City of Life and Death

No, nothing terrible has happened in Donostia - this is the title of the film that has just won the Golden Shell award in the 57th International Film Festival. In a year that has been marked, blighted you might say, by the world economic crisis there had been fears that this year's film festival would inevitably be a shadow of its usual self as a consequence of cost-cutting measures. But happily, this has not been the case. 'City of Life and Death' was directed by Lu Chuan and it marks the first occasion that a Chinese film has taken the top prize in this film festival. On past occasions the choice of the jury has not always been well-received by critics or public alike but this year, Lu Chuan's film was both the critics' and popular favourite too. The film tells the story of the brutal Japanese occupation of Nanking in 1937. Filmed in black and white, the film also won the award for best cinematography.

For those to whom the film festival is as much about glamour as cinematographic art, the undoubted high point was with Brad Pitt's visit. Brad, sporting a distinctive goatee beard that has grown considerably since the photo, was attending the festival in the company of QuentinTarantino, whose film 'Inglourious Basterds' was presented outside of the official competition , in the section 'Pearls from other Festivals'. And yes, the title of the film is spelt the way it is spelt. Set in German-occupied France, 'Inglourious Basterds' presents Brad Pitt as the commander of a team of American soldiers called the "Basterds" who plot to assassinate the Nazi political leadership, and as many other Nazis as possible. Back in the kinder world of the film festival, Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino captured the media attention throughout their brief stay and were generous with their public. A dinner at the restaurant of Juan Maria Arzak, which Brad described as 'one of the best of his life', attracted such a crowd of well-wishers in the street outside that police had to come to control the traffic.

This year the lifetime achievement award, the Donostia Award, went to Sir Ian McKellen. It was said that there was a good deal of uncertainty amongst the public as to what to expect from Sir Ian before the event but all doubts were dispelled during the award ceremony as he charmed his audience with the warmth and simple elegance of his address, receiving a sustained, standing ovation at the end. Sir Ian joins a long list of distinguished actors and actresses to have received the Donostia Award previously. Sir Ian promised he would return to visit Donostia and he showed his attachment to the city by wearing a promotional T shirt for the San Sebastian, European Capital of Culture 2016 campaign... which will be the subject of the next posting!

New year, cold year..

Snow is not something people generally associate with coastal Spain, even here at the north-eastern end of the Bay of Biscay. But snow it did recently, and quite plentifully for one day at least. The resulting traffic chaos brought parts of the city to a virtual standstill, at least as far as public transport was concerned. The snow-covered beach of La Concha, still only lightly covered by the fall of morning snow here, drew many people out with their cameras, the TV included, to record the unusual event. Whilst other parts of Spain, and Europe too of course, suffered far more serious conditions, the snow in Donostia was generally taken as something to celebrate and enjoy.

However, what was fun for one day was much less so the day after. What had melted during the day refroze overnight and ice made pavements quite dangerous. People's thoughts weren't just on the immediate situation though - the question was, what would the weather be like for San Sebastian Day, on the 20th? The fact that Donostia celebrates its most important day of the year in January means that there is always a risk that, after weeks of preparation, the tamborradas face a 24-hour festival of hostile, wintry extremes. In the event, the cold driving rain that had persisted throughout most of the day on the 19th gave way, not long before the magical midnight hour, to calm, dry conditions which allowed the annual raising (la izada) of the city's flag in the plaza de la Constitución to go ahead in a properly festive atmosphere. One hour remains now before the flag is brought down again (la arriada) and Donostiarras start to look forward to the following year's celebrations. This year, however, there will be a significant difference to the ending of the festival - as the strains of the composer Raimundo Sarriegui die away after midnight, the anthem for La Real Sociedad will ring out to mark the beginning of their centenary year. But more of that later...

Let it shine!

