Essential Magazine April 2016

ISSUE 200 • APRIL 2016

N º 200 - APRIL 2016

17 YEARS PORTRAYING

ESSENTIAL FOR LUXURIOUS LIVING

essential essential magazine® marbella

MARBELLA’S BEST

COMPLIMENTARY EDITION

MARBELLA

200 EDITIONS

e

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Ag So en le cy Enclosed: 805 m² Plot: 3,593 m² Price: € 5,975,000

NUEVA ANDALUCÍA A warm, wonderful and very private 5-bedroom mansion with sea views in one of the most

desirable neighborhoods in Marbella. Easy walking distance to Puerto Banús. Boasting excellent, modern features within an elegant and sophisticated style. Surrounded by a large mature garden with pool and possibility of building another villa or a guest house on second plot! Ref. ES8990

An International Associate of Savills

Ag So en le cy Enclosed: 1,719 m² Plot: 19,512 m² Price: € 11,950,000

NUEVA ANDALUCÍA Sublime country estate in a desirable gated community with 24-hr security. Offering complete privacy and panoramic sea & mountain views, the estate’s understated elegance combines with modern features. Almost 20,000 m2 of land with heated salt water pool, gazebo and paddle tennis court. Enormous games room, billiards room, cinema room, wine cellar, spa with indoor pool & gym. Garage space for 11 cars, plus outdoor parking. Ref. ES8027

Offices at the Puente Romano Hotel & opposite the Marbella Club Hotel Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 info@panorama.es www.panorama.es

17

Issue 200 • April 2016

S T A F F PUBLISHER AND DIRECTOR

YEARS

GENERAL MANAGER ASSOCIATE EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER

U ANNIVERSARY U

SALES SUPPORT

IAIN BLACKWELL director@essentialmagazine.com ANDREA BÖJTI sales@essentialmagazine.com MARISA CUTILLAS editorial@essentialmagazine.com SUSANNE WHITAKER design@essentialmagazine.com JAN DENDAUW jan@essentialmagazine.com RÉKA VIDÁTS reka@essentialmagazine.com

ACCOUNTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR DESIGN & LAYOUT STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

PRINTING DEPÓSITO LEGAL

MARIANO JEVA cuentas@essentialmagazine.com MONIKA BÖJTI info@essentialmagazine.com

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EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES COMPLEJO LA PÓVEDA, BLQ. 3, 1º A, CN 340, KM 178, 29600 MARBELLA, MÁLAGA. TEL: 952 766 344 FAX: 952 766 343

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CONDITIONS

The publishers make every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct, but cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information published herein, or be held accountable for any errors, omissions, or claims for damages.

Marbella Magazine cannot accept responsibility for the claims, goods or services of advertisers. © Publicaciones Independientes Costa del Sol S.L. for Marbella Magazine.

No part of this magazine, including texts, photographs, illustrations, maps or any other graphics may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Publicaciones Independientes Costa del Sol S.L. Printed on recyclable paper, produced without wood and bleached without chlorine.

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NEW LUXURY VILLA IN ALTOS DE PUENTE ROMANO MARBELLA GOLDEN MILE LOS OLIVOS · NUEVA ANDALUCÍA Unique location within a sought gated community, walking New Luxury Villas in the heart ofafter the Golf Valley distance to the Puente Romano Hotel.

Gated community with 24 hoursDesigned security by renowned architect and finished to high standards, featuring sea and mountain views.

Modern architecture with high quality finishes Prices from ¤ 1.795.000

Beds: 6 Baths: 6 Built: 581m2 Plot: 1601m2 Price: € 2.890.000

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OFFICE +34 952 765 060 MOBILE +34 618 886 885 EMAIL info@solvilla.no Hotel Marbella Club, Oficina 10, Blvd. Principe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, 29602 Marbella, Spain WWW.SOLVILLA.NO

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En Ex ge clu l & siv Vö e to lk er s

La Zagaleta

Unrivaled luxury and sophistication are hallmarks of this grand estate, prominently set in a privileged location within La Zagaleta, the most exclusive Golf & Country Club in Europe. With its unique setting this residence offers sensational mountain, golf and sea views as well as complete privacy.

Designed in a Tuscany style, the property has large and modern, living and entertainment areas. The entrance floor boasts several reception rooms and a large guest suite. The three master bedrooms are on the upper floor, all of

them enjoying breathtaking panoramic sea views and large terraces. The main suite has his and her bathrooms and a spacious dressing area. The lower level consists of a large Spa with indoor pool and entertainment areas including a discotheque, cinema room, American bar, wine cellar and a separate 3 bedroom guest apartment. A total of 4 pools, elevator, 9 parking bays and 6 car garage. 9 beds, 10 baths. Built 2.000 m2, plot 4.484 m2.

E&V ID: W-00913O. P.O.A.

Office Puerto Banús: 952 85 98 60 · www.engelvoelkers.com/MarbellaAndEast

Rare opportunity to purchase an exquisite villa just meters from the beach adjacent to the prestigious Puente Romano Hotel Resort, on Marbella’s Golden Mile. This villa offers luxury living in one of Europe’s best addresses. Upon entering through the hotel grounds, the spacious driveway leads to the main entrance with beautiful double-height ceiling and large, open plan reception rooms which open onto a spectacular L shaped covered terrace overlooking

to rs ve e si ölk clu V Ex el & g En

Puente Romano

the pool area. An exquisite Italian style, sculpted garden is found beyond the terrace. The villa offers 4 large suites, study and a generous family lounge with separate dining area, all opening onto terraces, some with lovely sea views. Other features: a luxury Spa; finished basement for cinema and gym; a separate staff/guest apartment. 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, built 815 m², plot 1.722 m².

E&V ID: W-0239P1. P.O.A.

Office Marbella: 952 86 84 06 · www.engelvoelkers.com/MarbellaAndEast

You only live once,

Beachfront Los Monteros: Situated in the most desirable beachfront complex of Los Monteros Playa, this elegant duplex penthouse offers breathtaking sea views, space and comfort. Private lift. 4 beds, 4 baths. Living area 270 m2, terrace 140 m2.

E&V ID: W-024MGE. Price: 2.960.000 €. Tel.: 952 83 20 40.

Golden Mile: Modern villa with sea views in the heart of Marbella, close to all amenities and the beach. Built and finished to highest standards. 3 beds, 3 baths. Living area 194 m2, terrace 229 m2.

E&V ID: W-024UXT. Price: 1.798.000 €. Tel: 952 86 84 06.

Bahía de Marbella: Exceptional, contemporary, newly built villa, just 250 m from the beach. Stylish design and high qualities for luxury living. 4 beds, 4 baths. Built 1.276 m2, plot 1.645 m2.

E&V ID: W-024Q7J. Price: 4.900.000 €. Tel.: 952 83 20 40.

Beachfront Elviria: Situated in a luxurious gated community, this penthouse boasts magnificent sea views, spacious bright rooms and ample terraces. 3 beds, 3 baths. Living area 160 m2, terrace 108 m2.

E&V ID: W-023MJG. Price: 925.000 €. Tel. 952 83 55 80.

Beachfront Puerto Banús: The only penthouse available in the exclusive complex of Los Granados! Indoor heated pool, Spa, gym, club house. 4 beds, 4 baths. Living area 279 m2, terrace 458 m2.

E&V ID: W-02475D. Price: 2.700.000 €. Tel.: 952 85 98 60.

Office Elviria: 952 83 55 80 · Office El Rosario: 952 83 20 40 www.engelvoelkers.com/MarbellaAndEast

we will show you where!

Sierra Blanca: Best priced, newly built, contemporary villa offering exquisite luxury and comfort in the most prestigious address in Marbella. Exclusive fittings, highest specifications and latest technology. 5 beds, 5 baths. Built 820 m2, plot 1.500 m2.

E&V ID: W-0217CZ. Price: 4.150.000 €. Tel.: 952 86 84 06.

La Zagaleta: Spectacular, contemporary villa with panoramic sea views presenting a sophisticated lifestyle. Spa with indoor pool, sauna, pool bar, gym and cinema room. 6 beds, 5 baths. Built 1.080 m2, plot 4.600 m2.

E&V ID: W-021GYA. Price: 7.950.000 €. Tel: 952 85 98 60.

Los Monteros: Situated only 200 m from the beach, this stylish villa offers the highest standards for luxury living by the sea.

Heated pool. 5 beds, 5 baths. Built 1068 m2, plot 2.216 m2.

E&V ID: W-024JIQ. Price: 4.300.000 €. Tel.: 952 83 20 40.

Frontline Puerto Banús: Opportunity! Fantastically priced apartment, spacious and bright rooms, own car park space and private lift access. 3 beds, 3 baths. Living area 193 m2, terrace 48 m2.

E&V ID: W-01EX8U. Price: 1.295.000 €. Tel: 952 85 98 60.

Beachfront Golden Mile: Bargain! Spectacularly priced penthouse in Alhambra del Mar, a sought after community with direct access to the beach. 3 beds, 3 baths. Living area 115 m2, terrace 150 m2.

E&V ID: W-01ZW2K. Price: 985.000 €. Tel.: 952 86 84 06.

Office Puerto Banús: 952 85 98 60 · Office Marbella: 952 86 84 60 www.engelvoelkers.com/MarbellaAndEast

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Andalusian style villa with panoramic sea views – El Madroñal, Benahavis 7 Beds 7 Baths 883m2 Built 11.094m2 Plot

Price: 4.500.000 € Ref: DM1334

Villa – La Zagaleta, Benahavis

Penthouse – Marina Puente Romano, Marbella

Penthouse - Granados Golf, Nva. Andalucía

Villa – Carib Playa, Marbella East

Mountain and golf views 5 Beds 5 Baths 738m2 m2 Built 5.520m2 Plot Ref: DM3656 Price: 4.500.000 €

Corner duplex. Golf and sea views 757m2 Built Ref: DM3603

Price: 1.750.000 €

Over 417 Offices in 58 Countries

Duplex. Sea views. Fully renovated 3 Beds 3 Baths 335m2 Built Ref: DM3806-02 Price: 3.500.000 €

Sea views 5 Beds 3 Baths 571m2 Built 941m2 Plot Ref: DM3734

Price: 1.200.000 €

T AG EN LE SO

Villa – Cascada de Camoján, Marbella Golden Mile 8 Beds 8 Baths 1.844m2 Built 2.150m2 Plot

Price: 8.500.000 € Ref: DM3365

SO LE

AG

EN

T

Villa with unique aesthetic, carefully designed to maximize its privileged position and spectacular panoramic views. Highest quality materials and specifications throughout, including custom-made designer furniture and two heated swimming pools.

Villa – Rio Verde Playa, Marbella Golden Mile 5 Beds 5 Baths 327m2 Built 924m2 Plot

Price: 2.950.000 € Ref: DM3812

Beachside villa magnificently located 200m from the beach and walking distance to Puerto Banús. Recently renovated with utmost attention to detail, featuring top quality kitchen, heated pool, hammam, Jacuzzi, alarm and large mature garden.

Tel: 952 765 138 info@dmproperties.com DMproperties.com

DMproperties.com

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Enclosed: 213 m² Terrace: 104 m² Price: € 2,400,000

PUENTE ROMANO 3-bed second line beach duplex penthouse with superb sea views in the Persian gardens of Marina Puente Romano, next to the 5-star Hotel with all its facilities at hand. Ref. ES8773

Enclosed: 341 m² Plot: 2,000 m² Price: € 1,395,000

SAN PEDRO DE ALCANTÁRA 5-bed

cosy home on a south-facing corner plot in Alta Vista, walking distance to amenities. Ref. ES9130

Enclosed: 313 m² Plot: 604 m² Price: € 1,400,000

GOLDEN MILE Exquisitely appointed 5-bed villa with south-west exposure in Ancón Sierra.

Gated complex with 24-hr security. Ref. ES9142

Enclosed: 184 m² Terrace: 49 m² Price: € 1,195,000

NUEVA ANDALUCÍA Luxurious 3-bed first floor apartment in a 5-star complex with 24-hr security in the Golf Valley. Ref. ES8947

Enclosed: 192 m² Terrace: 62 m² Price: € 1,598,000

MARINA PUENTE ROMANO Beachside

An International Associate of Savills

3-bed duplex penthouse with sea views. Steps to the beach. Ref. ES8986

Enclosed: 640 m² Plot: 1,200 m² Price: € 7,900,000

GOLDEN MILE Rare opportunity to acquire a newly-built, modern, 6-bed beachside villa in the most exclusive area.

Urbanisation with 24-hr security, next to the Marbella Club. Top qualities and luxury fittings. Ref. ES08727

Enclosed: 1,718 m² Plot: 8,324 m² Price: € 4,950,000

EL MADROÑAL 8-bed villa with guest house on an extensive plot with panoramic sea and mountain views. 24-hr security. Ref. ES7881

Enclosed: 863 m² Plot: 2,000 m² Price on application

SIERRA BLANCA 5-bed contemporary-

Enclosed: 399 m² Plot: 1,589 m² Price: € 2,300,000

NUEVA ANDALUCÍA Contemporary 4-bed frontline golf home near Los Naranjos Golf Club.

