to more than 300 destinations worldwide. The Spain guide book, by John D. Rambow, would be a helpful source for anyone interested in information about the Spanish fiesta. It has an extensive list of festivals in many different regions of Spain and provides important information about each. The festivals are listed in a table separated by the seasons. Rambow mentions five winter fiestas, five spring fiestas, seven summer fiestas, and three fall fiestas. The festivals are accompanied by dates, as well as smart traveler tips for attending these festivals.

Simonis, Damien. Barecelona. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications, 1999.

Lonely Planet is the largest independent travel publisher in the world. It has published more than 500 titles in eight different languages. The author of the Lonely Planet Barcelona book, Damien Simonis, is a travel writer and has works published for Lonely Planet about Jordan and Syria, Egypt and the Sudan, Morocco, North Africa, the Canary Islands, and Spain. This particular book focuses only on the Spanish city, Barcelona, in the region of Cataluña. This book is important for journalists studying the topic of the Spanish fiesta because Barcelona is one of the most important cities in the country, with a rich fiesta culture. This book separates the Barcelona festivals by months of the year and lists and describes ten festivals throughout the year that are specific to Barcelona. This source would be helpful for the journalist researching the broad topic of the Spanish fiesta, but it would be particularly helpful for someone focusing on the interesting city of Barcelona.

Multimedia Resources (3)

Grandes Festivales de España (Great Festivals of Spain). Prod. Harry E. Babbitt Ph D., Oswaldo Salas, Dr. José Regalado. 2004. DVD. Babbitt Instructional Resources, 2004.

Dr. Harry E. Babbitt is a Spanish instructor who earned a Master’s and a PhD from the Universidad Nacional de Mexico. After years as an AP teacher, he felt there was a lack of good visual information that is so pertinent to teaching the linguistic and cultural aspects of another country. He created Babbitt Instructional Resources which specializes in filmmaking for foreign language instruction. His 45-minute film features five different festivals in Spain, including the Fallas in Valencia, Holy Week in Seville, the April Fair in Seville, the Fiesta of Santiago in Galicia, and the Fiesta of San Fermín in Pamplona. The video would benefit a journalist or researcher because it not only provides information about the festivals, but the person is able to actually hear the music and see the art, monuments, construction, and the religious aspects that are particular to each festival. This video captures and clearly exhibits the immense diversity among the festivals in different regions of Spain.

“Hogueras de San Juan de Alicante.” 6 June 2006. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed 01 June 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5krW96uwikQ.

This video clip comes from one of the national television stations from the Community of Valenicia, Canal 9. It features the Hogueras festival in Alicante, Spain from 2006. It features the 178 monuments that are burned during the last night of the festival. This clip is particularly interesting because it shows not only the burning of the monuments, but other important behind-the-scenes aspects of the festival. Some of these include the traffic that floods the city, the late-night fireworks, the firemen who extinguish the monuments, and the post-party clean-up crew. These lesser-seen activities that are involved in the festival process would be extremely helpful for any journalist interested in the topic because it would provide them with an all-encompassing view of the festival.

Paris-Bouvret, E and Pérez-Gironés, En Una Palabra, Sevilla, España: A CD-ROM for Exploring Culture in Spanish. CD-ROM. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

This CD-ROM is published by the Georgetown University Press, a company that publishes scholarly books and journals for globally diverse audiences. It is a multimedia tool that allows researches to learn about Spanish culture interactively. This would be particularly helpful for non-Spanish journalists because the interactive CD-ROM allows the participant to understand how cultural values are embedded in the practices of a culture—for example, through fiestas. The information is given in the form of interviews of people from Seville, Spain, which makes the information extremely important because the user is connected with the cultural aspects on a personal level.

Online Blogs (2)

Carloz. “Barcelona's April Fair—Feria de Abril.” Weblog entry. Spain: The Blog. 25 May 2008. 1 June 2008 http://spaintheblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/barcelonas-april-fair-feria-de-abril.html.