Yesterday was Santo Tomás day, one that Donostiarras look forward to with great anticipation. It is not so much a religious festival as a winter fair, the day by tradition when farmers and homesteaders from round about brought their wares into the city prior to Christmas. It is the traditional side of things that really sets the tone. Around the city centre there are many stalls selling farm produce but there are also many others selling chistorra snacks accompanied by natural Basque cider. Chistorra is a spicy sausage that is served in bread rolls or talos, a kind of maize bread. Many of these stalls are run in benefit of end-of-course trips for schoolchildren and of all the festivals and celebrations held in San Sebastian, I would say that Santo Tomás day is the one that has the broadest appeal for local people of all ages and backgrounds.

What made this year's celebration somewhat special was the weather - it was beautiful! The sun shone all day, the temperature was just right and a real sense of festivity pervaded the atmosphere. Prior to this weekend, for the last two months it has rained here.. and rained.. and then rained some more. To have such fine weather on this day of all days added hugely to people's enjoyment. Many choose to dress up in traditional style which adds a sense of magic to the day. As the city changes, and some would say too fast, days like Santo Tomás help to maintain links with the past which are so often threatened by 'progress' and modernisation. Unlike many of other events that take place during the year, such as the Semana Grande in August, Santo Tomás day is not for tourists so much, although they are very welcome, as for those whose roots lie here.

One other event that helps to make Santo Tomás special is that the very next day is when the world-famous national lottery, El Gordo, is held, "The Biggest & Richest Lottery in the World". The total prize money is around $3.2bn. Many, if not most, of the people out spending their money on Santo Tomás have the hope of winning much, much more the next day. At the time of writing the 'big one' has not yet been drawn but with the world economic crisis looming larger and larger in people's lives, in addition to the usual flirtation with Lady Luck, there has been a slightly desperate touch to things this year. The only certainty now is next few hours will change some people's lives forever.

Stuck on 'Pause'..

What a long time it has been…. if blogs have a life of their own then I must be horribly guilty of blog neglect. You stop to think a while ... and a while longer ... and then it's as if the 'pause' button has got stuck. Or maybe that's just a blogger's excuse for letting things lie fallow.

Much has happened here in Donostia since July. Amongst other things, the city is presently a contender for the 2016 European Capital of Culture award. The website, which is in English too, is worth visiting if only to watch the 5-minute video. Whilst on the subject of the Town hall webpage, they have an interesting selection of photos related to the city, which can be viewed here.

Back in October there was another very successful edition of the 19th Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, which once again I managed to miss completely (this blog hasn't been the only thing to be neglected in the last few months!). The event drew in 44.157 people, many of whom were very active participants of a kind too since this festival is all about having a good time (Not so good, however, for those who don't like staying up most of the night!). It's curious in fact how enthusiastically people here take to this film festival each year since other events, such as Carnavales, don't seem to hit it off in quite the same way.

One more thing to mention now - there is a project underway, not without a certain degree of controversy, to construct an elevated walkway beneath the cliffs of Monte Ulía, from the esplanade of Sagüés as far as the point of Mompás. In fact the scheme has brought into conflict local, regional and central government authorities as well as dividing opinion locally. It would seem that the project is to go ahead and perhaps, in time, the majority view will be favourable. A similar kind of division amongst Donostiarras was caused when the proposals for the Kursaal Congress Centre were first made public. I am sure that most people here would agree now that, apart from the obvious commercial benefit it has brought, the Kursaal has enhanced the city, both aesthetically and culturally.

Summer is a-cummin in..

Well, it came in a while ago really, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. In Donostia, St John's Eve (June 23rd) is celebrated with fire. It's really rather magical and bonfires, both large and small, are lit in many different places around the city, but especially on the seafront. There is a tradition of jumping through the flames, three times is the recommended 'dosage', in order to secure good health for the coming year, say goodbye to the ills and woes of the previous year, and so on. These days many schoolchildren celebrate the event by burning their old coursework materials - very cathartic, I'm sure! In the old quarter of the city, in the Plaza de la Constitución, there is an additional ceremony which is well worth seeing. To the uninformed tourist, as was my case may years ago, the overnight appearance of whole, living ash tree apparently growing out of the centre of this square seems quite surreal. What happens is that the tree is the centre of a special ceremony, involving a blessing and ritual dances (including the "Zortziko de San Juan" and "Gizon Dantza"), followed by the ritual 'burning' of the tree. Afterwards, strips from the bark of the tree are distributed as tokens for those who attended the ceremony to take away and endow them with good health, good luck, etc.