Close to Puerto Banús. Ref. ES8799

Enclosed: 208 m² Terrace: 88 m² Price: € 2,195,000

LA TRINIDAD Superb 3-bed duplex penthouse in the best block of this 5-star complex, walking distance to the beach. Ref. ES7070

style villa with superb sea views in this exclusive urbanisation with 24-hr security. Ref. ES8867

Offices at the Puente Romano Hotel & opposite the Marbella Club Hotel Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 info@panorama.es www.panorama.es

D

contents the trend Cinema 38

Notoriously Difficult Directors 40

Music News 42

Five Books that Shook the World 44

Great Films Based on Books 46 Smart Reading 48 The New Porsche 718 Boxster 50

the focus Modern vs Classical Literature 56 Tragic Shakespeare 62 Famous Authors Spurned 68 Female Authors throughout History 76 Carlos Ruiz Zafón 78 Property: Monte Biarritz 82

the style Décor Feature: A Villa with Flair 86 Il Tartufo Ristorante Reformed 94 Marbella Carpets Presents the Guy Laroche Collection 96 Fashion Feature: Roberto Torretta 98 Fashion News 106

the spa Beauty Pitfalls 110 Beauty News 112 Reading for Kids 114 Health News 116 Jan Dendauw of Boot Camp Marbella 118

the pro 120 Enterprise 130 ABN AMRO Private Banking 132 New Laws on Registering Holiday Rentals 134 The Vibe

the leisure 140 Travel: Bergamo, Milan’s Fairytale Sister 146 The Library Hotel New York

the gourmet 150 Food Writers 153 Les Deux 154 Food News 156 Kevin Woodford’s Barcelona 158 Chef’s Profile: Luis Olarra of Kabuki Raw 160 Wine: Biurko Gorri

the guide 162 Listings 173 Pet News 174 What’s On 176 Stars for April 178 Family Fun

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Silver Sun Living, Guaro

architects

Sierra Blanca, Liszt 2

20 years experience in developing luxury architecture in Marbella

eulalia polo joaquĂ­n amores C/ Azaleas 51, 1 derecha. 29660 Nueva AndalucĂ­a - Marbella (Spain) phone 951 402 080 info@p4arquitectos.com www.p4arquitectos.com 200 P4.indd 1

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Photo Michel Gibert, used as a reference only. Special thanks: Camille Stoos / TASCHEN.

éditionspéciale

French Art de Vivre

2.690 €*

reduced from 3.350 €

Playlist. Large 3-seat sofa, designed by Castello Lagravinese Studio.

*Price reduced until 18/04/2016 on composition as shown: L. 240 x H. 77 x D. 104 cm, upholstered in Playlist fabric. Entirely removable covers for the fabric version. Chaise longue (L. 100 x H. 77 x D. 164 cm). Upholstered in Senso leather, cowhide, corrected grain, pigmented finish. Base in solid beech with black stain finish. Available in fabric or leather and in other dimensions. Optional scatter cushions. Canopé rug, designed by Corinne Hellein. Half & Half floor lamp, designed by Cristián Mohaded. Bow cocktail table, end table and pedestal table, designed by Piks Design. European manufacture.

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200 1999-2016

ways to love

essential

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D words BY IAIN BLACKWELL PUBLISHER

The Pen is Mightier than

the Sword W

elcome to the 200th edition of Marbella, in a trajectory that sees us on the eve of our 17th birthday! Over the years, we have brought our loyal readers an endless degree of diversion having covered virtually every aspect of lifestyle and we relish the challenge of continuing this evolution. For a glimpse of all the front covers we have published, see pages 32 & 33; good to know that each one of these magazines has been produced on recyclable paper!

Fittingly, this month’s focus is on the written word and we begin with a comparison of Modern vs Classical Literature and discuss some of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Many well-known authors have experienced publisher rejection and we discover some of the most astonishing examples. We also profile famous female authors and top food writers, investigate the outstanding success of Spain’s leading contemporary novelist, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, review landmark titles that literally shook the world and great books made into films, and visit the Library Hotel in New York.

In an issue packed to the brim with exceptional content, you can check out the all-new Porsche 718 Boxster, haute couture from Roberto Torretta, and a sumptuous property on the fringe of Marbella. Take a trip with us to Milan’s fairytale sister, Bergamo, view the new collection from Guy Laroche at Marbella Carpets and sample some award-wining organic wines from Rioja.

Look out for our 17th anniversary edition coming next month!

34 / APRIL 2016 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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w the trend READING MUSIC FILMS GADGETS MOTORING TRENDS

38 Cinema 40

Notoriously Difficult Directors

42

Music News

44

Five Books that Shook the World

46

Great Films Based on Books

48

Smart Reading

50

The New Porsche 718 Boxster

Spring has officially arrived, bringing in a breath of fresh air and occasional rainy days just when you thought you could count on eternal sunshine. Avail of the best home life has to offer, with a host of exciting film and reading suggestions. When you feel like venturing outdoors, why not make your presence felt in the stylish new Porsche 718 Boxster?

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Bedrooms: 4 • Bathrooms: 4 • Built: 680 m2 • Plot: 1460 m2 Terrace: 208 m2 • Price: 2,595,000 €

Bedrooms: 5 • Bathrooms: 5 • Built: 1030 m2 • Plot: 2195 m2 Terrace: 255 m2 • Price: 5,490,000 €

FRONTLINE VILLA IN LOS NARANJOS GOLF A beautiful and very well built house front line to Los Naranjos Golf in a small gated and private urbanisation. The house has been decorated in a modern style and is being offered fully furnished. The villa features under floor heating, state of the art AC system, central vacuum cleaner and a heated pool. Ref: 176-01258P

VILLA IN LOS NARANJOS HILL CLUB This breath-taking villa was designed and built in 2015 by the renowned architect Gustavo Kloster. It is truly a masterpiece of modern architecture with a very privileged position on the top of a hill in Nueva Andalucia, overlooking the valley below with panoramic views of the sea and mountains.

Ref: 176-01234P

Bedrooms: 3 • Bathrooms: 2 • Built: 177 m2 Terrace: 45 m2 • Price: 895,000 €

Bedrooms: 5 • Bathrooms: 5 • Built: 515 m2 • Plot: 1520 m2 Terrace: 120 m2 • Price: 2,250,000 €

TOWNHOUSE IN ALDEA BLANCA A west facing townhouse situated in a popular community close to Puerto Banus, golf and amenities. Tastefully decorated to the highest Scandinavian standard and luxury quality it features a Bulthaup Design kitchen, designer doors, wardrobes, and staircase. Ref: 176-01237P

LOS NARANJOS GOLF VILLA A classic style villa in privileged position front line golf to the 17th hole at Los Naranjos Golf. The wide living and dining room feeds out onto the covered terrace and down to the large heated pool. The house was renovated approximately 10 years ago to a classic contemporary look.

Ref: 176-01237P

Tel: 952 816 250 / 619 553 065 admin1@andadev.com • Website: www.andadev.com

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w THE TREND cinema WORDS MA RISA CUTIL

e BLOCKBUSTER OF

LAS

THE MONTH

» GENRE Action ny and Joe Russo » DIRECTOR Antho Winter Soldier) The a: eric (Captain Am ansson, Chris Joh » ACTORS Scarlett Jr. ey wn Do t ber Evans, Ro

rs talented team of Avenge Steve Rogers leads his After . ces for l evi m fro ty ani in an aim to protect hum ident in which the team another international inc ounce nal political forces ann saves the day, internatio are es ero erh ide when the sup that only they can dec m, tea the ide div ns tio regula to be relied on. The new and y ntl cie to act speedily, effi whose members prefer from the heart.

r a W l i v i C : a c i r e Captain Am

» GENRE Fantasy » DIRECTOR Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (Carrot vs Ninja) » ACTORS Jessica Chastain, Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron

The Huntsman Winter’s War

When Freya (Emily Blunt), a young queen who can turn her enemies into ice statues, learns of the death of her sister, the beautiful Ravenna (Charlize Theron), she summons her legion of soldiers to recover the Magic Mirror. She resurrects Ravenna, and the two wicked sisters assemble a formidable army that threatens to annihilate the kingdom. Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain), two warriors who disobey Freya by falling in love, are the only ones who can save the world from the evil power of the sisterly duo.

» GENRE Drama » DIRECTOR Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) » ACTORS Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay

Victor Frankenstein

Obsessive Doctor, Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), and his Assistant, Igor Strausman (Daniel Radcliffe) carry out a series of electrifying experiments that promise the possibility of something we all dream of: immortality. Yet Victor becomes increasingly obsessed by his work and young Igor is the only one who can make him realise the tragic implications of his creation.

» GENRE Biopic » DIRECTOR Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) » ACTORS Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, John Goodman, Helen Mirren

Trumbo

Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston plays famous screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who penned film greats such as Roman Holiday and Spartacus.

As talented as he was, Trumbo almost lost everything he had when, in 1940, he was included in Hollywood’s blacklist and accused of being a communist.

» GENRE Comedy » DIRECTOR Ben Falcone (Enough Said) » ACTORS Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage

The Boss

The brilliant Melissa McCarthy is back as Michelle Darnell, a successful CEO who is imprisoned for using privileged information to her advantage. When her stint in jail is over, she plans on making the comeback of a lifetime, only to find that some people are just not quite as forgiving as she had hoped.

38 / APRIL 2016 ESSENTIALMAGAZINE.COM

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w THE TREND cinema

Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lars von Trier and Kirsten Dunst

Werner Herzog

David O. Russell

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

Cinema’s Most Wanted

NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT DIRECTORS I n one scene of Lars von Trier’s highly polemic film, Antichrist (2009), the protagonist (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), is suffering from deep depression following the accidental death of her young son.

She lies on her bed seeking respite.

Upon her bedside table stands a crystal vase filled with now-wilted flowers. The camera moves closer and closer until we are immersed in the vase, swimming within its murky waters dotted with filth, decay, parasites. The scene reveals von Trier’s intense sensitivity to the environment around him, to every last tiny detail, to all things visual, symbolic.

The Danish Director may be cinema’s great philosopher, yet his interpersonal skills sometimes don’t quite come up to scratch.

He is almost universally hated by American critics and, in a way, his reputation is well-deserved. In the middle of a press conference for Melancholia (2000), he casually made a distasteful Nazi joke, causing his muse, Kirsten Dunst, to squirm uncomfortably in her seat.

It’s not just his odd manner in public; von Trier also tackles difficult issues that would make any other Director shake in his boots: subjects like sex addiction (Nymphomaniac, 2013), gynocide (Antichrist, 2009) and American racism (Manderlay, 2005).

The Americans hated Manderlay (and its predecessor, Dogville), because they felt a Director who had never been to the United States did not have the right to comment on their society, yet they missed the point altogether. These films have far deeper undercurrents, and their issues touch upon the universal.

Lars von Trier isn’t just hated by Americans; many of his actresses have a litany of complaints. Björk, who appeared in the magnificent Dancer in the Dark (2000) was said to have started every day of filming with the following utterance: “Mr. von Trier, I hate you.” So traumatic was the experience that she vowed to never again act in any film. Björk penned a letter when she heard that Nicole Kidman was due to play the lead in von Trier’s Dogville, warning the flame-haired Aussie that the Director obtained his life force by eating womens’ souls. Kidman ignored the warning and the result is a seminal film about the fine line that separates kindness from interest, gentleness from violence, forgiveness from revenge.

Despite being accused of misogyny, von Trier is a woman’s filmmaker, nearly always telling stories from a female character’s point of view. He acknowledges that the extreme freedom his mother gave him as a child annoyed the

living daylights out of him: "Every film, I try to irritate her, even though she's dead, so she's still having a lot of influence. But every film is basically to irritate her and provoke her."

Lars von Trier is matched in the hatred he arouses by Werner Herzog, who, during the production of Amazon epic film, Fitzcarraldo, pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot lead actor, Klaus Kinski, if the actor walked off the set. “We had a great love, but both of us planned to murder each other,” said Herzog, who incidentally proved his toughness is much more than bravado when, during an interview with the BBC, he was shot in the stomach and continued with the interview, laughing his injury off after showing the reporter the gaping hole in his stomach.

Actor, Martin Sheen, also knows what it’s like to suffer at the hand of a perfectionist; when filming Apocalypse Now under the hand of Francis Ford Coppola, Sheen suffered a heart attack and was stressed beyond belief by the Director’s inconsistency. Coppola wrote the script ‘as he went along,’ continuously changing scenes and dragging the filming process incessantly.

Another director who bamboozled his actors with endless takes is David Fincher. During the filming

of Zodiac (2007) he resolved to film every scene at least 70 times, leading Robert Downey to comment: “I think I’m a perfect person to work for him, because I understand gulags.”

Then there is Michael Bay, whose dictatorial style incurred the wrath of Megan Fox and earned him a punch from Shia La Beouf during the filming of Transformers.

Equally annoying is David O. Russell, whom George Clooney once punched in the head for allegedly demeaning the film crew. Russell may have directed emotionally packed gems like Silver Linings Playbook (2012), yet he can resort to basic violence ‘when necessary’.

In 2006, he placed fellow Director, Christopher Nolan (Inception) in a headlock, calling stunned onlookers “a shower of bitches” after Nolan ‘stole’ Jude Law for the film, The Prestige. In this case, the hassle paid off; Law returned, tail tucked in, to film I Heart Huckabees, which he had agreed to film with Russell.

Madness, obsession and passion are three qualities which mark great directors in nearly all cases; they are often unaccompanied by social niceties but many would argue that they are necessary for truly visionary work. If you doubt this idea, check out Lars von Trier’s ‘Depression’ trilogy. If you can, try not to drown in so much beauty. e

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w THE TREND music

ERIC CLAPTON

¿QUÉ PASA? WORDS RIK FOXX

Like daylight hours, the list is getting longer for Marbella’s very own Starlite festival (during July and August). For the up-todate line up go to www.starlitefestival.com Meanwhile, lots of tribute acts are flooding the coast and it’s best to check your local weekly publications to see what’s going on.

All information on this page was correct at the time of writing.

