The Big Sleep

Posted on 5 February, 2014 by María López Linares

Release date: 1946

Director: Howard Hawks

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart (Phillip Marlowe)

Lauren Bacall (Vivien Rutledge)

John Ridgley (Eddie Mars)

Martha Vickers (Carmen Sternwood)

Awards:

National Film Preservation Board (1997)

Did you know?:

It was the second film Bogart and Bacall performed together. After three months, they got married.

The scene where Bogart and Bacall chatted about horses was added after the film was edited, in order to introduce a slyness atmosphere. Howard had already done this previously in To have and have not.

Lauren Bacall herself sings the song in one of the scenes. That is her voice, unlike some rumours that said it was doubled.

Sternwood’s mansion is exactly the same one as in Mildred Pierce.

The scene where Eddie Mars is murdered by his own men was reused by the director in his last western El Dorado.

William Faulkner helped Hawks to write the plot. When the author of the book, Raymond Chandler was asked who murdered the driver, he didn’t know what to answer.

The movie was a success in theatres. However reviews said that it was an inmoral and violent film.

It’s full of contradictions, cynical talks, irony and hard men. The mystery starts the moment Marlowe chats with the General Sternwood in a dark and sad atmosphere, almost stifling where nobody gives anything away and everyone search their own benefit. It’s a pessimist and grey world.

The detective seems to know everything about the story. And the woman, even though she’s a secondary actress and the love story is also underground, makes the plot explode in sparks every time she has a scene with the main character. The scene at General’s house, where Vivien – Lauren Bacall – tries to find out why his father hired him is just brilliant. The following day, at Marlowe’s office, when they are laughing at the police on the phone is almost an icon to the comedy genre. Same happens with the unforgettable scene at the bar while they are talking about horses. Bogart and Bacall connect totally and seem to be an exceptional couple.

When the plot is about to be in depths of despair, Bogart and Bacall know what joke to tell in order to make you have some fun. It’s not that the plot is difficult to understand (although I have to admit I thought I missed something when it finished) but that I’m sure it’s a movie made exclusively for the two of the main characters.

Bogart makes a sensational performance and Lauren Bacall, with her inimitable voice and her seductive glance shows she has learnt all about the profession, even though she was only 20 years old by then.

The argument – although confusing sometimes – is brilliantly directed by Hawks. He makes viewers follow Marlowe wherever he goes. Public know no more than the main character himself. That way Hawks gets you totally into the plot.

Let me finish this review with this curious image for you to understand the mess there’s in the movie, and the amount of different character performing in it.

Don’t stop paying attention every second in the movie, I recommend.

Images:

2 Bp. Blogspot.com, Uraniaenberlin.com, Lo-bueno-si-breve, Ciclos-decine.blogspot.com.

Memorable scenes:

11 years full of experiences at Balenciaga’s House in Madrid

Posted on 4 February, 2014 by María López Linares

My post is dedicated to the great Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. However, it isn’t a post about things that I have read, but about the life experiences of a person that had the luck to learn how to sew, and develop their career as a fashion designer together with one of the most important Spanish designers in history. This person is my mother. She had the chance and luck to work in the House of Balenciaga, situated in Madrid, from 1958 until it closed its doors in 1969. It was the place which made its clients dreams into reality.

The Spanish fashion designer decided to create a business dedicated to dressmaking, Eisa Costura, opening up a new establishment in 1933 both in San Sebastian and Madrid: EISA B.E. The first collection was presented by the new house of couture in both cities, it was the 1933 Spring-Summer collection. The Madrid branch was situated in 42 Caballero de Gracia Street, and the establishment was not to take on Eisa’s new name until February 1941. It would later be moved to the emblematic number 9 on Gran Vía (the old Avenida de José Antonio). There Eisa Costura presented its first collection in April 1941.

Posing on the balcony which faces nº 9 Gran Vía.

My mother worked with Miss Felisa in Fantasía (fantasy), which was dedicated to making evening dresses and smart dresses, the section was situated on the third floor and faced Gran Vía, in front of the emblematic Chicote (The Chicote Museum at nº 12 Gran Vía). Many famous visitors of the period, such as, David Niven or Viti the bullfighter, went directly to witness this magnificent location, it was an obligatory destination when visiting Madrid. On the ground floor, where my mother worked, you could find the tailoring department where they made coats, and suit jackets for their clients. The whole workshop breathed a wonderful atmosphere of work and companionship between the workers.