Although this is a personal blog, I found the entries extremely helpful. The writer is a North American living in Spain. He works there as an English teacher and translator. His entry about the Feria de Abril I found extremely helpful. In this entry, he gives a well-rounded explanation of the culture of the event, complete with photos, a detailed history, and a description. In particular, I enjoyed the explanation of the of the food culture that takes place at the fair. Some of the region-specific food included in the entry is mantillas, Jerez sherry, manzanillas, wine, tapas, gazpacho, ham, and churros. A journalist looking for a first-hand account of this event would benefit from this blog. Other festivals which are included in this blog are Semana Santa and San Isidro in Madrid.

H., Anja. "The famous Hogueras de San Juan in Alicante." Weblog entry. Costa Brava Hotels, Hotels Costa Dorada, Hotels Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Apartments, Accommodation. 28 May 2008. 2 June 2008 http://costasspain.perfecttravelblog.com/2008/05/the_famous_hogueras_de_san_jua.html.

The entry in this travel blog does a great job explaining the festival of Hogueras de San Juan in Alicante, Spain. This festival, that takes place from June 20th to June 29th, is a huge spectacle that, in many ways, mirrors the ever-popular festival in Valencia, Las Fallas. Alicante is a city known for its party atmosphere, and that same feeling multiplies in the streets of Alicante during Hogueras. The festival includes concerts on the Playa Postiguet (Postiguet Beach), a nightly firework display, and bullfights. And of course the most popular aspect of the event is the burning of structures (hogueras) that are displayed throughout the city center of the city. This blog entry is helpful because it does a great job describing the event, and is also accompanied by a large picture of a burning hoguera. Finally, this blog is helpful because it provides links to area hotels. This may be helpful to a journalist who is lucky enough to study the Spanish fiesta culture in Spain while actually attending the fiestas. This way, the journalist can find a place to stay without have to struggle through the language barrier since the entire blog is in English.

International Sites (2)

Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos de Elda. Ed. Elías Escribá. 27 May 2008. Junta Central de Comparsas de Moros y Cristianos. 1 June 2008 http://www.moroselda.com.

This website, maintained by the Central Board for the Festival of the Moors and Christians in Alcoy, Spain, is a helpful site for a journalist interested in learning about the Moors and Christians festival. Some of the helpful links on the site include the history of the festival, a calendar of events, links for music at the event, how to become a part of the parade, and a photo gallery. Perhaps the most useful section of this site for a journalist would be the history section. Because this is a festival that commemorates the invasion of Spain by the Moors, an event that happened during the 14^th century, this is an extremely history-rich festival which makes is such a noteworthy festival.

La Tomatina—Web oficial de la tomatina de Buñol. Mar. 2008. Departamento del Turismo de la Comunitat Valenciana. 1 June 2008 http://www.latomatina.es/.

This website, which is maintained by the Department of Tourism of the Community of Valencia, is the official website for the festival in Buñol, Spain called La Tomatina. The Tomatina is the festival where thousands of people gather with thousands of tomatoes and have the world’s largest tomato fight. The website give the history of the festival, the rules for the fight, practical advice for those attending and participating, and gives helpful travel tips relative to the area. This is the best website for anyone interested in learning about this particular festival. Besides the wealth of information about the actual festival, it also provides photographs and video clips. For a journalist researching this fiesta, this is the most beneficial website because without pictures and videos, a food fight with more than 40,000 flying tomatoes difficult to fathom.

Statistical Sources (2)

"Balance del Turismo en España en 2006." Instituto de Estudios Turísitcos. Ministerio de Industria, Turismo, y Comericio. 2 June 2008
http://www.iet.tourspain.es/informes/documentacion/FronturFamilitur/Balance%20del%20turismo%20en%20Espana%20en%202006.pdf.

