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.