In order to show the new collections and trends to its clients, private catwalks were made, to which Cristóbal Balenciaga himself attended, and who personally fitted the mannequins. When the new collections were being prepared, a frantic work rhythm reigned over the workshop, they were days in which you knew at what time you entered, but not at which time you would finish.

Amongst some of the curiosities that my mother told me, we can highlight that in the House of Balenciaga they gave away the wedding dresses as gifts to the employees who were going to be married, and the lucky one would do a private catwalk show for her colleagues in one of the rooms where they showed the collections, where they enjoyed themselves as if it had been them. Another anecdote that she told me was that they gave her a day off in order to raise and collect money for Cancer Research, something similar to what Conchita Velasco did in the film Red Cross Girls (Original title: Las chicas de la Cruz Roja) in that period. It was also custom for the employees who wanted to attend a complete week of spiritual services in “El Espinar” with all expenses paid.

Another of my mother’s experiences during the time she worked at the House of Balenciaga was that she was able to experience first hand the creation of Reina Fabiola’s marvellous wedding dress, the one which was shrouded in absolute secretism. She was even the one who took the dress to Balenciaga’s private house in Madrid, where the bridal fittings were carried out. When the day of the great wedding arrived, a television was put in the workshop so that all could directly watch the event.

My mother remembers this stage of her life as one of the best that she lived, and is extremely happy to have had formed part of the history of Spanish fashion together with one of the greatest in universal fashion.

Amaya Barriuso is a journalist and manages the communications and social networks for companies like freelance. This month she is “Vintage By López-Linares’” invited Blogger. A huge thank you for such a personal and charmingly warm article. Follow Amaya’s work at “Amaya’s Blog”

Images via @Amaya Barriuso’s personal file

Gilda

Posted on 29 January, 2014 by María López Linares

Year: 1946

Director: Charles Vidor.

Cast:

Rita Hayworth (Gilda Mundson Farrell)

Glenn Ford (Johnny Farrell)

George MacReady (Ballin Mundson)

“Gilda” is Rita Hayworth and Rita Hayworth is “Gilda”. Independently from the film’s plot, more or less attractively, Rita Hayworth completely absorbs and takes over the leading role. The entire film revolves around her, and her ability to captivate men in the film filters through the big screen and leaves all of us in love with her beauty, her sensuality and her character.

“Gilda” is a melodrama with a masterful structure. It contains some bitter, cynical, and wonderful dialogues which make it an essential work piece in black and white cinema.

This masterpiece hasn’t lost anything over the years. It speaks to us of solitude, friendship, greed, love and violence.

Glenn Ford, who had us accustomed to his roles as a good, trustworthy and honest man, becomes a wild animal absorbed by jealousy.

Without a doubt, the most famous scene in the film is the “strip-tease”. This “strip-tease” is the scene in which Hayworth takes off her glove whilst performing the unforgettable song “Put the Blame on me Mame” which, incidentally, was not sung by her. This scene reminds us once again how Hollywood knew exactly how to create eroticism and sex, simply by showing a naked arm.

Although perhaps it isn’t one of the best films in history, Gilda is, without a doubt, an indispensable film in cinema’s history, and within the film, Rita Hayworth depicts one of the most beautiful and seductive women of all time.

It was awarded by the National Film Preservation Board in 2013.

Curious Facts:

The truth is that when Rita Hayworth slapped Glenn Ford; she broke two of his teeth. Glenn Ford did not move until he finished the scene.

The photograph of Johnny Farrell as a child is, in reality, a photo of Glenn Ford’s son.

Rita Hayworth had to wear a corset during the filming “Put the blame on Mame”, as she had just given birth to her first daughter.

Rita Hayworth’s songs are dubbed. Unfortunately her voice seemed too weak, something that made the actress bitter for the rest of her life.