This report from the Spanish Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commercialism is interesting because it marks trends related to tourism in Spain for 2006. It shows national tourism, international tourism, breaks down revenue received from tourism (by both Spaniards and non-Spaniards), tourism rates for each autonomous community on a national scale, and the percentage of tourists from various countries. These are only a few of the interesting statistics in the report. The stats are displayed through various pie charts, graphs, and color-coded maps. These statistics are important to anyone interested in the Spanish fiesta culture because the easy-to-read graphs and charts show the prevalence of the fiestas and the impact they have on the Spanish economy. The Spanish fiesta is not only a a time to experience a party influenced by the Spanish culture, it is also an imperative aspect to the country's economy.

"Tourism satellite account." Eustat. 2008. Autonomous Office of the Basque Government. 2 June 2008. http://www.eustat.es/estad/temalista.asp?tema=220&idioma=i&opt=0.

This statistical source concerning the Spanish fiesta culture will allow a journalist to access the tourism satellite account of the Basque Country in Spain. The reason the tourism account is so important while researching the Spanish fiesta is that one may be able to find trends in tourism that have strong correlations with the times of the festivals in the Basque Country. Statistics can be applied to the Basque Country because, throughout the year, the region holds seven different festivals. From this link, one may find information spreadsheets about the contribution of toursim to the Basque economy by year, the balance of tourism flows of the Basque Country compared the the rest of the world by component and year, or the contribution of tourism to the Basque economy by Spanish province and year. These are only a few examples of the statistics available at this website.

Government Documents (2)

"Hemingway y Pamplona." 2008. Ayuntamiento de Pamplona . 2 June 2008 http://www.pamplona.net/VerPagina.asp?IdPag=293&Idioma=1.

This is a government document found from the website of the City Council of Pamplona. In Pamplona is perhaps one of the most famous festivals in the world, The Running of the Bulls. Other than the interesting events that happen during the festival, it is popular in the Western world for another reason. Ernest Hemingway happened to be a huge fan of the Spanish festival, and this document explains his involvement and love for the tradition. For example, his first successful novel, The Sun Also Rises, is based around Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls festival. After his first visit, he returned 8 more times. This document is important for a journalist researching the topic of the Spanish fiesta because the history of the growth of the festival is important in order to understand the event in its current terms. Furthermore, it is a little-known fact that certainly will add an interesting component to any project.

"The Tomatina." 2008. Ayuntamiento de Buñol. 2 June 2008. http://www.bunyol.es/html/main3.php?pagina=tomatina_eng.php

This government document was obtained from the website of the City Council of Buñol, the location of the world's largest food fight-The Tomatina. This particular document describes the social norms that should be followed as a participant and spectator of the event. Because this document is located within a website, it is very easy to locate helpful links to other government documents concerning this event. This document would be useful to a journalist researching the topic of the Spanish fiesta because it provides details about expected behavior at the festival. This information would be a great complement to history or other background information about the festival itself. This document provides the researcher with information that personalizes the festival.

Government Agencies (2)

“Artes Escénicas y Música. Ministerio de Cultura.” April 2008. Gobierno de España, Madrid, Spain. 27 May 2008 http://www.mcu.es/artesEscenicas/CE/Festivales/Festivales.html.

This is the website for the Spanish Ministry of Culture's Institute of the Scenic Arts and Music, which promotes, provides financial support, and publicizes information about the performing arts such as theater, music and dance Spain—all of which are integral parts of the Spanish fiesta. This site will be of interest to those working to find up-to-date information about festivals. The Institute sponsors a number of the festivals in the country, and information about them may be found on the site. These include: the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Cádiz; the Muestra de Teatro Español de Escritores Contemporáneos de Alicante; and the Festival Internacional de Música y de Danza de Granada. Anyone beginning work on the Spanish fiesta culture should find this a useful site.

“Tourism in Spain.” 2008. Presidencia del Gobierno. 1 June 2008. http://www.la-moncloa.es/.

