The primary, least expensive entertainment in Spain is to be
found in the streets and the small "tapa" (snack and wine] bars that line
them. If you know to which section of your city it is advisable to go, you
need never be bored. For the Spanish the walk in the streets has another
meaning. The "paseo", as it is called, is a time-worn institution of all the
small towns and many of the large. You will see it anytime between the closing
of the shops (about 8 p.m.] and the time for the evening meal (about 10 p.m.].
On Sundays and holidays there is also a paseo before the afternoon meal, that
is, between 12.30 and 2.30 p.m. Participants in the paseo generally go in
groups, or at least couples. A single girl, for certain, will not appear in
the paseo without her parents or friends. You see whole Spanish families,
dressed impeccably, or groups of young men, sometimes clapping out Flamenco
rhythms. Everyone seems to get along beautifully. You will seldom, if ever,
see a Spanish child being hit or even reprimanded in the open. You will not
see a fight or even hear voices raised in anger. It is understood that in
their manner of greeting one another on the street - who says "hello" first,
who receives a large smile, who a handshake and who merely a perfunctory nod -
the Spanish are often establishing relations, and conducting affairs of great
seriousness. The paseo is also a window through which the observant tourist
might have a look at Spanish life and how it differs from region to region,
from the absolutely correct, dignified paseo of Serrano Street in Madrid to
the raucous, shouting, Flamenco clapping, guitar carrying paseo of Sierpes in
Sevilla. As for indoor entertainments, they are numerous. The Spanish have
a culture capable of supporting many entertainment establishments, since a
large portion of the average man's income is spent on amusement. Possibly
the most popular among Spanish, though it will not be for you, are movies. The
movie-houses are large and luxurious, with bar service. Tickets must be
obtained several days in advance. In these popular cinemas, however, the films
are dubbed in Spanish - not much good to you unless you know the language --
and they echo the popular taste, which runs to horror films, cowboy films and
the like. More interesting for the English-speaking tourist are the small
cinemas in the large cities, called "Cines Arte y Ensayo", where the best of
the foreign films are shown in their original language. You can get the
listings of films being shown from the local entertainment magazine, or ask
your concierge to read you the listings from the Spanish entertainment
sheet. All films in Spain are subject to a fairly strict censorship. You
are more likely, however, to head straight to a 'Tablao Flamenco" at the first
opportunity; this is also our recommendation. You will find a description in
the preceeding section, "Folklore". The
familiar type of nightclub is called "sala de fiestas". In today's spain these
are rather tame, with the exception of Barcelona establishments in the "Barrio
Chino". All the clubs are open until quite late - 2 or 3 a.m. - and formal
dress is expected. There are also discotheques, especially in the youthful
resorts of the south coast, like Mojacar and Torremo-linos. Here the night
life is about the wildest it is possible to find anywhere in Spain, and is
carried on almost entirely by tourists under the tolerant eyes of the Spanish.
More recently, some of the young Spaniards have begun to discover the
attractions of such night life, however, and you are more likely to hear
Spanish spoken there now than you would have been several years
ago. Theater is popular in Madrid and Barcelona, presenting works of
Spanish authors and translations of foreign plays. The buildings are
comfortable, and jacket and tie the proper dress. Especially in Madrid you
will find theaters sometimes presenting "Zarzuela", a type of musical comedy
described in the section "Literature". These are well worth attending for the
music, even without undertanding the words. Several of the large cities
have permanent "circuses" of quite a high caliber, and others receive
traveling shows often. As to sports, even more widely attended and followed
than the bullfight today is football, or what in America is called soccer. The
games are usually on Sunday. Other sports popular in Spain are boxing,
bicycle races, horse races, and, in the Basque region, "pelota" (handball). It
is also possible to find American-style bowling alleys in most cities. A
typically Spanish entertainment, if it can be called that, is sitting around
in cafes for hours at a stretch. Actually, this is more of an institution than
an entertainment, since the cafes are used in large measure for business as
well as pleasure. The uninitiated observer will most likely not be able to
tell the difference. Some of the things that go on in cafes are: universal
and specifically Spanish card games, such as canasta, pinochle "mus", and
"tute", and "tertulias" - groups of men who gather at regular intervals to
discuss women. business, bulls or whatever other subject seems appropriate;
and, of course, the business affairs, sometimes such a permanent feature that
a businessman will give out his number at the cafe as well as his home
phone. Another very Spanish entertainment is the "verbena ' a fair or
amusement park, which can be either a permanent one, such as that of
Barcelona, or one set up temporarily as part of a festival. Those set up for
the fiestas are the best, since their temporality prompts people to really let
themselves go. The verbenas of Madrid are well-known, attracting people
from all over Spain - in fact, from all over Europe. They are set up in
different parts of the city during different parts of the long verbena season
(early Spring to the cold weather of Autumn]. Consult your concierge for the
location at the time of your visit. Everything you could want in an
amusement park is found at the verbena. There are all sorts of mechanical
rides. There are endless varieties of food including ham, cheese, marzipan,
candied egg yolks ("yemas"), candied quince ("membrillo"), sugared fruits, and
the like. The quantity of strong Spanish Wine consumed is prodigious
Amusements include side-shows with sword swallowers, fire-eaters, magicians,
gypsy fortune tellers, roulette, etc. Flamenco rhythms are clapped everywhere,
and you may hear some of the best spontaneous "cante jondo" being sung by a
solitary, unshaven figure holding up and gazing deeply into a glass of golden
Jerez wine. The verbena is one more of the occasions in Spain when the
tourist truly feels he was born 500 years too late. After only a few hours,
one begins to realize that the trip to Spain has not only been a trip through
space, but also a journey through time, and one sees how life was lived and
enjoyed before the advent of television, cars, electronic music, diets,
deodorant and psychiatrists. One begins to have second thoughts about
returning home. But the tourist is compensated by his mobility, so that, when
the verbena of Sevilla is ended, he can travel to the verbena of Jerez, and
afterwards the verbena of Cordoba. At least for the duration of one vacation,
if it is taken in Spain, one need never return to the twentieth century.