Rita Hayworth’s strapless dress, designed by Jean Louis, is based on a dress in the painting of “Madame X” (a famous Parisian character from the nineteenth century), painted in 1884 by John Singer Sargent. It cost 60,000 dollars, a barbaric amount of money for the time. In April 2009 it was put in auction, but it was withdrawn due to a lack of bids. It mysteriously appeared on eBay in September in the same year at a starting price of 30,000 dollars. However, I am unable to tell you what happened to the painting.

The famous glove scene from Gilda has been parodied in a number of films, highlighting above all the one of Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”.

The film participated in the first edition of the Cannes Film Festival together with “Notorious“, by Hitchcock which, curiously, has many similarities in the plot (South America, Nazis, a woman torn between two men).

GILDA, (THE ENTIRE FILM):

Memorable scenes:

http://youtu.be/4rWpND28Jos

Images:

Isabel MJ.Wordpress, Tiendas Fnac.es, Vipareaforcows.Blorgspot, Diario de una Cinefila. WordPress, Desvario Me Causa El Apetito.

My Vintage Dictionary

Posted on 9 January, 2014 by María López Linares

We are starting 2014 off with a project about which I am extremely excited. Since last summer, I have been going round in circles trying to think of a way to unite my passion for photography with the my passion for the world of Vintage.

For me, Vintage is a synonym for exclusivity, quality, good materials and, of course, craftsmanship. Vintage is the synonym for something well made in the past.

If I think about lace, velvet ribbons, wild flowers, old books, black and white photographs, hidden treasures in a chest, and furniture in an old attic, I am thinking about Vintage.

Vintage photography is a contagious fever. Editing in black and white, sepia or with textures is a whole art form, which takes us back to the beginning of photography when each photo was revealed without really knowing what was going to be found.

It was this passion for photography that lead me to create “My Vintage Dictionary”, a dictionary illustrated with photographs that try to recover the essence of antique, well-made pieces of jewelry.

The project will continue for a while. The idea is to create a series of photographs for each entry, special photographs with that retro air that I so love to give them, also to include a brief description which will help you understand better the origins and essence of each of the terms.

The manual work, well-made things, taste for details, and perfect finishes… these are the essences of Vintage and what I am going to try and transmit through “My Vintage Dictionary”.

I hope it will help in understanding a little more why I am so in love with this style, and also that you can join me in enjoying the magic that it transmits.

I await you all with “A” for “Aderezo” (Suite of jewelry)…

Casablanca

Posted on 8 January, 2014 by María López Linares

Year: 1942

Director: Michael Curtiz

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart: Rick Blane

Ingrid Bergman: Ilsa Lund

Paul Henreid: Victor Laszlo

Claude Rains: Captain Louis Renault

Conrad Veidt: Mayor Heinrish Strasser

Casablanca is considered by many to be one of the best films of all times, despite its slightly bland script, a plot hard to believe, the highly sentimental almost corny love story, and some very corrupted characters (the French captain who gambles despite it being illegal, the club owner who allows gambling and controls who wins, and the club’s atmosphere where everything is bought and sold to the highest bidder.

Casablanca is, without a doubt, a film with a twisting plot. The speed with which these twists occur have perhaps succeeded in making this film the classic that it is.

When it seems as though nothing else is going to happen, something unexpected occurs. Not in vain, the script used to change every day, it took an excessively long time and amount of money, which resulted in a never-ending film. The actors arrived and even they did not know what they were going to do on the day. Without a doubt, the cynical Humphrey Bogart becomes the absolute star of this film. Only he could have played Rick, and only he could have managed the situation, solved the problem and left the case blamelessly. Only Humphrey Bogart could leave a girl after her having previously left him tossed aside like a cigarette end, and still he comes across as an authentic gentleman.

It was very difficult for me to choose only one most memorable scene from the film. However, I finally decided upon the most exciting sequence, at least for me:

It is impossible not to become emotional when Gestapo sings the Nazi hymn in front of a group of officials in “Rick’s Cafe”, Laszlo and the rest of the French clients stand up and begin to sing “The Marseillaise” until they manage to reduce the German’s voices to a mere whisper. I never thought that hearing the French anthem would make me so emotional, but I can tell you that it gave me nots in my stomach along with the odd tear.

The movie contains a script that has the perfect mix of suspense, love and humour. The director, Michael Curtiz, doesn’t lose the rhythm for a single second in a story where the chemistry between the two protagonists does away with everything. In more than 100 years of cinema, one can say that no one has looked at someone with the same passion as Ingrid Bergman shows each time her eyes cross with the strong yet vulnerable Humphrey Bogart.