There’s a couple of concerts on April 30 for those who like Spanish bands with ROMEO SANTOS, the Latin American former lead singer of the Bachata group AVENTURA at Fuengirola’s Complejo Polideportivo Municipal Elola; and if you fancy a trip to Granada, CELTAS CORTOS (a very good, kind of, Spanish version of the POGUES) are at the Auditorio Manuel de Falla. Ticket info for both: www.ticketmaster.es In May: Málaga’s Teatro de Cervantes plays host to the UK 1990s indie icons THE WEDDING PRESENT (20th) as part of their three-night Alternativo festival; ticket info and full line-up: www.teatrocervantes.com Further afield on the same day – the Territorios Sevilla weekender starts with UK indie rockers THE WOMBATS and the legendary TINDERSTICKS; ticket info and full line-up: www.territoriossevilla.com And UK rapper STORMZY is at Aqwa Mist in Banús on the 30th.

Mystery surrounds about what will happen with the AC/DC concert scheduled next month in Sevilla. Fans have been left Thunderstruck after lead singer BRIAN

JOHNSON was advised by doctors to “stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss” and all concerts were cancelled in the US for this month. DAVE EVANS, who briefly sang in the band when they formed in 1974 – before the legend that was BON SCOTT (died 1980), has offered his services – but the founders of the band are not sure what to do.

Many think football is the biggest thing in the world but it has had to play second fiddle to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. The Spanish Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Sevilla was to be played at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium on May 21 – the same night as 'The Boss' had been booked to play there – the footie match will now be played at Atlético de Madrid's Estadio Vicente Calderón on May 22.

BEACH BOYS legend BRIAN WILSON will perform the band’s iconic Pet Sounds album at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival (June 2-4), other acts: RADIOHEAD, SUEDE, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and PJ HARVEY. Did you check-out the JAMES CORDEN Carpool Karaoke? (if not – tut, tut). The latest one aired on March 29 had JENNIFER LOPEZ in the passenger’s seat.

For the first time in six-years, the British public voted for the UK entry at next month’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. The winning song was You're Not Alone by JOE AND JAKE (who first met while competing separately in the BBC talent show The Voice) and they will perform the song at the London Eurovision Party on April 17.

GEORGE MICHAEL

JENNIFER LOPEZ

The much hyped TV music drama Vinyl has been commissioned for a second series – if you haven’t seen it yet this enjoyable MARTIN SCORSESE / MICK JAGGER production is about the New York music industry during the early 1970s and features JAMES JAGGER (oldest son of…). Those checking out the show’s website were asked to name their supergroup – top votes went to FREDDIE MERCURY (vocals), ERIC CLAPTON (guitar), PAUL McCARTNEY (bass) and PHIL COLLINS (drums).

Talking of vinyl, disc sales hit a 20year high last year and some clever clogs is now pushing the old C30C60-C90 cassettes and sales are said to be on the up with EMINEM leading the way releasing his 1999 best selling The Slim Shady album.

Meanwhile KANYE WEST says he’ll never release his music on CD “ever again” and will rely on streaming services instead – better idea – don’t release anything ever again!

The proposed WHAM reunion tour has been kicked into touch after a spokesperson for GEORGE MICHAEL revealed his “team contacted insurance companies to discuss the difficulties he might face when touring following years of illness and stints in rehab” it was decided it would cost too much.

And it’s not all wine and roses for the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion,

who are headlining this month’s US Coachella Festival. Now, only three of the legendary Appetite for Destruction line-up will play after guitarist IZZY STRADLIN pulled out. That leaves AXL ROSE, DUFF McKAGAN and SLASH, who is said to be writing new material for the future.

'Fangirl Central!' is a bright idea by a LITTLE MIX PR who wants to unite them with the SPICE GIRLS for their 20th anniversary. It’s a known fact that all is not well on the spice rack but yours truly noticed on a trip back to the UK last December at the BBC Music Awards that the 'Mix' is not as blended as they should be.

Talking of unwanted gatherings, members of the BOYZONE / WESTLIFE muddle up say they have some new material – what’s the bet they are somebody else’s songs! e

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w THE TREND books

5

Books that Changed the World The power of the written word is reflected in sayings like ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ because it has the ability to convey thoughts and emotions to millions of people around the world.

Throughout history there have been many books that have changed or at the very least influenced society through the development of new knowledge, insights, ideologies and social attitudes. We’ve picked our five favourites. COMPILED BY MICHEL CRUZ

ON THE ORIGINS OF SPECIES BY CHARLES DARWIN

Published at a time when the biblical creation as described in Genesis was still universally accepted in the Western world, The Origin of Species caused a furore that hasn’t entirely died down even in our times. Though its explanation for the existence of the earth’s creatures through a process of survival-based adaptation forms the basis of many of our modern sciences, it remains shrouded in religioussecular controversy.

The impact at the time was like that of a meteor hitting the earth’s crust, for it shook the very foundations upon which life had been based for so long. Itself the product of the Renaissance and the rational thinkers of the 18th century, Darwin’s groundbreaking work spurred on science and supremacist ‘survival of the fittest’ theories alike.

DAS KAPITAL

BY KARL MARX

When Das Kapital first came out Darwin’s work was only eight years old, and where the latter was essentially a scientific work that gave rise to political schools of thought such as Social Darwinism, Karl Marx’s critique of the capitalist economic and socio-political system was very much intended to be the foundation of a new ideology.

Itself the further evolution of the Communist Manifesto, later editions of Das Kapital developed the economic and social theories of Marx and Friedrich Engels further, thus providing the blueprint for the Marxist-Leninist theory that was to underpin Communist movements and become such a dominant force throughout the 20th century. In mobilising workers and intelligentsia alike in their multiple millions, Das Kapital proved the power of the word.

THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS BY SIGMUND FREUD Through his prolific writing, Freud not only opened our eyes to the workings of the mind, but fathered an entire medical discipline, that of psychology and psychiatry. His most important work in the field was published in the final year of the 19th century and formed one of the main building blocks for a greater understanding of mental and social behaviour.

It has helped trained professionals diagnose and treat conditions such as schizophrenia, depression and addiction, but has also been used by propagandists, recruiters, groomers and the more cynical aspects of marketing, allowing those who are masters of manipulation to influence millions of people without perceived coercion.

LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER BY D.H. LAWRENCE

The man we now regard a great writer was in his lifetime seen as a pornographer, for not only did he describe and celebrate emotional and physical love, but he did so candidly. This, at a time when such candour was regarded as improper, particularly in his native Britain.

Yet in books such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D.H. Lawrence shocked not only with descriptive sexual scenes and the use of ‘vulgar’ language, but also upset the establishment with his choice of lovers: a working class man and upper class woman.

A social as well as a sexual pioneer, his books contributed to slowly changing social attitudes and the opening up of society.

1984 BY GEORGE ORWELL

A political as well as a social commentary, this revolutionary novel published in 1949 predicted a dark and autocratic future from within the cold confines of the post-war world. Having lived in a world dominated by two world wars and the Spanish Civil War, in which he participated, Orwell’s world view was understandably grim, but also reflects a fear for the growing automation of the world.

Now, as we enter an era with CCTV surveillance, drones, remote sensing and artificial intelligence, the fear that such technologies can be abused by autocratic systems and/or lead to the marginalisation of individual human beings makes his writing all the more chilling.

This is a book whose prophecies may yet come true. e

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w THE TREND books

5

Great Films Based on Top Books In homage to all things literary, we suggest five top viewing experiences based on brilliant books.

COMPILED BY MARISA CUTILLAS

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE

Z FILM: DIRECTED BY ROBERT MULLIGAN, 1962

To Kill a Mockingbird is arguably Gregory Peck’s most memorable film. Who but this actor (or, perhaps, the equally stately James Stewart) could play a man of the law and a man of action quite so convincingly? The film is set in the Depression era – an innocent black man is accused of rape and his lawyer (Atticus Finch) fights to secure his freedom. Atticus has another challenging task at hand: that of raising two young children and freeing them of prejudice and hatred.

LOLITA BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV

THE SHINING BY STEPHEN KING

STANLEY KUBRICK, 1962

STANLEY KUBRICK, 1980

Z FILM: DIRECTED BY

Despite having given rise to a string of similarly themed films, Nabokov’s Lolita continues to surprise and is still on the list of all-time best works by Director, Stanley Kubrick. James Mason is pitiful as middle-aged stepfather, Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with his precocious 12-year-old stepdaughter, Lolita. Kubrick is a master at pace, evident here and in other gems such as Eyes Wide Shut or A Clockwork Orange.

He takes the audience on an exciting journey of discovery, as we unravel the mystery of exactly who committed the heinous murder presented at the film’s beginning. Like Nabokov, Kubrick invites us to understand rather than condemn his anti-hero, who ultimately is no more than a man who has fallen deeply in love… with the wrong person.

Z FILM: DIRECTED BY

Stephen King is arguably the greatest of all horror book writers yet his novels are deep and tangled and the process of reading, one that is undeniably heavy yet fulfilling. Stanley Kubrick’s film captures every single terror-filled moment of one man’s transformation from sanity to madness, in the chilly hotel where he is appointed caretaker for the winter. Jack Nicholson is unforgettable as a young writer who begins to suffer from hallucinations that destroy him and turn him into his family’s worst enemy.

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

BY MILAN KUNDERA

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS BY THOMAS HARRIS

PHILIP KAUFMAN, 1988

This film manages to condense all the magic of the book and present it to us in two of the most exhilarating hours we are likely to experience in film history. There have been other films that have made our heart race (David Fincher’s Seven, 1995, comes to mind), but few that explore the special type of relationship that exists between killer and detective (in this case, Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling). Anthony Hopkins plays a cold blooded cannibal who has nothing to lose; confined in a top security prison for the rest of his life, he has no real motivation to help the young FBI cadet (Jodie Foster).

The cadet’s “good bag and cheap shoes” and her innocence captivate and attract him and because he likes her, he graciously hands her a few pieces of a complex puzzle that will lead to a vicious killer of women.

Z FILM: DIRECTED BY

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being delves into pretty heavy stuff – existentialism, personal responsibility, the idea of eternal recurrence… yet under the guiding hand of Director, Philip Kaufman, the film is surprisingly fast-paced. Daniel Day Lewis is stunning as a young Czech doctor torn between two women: one who offers the liberty he craves, and the other who wants a simple life by his side. A beautiful film in which individual passions are played against the turbulence of the Soviet invasion.

Z FILM: DIRECTED BY

JONATHAN DEMME, 1991

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w THE TREND technology

I have just finished reading Opening Shot, a weekly column by Simon Kuper in the Financial Times Weekend (Issue 18/17 Jan 2016), where he closed his column commenting that “writing is increasingly a private satisfaction. The effort invested is almost always out of proportion to the impact.” I have to agree with him that in today’s world where we are constantly bombarded with information overload, we are not able to read all the books, magazines, blogs, emails and content that we receive or purchase.

WORDS ALI PARANDEH

SMART READING

H

aving said that, like Mr Kuper, I find myself writing this article with the knowledge that the reach is lower than one might like and, on top of this, many of you who start reading it may never actually get to the end of the article.

Unlike all my previous articles, where I am clearly pro tech, this is somewhat of a conflicting viewpoint. But there is good news; paper is not dead. People are still buying books and reading printed matter and I am one of them. After spending almost 10 to 12 hours / day in the office in front of my PC or on the phone, typing, reading and thinking, my best friend is the printed book, a newspaper or my Kindle – the first generation, which does not have a touch screen and all you can do is read the book.

What is interesting is that many studies are suggesting that our brains are losing the ability to focus.

In fact during the process of writing this article, my phone bleeped twice which consequently stopped my thinking process for a few seconds.

While I was reading different articles and information on the web, the banners that kept moving each time

I scrolled were not just annoying but extremely distracting.

According to Erik Wästlund, a psychologist at Sweden’s Karlstad University, even the slight effort required to drag a mouse or swipe a finger requires a small but significant investment of attention, one that’s higher than flipping a page. Also with each scroll, as the text flows up or down a page, it disrupts the reader’s visual attention, forcing eyes to search for a new starting point and re-focus. Scrolling’s interruptions knock information from short-term memory and that is the basic level of information processing, the foundation for laying down longterm memories and knowledge.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have to add the sensory feel of pages under your fingertips which isn’t simply old-fashioned charm anymore.

It’s a rich source of information, subconsciously informing the reader of their position in a text.

Reading experts say that sense of position is important: it provides a sort of conceptual scaffold on which information and memory is

automatically arranged, and the scaffold is strongest when built from both visual and tactile cues.

So how can you read smarter?

Useful strategies you can use to improve reading competencies to become better and smarter readers include: Z Skim and take notes rather than read every single word Z Identify your reading priorities Z Dig for deeper understanding of concepts and arguments rather than just prepositional knowledge Z Assign enough time for your reading The first two things that you need to know about smart reading are when not to start and when to finish or skip. In today’s world of limitless information, remember that your time is the only one that is limited. So be selective about when you start reading, what you select to read and how much of it. At some point we all decide that an article or book is simply not worth our time to read to the end.

Now that you have smartly filtered the information you want, don’t forget to use the knowledge you take in. Here is where a pencil,

notepad and even slow reading play a good role. There is nothing wrong with stopping while reading to jot down notes, ideas and connections to other relevant topics and issues.

The process of note taking and cross referencing will equally enhance your memory.