This is the website that has the English title of the Presidency of the Government, which provides links to various government departments in Spain. This is a credible site because it is maintained by the government of Spain and will have the most up-to-date, accurate information about the Spanish festivals. Furthermore, it is an important site because the majority of the festivals in Spain are funded by the government. This website is useful to journalists for several reasons. First, it is an easy site to navigate, especially by using the search box to type helpful terms that will lead the journalist to related links. The second helpful part of this website is a link on the sidebar of the webpage called Tourism in Spain. This link will take the researcher to another page that focus on touristic aspects of the country, in particular, the fiestas. The links provides multimedia resources about various fiestas, including video clips, audio clips and photo galleries.

For-profit Businesses (2)

"2007 Fiestas y Ferias." Jan. 2007. Costa Luz Holiday. 2 June 2008 http://www.costa-luz-holiday.com/index2.asp?ID=125&subID=125.

Costa Luz Holiday is an organization that makes money by acting as a booking agent for trips to Spain. On the website, there are many helpful links that provide cultural and travel information, as well as tips for what to do while visiting Spain. This particular section of the site a journalist or researching will find a list of fiestas, festivals, and national holidays. Included in the extensive list of more than two dozen festivals are dates of the festival and in what area of the country it is celebrated. For the majority of the entries, there is also a short explanation of the festival. This comprehensive list is important for anyone researching Spanish fiestas because this list includes many of the lesser-known festivals, such as the Flamenco Festival in Jerez, the Tahivilla Fair and the festival of Las Anguistias. If a journalist wanted to focus on such festivals, this site would be a great starting point.

"Festival de San Fermines." 2007. Ludus Group. 1 June 2008 http://www.ludustours.com/bulls.shtml.

This is a site for a group that provides tours to the Running of the Bulls (San Fermín) in Pamplona, Spain. Ludus Tours was created to offer world tours that do not make the travelers as though he or she is on a tour, rather, that he or she is experiencing the the most authentic trip possible. Ludus has been mentioned by other credible sources such as the Wall Street Journal, Frommer's, the Washing Post, Dallas Morning News, and Runners' World. They make money through the customers who use their guide services. I found that the background information on the website is a great too for someone who is interested in learning more about this particular Spanish festival. The website provides logistical information such as dates and distances for the run, but is also provides an interesting history, rules for the run, and a three-album photo gallery.

Non-profit Associations (2)

Las culturas hispánicas en Internet. May 2008. Instituto Cervantes. 1 June 2008 http://cervantes.es.

The Instituto Cervantes is a not-for-profit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. Its mission is to promote the teaching of Spanish, and to contribute to the advancement of the culture of the Spanish speaking countries. The website is very easy to navigate, and the most useful section of the site for journalists is the search feature. One can use the search box to find information about any of the festivals of Spain, as well as other interesting aspects of the culture. In particular, a researcher should focus on the section about music and art in Spain. These are integral aspects of the Spanish fiesta. The other helpful tool is the site map, where a researcher easily can navigate through the entire site in an organized fashion.,

Volunteer opportunities in Spain. 2008. Canadian Alliance for Development Initiatives and Projects. 1 June 2008. http://www.cadip.org/volunteer-in-spain.htm.

Canadian Alliance for Development Initiatives (CADIP) is a non-profit Canadian organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It has no religious or political affiliation. Through various charities and volunteer programs, CADIP promotes peace, cooperation, tolerance and understanding in multi-cultural and international surroundings. The organization also promotes activities focused on serving others and strengthening communities internationally. This organization sends volunteers to the music festival of Cantonigròs in Barcelona. The event attracts around two thousand people who come to enjoy traditional Spanish music and dances. The volunteer activities at the project consist in collaborating with the organization and development of the festival, including building and dismantling equipment at the festival. Through this website, a journalist is able to understand the logistics that are involved in putting on such an event by becoming familiar with the actual work that is done in order for the event to be successful.