Bergman enters “Rick’s Cafe”, dressed in white with a beautiful rhinestone brooch with matching gleaming earrings that make her shine even more, if possible. She is like a shining star here, glamorous, elegant and simply perfect.

Claude Rains’ part as the ambiguous and cynical inspector of the policeman Louis Renault is also unforgettable.

A perfect film to share on a quiet Sunday afternoon, if in company – even better…

Awards:

Oscars (1942): Best director, best film, best script.

Nominations: Best actor (Bogart), best supporting actor (Claude Rains), best photography, best editing, best soundtrack.

Memorable scenes from the film:

http://youtu.be/kc02Y4xHWys

Trailer Oficial:

http://youtu.be/TLU41jUnWM4

Images:

Ciclos-decine Blogspost, Dr.Macro, Fila siete.com , Fan-Pop.com, Cineweekly.com

Shakespeare and Company By Claudia Redondo

Posted on 7 January, 2014 by María López Linares

On the banks of the Seine in front of Notre Dame, at number 37 on la rue de la Bucherie: “Shakespeare and Company” is one of the most emblematic places in Paris, and the most famous bookstore in the world. It is also the meeting point for all lovers of literature and bohemian atmospheres.

It is a small bookshop. Two floors with low ceilings, a “small terrace” with two benches and a window display that measures no more than a couple of meters. It is disordered, but it is a cosy type of disorder. The fact of having to walk with care so as not to trip on any books, the worn wooden shelves, the smell of old books, the sliding stairs, and its untidy look distinguish it from a common bookshop to a homely place obligatory to visit when in Paris.

There are books in every corner. There isn’t a single free space. They are in all the window sills, on all the steps, piled on the floor, in wooden boxes and even outside on the street. There are books from all periods: incunables, new and second hand. Also, children’s story books, novels and essays. All in English. Many are sold at very reasonable prices due to the lack of space.

All the time you fancy

A narrow wooden staircase takes you up to the second floor. It isn’t only a bookshop but also a library. “From here, the books are not for sale, they are at your disposition for taking and reading for as long as you want” indicates a sign, right next to a space filled with cushions. On wooden stools, on an old green sofa, or standing against a bookshelf.

It is a space totally free for enjoying a book whilst listening to the keyboard of the typewriter or the sound of piano playing, which all complete the peaceful atmosphere. “It’s marvellous, you feel as if you have been transported back in time as soon as you enter”, states Marta, a Spanish tourist who loves her discovery.

There is only one shop assistant who barely moves from the counter. She doesn’t ask if you need help, if you’re looking for something in particular, or if she can show you to the reading section. After a friendly “Bonjour”, the clients are left on their own free will, making you feel even more at home. Perhaps this has something to do with the other surprising sign in the bookshop: “Do not be rude to the visitors, it may be that they are angels in disguise”, a phrase thought up by the creator.

From the Lost Generation to the “Beat”

The charm of ‘Shakespeare & Co.’ is George Whitman’s work, who had a clear idea from the beginning that the shop would have a cosy rather than commercial attitude. However, its origins belong to the Twenties, when Sylvia Beach was the owner. During this period, writers from the Lost Generation, such as , Hemingway, Fitzgerald or James Joyce frequently visited the bookshop.

Due to the explosion of the Second World War, and, according to what they say, Sylvia Beach did not want to sell Joyce’s last book to a German official, consequently, the bookshop was closed. In 1951, by the hands of Whitman it resurfaced as a cultural literary centre. It accommodated writers from the “Beat Generation”, the “hippies” of the Fifties.

Its biographers can assure that 40,000 young writers have slept within the walls of what can be considered a literary museum. Sixty two years later, it is a great symbol of Bohemian Parisian Life, and, of course, literature.

Article written for our Blog by Claudia Redondo Pérez, a fourth year journalism student at the University of Villanueva and our “Vintage Blogger” of this month.

Many thanks for the collaboration.

Images: @Claudia Redondo

The Flower that will Accompany us this Christmas.

