Soccer meets volleyball at the 4th annual footvolley tournament at Las Arenas beach, in Malvarrosa (location).

A 21st century mixture of sports (some may call it a ‘mashup‘; very Sport 2.0), footvolley is extremely fun to watch — it’s almost best viewed as an exhibition of skill. Check out some of the footage from 2006’s world tournament, also held in Valencia.

This is the 4th annual tournament… and Brazil will be looking to pick up their 4th consecutive title. Damned Brazilians! What with their samba, partying and domination in all things soccer, they get on my nerves.

Other teams invited this year come from all over Europe and South America. Our sympathies will be with the Germans. The footvolley championship would be a nice consolation prize after the heartbreak of the Euro 2008.

More Info at Spain’s Footvolley Site (in Spanish)

http://www.valenciastreetcircuit.com/

This weekend, Valencia’s new F1 Track will be inaugurated, during the Spanish Formula 3 and GT Open. Saturday will be a day of practice, and 20,000 spectators are expected to turn up on Sunday for the races.

With tickets for August’s Formula 1 race selling for hundreds and hundreds of euros, these inaugural races offer a more affordable way (€20) to see the track in action. As far as I’m concerned, fast cars are fast cars.

I don’t actually know if there are any tickets left, but they’re being sold at El Corte Ingles. Anyone who knows for sure should feel free to leave a comment!

There’s a lot more information about the races and the track at the Valencia Street Circuit website.

Ballroom Dancing in Valencia from Valencia Blog on Vimeo.

Anyone who’s bored in Valencia is simply not trying. It seems like every night, there is something new and unexpected occurring, especially with the Feria de Julio going on.

This past Saturday, a ballroom dancing competition was held at the Plaza de la Virgen. It’s the first time the competition’s been held, but I think they’re making it an annual thing.

It was a lot of fun to watch. There were two levels of dancers. The first consisted of people seemingly plucked out of community Beginning Dance classes. Amateur, and not too impressive… but still better than me (hell, this thing is a better dancer than me).

But when the professionals came out, in the second group, the entertainment level went through the roof. The dancing was tight, but the outrageous outfits were really the highlight. There were at least 15 pairs, and they had to each perform 6 styles of dance, from jazz to paso doble.

My favorites went out early, which shows how little I know about dancing. We don’t know who won, because eventually we got tired of standing — ballroom dancing was more interesting than expected, but still not worth a sore back.

La Nau, the University of Valencia’s center of culture (location), is hosting a series of films in its open air courtyard, starting on the 15th (we’re a day late!)

There are two themes being featured during the series, which runs every day through the 26th: “Vacation Time”, and “Iraq: Images of War, War of Images”.

Here’s a quick run down of the films being screened on each day. If you can read Valencian, you can get more information here. All the films are shown in Original Version, with subtitles. I think the screenings are free, but I can’t find any definitive information on that. I’ll update the post once I know for sure.

Vacation Time

Tuesday, July 15th: Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (France, 1953) - Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc.

Thursday, July 17th: Who Can Kill a Child? (Spain, 1976) - A couple of English tourists arrive on an island where all the children have gone crazy and are murdering the adults.

Saturday, July 19th: Kikujiro (Japan, 1999) - It’s summer and nine-year old Masao (Sekiguchi) has no one to play with. He decides to go in search of the mother he has never met. Kikujiro (Takeshi), a brash, loudmouthed and irresponsible adult, agrees to accompany him on his quest. Ultimately, the two of them end up at a destination that neither of them could have imagined.

Sunday, July 20th: August Days (Spain/Catalan, 2006) - Confused after months of work searching for material to write about a time in history that a journalist had often spoken about, Marc calls his brother David and they set off on a short vacation. But Marc cannot switch off and David takes him further south, to a place where they have heard people come to from far a field in pursuit of a fish with cat-like whiskers…

Tuesday, July 22nd: The Seven Year Itch (USA, 1955) - When his family goes away for the summer, a so far faithful husband is tempted by a beautiful neighbor (Marilyn Monroe).

Thursday, July 24th: Bonjour Tristesse (USA, 1958) - In the French Riviera, the spoiled and futile seventeen years old girl Cecile (Jean Seberg) is spending the summer vacation with her father, the widow playboy and bon-vivant Raymond (David Niven), and his girlfriend Elsa (Mylène Demongeot). Cecile has a serious Complex of Oedipus with her father, and they have a quite incestuous relationship.

