Hispanophiles Podcast

Pablo Picasso's 1937 anti-war masterpiece remains one of Spain's most important works of art , but the timeline of events from the Nationalist air force campaign against the small Basque town to the publication of the eponymous painting makes the Guernica story even more fascinating. Attempts to keep the truth from the public failed as the French press broke the news of fresh atrocities...

CE Júpiter is simultaneously one of most obscure and most celebrated sports clubs in Catalonia. Its longstanding connections to the working class communities of east Barcelona proved to be a springboard for the club's emergence as a vehicle for activism and protest during the turbulent decades of the early 20th century. And although sporting achievements have been lacking in recent seasons, i...

Disease... Bullfighting... Frauds... Having dinner at 10pm.... in this episode we take a break from celebrating all of the amazing things about Spain and turn our attention to the Nasties of Spanish and Iberian history - in Tier List Format! Alex and James sit and give their verdict on which Spanish nasties are minor misdemeanours and which are the worst of the worst (while still having a laugh)....

Flamenco is a music style that is easily conceptualised but seldom understood. From humble origins it has found a global audience, but Flamenco's modern reputation as "Spain's national music" would shock its 16th century pioneers who used song and dance as a way to cope with tragedy and despair. In this episode, we introduce you to the advocates, to the detractors and to the tr...

The Casa Vicens is the private summer house commissioned by stockbroker and merchant Manuel Vicens i Montaner in the charming, alternative neighbourhood of Gràcia. Now open to the public, Vicens gave young local architect Antoni Gaudí his first opportunity to explore ideas and concepts that would later define much of Barcelona's fabulously idiosyncratic modernist architecture. And while Gaudí...

Andalusia's fortified wines are some of the most prestigious but most misunderstood drinks on the planet. From the driest of the dry to the sweetest of the sweet, centuries of tradition and careful supervision combine in a small corner of Southwest Spain to produce a range of wines unlike any other on the planet. In this episode, we explore what sherry is, why it is the way it is and what typ...

Paralysed for 3 decades, Ramón Sampedro was the first ever Spaniard to petition the government for the right to end his own life with dignity. When the courts denied his request, he took matters into his own hands and formulated a cunning plan. Not only was he immortalised in the film Mar Adentro that went on to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film the following year, Sampedro's story changed...

Different beauty standards, agonising bureaucracy, terrible soups - the grass is not always greener when moving to a new country. In this episode, the Hispanophiles explore the hidden challenges to moving to Spain that take some getting used to, both the silly and the serious. And the biggest challenge of all is the one thing nobody ever expects to encounter.... Did we miss anything off this list?...

On June 30th 1992, Ley 10/1990 del Deporte came into effect, forcing all but 4 professional Spanish football clubs to convert to private limited liability companies and sell shares on the market. The objective? To add an extra degree of accountability to ensure Spanish clubs managed their books without compromising the quality of the game. The outcome? A vicious circle of private investors throwin...

The Romans, the Visigoths, the Sephardim, the Moors and the Castilians.... Each great civilisation in Spain left its mark in the Medieval Fortress City of Toledo. The first ever capital of what would later be called Spain, Toledo is located almost perfectly in the middle of the country and entices countless culture-cravers with its otherworldly relics and architectural gems. Come explore one of Sp...

Having visited each comunidad autónoma in Spain, James reviews every region and gives his brutally honest rating, from worst to best. What makes a place worth visiting? Food? Architecture? Lifestyle? The locals? That indescribable X factor? In this episode, there are no holes bared as we give our honest assessment of each corner of Spain - PLUS the 5 cities we LEAST liked visiting. Enjoy = )

Spain is a country that offers anything you could want - the best beaches, the finest cuisine, the wildest parties and the craziest cultural events. But which are the ones you really need to put on your bucket list? In this episode the Hispanophiles present the top 10 cultural bucket list activities that you must do in Spain at least once, from wine battles to stargazing via running with the bulls...

The Casa de Pilatos is a 16th century palace that fuses multiple architectural styles in the middle of Seville - the city at the centre of the world in the 1500s. Between the Mudejar archways and the Romanesque columns, the Casa de Pilatos boasts the first ever application of Italian Renaissance design anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, the palace tells the story of the evolution of Spa...