Posted on 12 December, 2013 by María López Linares

The Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly known as Poinsettia, is the native plant of Mesoamerica and it has become a classic part of Christmas decorations. It’s red color is unmistakeably associated with this holiday. Whilst sharing the table with our friends and family during Christmas, it is normal to find a Poinsettia in the middle of the table. The contrast of its intense red color against its green leaves is very warm and decorative.

The plant originally comes from Mexico. It come specifically from a Southern area of the country known as Taxco de Alarcón. The Aztecs had used it as an offering to their Gods, as a medicinal plant to treat fevers, and also always kept a part to use as natural dye.

In the Sixteenth century the Franciscans that evangelized in the area used it as floral decoration during the Christmas period, seeing as it was around this time that the plant flowered, and acquired a decorative and eye-catching reddish tone.

However, the plant owes its name and fame to an American diplomat, politician and botanist: Joel Roberts Poinsett. Poinsett was sent to Mexico at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century to be ambassador, and he discovered the plant by accident during one of his journeys around the area of Taxco. He fell so in love with the vivid plant that he decided to gather a few cuttings in order to try and cultivate it in his own greenhouses in California. It was there that he dedicated a lot of time to studying, and where, in the following Christmas holidays, he acquired the custom of giving the plant away as a present. It was during this particular period that the plant bloomed and was found to be in its maximum splendor. In this way the plant gained popularity and, little by little, became a flower that was present in many American homes at Christmas time. Consequently, Poinsett managed to immortalize his name.

Unfortunately, in Spain we don’t have a huge culture for flowers and plants, but there are certain dates in which flowers find their place in our houses, Christmas being one of these times, also All Soul’s day, Saint Valentine’s Day, and Father and Mother’s Day.

Poinsettia is a very seasonal flower, as a result it is rare to find it in garden centres and florists during other dates.

Some pieces of advice that I can give you for taking care of and keeping the flowers for a longer period of time, so that the Poinsettia can accompany you even after Christmas is long gone, are:

Buy Poinsettias that have been grown in our country, seeing as the conditions will be similar and they will be more resistant.
Keep them as far away as possible from draughty, air conditioned or heated areas.
The best place for them is close to a window with plenty of light.
When watering them, do not do it directly and do not wet the leaves. Place the water under the pot in a plate or dish and leave it for 10 minutes, so that the plant can absorb all the water it needs. It is a plant that won’t endure standing in puddles of water.
The amount of watering must be increased during the summer.

Did you know that Poinsettia has an entire day set aside for it? By an American Act of Congress, December 12th was declared the National Day of the Poinsettia. The date marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett.

The objective of this day is to enjoy this plant’s beauty. Consequently, make sure that you present this flower to a loved one during this Christmas period.

What meaning does Poinsettia hold for you?

Have you ever planted one?

Article written by Pilar Tejela Alonso, landscaper from the Espacios Vivos. (Living Spaces) Studio.

Many thanks for collaborating this month with our Vintage Blogguer section in “Vintage By López-Linares”.

Images>: @María Vintage Photography

“Mickey Mouse and Seamboat Willie”

Posted on 29 November, 2013 by María López Linares

Last 18th of November Mickey Mouse turned 85 years old since Mr. Walt Disney and his partner that time Ublweks created the most likeable cartoon celebrity. This iconic character played his first role in a Black and White short movie called “Seamboat Willie”, released that day back in 1928… From then onwards, Mickey Mouse would be one of the most well-known Disney’s characters.

He also is probably the cartoon carácter linked the most to the legendary animation films Director Walt Disney who even gave him his voice in the beginning. This short movie with sound was released firstly in the Universal’s Colony Theatre of New York. The famous auditorium had been open its doors and it was the first theatre in history to show a film with sound… With our little mouse as a main character!

It was such a success that Mickey will soon turn in the most famous Disney’s character, an animated icon that never will die. It was something worth to be remembered. And that’s what Disney Cooperative wants to do today: Commemorate the birth of their greatest creation.

What they’ve done to celebrate is first get Mickey’s appearance back to the beginnings with Ublwerksle’s drawings as references. Basically they’ve given Mickey a look much more vintage! With this restyled little and retro mouse, Disney has produced 19 short movies for Disney Channel and the Internet directed by Paul Rudish.