Experts (5)

AnneLise Sorensen. Writer and editor. Barcelona, Spain. 1 June 2008.

AnneLise Sorensen has written more than a dozen guidebooks for major U.S. and U.K. publishers and contributed to many magazines and websites, from Wallpaper Magazine to About.com. She graduated from UC Berkeley and worked as a television writer and producer before beginning her travel-writing adventures. The majority of her travel writing is about Spain and some of her books include Barcelona (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide) and contributions to Fodor’s Spain 2006. Her Spanish region of expertise is Cataluña. A journalist researching the Spanish fiesta culture may find her writings about the Fiesta de La Merce most useful. This fiesta in Barcelona is one of the most popular and well attended festivals. The main event is held on the 24^th of September each year and the festival is held in honor of the Patron Saint and Protector, the Virgin de La Merce. The event encompasses a wide range of activities over several days, offering sporting events, sailing regattas, religious celebrations, parades, firework displays and dancing.

Fiona Dunlop. Travel Writer. London, England. FionaDunlop.com & FionaDunlop.co.uk. 1 June 08.

Fiona Dunlop earned a degree from the University of Sussex in Brighton, Unite Kingdom. She has written for numerous international magazines and newspapers, including the Observer, The Times, CNN Traveler, and Homes & Gardens. She also wrote several books particularly about Spain, including Spain Chic, New Tapas, and National Geographic Traveller–Spain. Her books, in particular, would be extremely useful tools for any journalist researching the topic of the Spanish fiesta, because that aspect of the culture can be found in all of her books. Her first-hand experiences make the topic very easy to understand for someone who may have never experienced a Spanish fiesta.

Harry E. Babbitt. Professor, Creator of Babbitt Instructional Resources. 10650 Culebra Rd. #104, PMB 476, San Antonio, Texas 78251-4950. 28 May 2008.

Dr. Harry E. Babbitt earned a Master’s and a PhD from the Universidad Nacional de Mexico (UNAM). He taught AP Spanish in Chicago then later at the University of TexasSan Antonio. Babbitt has traveled to every country in Latin America except one. He first went to Spain in 1960 and has made more than 50 trips since then. He started making films in 1965 after deciding that there was a lack of good visual information that is so pertinent to teaching the linguistic and cultural aspects of another country. He created Babbitt Instructional Resources which specializes in filmmaking for foreign language instruction. He is very qualified in the area of this topic, and would be of great use to any journalist doing research.

Kiki Navarro García. C/ Bailén, 20 - 1º, Alicante, Spain, 03001. rrppgestora@yahoo.es. 28 May 2008.

Kiki Navarro García is the Director of Public Relations and Promotion for the major festival in Alicante, Spain called Las Hogueras de San Juan. He has been in charge of public relations and promotion for the event since 2004. He would be a great source for anyone interested in this topic, particularly for journalists interested in understanding the logistics that go into planning such enormous events. He is an expert in the process of planning, implementing and controlling the event. Navarro García would be able to walk one through a step-by-step process that explains what exactly needs to happen for a Spanish fiesta to take place.

Moncayo-Andrade, Abelardo. Professor at Ohio University. Gordy Hall, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. 740-593-2765. 14 May 2008.

Abelardo Moncayo-Andrade is a professor at Ohio University who specializes in teaching courses about the Golden Age of Spanish Literature and Spanish & Spanish-American Civilization and Culture. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and although he is not a native of Spain, he spent a year in Galicia, Spain as a university professor. In addition to a year in Spain, he has made numerous trips all around Spain, and has become an expert on Spanish culture. Because he is a native of Ecuador, his language skills allowed him to fully immerse himself in the Spanish culture during his time spent there, which adds to his expertise on the topic. He is a person very willing to share knowledge, which makes him an extremely valuable source for anyone researching this topic.