But, as in many parts of Europe this year, the summer of 2008 is in a constant state of coming and then going again. Those in the tourist sector have noticed the effects in the reduced number of visitors, which seems to be a phenomenon much repeated around the rest of Spain. But Donostia is not only visited for its beaches and myriad eating places - the 43rd International Jazz Festival is just around the corner and with it, the many thousands of visitors who will come to enjoy jazz on a summer's evening. Personally I find the free concerts particularly enjoyable, especially as one of the three stages is set on the beach itself.

As I write, a traditional sirimiri is gently falling outside - a fine drizzle that some find refreshing, especially those who have come from the hotter regions of Spain to visit Donostia, but not so welcome is it for those whose plans centre on lying on the beach and soaking up the sun. Tomorrow perhaps....

Postscript

Smile-wreathed faces must surely abound in Vitoria this Monday but here in Donostia, after the football match referred to in the previous posting, it is a question of "..woe, woe and thrice woe!" Sunday 8^th June was an ignominious day for La Real. With just a few minutes of extra time to go, a seemingly assured victory was unbelievably turned to defeat as first one goal, and then another, gave the day to Alavés. The life of a Real Sociedad supporter is filled with suffering these days…

Football is not really my 'thing' but if you want to be better informed about Spanish football in general I would recommend this book: Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football, by Phil Ball. Phil is also a Donostiarra and teacher too when he's not busy writing about football.

They say 'hope springs eternal' and that is all that's left for Real Sociedad supporters now - just one last chance. Will Fortune smile on Donostia and its beleaguered football team?

"By your team(s) shall ye be judged"

In case it had escaped your attention, the European Cup football competition has just commenced. Love it or loathe it, football plays a significant role in contemporary social life and it could be argued that one of the ways in which the stature of a city can be measured is by how many top-ranking football teams it can boast of. Take London for example. Donostia has one major football team, La Real Sociedad, which is currently fighting to regain premier league status. Why is this important? Because in many ways the psychological well-being of a city is integrally bound up with the fortunes of its football team. When the team loses and its followers suffer, so does the city, to a greater or lesser extent.

La Real have seen days of glory in the past but the last few years have been characterized mostly by disappointing results and a downward spiral towards relegation. The situation now is that the team is teetering on the edge of a joyous return to the Premier League or seeing themselves obliged to spend another year of uncertainty in the Second Division. Such situations provoke anxiety. To complicate matters further, this weekend La Real are playing Alavés, a team from another regional Basque capital, Vitoria/Gasteiz, and which has suffered even greater sporting indignity in the last year. If Alavés lose tomorrow, they run the risk of being demoted to the Third Division… Football is not my passion but I can't help but feel nervous about tomorrow's result.

The sharp-eyed reader will have noticed that the title for this posting refers to 'team(s)' - the fact is that the psychological well-being of sports fans from Donostia and Vitoria/Gasteiz has not only been conditioned by their respective football teams in the last week. Both cities have had cause for celebration too, this time in the context of basketball, which must be Spain's second favourite sport after football. Tau Cerámica-Baskonia from Vitoria/Gasteiz won the ACB (Premier) League title for the second time and Bruesa GBC from Donostia won promotion to the same premier league. TV news pictures showed team members attending public celebrations and 'thanksgiving' ceremonies in their respective home cities… Clearly, sport is a topic to be taken seriously in that it lies close to the hearts of many people. I only fear that some of those hearts are all too likely to be broken by this time next week. Let's hope I'm wrong!