Saturday, July 26th: Pauline at the Beach (France, 1982) - Fifteen year old Pauline and her older cousin, model-shaped Marion, go to the emtying Atlantic coast for an autumn holiday . Marion ignores the approaches of a surfer and falls for Henri, a hedonist who is only interested in a sexual adventure and drops her soon. Pauline’s little romance with a young man (Sylvain) is also spoiled by Henri.

Iraq: Images of War, War of Images

Wednesday, July 16th: Full Battle Rattle (USA, 2008) - A film about life inside the US Army’s Iraq simulation in California’s Mojave Desert

Friday, July 18th: The War Tapes (USA, 2006) - In March 2004, just as the insurgent movement strengthened, several members of one National Guard unit arrived in Iraq, carrying digital video cameras. The War Tapes is the movie they made with Director Deborah Scranton and a team of award-winning filmmakers. It’s the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves on the front lines in Iraq.

Monday, July 21st: Gunner Palace (USA, 2004) - American soldiers of the 2/3 Field Artillery, a group known as the “Gunners,” tell of their experiences in Baghdad during the Iraq War. Holed up in a bombed out pleasure palace built by Sadaam Hussein, the soldiers endured hostile situations some four months after President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations in the country

Wednesday, July 23rd: Apuntarse a un bombardeo (Spain, 2003) - Documentary about Spanish troops inside Baghdad during the siege.

Friday, July 25th: Voices of Iraq (Iraq, 2004) - Filmed and directed by the Iraqis themselves — thousands of them, from all walks of life, all over their country. The producers, who distributed more than 150 digital video cameras across the country, condensed more than 400 hours of footage into an unprecedented, and startling, look at life in a war zone. It’s a new genre of filmmaking.

For two days in September, Valencia will play host to some of the world’s best electronic music at the T-Shirt Festival, being held on the 19th and 20th at the Centro de Eventos de Feria Valencia (location).

Well… the site selling tickets claims it will be some of the world’s best electronic and house music, which I suppose they would do. But so far, there’s no information about which acts are appearing. The festival’s website is well-designed, but devoid of content.

Still, I think the T-Shirt Festival is going to be a big deal, if only because of the full-page ad they’ve taken out in this morning’s dailies. And, I was able to to uncover this wonderful promotional video — worth watching!

Anyone able to put together a video this cool is going to put on a great show.

We’ll update this post once we know more about the DJs and bands playing the festival. And if you have more information, please feel free to share it in the comments or forums!

T-Shirt Festival: Official Website
Location on our Valencia Map

In our day jobs, we run Criticker, a movie recommendation website. So the start of Valencia’s film festival, Cinema Jove, is extremely exciting for us.

The festival runs from June 21st-28th, and is considered to be Spain’s 5th most important. There are two competitions, feature-length and short films, with screenings at eight venues in the city. All of the full-length films in competition can be seen at the Teatro Principal (location), with other important venues being the Viveros Gardens (location) and the Institut d’Francés (location).

The festival kicks off on Friday in the Viveros Gardens with one of last year’s most successful Spanish films: [REC].

Eeek! We saw the trailer online — instead of highlighting frightening scenes from the movie, it showed the audience’s reaction to them. It is one of the most exciting trailers I’ve ever seen.

With an eclectic array of classics, experimental films, terror, new Valencian talent and more, there is bound to be something for everyone. And with tickets priced at just €3 per film, attendance almost feels like an obligation. And you can go to 10 films for €15! Jesus, I love this city.

More Info at Cinema Jove’s Official Webpage

Every Tuesday night, there is a Flamenco session at Radio City (location). We went this week, and had an excellent time.

I’m not an expert in Flamenco (and in fact, before I bought a Camarón de la Isla album 4 weeks ago, I had never really listened to it at all), but I think the performance in Radio City was pretty great. The performers all seemed to be a part of the same, extended Gypsy family. There were two singers, an older matriarchal figure & a younger one who looked as though she was giving birth, so pained was her expression while singing. Two guitarists provided the accompaniment — a grizzled, older dude who didn’t look up even once, and a much more lively & handsome younger man. ¡Gitano que guapo!

The musicians were fun enough to listen to (”fun” might be the wrong word — whatever it was they were wailing about cannot have been happy), but the highlight came when the dancers took the stage. First, a tall and very skinny guy stomped about, whipping his jacket from side to side and whipping himself into a frenzy. It was intense. At the apex of the dance he suddenly stopped and stared into the crowd, and at the same time the matriarch let loose with a wild gypsy howl — awesome.

And the second dancer, a woman, was even better. Every muscle was taut while she danced, and the tall guy was clapping the whole time for her, keeping the beat, yelling “Olé” and “Guapa” every once in a while. It really seemed as though the whole clan didn’t care whether an audience was there or not.