Having said all the above and the initial reference to how scrolling and digital reading may not be as effective, I must add that there are a good few number of Apps that help you achieve the most from digital devices. Apps that include functionalities such as a slider, percentage read, page numbers, bookmarks and notes help tremendously. Do a quick search for Reading Apps and you will be pleasantly surprised. Happy Reading!

g Ali Parandeh, is the Founder of PC Doctor & Urbytus. He has written five books in the fields of Internet and Biotechnology. He is currently an independent mentor at the Founder Institute and helps entrepreneurs with getting their ideas and work off the ground. parandeh@urbytus.com

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w THE TREND motoring

PORSCHE

718 BOXSTER RANGE

There’s nothing more exciting in the world of sports cars than an all-new Porsche and for 2017 it’s the turn of the mid-engined Boxster roadster to get the makeover. The first-generation Boxster was launched in 1996 and became a major success for the company. It was a reasonably high-performance German roadster that was a lot less expensive that its ‘big brother’ 911 model. Later, a coupé variant was launched as the Cayman, but the car has a different character than the Boxster and I’ve always considered it a separate model. Even so, there will be a new Cayman for 2017. WORDS TONY WHITNEY PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PORSCHE

P

orsche is adopting the name ‘718 Boxster’ for its new model to completely differentiate it from earlier cars.

The fact is that the car boasts one very radical change in that it has a 4-cylinder engine. Porsche marketed cars in the 1960s with 4-cylinder power and raced them successfully too, but they’ve just about faded from memory.

But with recent advancements in 4-cylinder engine technology, it’s become possible to create powerplants with the same

levels of get-up-and-go as 6-cylinder units, more so in fact.

Of course, there are major fuel consumption benefits too.

Thanks to a turbocharger, the base 2.0-litre engine produces an impressive 300-horsepower and if you move up to the 718 Boxster S with its 2.5-litres, the hp jumps to 350. These are amazing figures for four-bangers as it wasn’t long ago that car manufacturers were struggling to get 300-horsepower out

of a V-6. Buyers can opt for a 6-speed manual gearbox or a Porsche PDK auto/manual with steering wheel paddles for manual shifts when needed.

Like all Boxster and 911 engines of the past, the new four is designed in horizontallyopposed configuration.

When it comes to styling, the 718 certainly follows the basic form of its predecessors, but it is completely new and features a more sculptured shape than before. It’s wider at

the front and the rear, and the cooling air intakes are bigger to feed lots of air to the turbo. As with so many cars nowadays, lighting is all LED and this is outstanding for fast night drives on unfamiliar roads. The nose of the car looks more 911 than ever and it seems the cars have been growing closer in appearance over the years, especially in open configuration.

19-inch wheels are featured with 20-inch available as an option.

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It’s very swift to get the hood down and enjoy open-air motoring and this can be done at a stop light. With the hood up, it’s nice and cosy in the cockpit and the interior trim on the inside is neatly done. The Boxster has always been a beautifully balanced sports car and even in demanding conditions, it drives rock-steady and feels very dependable.

I once drove a Boxster something like 900km over a major mountain range with rain all day long and the car never missed a beat. Even though these cars are rear-wheel drive, they seem to hang in like AWD models thanks to the weight distribution that comes with mid engine designs.

The cockpit is elegantly trimmed and looks a lot like the more costly 911 range. Earlier Boxsters were quite

spartan inside with the console and other trim components simply sprayed with a textured paint. Over the years, though, they’ve become more luxurious and sophisticated. Once snuggled in the driver’s seat, you feel very much part of the car and this is aided by near-perfect pedal and steering wheel locations.

An available navigation module has voice control, which is no bad thing in a performance car when the driver often has a heavy workload. Although the price has crept up over the years, the Boxster remains a great buy with just about all the benefits of the rangetopping 911 models. It’ll take us a while to get used to that 718 designation, but it’s fitting that Porsche should want a special identity for its first 4-cylinder model in many decades.

Z ENGINE: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder 300-horsepower (base car).

Z TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual or PDK automatic.

Z ACCELERATION: Zero to 100 km/h in 4.7-secs (base car).

Z TOP SPEED: 275 km/h.

Z I LIKED: Superb balance and a feeling of safety and security at high speeds.

Great-looking bodywork, which is all new but doesn’t take away the ‘Boxster Charm’. Remarkable amount of power from a 4-cylinder engine and the fuel savings will be welcome too.

Z I DIDN’T LIKE: Like so many cars in this class, cockpit stowage isn’t a strong point and with a passenger aboard, it’s tough to find somewhere for small bags, cameras and so on. There are many upgrade packages for the 718 Boxster, but be warned that they can drive the price up alarmingly.

Z MARKET ALTERNATIVES: MercedesBenz SLK, Jaguar F-Type, Mazda MX-5, Alfa Romeo 4C roadster, Audi TT roadster, BMW Z4.

Z WHO DRIVES ONE? Boxsters have always attracted buyers who’d really like a 911, but the cost is just a little too high.

Many buyers of the new Boxster will be people who’ve owned this model before and would like the newest version.

Z PRICE AND AVAILABILITY: Starts at a recommended €60.371 and will be available in early summer.

The Boxster S is set at €74.263.

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p the focus CULTURE HISTORY FEATURES CELEBS INTERVIEWS HUMOUR

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p THE FOCUS books

MODERN CLASSICAL VERSUS

LITERATURE

If you love reading, do you prefer modern authors or only regard the classics as true literature? In other words, do great writers like Shakespeare, Dickens, Dumas and Cervantes stand head and shoulders above today’s authors, or are the latter more relevant for providing us with literary entertainment? WORDS MICHEL CRUZ

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L

iterature as an art form and a means of conveying ideas and emotions dates back to the very cradle of society; early civilisations such as those of Sumer and Babylonia already had a rich storytelling tradition over 4,000 years ago, so that by the time Homer penned the Iliad the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians and Chinese had already laid the foundations for what we now call classical literature. This early phase was characterised by epic adventures and powerful emotions of the kind that shook the world around them, a theme that continued into the middle ages, when the romantic novel really took root.

Tristan and Isolde is perhaps the finest medieval example of a genre whose often tragic love webs no doubt inspired the most famous romantic tale of all, Romeo and Juliette. By the time Shakespeare appeared on the scene in the 16th century, the Renaissance had breathed new air into the written word, which continued to gain in importance and audience as the centuries wore on. Shakespeare is the most famous wordsmith from an era that also included Macchiavelli and Molière, and later went on to produce romantic novelists such as Goethe, the master of German literature.

Through people like

Shakespeare and Goethe, literature entered a maturer phase that encapsulated more than romance and morality alone. Protagonists were now endowed with a greater depth of character in plot lines that slowly began to reflect the complexity and dialogue of real life. This process laid the foundation for the literature of the 19th century, which produced a flowering of talent that included many of the greatest classical writers of all time. Among them are such names as Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Gustave Flaubert, Jane Austen, Emily Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Jules Verne and Mark Twain, to name a few.

Female writers came to the fore for the first time during this period, though often under male pseudonyms, as in the case of George Eliot and George Sand, who were actually Mary Ann Evans and Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin respectively. In this and many other ways, the 19th century set the tone for things to come, and it was a watershed in the world of literature, producing works that, while counted among the most prized classics of all, created a straight line to the authors of today. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the evolution of writing led past other greats such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and Franz Kafka.

Tristan and Isolde as depicted by Herbert Draper

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CLASSIC OR MODERN

Charles Dickens A modern bestseller

The era also saw the greater popularisation of books written for mere entertainment, without the required intensity of a deep moral or ideological message. The likes of H. G. Wells and George Orwell still had a message to convey, but authors such as Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling and J.R.R. Tolkien opened a new book on escapist entertainment that has continued to thrive to this day. It is in this, as much as in the rise of female novelists and children’s books, that modernity began to separate the path between classical and modern literature at the beginning of the 20th century.

Works by the likes of John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway have joined the ranks of classics in the years since, but as the century progressed so did the development of the reader’s book, in contrast to the more scholarly trends of the past. Now it was the lighter fare offered up by Agatha Christie,

Raymond Chandler and Daphne du Maurier that took literature in a new direction, where it became accessible to a greater audience than ever before. By the middle of the century the lightweight paperback had come to symbolise this transformation, as the novel migrated from the study and parlour to the beach bag and bedside table.

What was to follow was the evolution of literature into a product of mass-consumption, a process that took much of its fuel from the social and sexual revolutions of the 1960s.

New, grittier genres involving sex, politics and horror evolved alongside Mills & Boon style romance to produce a broad range of topics and literary levels of complexity.

Enter the likes of Barbara Cartland, but also Danielle Steel, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Ludlum and Jackie Collins, with luminaries such as Frederick Forsyth, Leon Uris and John le Carré chronicling the post-war and Cold War eras through their spy books and powerful novels.

The Harry Potter series revived interest in reading

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J. R. R. Tolkien created a fantasy world that touches millions

J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter

They kept more than one generation reading, with the likes of Harold Robbins, Jilly Cooper and more recently E. L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, adding spice and Stephen King providing the creepy thrills lovers of the horror genre enjoy. Such writers have collectively sold tens of millions of books, earning the successful author the kind of celebrity that is something akin to intellectual rock ‘n’ roll status. By the 1960s the book publishing business was a multi-million industry that began to apply reverse engineering in its selection of writers and stories in its search for books that become the next bestseller.

The ultimate bestseller would also go on to become a Hollywood blockbuster, topped off with a juicy merchandising payday that gradually made the art of writing more about mass marketability than about art or expression. It gradually became increasingly difficult to get into this crowded, competitive market, and many a great author would never have made it but for a lucky second chance.

This includes the likes of Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling, whose original troubles finding a publisher almost denied the world one of its most successful literary creations ever.

It makes you wonder how many great stories have been squandered by the publishing

houses over the decades, yet in the case of Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, they did manage to produce a modern fairytale that was replicated in a more contemporary way by E. L. James. Such writers continue to rocket to fame and earn multiple millions through their ‘pens’, be it in the form of an e-book, a movie deal, franchising or even a conventional book.

In an age dominated by all things electronic and monitor-based, the paperback continues to hold on, its contents rejuvenated by the success of the sexy, adventurous and serious titles produced in the past 20 years.

In the end, the choice between classical and modern literature is a self-selecting one, for if you love reading you will find your own path between the immense offering of past and present words, ideas, emotions and adventures that are waiting to be discovered.

Don’t feel inferior if it is ‘modern’ entertainment or escapism you are after, and similarly don’t be put off by the imagined inaccessibility of classic works of literature. Ensconced within their old-style prose are intense experiences and revelations that fill the soul and feed the mind, helping us to escape, dream and imagine like perhaps no other art form can. As long as you read, you’re on a personal path of enlightenment. e

Book vs tablet, which do you choose?

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p THE FOCUS literature

When discussing the elements of great tragedy, scholars nearly always hark back to the definition espoused by Aristotle in the Poetics: ‘tragedy’ could be defined as the imitation of the fall of a noble man through a flaw or error (hamartia) which brings about a catharsis in the audience, arousing pity and fear. In the case of Shakespeare, however, such a limited definition could not help but fall short. Scholar, Kenneth Muir, hits the spot far more accurately when he asserts that, “There is no such thing as Shakespearian tragedy: there are only Shakespearian tragedies.”

Shakespeare

THE TRAGEDIES OF

BREAKING THE MOULD OF THE TRAGIC HERO WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

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I

n each of his works, Shakespeare tackles ‘the big issues’ that face humankind – arbitrarily, unfairly, suddenly, for often, the hero is forced into a course of action which spells his ultimate demise. One recalls the literary inspired film, Dead Poets Society, in which one of the two protagonists (a deeply sensitive young high school senior enamoured

by Shakespeare and the theatre, yet imprisoned by his overly ambitious father and forced to adopt a career path not of his own choosing), decides that the only way to live, as Henry David Thoreau prescribed, “deliberately”, was to take his own life.

The character is in a sense, a modern Hamlet, who chooses “not to be” as a means of being true to himself.

Hamlet’s anguish is indeed best encapsulated in the famous soliloquy in which he discusses the relative merits of living vs ending his life. Hamlet is in a deadlock at this point: he knows his father has been murdered by King Claudius, yet to murder the latter is to repeat

an inhumane deed. The only other option, suicide, is all too tempting, yet unacceptable to a man who fears that, if an afterlife should exist, he would be condemned to hell.

Some scholars have criticised Hamlet’s reflective nature – he is a man of reason and intellect who, they argue, fails to act in time, leading to disastrous consequences and the suffering of those who least merit it (such as Ophelia). “Denmark’s a prison . . . for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” he tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pitch and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action”.

When Hamlet finally musters the courage to kill Cladius, he laments that he would send the King to Heaven, since the latter is in the midst of prayer: “And now I’ll do it, and so he goes to heaven. And so am I

revenged . . . A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why this is hire and salary, not revenge.”

Time and time again, Hamlet frustrates the audience with his procrastination, yet to what extent can he be blamed? The Prince of Denmark is very much a man of his time, worried about how canonical law will judge his actions and reticent to release untamed emotions like passion, hatred and fear. Certainly, when Hamlet does act impulsively – by stabbing Polonius behind the arras without checking first that it is indeed Cladius who is hiding there; frightening Ophelia with his violent behaviour; jumping into Ophelia’s open grave and battling her brother, Laertes – his behaviour unleashes a destructive chain of events he later regrets. In the end, Hamlet rebukes his friend Horatio, who advises the prince to leave his duel with Laertes for a more fitting time. Hamlet, realising plainly that death is near and that God and Destiny ultimately

control all our fates, replies: “We defy augury. There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come – the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is ’t to leave betimes? Let be.”

