Hi guys,
I am having a party in my company on February. It is a "Cultural party". In my company there are many foreigners and we have a diversity group, every year we make a cultural party where we bring typical food, drinks, music, and we have cartels with our flags and a little bit of history, art, geography... you know. Now, my problem is that I have a limited budget and I am the only Spaniard there so I have to make it on my own and I would like to know your opinion. What would you like to see/listen/eat/drink from Spain? What do you think is the most popular thing? Should I show the past or the present of Spain? Any ideas would be very appreciate. Ah, I would like to present Spain like a country that has more then "toros", "paella" and "flamenco".
Thank you so much.
Besos, Nuria

Nuria-- what fun, can we all come??? Maybe have a kind of tapas-bar ambiente. Pitchers of sangria, lots of tapas (some you just buy: stuffed olives, marinated mushrooms). But of course you have to make some tortilla, right? And have good music on, and maybe have some Spanish newspapers and magazines ... and lots of cigarette smoke. JUST KIDDING on that one. Another cool thing would be to order food from different regions and have wine from those regions, too. What part of Spain are you from? Because you could also do something cool with the Camino de Santiago theme and have "stops" in different towns in el norte.

Hi, Nuria,
How about a big piece of cartulina (I just can't stop using that word - so much better than posterboard), and glue on pictures of famous 20th century Spaniards that Americans may have heard of, like Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Antonio Samaranch, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Miguel Indurain, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodovar, Picasso, Dali, etc. etc. (Isn't the head of the EEC Spanish? I can't remember his name.) I'm always impressed at how many exceptional people Spain produces in so many fields. Then I'd surround them with pictures of what Spain looks like now - there's so much diversity in the landscapes - huge mountains, ski slopes, beautiful beaches and the rocky coasts, the plains, the hills of olive trees, or orange trees, or vines; the lush greenery of the northwest... You could probably get pictures off the internet of all that, if you access to a good color printer, or you could call the embassy and ask for brochures to cut up... As for the music, anything would do, from zarzuela to Gypsy Kings... Let us know how it goes!

Diana, that was a great idea about famous Spaniard people! Maybe I can make understand people that Picasso is SPANIARD not French
Don't be surprised, last week I spent almost an hour to try to convince my co-workers that Picasso is from Spain and finally I gave up.
Yes, I think I will have that "cartulina" and in the place of honor I will put Madridman's picture, okay, he is not Spaniard but he is almost and he is very popular (at least in this web-site)
Besos...Nuria

Nuria, a big photo of me?? Would that be bare-chested or fully clothed? hehehehe... the former might get more attention. But no, I'm no Spaniard so it probably wouldn't work. Maybe just a BIG banner that says "GO TO MADRID WITH MadridMan.com !!"

How about a PowerPoint presentation or slide show? How about a ever-playing video of Madrid or Spain? Maybe have Ketama music playing in the background or requiring everyone to say, "¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?" upon meeting/greeting another person in the party.

I agree with rgf. What about making 6-10 tortilla patatas and let everyone know that it's okay that they're at room temperature. This was something that surprised me the first time I tried one in Spain. Spanish wines and stuffed olives are also a great addition. And yes, be sure to smoke like a chimney while talking with friends. hehehe.. Good luck and have fun!

Saludos, MadridMan

Picasso, French! Jolines! Something has to be done! Nuria, try this Malaga site for pictures of his birthplace etc. It's part
of the Malaga tourist board site.
http://www.malagaturismo.com/picasso/

Don't forget Falla and Lorca. Lorca wrote a book of poems called The Poet in New York, which may have been translated into English.


Spanish influences in the US.
How about something on Hemingway's travels? I'm not a big fan myself but I have the impression he's still highly regarded in the US. Michener is another US author who has been heavily into Spain. Norman Mailer recently wrote a book on Picasso.

Spanish place names all over the South West
(A-bomb invented at Los Alamos!)

Did anyone mention Columbus??! He sailed from Sevilla with the financial support of los Reyes Catolicos.

Nuria-
I like rgf's idea-montar un bar/tapas-
tortilla de patatas, ensaladilla rusa, ensaladilla de atún, gambas al ajillo, pringá, sandwich de roquefort o de jamon, jamon, picos...
I'm getting hungry! those ingredients aren't too expensive, so it could work out great! don't forget the sawdust on the floors! Have fun and suerte-
oh yes, and don't forget the bare chested picture of MadridMan, blown up lifesize, offering olives, as if in an ad!

[This message has been edited by Jen (edited 12-04-2000).]

Nuria-
You HAVE to serve tortilla. It's easy to make, and you could even do a quickie cooking demo right there...then you could put a regional spin on things by pointing out that tortilla is to Spaniards what scrambled eggs and toast are to Americans or what an omelette and crepes are to the French (plus it tastes a million times better...)

Have you thought of coming dressed like a flamenco dancer or torera, and asking those invited to come in "ropa típica"? They would have to do some research, and that may enhance the experience. Of course, if this is a "during office hours" party, that last idea stinks, and you won't be able to do it...I'm sure having your CEO close a deal in a "traje de luces" isn't quite the image your company is wanting to portray.

Have fun!

But, remember that Nuria doesn´t want to give an impression of Spain being only filled with toreros and flamenco dancers.

(I wouldn´t like, either)

Saludos.

Nuria

At my daughter's former school (when she was elementary/high school)we parents celebrated every first-week in December "Holidays Around the World". We printed in my languagte "Merry Christmans". What my daughter and I did, we brought decorations used on christmas season from my country of origin. In addition, I prepared a main dish and dessert that we eat after attending mid-night mass. Also at our table, I had holiday music played from my former country. At my daughter's school, students came from 50+ different coutries. It was a beautiful evening to see how holidays are celebtrated by different countries and seeing decorations and sampling different food.