One out of them, Get Horse, is a loving memory of the very first Mickey’s appearance mixing the latest 3D techniques with the classic and retro look of the character. You’ll be amazingly suprised when realice the story is told by Walt Disney himself, thanks to a complicated sound editing.

I can’t really wait to see this re-make. I’m totally sure it will bring me back old memories from my childhood!

Check out these YouTube videos about Mickey’s first movies I’ve found surfing the web:

http://youtu.be/Zq0e4WjL7G0

http://youtu.be/DnjSVSykNsA

Images:

Todonoticia.com

All-about-cartoons-blogspot.com

Wdwfacts.com

Davewesslescomix.blogspot.com.es

The Art of “Ronqueo”

Posted on 26 November, 2013 by María López Linares

One of the things that I wanted to do when I found out that I would be spending a few days in Cadiz, was to get up on day at the break of dawn and go down to the Barbate port to see the arrival of the boats with their fresh fish. Of course I could not leave the camera at home. One morning this August with the typical strong wind of the region blowing intensely, I equipped myself with all the necessary tools and presented myself in the port at 7:30am to live this peculiar moment at first hand.

I was hugely disappointed at the start; just this week the Barbate float happened to be in the sardine fishing grounds of Cadiz, which meant that those of Barbate were empty and without a single boat loaded with fish arriving to dock. It seemed that the day I had chosen wasn’t the best, however, as always when one isn’t expecting anything; you end up getting a pleasant surprise.

And this is how it went, before long I was speaking with one of the people in charge of the port, he was explaining everything that was happening in a small corner of the port that had caught my attention, it was the only corner with any activity. There were ten seamen or so immersed in the only two activities that gave life to the port during those days: loading a boat with tons of fresh herrings for the bait of the 3000 tuna fish that are kept in the fattening and grow-out ponds close to the trap; the dismantling of this, in function since April 20^th of this year, will happen next season in 2014.

Everything continued more or less the same as it had done 3000 years ago when the Phoenicians installed themselves in the region, giving start to the capturing of tuna fish that crossed from the Atlantic to spawn in the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians constructed the first factories dedicated to salting the tuna, creating a commercial route from these coasts, to transport the tuna captured and treated in Gadir (current Cadiz), across the entire Mediterranean.

They used amphorae made of mud that formed a two handled peak at the end; these were divided into various compartments on the inside. The base was for the salted fish, and in the higher parts there were different aromatic herbs and perfumes, which managed to eliminate the unpleasant odor during the long journey. The boats, loaded with sand beds in their cellars, sailed with the amphorae stuck over them in order to avoid the boat moving in dangerous seas throughout the duration of their long commercial journey.

The Phoenicians were the driving force behind a tradition and technique that lasted years after the Romans. These were the founders of the current Bolonia beach in the city of “Baelo Claudia”, where the main tuna treating factory of the Mediterranean may be found, still perfectly visible. There the tuna was cut up; they salted it in the great deposits dug out in the grounds, and with the deprivation and viscera of fish in the area, mainly of tuna, it was macerated in direct sunlight during the whole summer. They also created the prized sauce “Garum”, which was a delicacy during the period. This sauce is considered to be an aphrodisiac, and due to its elevated cost, it was only consumed by the wealthier classes of Ancient Rome. In view of the ingredients and treatment, I am sure that now we would not even be able to even smell the costly and renowned sauce.

The Arabs arrived after, to whom we owe the word “almadraba”: place where one beats.

The tradition continues up to the present day as every year the labyrinths of nets are hung up, just the way they were in the past. Through a channel formed by nets anchored to the bottom, it is possible to direct the tunas to a great big net from which they can no longer escape. After lifting this great load, the tunas are pulled up to the surface where they are captured one by one by some extremely strong arms. Not just anyone is capable of lifting pulsing fish, giving violent jerks, and weighing between 300 to 500kgs, and then to throw them onto the surrounding boat decks which are forming a ring that becomes increasingly narrower as long as the precious load is still being extracted from the waters.

In the forties there were more than twenty salting locations in the area where people from all over went to stock up on their famous salted fish. The salt, which is from the Chiclana salt flats and thicker than usual, is perfect for making “Mojama” (dried salted tuna). In those years of misery in Spain the star product was the herring sardine, however, dogfish, white tuna, tuna and flying fish were also salted. There are very few factories left now, although they continue to work in the exact same way as the Phoenicians and Romans did in their day.