At the play’s end, Shakespeare once again defies the classical idea of tragedy providing a catharsis for the audience and consolation for the characters in the play. When Hamlet dies, Horatio prays, “let flights of Angels sing him to his rest,” yet instead of angelic voices, we soon hear the march of Fortinbras’ troops, reminding us that “all our yesterdays have lighted fools/ The way to dusty death…”

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An operatic performance of Othello

Perhaps the most common theme present in Shakespearian tragedy is, quite simply, death.

Characters either embrace death to end the control exerted by others (as in Romeo and Juliet), or accept it as the ultimate destiny of every man faced with a savage world in which ambition and passions collide.

Blindness, too, and obsession with appearance, are present in the Bard’s words, most explicitly in King Lear, in which Lear divides his kingdom between two evil daughters, Regan and Goneril, outcasting his most beloved daughter, Cordelia, simply because she has not waxed as lyrical about her love for him, as her two-faced sisters.

When the Earl of Gloucester’s

eyes are plucked out by Lear’s evil daughters, and he discovers that he has been fooled by his illegitimate son, Edmund, he says: “I have no way, and therefore want no eyes/I stumbled when I saw.” It is only when he has been blinded that he can see the true goodness of his son, Edgar.

“Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’d say I had eyes again.” The same can be said for Othello. All the proof he needs of Desdemona’s loyalty, is before him: in the actions and words of his wife. Yet he succumbs to the evil plotting of Iago (as well as to his own insecurities) and assassinates his wife in a jealous rage. Once again, the man of action defeats the man of reason, since there is little that is rational

in the overwhelming chaos his characters are submerged in.

Violence is present in all Shakespeare’s tragedies, often highlighting the most grotesque aspects of the human soul. His hero may aspire to more (thus, the Romans in Titus Andronicus espouse the value of Stoicism and self-control), but when the right buttons are pressed, he is no less barbarous than his enemies. When passion reigns, so, too, does injustice, violence and death.

Macbeth, who enters the stage as a larger-than-life warrior who embodies the ideal of the loyal soldier, has steeped his ascent in bloody death and it almost seems logical that he should use violence

as a means of eliminating the biggest obstacle that stands in the way of his success (King Duncan). Unlike Hamlet, his lack of reasoning is his Achilles heel, for what man in his right mind would embark upon a murderous course simply to prove the veracity of the predictions of a trio of mysterious witches?

Eminent scholar, David Scott Kastan, notes that tragedy, for Shakespeare, embraces the horror and indecipherable complexity of human suffering.

There is no sense of justice in the afterlife; King Lear, after postulating that the existence of Heaven would justify our mortal suffering, ends with the assertion that “All’s cheerless, dark and deadly.”

Othello and Desdemona

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Sometimes, the only consolation for the hero, is in the companionship of fellowmen who also bear a heavy cross. Thus, in King Lear, Edgar, noting the suffering of the King, says, “the mind much sufferance doth o’erskip/ When grief hath mates and bearing fellowship.” Soon after, however, Edgar sees his now blind father, and his heart breaks once again. He is shocked by how limitless and pitiless suffering can be: “I am worse than e’er I was/And worse I may be yet.”

Edgar, like all human beings, continually tries to make sense of tragedy, yet his sometimes uplifting words are negated by the barbarous occurrences that unfold – one sister poisoning another, plotting against one’s relatives, the abandonment of Lear by his daughters, the cruel assassination of Cordelia, the blinding of Gloucester… in the end, Edgar’s only consolation is the belief that he will never again experience a suffering so great.

Some kind of order may be restored after the protagonists’ death (in Romeo and Juliet, for instance, the warring families finally find some sort of peace), yet it is cold comfort for parents who have lost the most valuable things in their lives: their children. As Kastan notes, “Tragedy – at least tragedy as Shakespeare writes it – offers no convincing guarantees of an ultimately sustaining and reassuring order, either cosmic or civic.”

Shakespeare’s tragedies ultimately present us with the idea that “there, but for the grace of God, go you or I” – after Macbeth’s foul deeds, action gives way to reflection and he begins to understand that we are all assigned roles to play in a script that has been fully written before our birth. “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day/ To the last syllable of recorded time… Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more. It is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing.”

John Everett Millais’ Ophelia

THE TRAGEDIES: THE INFLUENCE Z THE TRAGEDIES IN FILM Numerous films have taken on the main storylines from Shakespeare’s works. One of the most famous is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – an absolute must for those who have read Hamlet many times over. All the action takes place from the perspective of the play’s biggest ‘extras’: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, undoubtedly the precursors of Jim Carry’s Dumb and Dumber (okay, maybe the Elizabethan duo are not quite as dumb). It is simply delicious to see some of Hamlet’s most famous soliloquys take place in the background while the philosophical ruminations of the two heroes takes the centre stage. An absolute gem and work of genius. More famous film adaptations include Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, (an ode to King Lear); The Lion King (The King is killed by his power-hungry brother and the son exposes the painful truth, albeit with more action and less philosophical pondering than in Hamlet); and West Side Story (based on Romeo and Juliet, with race issues and class conflict thrown into the equation.

Many tragedies have been fully represented on film; for this

writer, Kenneth Brannagh and Mel Gibson are magnificent as Hamlet (the latter is particularly fantastic, stripped of the femininity with which Hamlet was previously played and the former, supremely elegant), though the ‘best ever’ to play the role would have to be the charismatic David Tennant, who captures Hamlet’s sensitivity, charm and intelligence like no other. If Macbeth is more your scene, don’t miss out on Michael Fassbender’s heroic warrior, blinded by the bloodshed he has witnessed all his life.

Z TRAGIC WRITERS Many authors have used lines from his works to name their books. A few examples include Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Dogs of War by Robert Stone and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Meanwhile, the list of grateful writers who are indebted to Shaekspeare is enormous and includes 17th-century poet, John Milton; poet of the Enlightenment, Alexander Pope; and English Romantic Poet, John Keats. Shakespeare also influenced some of the world’s most renowned novelists, including Dickens, Herman Melville and William Faulkner.

Z MUSICAL SHAKESPEARE Modern band, Mumford & Sons, named their album Sigh No More, from a line in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. The tragedies, meanwhile, have inspired songs like The King Must Die by Elton John (which references Julius Caesar and Hamlet), Desolation Row by Bob Dylan (in which the singer mentions Romeo and Ophelia); and Miss Macbeth by Elvis Costello (the composer bathes the ambitious Queen in a much more sentimental light). Full operatic flair, meanwhile, can be found in Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello.

Z TRAGEDY AS A WORK OF ART Some of the world’s most famous artworks relying on Shakespearean themes include Nabil Kanso’s Othello series (comprising 60 canvasses painted in 1985 and dealing with love, evil, jealousy and treachery), John Singer Sargent’s Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (a 19th-century oil painting depicting the Queen crowning herself); and perhaps the most famous of all: John Everett Millais’ Ophelia (18511852, depicting Hamlet’s Ophelia floating on a river, singing, before she meets her death by drowning). e

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p THE FOCUS books

Hard Lines Struggling authors take heart – many of the world’s best-seller writers suffered the trauma of the rejection letter before their masterpieces made it into print. Belinda Beckett reviews the literary ‘Dear Johns’ that are almost as good a read as the books they trashed.

“If I may be frank, Mr. Hemingway – you certainly are in your prose – I found your efforts to be both tedious and offensive. You really are a man’s man, aren’t you? I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you had penned this entire story locked up at the club, ink in one hand, brandy in the other.”

I

n one way, Mrs Moberley Luger of Peacock & Peacock, New York, was spot on in her 1925 rejection letter of The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway’s first and most famous novel: the author liked his liquor.

The book was published the following year to mixed

reviews and, strangely enough, Hemingway’s fiercest critic was his own mother, Grace, who sent her son the following piece of ‘hate mail’: ‘It is a doubtful honour to produce one of the filthiest books of the year. Have you ceased to be interested in nobility, honour and fineness

in life? Surely you have other words in your vocabulary than damn and bitch. Every page fills me with a sick loathing.’

Mothers and publishers have at least two things in common – they think they know best; and sometimes they’re wrong.

There must be countless

ex-editors turning in their urns over books they rebuffed that went on to make millions. That would most certainly be true of whoever advised Rudyard Kipling, winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature: ‘I’m sorry Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language’.

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As for the individual who told Victorian novelist Louisa May Alcott to ‘stick to teaching’… safe to say that nearly 150 years on, and following six films, four TV serials, a musical, an opera and a stage play, Little Women is still in print!

Around a decade earlier, London publisher Peter J. Bentley was penning a letter to Herman Melville that has gone down in the annals of literary history for the unforgettable line, ‘First, we must ask, does it have to be a whale?’

The rest of his review makes equally entertaining reading:

“

‘We have read with great interest your intriguing effort of Moby Dick, or The Whale, and while it fortified us greatly, despite the somewhat vision-impairing length of the manuscript, we were wondering if changing certain of the story’s elements might not buoy its purchases at the shop, as it were? For instance, could not the Captain be struggling with a depravity towards young, perhaps voluptuous, maidens?’

Ultimately, the same publishing house came to its senses and printed the book although Melville had to pay for the typesetting. Mercifully, voluptuous maidens never

made the final edit.

And Moby Dick was by no means the only literary masterpiece that was nearly drowned at birth by an unappreciative publisher.

Before Lord of the Flies became required reading on the school syllabus, William Golding received 20 brutal rejection letters. ‘An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull’ was one publisher’s poor opinion.

George Orwell of Animal Farm fame was told ‘There is no market for animal stories in the USA’; H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds was dissed as ‘An endless nightmare. I

Herman Melville should have written about mermaids, not whales

think the verdict would be ‘Oh don’t read that horrid book.’

And Anne Frank’s harrowing personal account of the Holocaust, The Diary of a Young Girl, was rejected by 15 publishers. ‘The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level’ was how one of them canned a classic that has been translated into over 60 languages.

Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armour and attacked a hot fudge sundae.” – Kurt Vonnegut

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Not all rejection letters were quite so wide of the mark; for example the publisher who returned J.G. Ballard’s Crash with the following recommendation: ‘Do Not Publish! This author is beyond psychiatric help.’ Ballard was no nutcase, he wrote many excellent short stories and novels (Empire of the Sun) but his 1973 book about sexual deviants who get a kick staging and participating in car crashes was not one of his better efforts.

In less enlightened literary times, overtly sexual novels were far more likely to be rejected or even banned by court order. ‘For your own sake, do not publish this book’ was one publisher’s warning to D.H. Lawrence after reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Released with a tiny print run in Italy in 1928, it remained an under-the-bedclothes read until Penguin printed the full

“

unexpurgated version in 1959, leading to an obscenity trial which the publishing house won.

One morning earlier that same decade, Vladimir Nabakov opened his post to receive the following impassioned rejection of his raunchy novel, Lolita: ‘Overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian... the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream… I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.’

Nabakov’s tale of a middleaged man’s sexual obsession for his underage nymphet stepdaughter was rejected by 40 publishers in the UK and USA although, unlike Lawrence, he lived long enough to receive a decent reward for his efforts when it finally rolled off the

presses in more open-minded Paris. Later in America, it became the first book to sell 100,000 copies in three weeks since Gone with the Wind, a book which itself elicited 38 rejection letters for author Margaret Mitchell.

Are book publishers merely frustrated authors themselves?

That certainly seems true of British publisher Arthur Fifield’s rejection letter to fledgling author Gertrude Stein in 1912 – a witty lampoon of her own, wordy style that’s well worth quoting in full: ‘I am only one, only one, only one. Only one being, one at the same time. Not two, not three, only one. Only one life to live, only sixty minutes in one hour.

Only one pair of eyes. Only one brain. Only one being. Being only one, having only one pair of eyes, having only one time, having only one life, I cannot read your M.S. three or four times. Not even one

The prolific Stephen King had 60 short stories and three novels rejected

time. Only one look, only one look is enough. Hardly one copy would sell here. Hardly one. Hardly one.’

The penny didn’t drop with Stein any time soon and it was another two decades before she had any of her poems published, or her major opus, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. She wrote the memoir in six weeks and Hemingway (who features in it) called it a ‘damned pitiful book’ but it regularly ranks among Best Of 20th century nonfiction lists.

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” – Ray Bradbury

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‘I don’t dig this one at all’ was the rather more succinct rejection reserved for Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. Another editor wrote it up as ‘a badly misdirected talent… this huge sprawling and inconclusive novel would probably have small sales and sardonic, indignant reviews from every side.’ It took six years to find a publisher for the book now regarded as the bible of the postwar Beat Generation.

The pen may be mightier than the sword but skin as tough as armour plating is required in a world where the ratio of aspiring writers to available publishers makes the rejection letter virtually par for the course.

Arthur C. Clarke is one of a very few writers who claim never to have received one. But it makes you question the qualifications of those same publishers when they fail to recognise potential in the likes of Stephen King, who has written 54 novels and sold

“

over 350 million books.

King is almost proud of his ‘thanks-but-no-thanks’ letters which he preserves on a spike in his bedroom. He had 60 short stories and three novels rejected before he found success with Carrie and even that was touch and go. ‘We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias, they do not sell,’ wrote one publisher who has since been proved spectacularly wrong.

Even master spy novelist Le Carré received Dear John letters. The most famous (not actually addressed to him) was the fantastically inaccurate prediction one publisher sent to a colleague after turning down The Spy Who Came in from the Cold: ‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future’.

The list of best sellers that might never have seen the light of day but for the sheer bloody-

minded perseverance of their creators is a long one. Robert M. Pirsig’s iconic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance registered a rejection bounce rate of 121, James’ Joyce’s The Dubliners garnered 22, John Grisham’s A Time to Kill, 16, Richard Adams’ Watership Down, 17, Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, too many to count… and then there’s Harry Potter, whose first escapade at Hogwarts novel was rejected 12 times.