Athletic Club Bilbao claims to be a Basque club for the Basque people, but is it really so? In this Episode of GolGolGolGol, we ruthlessly examine the biggest and most successful Football club of Euskal Herria and look at the ways in which its characteristics represent Basque culture and heritage, from the music played in the stadium, the "Gabarra Athletic" and of course the much celebra...

4,000 years.... 750,000 years.... ten million years.... How long do you think human beings have been living in Spain?? In this episode the Hispanophiles become anthropologists and get digging in the Sierra de Atapuerca to learn all about the lives of the earliest humans ever to live in Spain. From Ronda to Santander, the discoveries of fossilised skeletons and cave paintings illustrate the spread...

Do the Spanish still take siesta? How long is it supposed to last? What are its origins? In this episode of the Hispanophiles Podcast, we're grabbing a pillow and talking everything Siesta - the famous Spanish tradition of grabbing some shut eye for 20 minutes in the middle of the day. Contrary to popular belief, the Siesta is a core institution of traditional family and town life all around...

¡Buenos días Hispanophiles! In this episode, James takes us back to the very first day he moved to Spain and shares the greatest culture shocks and biggest surprises he experienced living in rural Andalusia. A 5 month internship was filled with drunk carpenters, nosey neighbours, arrogant managers, snails for dinner and a tiny town that could find any excuse to throw a wild party. There is no bett...

What do the Spanish do better than anybody else?? Hey Hispanophiles, in this episode we are celebrating the little things that our Iberian friends do better than anybody else in the world and asking ourselves "what else are the Spanish World Champions at?" From keeping their city streets clean to folk music via motorway service station food, James, Jessica and Silvano each propose 3 thin...

Hello Hispanophiles! On today's episode we are going back to the age of exploration and joining the crew of Fernando de Magallanes a.k.a Fernão de Magalhães a.k.a Ferdinand Magellan on their 16th century circumnavigation of Earth - something that had never been done before. Eager to match their great rival Portugal and directly access the valuable commodities of the Spice Islands of the East...

Welcome to the Hispanophiles' ultimate guide to travel in Spain on a shoe-string budget!! In this episode we share our best tips on how to get the most out of your trip to Spain for cheap, from recognising the overpriced restaurants and tapas bars to navigating public transport from one city to another for under 10 Euros. Plus we reveal the most backpacker-friendly city in all of Spain!! Than...

Welcome to Villarreal - the Europa League champions from a town small enough to fit into most stadiums! In this episode of GolGolGolGol the Hispanophiles are taking a look at extraordinary rise of Villarreal CF; the "Yellow Submarine". Now a difficult team for anyone to play against, Villarreal does not come from a large city and it does not boast centuries of tradition like other many S...

¡Buenos días chicos! In this episode, the Hispanophiles visit Bellesguard - a fortified royal house in Barcelona restored by Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudí who left subtle clues and details all around the building to honour the grand history of the House of Barcelona and the monarchs who built this place. But while other more famous Gaudí works are known for their colour and vibrance, Bellesgua...

If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise.... From creepy crawlies to beasty maulies, in this episode the Hispanophiles take a look at all the dangerous animals you can find in Spain as well as the best ways to avoid them. They may be camouflaged in dense forests, lurking in shallow rock pools, or even waiting patiently in your shoes by the back door.... Like, subscribe,...

No plans yet for your next holiday? Struggling to decide where to go? The Hispanophiles have got you covered!  In this episode, Mistique, James and Daniel Radcliffe throw caution to the wind and discuss what their perfect 7 day holiday in Spain would look like! From bodega tours to history walks, from horse races to fine dining, we leave no stone unturned in our plan to deliver you the PERFECT iti...

And the winner is.....  For this episode, James and Silvano are joined by Angelique, Ino and Jessica for a game of Spanish City Top Trumps to decide which is the best city in Spain one and for all! We ranked each Spanish city and awarded points depending on how cool or lame each city was in 8 categories before awarding the definitive title of "Best City in Spain" to the city that scored...