It must be said, though, that this was a stage performance, during which the audience was asked to remain quiet — not one of the wild, participatory sessions that can be found in Seville or elsewhere in Andalusia. Still, it was an incredible time.

The price is €7 and includes a drink. The show starts at 23:00, but show up a half-hour beforehand to ensure you get seats. There’s no need to buy tickets beforehand. As always, make sure to check the website of Radio City, to verify that this information hasn’t changed.

Link: Radio City
More information on Flamenco in Valencia, at ValenciaValencia.com
Location on our Google Map

Since 2005, Heineken has been sponsoring concert series in a lager hall down by the port, under the name Greenspace.

Past concerts have included pretty huge names, such as Bloc Party, Sonic Youth, Moby and Paul Weller. Throughout the rest of May and April of this year, there is another long list of concerts — though, I’ll confess that the only one I’ve heard of is Nada Surf. Most are Spanish bands.

It looks like a pretty cool venue for events. The current series of concerts runs through the end of May. Here’s a list of the bands coming:

Nada Surf

10.04 - Muchachito Bombo Infierno
11.04 - Boikot
20.04 - Rata Blanca
23.04 - Mica P. Hinson
24.04 - Lori Meyers
25.04 - Marlango
26.04 - Zia
30.04 - Nada Surf + The Sunday Drivers
03.05 - La Noche Americana
08.05 - Havana Abierta
10.05 - Violadores del Verso
17.05 - Feria Manga + Japan Dj’s
31.05 - Xhellazz

Manga Festival + Japanese DJs? Suki desu!

More information is available at http://www.heinekengreenspace.es/

C/ Juan Verdeguer, 16-24. Valencia
Location on our Valencia Map

After a year in Western Ireland, what a relief it was to finally go to a decent theater, populated with people interested in watching a film rather than tweens interested in discovering who can giggle the loudest.

County Mayo, Ireland: you have your good sides, but the movie-going experience isn’t one of them. Hordes of kids storming into the theater 20 minutes late, poor sound and picture, high prices and, worst of all, the curious habit of the Irish to spring from their seats as soon as the credits begin to roll.

Creepy

We went to see No Country For Old Men this week at UGC Ciné Cité — a gargantuan cinema with 16 screens on the outskirts of the city center (location). Great film and great theater. Wednesday is movie day, we were happy to discover, which meant a charge of just €5.30 per person. And, we got coupons which allow us to see another film within a month for €3.50. Sweet!

Although there was no queue at all when we went on Wednesday, this isn’t always the case. Our first 3 attempts to go the theater were foiled by unexpectedly long lines. (Fourth time a charm — we’re slow learners). The Spanish, it seems, are huge movie-goers, which is just another reason to love them. So if you plan on going to the movies on a weekend in Valencia, go at least 40 minutes early.

UGC Ciné Cité is one of just a few Valencian theaters in which you can see original version films (with Spanish subtitles). Also popular are Babel, which is fully original version (location), and its sister cinema, Albatros (location), which features a more eclectic selection.

And if you’re a movie fan, please check out our Movie Recommendation Engine and Community, Criticker. Juergen and I run this site, which has grown to over 10,000 users & almost 20,000 films, and is 100% free.

UGC’s Website: http://www.ugc.es/
See What’s Playing in Valencia, courtesy 20 Minutos

Tomorrow, Valencia’s next great attraction is opening its doors — the BioParc. Part of a new generation of zoos, the Bioparc rejects cages in favor of natural terrain and a more immersive experience for the visitor. Lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and (my favorite) monkeys will be running around the park, as liberated as we can safely allow them to be.

http://www.bioparcvalencia.es

The park will be open daily from 10 until 6pm and until 7pm on weekends. In the summer months, opening hours will be extended. Entrance costs €20 per adult, which is kind of steep… but the great thing is that a season pass costs just €40. Also, you can buy a single entrance, and then decide whether to get the season pass. As long as you keep your ticket, they will only charge you the difference.

I’m really excited about going to the park, and we might even go tomorrow on opening day, despite the crowds which will surely be gathered. Generally, I have a problem with zoos — it seems wrong to keep wild animals caged up. And in parks which attempt to replicate a natural habitat, the animals are often really difficult to find. By nature, a lion doesn’t sit there passively so that squealing children can scream “Simba!” at it.

Expect some pictures and opinions about Europe’s newest zoo to be coming soon.

Official Site: http://www.bioparcvalencia.es/
Location on Our Valencia Map