J. K. Rowling’s rags-toriches story is the one aspiring novelists cling to when their own literary submissions boomerang back on them. Advised by all not to give up the day job, J.K. Rowling went on to become the first U.S.-dollar billionaire from fiction writing. Her books have gone down in history as the best-selling series and secondhighest grossing film series ever.

So if you’re writing a book yourself, don’t fear the rejection

J. K. Rowling was advised not to give up the day job

letter. Or at least, not until you’ve received your 743rd, a record held by the late British crime and science fiction writer John Creasey. Mind you, he did write more than 600 novels under 28 different pseudonyms…

Or you could always take a leaf out of E.E. Cummings’ book of poetry when it was turned down for the 14th time. He published it himself under the title ‘No Thanks’. The dedication was a list of all the publishers who had rejected it – laid out in the shape of a funeral urn… e

I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” – Sylvia Plath

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p THE FOCUS writers

Women who Changed the Course of Literature WORDS Marisa CUTILLAS

Harper Lee (1926 –2016)

T

he recent demise of Harper Lee, whose novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is one of the best-selling classics in the history of American literature, resulted in the author becoming a world Trending Topic for a full day on Twitter. One bereaved fan wrote, “Here’s hoping that there is a hidden manuscript underneath her bed, just waiting to be published.” Others, like myself, simply opened her most famous book (To Kill a Mockingbird) at random pages, reading the beautiful passages for inspiration.

“Real courage,” says its protagonist, Atticus Finch, “is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

To Kill a Mockingbird (which was made into a blockbuster film starring Gregory Peck) broached subjects few other authors of Lee’s generation dared to brace: racial inequality, rape, the injustice of so-called modern ‘democracy.’

Lee picked an uncomfortable subject indeed, but one that reflected real events that took place in her childhood. The book was released to a confused public that would soon debate between the nonviolent civil disobedience espoused by Martin Luther King, and the more confrontational stance put forward by Malcolm X until his divorce from the Nation of Islam in 1964. Of course, Lee was by no means the first woman to fight discrimination and to assert her value as a female writer. In this article, we present just a few of the world’s most groundbreaking female writers:

Sappho (610-570 B.C.E.)

Little is known about the world’s first known female poet, famed for her emotional poems that speak of love and loss. Born on the Greek island of Lesbos and exiled for political reasons to Sicily, Sappho was considered an important literary figure in her time and, somewhat surprisingly, was praised by her male counterparts and by later intellectuals. Plato called her “the 10th Muse,” her face appeared on coins and Cicero mentions that a statue of her stood in the town hall of Syracuse. In the ancient world, her poetry was ranked alongside Archilochus and Alcaeus, owing to its lyrical, melodic nature which was direct yet powerful, free of irony yet highly entertaining.

The word ‘lesbian’ is derived from Sappho’s island of birth, yet although her poetry speaks of the passion of both sexes, and love for other women, there is no description of physical acts and in reality, the word ‘lesbian’ was not used in the current sense, until the late 19th century.

Nevertheless, Sappho did clearly break new ground, creating her own ‘Sapphic metre’ (which may be an adaptation of the metre of her day) and directly addressing both male and female eroticism. The poet took the focus off epic battles and narratives such as those found in the Iliad or Odyssey, highlighting the complexity of our inner worlds and the ability of love to lift and destroy the soul. Today, her passionate verses are still the stuff we swoon over and turn to when unrequited love burdens us.

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Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Who hasn’t enjoyed thumbing through classics like Sense and Sensibility, Emma, or Pride and Prejudice? Through her novels, Jane Austen presented us with a world in which the value of women was directly equivalent to whom she married. However, through irony, humour and dry wit, her lead characters shunned traditional roles and made choices with their hearts – not in a sentimental, melodramatic manner, but through the true romanticism that embodies mind and spirit. It is refreshing to find characters like Elizabeth Bennett, who finds much more in common with her intellectual father than her fussy mother; whose heart is not won by empty promises and romantic musings, but rather, by actions that show true kindness. Austen is famed for her marvellous portrayal of everyday middleclass life in England, but also for the wonderful tension generated between her female and male characters, who fall in love almost against their will and not until they have faced a series of vicissitudes.

Murasaki Shikibu

(978-1014) This writer’s real name is unknown, yet

The Tale of Genji (early 11th century) is often referred to as the world’s first novel and is a subject of scholarly debate to this day. The book, which reflects daily life in the imperial court during the Heian period, recalls the life of Hikaru Genji, the son of the powerful Emperor Kiritsubo, and a beautiful concubine. Although women in her day were excluded from intellectual pursuits (because they were seen as incapable of understanding academic subjects), Murasaki was lucky: her erudite father immersed his daughter in the classics, largely because of her innate intellectual ability. Her diary states: “When my brother... was a young boy learning the Chinese classics, I was in the habit of listening to him and I became unusually proficient at understanding those passages that he found too difficult to understand and memorise.

Father, a most learned man, was always regretting the fact: ‘Just my luck,’ he would say, ‘What a pity she was not born a man!’”

In the early 11th century, Murasaki served as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi, probably because of her vast knowledge of literature and her writing abilities. Although the Empress lived in relative seclusion, she amassed power by forming a group known as a

‘salon,’ comprising the most intelligent female writers and erudites of the day.

Murasaki always felt isolated, “living all the time in a poetical world of my own scarcely realising the existence of other people,” yet her work was lauded by some of the most important writers of the time, largely because it was one of the first Japanese texts written in the Japanese language; until this time, Japanese had always been a spoken language and text was written in Chinese. Today, The Tale of Genji is still considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Japanese literature.

Emily Brontë

(1818-1848) Emily Brontë may have written only one

novel (Wuthering Heights), but what a novel it was! The violent, passionate story of two lovers (Heathcliff and Katherine) who ‘become one person’ despite the vast difference in social standing, was so revolutionary in its time, that early reviewers were sure the book had been written by a man. The shy, reclusive writer had been a gifted scholar and teacher in her youth, though the stress of working 17-hour days led her to opt for a home life, where she took care of cleaning and cooking duties in the family home. She has been described as unsociable, stubborn and unsusceptible to the influence of her sisters, more at ease in the wild

moors she so lovingly wrote of, than in the company of other human beings.

Emily passed away at just 30, after succumbing to tuberculosis. Upon her death, she had lost so much weight that her coffin measured just 41cm wide; the coffin maker said he had never made such a narrow coffin in his life.

Virginia Woolf

(1882-1941) Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse

are two of English literature’s most widely read and analysed novels, though Virginia Woolf was a prolific writer who also wrote visionary essays on women’s writing, artistic theory, the politics of power, and more. Woolf’s greatest contributions to literature include her use of a non-linear approach to narrative and her introduction of a range of perspectives in one given chapter.

This results in a sometimes complex fragmentation that we, the readers, are called upon to unite and make sense of. Woolf’s internally focussed writing invites us to step into the shoes of each of her characters, understanding their motivation and conflicting ways of viewing the world. Sometimes, each character gives us one piece of a puzzle, in a process academics call ‘creative destruction’. Woolf made it awfully fun for her readers to construct each scene from the pieces she meticulously created in her vivid imagination.

Toni Morrison (1931)

Toni Morrison is considered one of America’s most important living writers and she was the first African American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her books are rich with magical realism and ‘dirty realism,’ which resonates in two of America’s most lauded modern male writers: Cormac McCarthy and Raymond Carver.

Born to a welder and a domestic worker, Morrison credits her parents with instilling a love for literature, music and folklore. She recalls that she was “the only black child in her class and the only child who could read.” Interestingly, at University, Morrison would write a thesis on two groundbreaking Authors: William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. Morrison is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Beloved, the story of a former slave who is haunted by her decision to kill her children rather than see them become slaves. Morrison became a Professor at Princeton University in 1989, and has led many workshops for upcoming writers.

When asked if her work was feminist, she responded, “In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can’t take positions that are closed. Everything I’ve ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book – leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, revisitation, a little ambiguity.” e

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p THE FOCUS people

CARLOS

RUIZ ZAFÓN

Prepare to be hypnotised

I first encountered Carlos Ruiz Zafón in Málaga. He was waiting for me at a bookstand in the María Zambrano station. By the time the AVE pulled into Atocha, Madrid, I was taken, half way through The Midnight Palace and wishing to stay aboard for the return journey so as I could finish the story. Since then, I have experienced the emotion he so adroitly conjures in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books trilogy, to such an extent that I could hardly keep my normal life on track while in the process, and there are still two further volumes waiting their turn on my book shelf.

WORDS Iain Blackwell

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B

orn in Barcelona on 25th September 1964, Carlos Ruiz Zafón wanted to be a writer from a young age: “I am in the business of storytelling. I always have been, always will be. It is what I’ve been doing since I was a kid.” After leaving school, he worked in advertising, eventually becoming the Creative Director of a key publicity agency in Barcelona.

In 1992, he decided to turn his back on this life and to dedicate himself to literature. Although always fascinated with books, his first novel was only published in 1993, The Prince of Mist, which won the Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. With the money earned from this success, he decided to realise a childhood dream and inspired by his great love of cinema, to go to Los Angeles, where he worked as a screenwriter.

Some of his favourite iconic films which “can teach you more about storytelling than years of college” include: Blade Runner, Jaws, The Godfather Trilogy, Schindler’s List, Alien, Citizen Kane, Ryan’s Daughter, Seven, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chinatown, ET, L.A. Confidential and The Colour Purple.

Hot on its heels, he followed up with The Midnight Palace in 1994 and The Watcher in the Shadows in 1995, but it wasn’t until 2001 with the release of The Shadow of the Wind, his first ‘adult’ novel, that his renown went into overdrive, leading

him to become Spain´s most widely published contemporary writer, having been translated into more than 50 languages and honoured with a myriad of international awards.

Nowadays, he travels extensively and divides his time between Los Angeles and Barcelona.

The Angels Game, published in 2008, is actually the prequel to The Shadow of the Wind and concerns a young man, David Martin, a pulp fiction writer who is lucratively commissioned to write an ingenious book in the Barcelona of the 1920s, which might save him from a deadly illness he has contracted, but with many repercussions. The action continues in 1945 with Daniel Sempere, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who, in The Shadow of The Wind, visits the metaphorical maze that is the Cemetery of Forgotten Books with his father and selects a book with this name by a mysterious author, Julián Carax. He subsequently tries to track down Carax only to learn that all copies of every book he has ever written are being hunted down and systematically destroyed. The Prisoner of Heaven, meanwhile, continues in Barcelona, this time at Christmas 1957, when a stranger enters the Sempere & Sons bookshop to purchase the most expensive item on display, a beautifully illustrated volume of The Count of Monte Cristo, only to inscribe it with the words: “For Fermín Romero de Torres, who came back from the dead and holds the key to the future.”

Zafón’s prose doesn’t just evoke the Gothic

Barcelona of old, he transports you there and makes you experience the sensation, so that you can feel the wind blowing down Las Ramblas, smell the coffee in the cafés, and envisage the edifices and views he describes vividly as his characters travel about the city by tram. Before you know it, you are enveloped in the adventures and intrigue of the protagonists, who undergo remarkable events, highs and lows, despicable crimes, tender love and sorrowful loss, fear and fraternity.

The stories are like the maze itself with entangled layers that cross reference and reappear, with the Cemetery of Forgotten Books as the point of intersection. A fourth installment, making the trilogy a tetralogy, is eagerly awaited though, currently, there is no news about its publication date and Zafón himself has stated, “It is a very complicated book to write. The Grand Finale awaits the reader but there are still a lot more surprises in the game. This labyrinth of a story keeps rearranging itself and the inner complexity of this mechanism won’t be fully revealed until the end.”

Many of his legions of readers – The Shadow of the Wind has allegedly sold more than 20 million copies worldwide – have Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert Graves, to thank, for she is the one who has so adeptly translated his principal works into English and in 2012, she was a finalist in the Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards for her rendition of The Midnight Palace. The English publication of The Shadow of the Wind has garnered enthusiastic praise and adulation from critics, many reviewers having compared Zafón with other great literary giants. i www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk

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PHASE 2 COMING SOON...

LA FINCA DE MARBELLA

p THE FOCUS property

Monte Biarritz

Where the Golden Triangle meets Set right at the spot where the boundaries of Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís meet, Monte Biarritz is a conveniently central yet peaceful community at the heart of our region.

WORDS Michel cruz Photography Kevin Horn and Courtesy of Marbella Estates

A

s residential areas go, the name Monte Biarritz may not be as familiar as Guadalmina, Nueva Andalucía or Puerto Banús, but it is a well established, thriving community. Just a short distance from the beach, this leafy area is very strategically placed at the point where the municipalities of Marbella, Benahavís and Estepona meet. This, combined with the fact that the three towns are little more than ten minutes away, might create the impression that Monte Biarritz is a busy area crisscrossed by passing traffic, but the reality is quite different.

Indeed, while you are likely to have passed close by on many an occasion, you may not even know of Monte Biarritz, for this residential area has the knack of being at once centrally located and highly private, with traffic mostly restricted to an established community of local residents. This makes it both peaceful and lively, for where large parts of Marbella are busy in the summer and very quiet in the winter, Monte Biarritz has a strong foundation of year-round residents that give it the feel of a real suburb where families, young couples and retired people from a myriad of different nationalities have homes.

They keep the nearby shops, businesses and restaurants busy, while also benefiting from the fact that San Pedro Alcántara is just a few minutes away. “In many ways it’s an ideal setting, close to everything yet also tranquil, private and consolidated as an attractive residential area,” says Kristoffer Mincberg, one of the people who has played a role in the evolution of Monte Biarritz. He and Peter Buresten, his business partner at Marbella Estates, were both part of Ramón Diz, the company that pioneered a major part of the development of Monte Biarritz over a period of almost 20 years.