I was told all of this in the port, but afterwards they advised me to visit “La Chanca”. It is one of the few craftwork and family-run businesses left in the area, in which a curious and interesting tuna museum has been installed, and where you are explained everything and are able to taste the products. Here we see the tuna get cut up and hear the famous “ronqueo”, the hoarse sound made when the expert hands pass the knife through the dorsal spine to separate the tuna loins. It is a noise similar to that made by a person snoring, and from this, comes the name.

A great variety of products are salted, preserved and smoked in the area, above all tuna fish, and they do it exactly the same way as it was done 3000 years ago. It is an art that should never be lost, and that all of us should know about and value for its long tradition in our history.

I leave you here with a small photographic report of my experiences that morning in August, I hope you like it.

Ronqueo: A hoarse sound, such as a snore.

Vintage Bubbles

Posted on 25 November, 2013 by María López Linares

Through this beautiful term we refer to good quality and artistically designed antique objects. The word, and above all, the essence of the term ‘vintage’ makes each one of us think of different things: clothes, jewelry, decoration… And although nowadays we tend to associate it with fashion and design, I cannot forget its origin.

Vintage is an English word with a beautiful sound (translated into the Spanish language as ‘vendimia’). The term ‘vintage’ was used for wine in reference to those aged wines produced from the best harvests.

Due to this, I think that in my case, whenever I hear the word ‘vintage’, bubbles come to my mind… Champagne bubbles.

I close my eyes and imagine that magical night in 1670, in the wine cellar of Hautvillers Abbey.

Startled by the pop of the bottle, his Abbot Don Pierre Pérignon, descended down to the cellar, and after tasting the wine that he had spilled, he woke up the other monks with a shout that made history:

“Come, brothers, come! I am drinking stars!”. Of course, he was talking about champagne.

Vintage is quality, exclusiveness, history and style.

Consequently, when I think of the monk Pierre Pérignon trimming his vines so that they wouldn’t reach more than 90cm in height, gathering only the grapes that were whole, and only when it was cold. Or when he put the humid netting over the branches that were in the sun, in order to keep them fresh and not allow any kind of maceration to change the wort taste… This is when the concept of vintage reaches its most splendid height in my head.

The first harvest of Don Perignon Vintage was in 1921. Each new Vintage is created from the best grapes added together at the same time. If this addition doesn’t meet with the standard of excellency, it is ruled out of being a Vintage.

There is a story that happened in July 2010 which is really fascinating:

A group of divers found a sunken ship in the Baltic Sea, the vessel was probably wrecked between 1825 and 1830.

Where was the boat going? Who was the one to which the treasure was being transported aboard? These are questions that today we surely won’t be able to find the answer to.

However, what we do know is what was looted from this boat: 145 bottles of French champagne.

It is a boat that sunk nearly two centuries ago, and the most exciting thing about this story is that 79 of those bottles, from three well-known brands: Veuve-Clicquot, Juglar and Heidsiek, are in perfect condition to be consumed.

It seems that the constant temperature of the water, the darkness of the bottom of the sea and the pressure inside the bottle itself, managed to conserve all of the champagne’s taste qualities.

We will never know now who these bottles were for, nor the motive for the possible party or event for which they were destined.

What we do know is that, today, we speak of the oldest champagne in the world.

Thrilling, and absolutely vintage.

I raise my glass with all of you, and accompanied by these magnificent vintage bubbles, I make a toast to the fact that we can continue enjoying so many beautiful things and stories that surround us.

Author: Rus Martinez Cantero, Social Media Strategist specialised on Digital Branding. She is this month our Guest Blogger at Vintage Lopez-Linares! Thank you so much!

Vintage by López Linares

Pure vintage Blog

Tag Archives: vintage

The Big Sleep

11 years full of experiences at Balenciaga’s House in Madrid

Gilda

My Vintage Dictionary

Casablanca

Shakespeare and Company By Claudia Redondo

The Flower that will Accompany us this Christmas.

“Mickey Mouse and Seamboat Willie”

The Art of “Ronqueo”

Vintage Bubbles