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“The first urbanisations in this area, like Mar y Monte, were built as early as 1977,” says Kristoffer, “so that by the time Ramón Diz started developing some ten years later there was already a core of properties with a settled base of homeowners.”

Many of the latter were Scandinavian, as the area appealed to them in particular. This is visible not only in the developments of apartments, townhouses and villas within Monte Biarritz itself, but also in the Nordic Royal Club, a serviced apartment complex with a focus on senior living that lies on its periphery.

Value in a top position Gradually, new urbanisations were added to the early ones, and the fact that much of the development was carried out by one company has led to a greater degree of urban planning and harmonious architectural styling than is seen in large parts of the Costa del Sol. “This is perhaps the main reason why Monte Biarritz has such a cohesive feel and sense of identity,” says Peter who, like Kristoffer, has continued working in the area and attending to clients from their attractive modern offices. “If you enjoy an area yourself, you convey that enthusiasm to prospective buyers, which is perhaps why so many of the people we have sold to over the years have become friends.”

Many now refer friends or instruct Marbella Estates to sell their properties or buy new ones.

“There is a renewed sense of vigour here as in other parts of Marbella. The revival in the region’s property market has also been felt in Monte Biarritz, and as we fall under Estepona, the area is not affected by Marbella’s PGOU.” The pervading sense within this established residential zone is

of an area with a true sense of personality and identity, an appealing spot in which to vacation and live. “Monte Biarritz is ideally located, at walking distance from the beach and amenities, close to the golf courses of Atalaya, Guadalmina and El Paraiso, but also just a short drive from all the main spots in the Golden Triangle,” says Peter.

He stresses that this, combined with the excellent value it offers, is the main reason for Monte Biarritz’s popularity. “These factors, along with the great variety of properties available, make it an ideal spot to look for an apartment, townhouse, villa or bungalow.” With prices starting at around €100.000 for the latter and working their way up towards the €1 million mark, it is a well-diversified residential area. “You can find an attractive two-bedroom apartment for under €200.000, attractive townhouses that offer spacious and comfortable family living for €250.000 and private villas from around €600.000 upwards.”

Modern style in Monte Biarritz Most of the above will be existing homes. Indeed, this is a submarket dominated by resales, and bargain hunters might even unearth some properties that lend themselves to renovating and modernising, but with little land left for developing, new-build properties are rare in Monte Biarritz. However, Kristoffer and Peter, who have witnessed the area evolve into the established residential community it is today, are leading a small new project involving the construction of three luxurious contemporary villas. “They will feature modern design, construction standards

and all the latest luxuries to offer the best of all worlds – a modern villa in a top location.”

Set on fairly large 1,200m2 plots, the villas will feature modern kitchens as part of an appealing open-plan layout, four bedroom suites and private garages and swimming pools. The build area of the two-floor homes is around 300m2, though owners will have a great degree of freedom to personalise the homes to their style and needs. “It’s ideal for someone who wants to build their own home without the hassle of doing it all themselves,” says Peter. “And in an area that offers great value, with shops, schools, golf courses and fine dining right on your doorstep, and easy, direct access to the whole coastal region and Benahavís hinterland, it’s also a unique opportunity to design your own modern villa in one of Marbella’s most appealing locations.”

g MARBELLA ESTATES

Tel: (+34) 952 904 244. www.marbella-estates.com

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INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE ART DESIGN GARDENS FASHION

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Décor Feature: A Villa with Flair

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Il Tartufo Ristorante Reformed

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Marbella Carpets Presents the Guy Laroche Collection

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Fashion Feature: Roberto Torretta

106 Fashion News

DM PROPERTIES PRESENTS A VILLA WITH FLAIR IN MARBELLA; ITALIAN RESTAURANT IL TARTUFO REVEALS ITS BRAND NEW LOOK, DESIGNED BY BLACKSHAW INTERIOR DESIGNS, AND MARBELLA CARPETS SHOWS OFF ITS STUNNING NEW RANGE BY GUY LAROCHE. WE ALSO CHECK OUT THE LATEST DESIGNS BY FASHION ICON, ROBERTO TORRETTA.

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ANabove ESTATE Marbella

In the hills above Marbella there is a true landed estate whose refinement equals that of La Zagaleta, El Madroñal and Sierra Blanca, but where the views beat all.

WORDS MICHEL CRUZ PHOTOGRAPHY WAYNE CHASAN AND SPCA VISUAL

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ust outside Marbella, as you leave its urban confines and follow the road to Istán, there is a country estate set within idyllic scenery framed by mountains, lake views and an open panorama back down towards the coastline and the Mediterranean Sea. Here, amid verdant hill country, you will encounter a magnificent property that is discreetly tucked away in a fold of the mountain. From this locality, you overlook an entire domain yet enjoy total peace and privacy within 5.7 hectares of largely level land whose elevated standing makes it possible to take in the beauty and splendour of the surroundings from an unending variety of angles and perspectives.

The property, which comprises of three homes – a main mansion and two large guest villas – looks back on to the rising ridges of the protected Serranía de las Nieves and is set upon the western curvature of La Concha Mountain. All around is earthly beauty, from the eagles hovering on the thermals to the sunlight glistening off Lake Istán; indeed, from this position it is hard to believe that Marbella, with its array of beaches, shopping and golf, lays a mere ten minutes away. “You can easily commute from here,” says the owner, for whom the creation of this elegant country estate has been a labour of love.

What’s more, as a long-time resident of

Marbella she knows whereof she speaks, having lived on the Golden Mile previously.

And yet, though it is so close to such a classic address, this home finds itself in a truly privileged location on the very edge of Marbella yet very much within gorgeous country scenery. As you survey the valleys, mountain ranges and the lake, a comparison with alpine landscapes springs to mind, were it not for the fact that the outlines of Gibraltar and North Africa are visible within the same panorama. In fact, to watch their shapes defined against the setting sun is one of the distinct pleasures of life at Finca Sagitario.

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CONTRACT I COMMERCIAL I HOSPITALITY I RESIDENTIAL I RENOVATIONS I ARTCHITECTURE I PROJECT MANAGEMENT INTERIOR DESIGN I CONSTRUCTION I FIXTURES I FITTINGS I FURNISHING I KITCHENS I BATHROOMS I LIGHTING

CONSTRUCTION + INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES FROM NEW BUILDS TO RENOVATIONS AND INTERIORS. WE HAVE IN-HOUSE BUILDING CONTRACTORS.

Excellent service and a high standard of finishes with our team of top professionals working in all areas of renovation and bespoke, design and build.

Visit the studio to see a range of furniture, fixtures and fittings.

BLACKSHAW INTERIOR DESIGN Avda. Canovas del Castillo 25 Marbella 29601, Mรกlaga, Spain Tel: +34 951 403 787 Mob: +34 681 662 000 info@blackshawinteriordesign.com w w w. b l a c k s h aw i nt e r i o rd e s i g n . co m

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Aristocratic flair As you wind your way up the gently curving country road, the wind in your hair and the lake sparkling on your left side, it would be easy to miss the estate altogether. Such discretion is indicative of this property’s highborn credentials, but those for whom the gates glide open can look forward to a sense of arrival full of classic aplomb. A private driveway follows the contours up an olive and pine-clad hill to where the estate extends in all its glory. To arrive at the main mansion’s forecourt is to enter manicured parkland at the base of a lofty mountain.

From here you could continue on foot or by car to the two guest villas, which though smaller than the main home are significant, luxurious properties in their own right. In all, the three houses cover a built area of just under 3,400m2, with almost 600m2 of terraces and a total of 13 bedroom suites, two private pools and sufficient parking facilities for the entertaining a property such as this is just made for. Extending between these three properties are the beautifully kept grounds that bind the villas into one magnificent country estate on the fringe of Marbella.

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THE MANSION The main property is an elegant and imposing home conceived and decorated with style, personality and savoir-faire. Step through the grand portico and you enter a classical courtyard whose proportions, artwork and furnishings hold a distinctly Asian enchantment made up of Indian and Oriental elements. Proceed into the reception rooms and you realise this is a property belonging to someone with the confidence to design her home around her personal taste and sense of wellbeing. Indeed, it is a mansion with true aristocratic flair.

“I fell in love with the setting and it all flowed from there,” she says. “From then on it was a question of creating a home where my family and I, our friends and our guests could feel happy, surrounded by beautiful things and above all, the beauty of nature.” Whether it is the orientation, the setting, the views or the layout and décor of the villa, a true sense of wellbeing pervades.

At the heart of the property are a salon, a cosy family room with bar, a formal dining room, private office and a card table – all part of a spacious open-plan living area in which each of the spaces are intimate and welcoming as well as grand and imposing. This sense of comfortable refinement extends onto the expansive terrace – with its lounge and dining areas, not to mention breathtaking views of the grounds and the surrounding countryside – to the elegant guest suites and ground floor master suite, and to a country-style kitchen where you simply want to spend as much time as possible.

In addition to a wonderful open-plan kitchen it also includes a dining room, a terrifically comfortable lounge – as elsewhere with a grand classical fireplace – and a private terrace with its own take on the mountain scenery and sea views. Actually, this part of the home is not unlike a beautifully styled apartment in

its own right, but then so is the master suite on the upper floor, which offers a sumptuous bedroom and terrace, a walk-in changing room, an opulent bathroom with some of the best views from the property and a private little cooking area that obviates the need to walk ‘all the way down’ to the main kitchen.

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A cinema and entertainment room with bar, once again conceived and decorated around the idea of sheer joie de vivre, offer a fresh take on the genre, while the many different terraces connect with the rolling greenery of lawns that cascade gently towards a rather impressively positioned infinity edge swimming pool and deck with its own cabana. Far more than a mere finca, the moderately named Finca Sagitario is a stunning estate with aristocratic bearing that exists right on the very edge of Marbella – a spot perfect for private living and entertaining in the very best of style.

pool set in beautiful gardens and a multi-car garage.

The third property, also discreetly positioned to ensure optimal privacy and independence, is a charming smaller villa with the same standard of taste and quality in its lounge, kitchen, bathrooms and welcoming guest suites. As elsewhere on the estate, a highly complementary eclectic blend of Andalusian, classical and Asian pieces describes an interior decoration style that stands out for its personal flair and refinement.

Set in a private domain surrounded by natural beauty and magnificent views on the very edge of Marbella, this splendid country estate would not be out of place in Tuscany or Provence. Who would have known that such a property exists here? g For information, contact

dm Properties | Knight Frank Tel: (+34) 952 765 138. www.dmproperties.com info@dmproperties.com

The villas Though they form part of the same estate, the two guest villas are luxurious independent homes that are impressive in their own right. Discreetly set apart from the main property, they offer comfort and style combined with privacy and their own landscaped gardens framing imposing perspectives of the surrounding scenery. A blend of Andalusian and Tuscan architecture harmonises with Provençal-style shutters in all three properties, with the second house a truly impressive and spacious villa – complete with large, luxurious living spaces, a top range kitchen, elegant bedroom suites, a panoramic swimming

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NEW LOOK FOR RISTORANTE

IL TARTUFO IN THE OLD TOWN

Movin’ On Up Exciting times are ahead for Emanuele and Hollie, the young couple at the helm of one of the most successful restaurants in Marbella: Il Tartufo. Contemporary dishes entice and delight diners from all over the world, who marvel at Emanuele’s heartfelt homage to authentic Italian cuisine.

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN

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ollie notes that as soon as spring arrives, life at Il Tartufo centres around the quaint outdoor patio, where cobblestoned streets and whitewashed buildings form a fitting backdrop to a romantic dinner for two.

In winter months, things shift indoors, and now, the restaurant is home to a stunning second floor, surrounded by romantic wrought iron framed balconies overlooking the stunning church tower. The upper level boasts a private room for VIP guests and those wishing their very own space to celebrate, as well as a chic lounge area with a comfy sofa, where diners can enjoy a drink before or after dinner.

The lower floor now contains a kitchen that is twice the size of its predecessor, and its new open structure means that diners can watch Emanuele and his team working with perfect synchronicity. There are two lifts: one for guests to access the upper floor, and one for staff to transfer produce and dishes.

The interiors are the work of one of Marbella’s most prestigious firms: Blackshaw Interior Design.

‘Rustic’ was Hollie and Emanuele’s chosen motif: grey, neutral and wooden hues are married to details bearing Il Tartufo’s characteristic colours: purple and orange. Check out the restaurant’s new look and get ready for its many special events, including an upcoming truffle festival. g Tartufo is accessible from the main road (Avda. Ricardo Soriano); free parking is available for guests at Indigo car park next to Avda. del Mar. www.iltartufo-ristorante.com Tel: 951 087 323.

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Tahira Silver

Fuego Sand

Abra Wenge

Jeff Meurs, founder of Marbella Carpets on the Golden Mile, is proud to announce that his elegant store is now home to a brand new space bearing carpets by famous French designer, Guy Laroche.

Warm brown, cool beige and pristine cream are the hues to watch out for in a collection that surprises with its host of different patterns and materials. The new items beautifully complement the shop’s vast collection of rugs, which include traditional Persian carpets and contemporary designs alike. This month, we focus on six stunning carpets, from the Guy Laroche collection. Prices range from €740 to €2.500. g Edif. Casablanca, Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, Marbella.

Tel: 952 773 765. www.marbellacarpets.com

Rotondo Silver

Oscar Wenge

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TAMARA WENGE

MARBELLA CARPETS EXCLUSIVELY PRESENTS THE NEW CONTEMPORARY CARPET COLLECTION BY

GUY LAROCHE PARIS.

LUXURY AT A REASONABLE PRICE AT

MARBELLA CARPETS Opening: 10th of April

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Beautiful BARE AND

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Sheer

Roberto Torretta brings us a stunning collection in which skin plays the starring role. Take your pick from these feminine ensembles.

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Roses ASHES OF

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Vibes

ANDROGYNOUS

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i www.robertotorretta.com

Bouquet

OF WHITE

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Isuma

Turista

Ondas

Rebeca

Sanver

A SPRING IN YOUR STEP WITH

Tiamo

Bula

The good news for lovers of fashion is that there is a whole new reason to add a bit of colour into your wardrobe: the Spring/Summer season is already upon us! Marisa Cutillas brings you a gorgeous collection by talented Designer, Rebeca Sanver. Turn heads when walking into your next party in one of these hot designs. i www.rebecasanver.com Trento

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Dresses by Phase Eight

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CONTACTS: ACCESSORIZE: www.accessorize.com FOLLI FOLLIE: www.follifollie.com MONSOON: www.monsoon.co.uk PHASE EIGHT: www.phase-eight.com

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Beauty News

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Reading for Kids

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Jan Dendauw of Boot Camp Marbella

DISCOVER THE TOP BEAUTY MISTAKES TO AVOID AS YOU GROW OLDER, FIND OUT HOW TO INTEREST YOUR KIDS IN READING AND RAISE YOUR FITNESS LEVELS WITH THE FRIENDLY TEAM AT BOOT CAMP MARBELLA.

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Make-up is one of our best defences against darkness, spots and wrinkles, yet when used incorrectly, it can make these concerns worse, adding years to our appearance and, sometimes, making us look like clowns. Marisa Cutillas presents a few make-up faux pas to be avoided by all means necessary.

BEAUTY MISTAKES THAT MAKE US LOOK OLDER Z USE A PRIMER FOR YOUR COMPLEXION, AND AN EYE PRIMER ON YOUR EYELIDS. Let the primer dry, then apply your foundation, blusher, etc. A primer will give skin a smooth look and will ensure your make-up lasts for hours on end.

Z CONTOUR: Apply a lighter shade between the brows and on your forehead (see contouring images online to note the shape to emulate), as well as above the cheekbones and on the nose bridge. This adds illumination and a youthful glow to your face, even beneath the brightest lighting.

Z TOO MUCH CONCEALER: When we wake up with dark circles or puffiness under our eyes, we tend to reach for the stick of concealer and liberally apply the product. We notice, however, that fine lines are emphasised, and bagginess seems all the worse!

Apply concealer very sparingly, mostly to the darkest part of the lower eyelid closest to the eye. Use a gentle eye cream on the bags so they obtain moisture and naturally stop swelling as the day goes on.

Z EYELINER ON THE LOWER LID ONLY: While the geisha line may be a bit too much for the upper lid on a daily basis, try to apply at least a fine line above as well as below the eye. A line on the lower lid alone will bring the eyelid down and add years to your look. Also, make sure to use mascara to open up the eye. Draw the line as close as possible to your eyelashes, so they look thicker.

Z USE BLUSHER: A slight touch of blush really adds light and youthfulness to the face.

Z USE NEUTRAL SHADES TO DEFINE YOUR EYE AND CREATE DEPTH. Use a slightly darker shade to gently paint in a socket line, which will make your eyes look considerably larger.

Z ENHANCE YOUR BROWS: As we age, our eyebrows can fade and lose their lushness. Therefore, they

BLUE EYESHADOW:

Once again, it reminds us of dubious beauty icons like Tabitha’s mother in Bewitched, or the great diva, Divine.

stop framing our face. With a brow pen (which has an ultra fine brush), use light strokes to paint individual hairs. Brow pens are fantastic because, unlike standard brow liners, they go on subtly and do not look painted on. Most beauty stores have brow kits, containing waxy products that help keep brow paint on all day.

Z BRIGHT RED, PINK OR ORANGE LIPSTICK: As we age, our lips tend to become finer. Slapping on a thick layer of a gorgeous red matte lipstick is likely to bring out our inner Cruella Deville, unless lips are naturally plump (or plumped by our favourite doctor, take your pick). Stick to more neutral colours.

Use a lip liner first (once again, stick to a colour that is close to your natural lip colour, so the line is not obvious).

Z TOO MUCH FOUNDATION: Always cleanse and moisturise skin before applying foundation and make sure to choose the right product (matte foundation for oily skin, hydrating for more mature skin, etc.) and apply sparingly. The best way to ensure fine coverage is by applying foundation with a brush (instead of your fingers or a sponge).

Spread well, being extra careful with the fine skin under the eyes and any areas with lines in the cheeks.

Make-up sinks into wrinkles and lines, emphasising them and taking on a caked appearance. If you keep slapping more layers on, you could just be mistaken for Bette Davis’ double (not in All About Eve but in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?).

APPLY POWDER SPARINGLY:

Powder, like foundation, can really get into wrinkles. Avoid it altogether, or use loose powder to illuminate areas (beneath the eye and across to the side of the face, as well as the centre of the forehead).

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SUMMER Breeze 1 – ROSE OUD BY YVES ROCHER: This woody rose scent is sweetened with amber and given an exotic touch by fresh spicy notes.

2 – ILLICIT BY JIMMY CHOO: This ‘modern floriental’ scent contains an eclectic blend of flowers and roots, including rose, ginger and bitter orange, sweetened with a honey-amber accord.

3 – BLACK OPIUM BY YVES SAINT LAURENT: A glam rock bottle houses a gourmand bouquet containing white florals, vanilla and coffee bean accords.

4 – HAPPY MOMENTS BY TOUS: A young, uplifting scent sweetened with clementines, pineapple, blue orchids, popcorn, daisies, cedar and white chocolate.

5 – OCEAN VIEW BY KARL LARGERFELD: Lychee, pineapple and peach are just a few of the fruity ingredients of this fresh scent.

6 – IN RED BLOOMING BOUQUET BY ARMAND BASI: This gorgeous bottle houses a sweet smelling fragrance whose main accords are white floral, spicy, and woody.

Citrus and musky tones make for a fresh yet sexy base that adds longevity and body.

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Marisa Cutillas brings you the fragrances women with style will be sporting at the season’s swishest soirées.

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TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ TOP TIPS

Early reading and mathematical skills are considered important when it comes to future academic success and if there is one sure-fire way to make children interested in reading, it involves creating a fun, playful, fascinating environment in which kids never feel like they are being pressured. These are just a few tips to turn a child into a bookworm. WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS Z EXPOSE KIDS TO BOOKS FROM AN EARLY AGE: Even in babyhood, children love flicking through soft books created with a variety of materials, colours and textures, to catch their attention. The focus here is on the experience of holding something that resembles a book and finding interesting things inside.

Z READ TO YOUR CHILD EVERY DAY Babies and children love listening to their parents read. Pick up a book your child seems interested in and read it often, introducing new books now and again. Make reading a routine – most kids love being read to at bedtime.

Z READ ALONE Children learn by example so it’s no use telling them to pick up a book if in your free time, you are always on the iPad or computer. Within the home, create comfortable reading nooks children can feel safe and special in.

You might want to fit special lights into this area, put up a ‘tent’ or add childlike motifs that will appeal to them.

Z START WITH PHONICS BOOKS When you feel your child is ready to start reading for themselves (when they are around four, though they may be ready earlier or later),

purchase the Jolly Phonics series.

These books teach kids to spell via phonics (sounds) and show them that the same letter can have different sounds depending on where it is located and what letters accompany it. The series appeals to kids because it contains lots of cute illustrations and they can colour in the pictures while they are learning.

Z TRY THE OXFORD READING TREE SERIES There are many reading series for kids but Oxford Reading Tree is one of the most widely used in British schools. Reading stages go from one to about 16 and afterwards, children are usually considered ‘Free Readers’.

If your children are studying in a British school and they have been assigned a specific level, buy books that are one or even two levels up. Their confidence will grow as they realise that they can easily read beyond their assigned level.

If kids are struggling at the level they are at, you may want to buy easier books, just to ensure that reading is not a struggle. Children should never feel like they are being forced to learn more than they are ready to, or their self-confidence

will suffer and they will begin to tell themselves that they just cannot do it.

Z BUY LOTS OF OTHER BOOKS The key to a good reader, is a good library. Children should not only read books specifically catered to early readers, but books as a whole – fairytales, poetry, etc. Some of the worldvvvvvv0’s most famous writers (Billy Collins, Roald Dahl, Shakespeare) have written poems that children love! Check out the YouTube video of the small boy reading You are the Bread and the Knife by Billy Collins, for instance.

Make sure to include silly poems in your list, like Spike Mulligan’s wonderful On The Ning Nang Nong.

Roald Dahl is another ideal choice for kids who appreciate a good laugh and a bit of irony.

Z EXPLORE NEW WAYS OF EXPOSING KIDS TO GREAT LITERATURE YouTube is a great resource because it is full of short animations and music inspired on literature. Check out the London Gay Men’s Choir’s interpretation of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost or Tangerine Dream’s lovely musical rendition of William Blake’s Tyger Tyger.

Z TAKE THEM TO SEE GOOD MOVIES Many great books (the Harry Potter series springs to mind here) have been brought to life beautifully in the cinema. A film can spark your child’s interest in specific books.

Z BUY INTERESTING BOOKS More reluctant readers should be introduced to books which have visual elements, such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Tom Gates (for kids aged around seven or eight and upwards). The themes are not childish, but a plethora of pictures and smaller amount of text make the experience a lot more pleasant.

Z LAUGH WHEN YOU’RE READING TOGETHER Take turns reading pages and use funny voices, comments and critique to make the reading experience a true bonding opportunity for you and your child. Some of my best childhood memories involved books – like the time my mother directed my group of friends and me in a now embarrassing rendition of Muffet’s Best Christmas.

I also recall her weeping while reading The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde to me at bedtime. To this day, that is still my favourite children’s book. e

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ANTIDEPRESSANT USE DURING PREGNANCY INCREASES Researchers at the University of Montreal have found that women who take antidepressants while they are pregnant raise the risk of their child having autism, by an alarming 87 per cent. The findings are important because up to 10 per cent of pregnant women are on antidepressants. Although the exact causes of autism are as yet unclear, the researchers noted that taking antidepressants in the second or third trimester of pregnancy significantly raises the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism by age seven. It is suspected that it has all got to do with serotonin, which is involved

In a new report published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, two social psychologists reveal that smiling actually lifts the mood of those around us, because the human instinct for facial mimicry allows us to experience other people’s feelings! It all works this way: when someone smiles, we subconsciously copy their facial expression, and then begin feeling what they do, because we associate the expression with what we have felt when we have used it in the past. The scientists explain: “Your own emotional reaction to the face changes your perception of how you see the face, in such a way that provides you more information about what it means.” This can be a problem for people who develop facial paralysis after a stroke (because they become incapable of facial mimicry). However, those who are born without the ability to mimic facial expressions develop new ways of interpreting emotions, so the difficulties aren’t as marked.

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

AUTISM RISK

in a number of processes relevant to brain development of the fetus – including cell division and differentiation.

Some antidepressants inhibit serotonin, which could interfere with these processes. At the same time, antidepressants are important because according to The World Health Organisation, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and must be medicated when necessary. Research is required to further analyse the effect of antidepressants on the fetus, and to figure out the least damaging type of medication for pregnant women.

WHAT IS THE SECRET OF

‘MINDLESSLY SLIM’ PEOPLE

Life is so unfair; some of us struggle to avoid weight gain while others stay lean and mean with apparently very little effort. There may be a method to all this madness, however, since scientists have found that slim people tend to display specific behaviours, including eating high quality foods, cooking at home, and listening to bodily cues (e.g. sensations of hunger or fullness, to know when to start and stop eating). They also tend to have a more positive attitude to food, focussing on enjoyment rather than on counting calories and carbohydrates.

3D PRINTERS

CREATING MATERIALS WITH PROPERTIES OF LIVING TISSUES! Scientists at Oxford University have built a new programmable 3D printer that is capable of creating materials sharing many properties with living tissues. The materials comprise thousands of linked water droplets housed within a lipid film which could help doctors deliver medication to specific areas of the body and even replace or interface with human tissues. Because the droplets are man-made and do not replicate, they are able to avoid problems associated with other means of creating artificial tissues such as stem cell technology. e

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THEY ARE NOT FROM ANOTHER PLANET, THEY USE MEDICAL THERAPIES THAT ARE ALSO AVAILABLE TO YOU!

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) consists of a patient being placed into a hyperbaric chamber where increased atmospheric pressure in used in order for the patient to breathe100% oxygen. Under these conditions, oxygen becomes a medicine and begins therapeutic treatments on the body. The treatment is particularly recommended for reducing inflammation, generally helping wounds to heal, as well as wounds that are difficult to heal, such as ulcers or diabetic foot.

It can even be used to prevent cases of amputation.

Furthermore, its effects on the post-operative recovery process have been proven as have its support for plastic and reconstructive surgery. It is also recommended for sports injuries, bone fractures, neurological damage, autism, providing relief from the effects of radiotherapy or burns, and reducing stress and chronic fatigue.

Specifically, it is the oxygen going through the blood in greater concentration that helps the body on a general level. The hyperbaric chamber at the Hyperbaric Medical Centre is made from entirely transparent material, and has room for one person, allowing for direct communication with medical staff; as well as offering hygienic, comfortable and exclusive conditions with the greatest possible availability of times.

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CENTRO MÉDICO HIPERBÁRICO Avda. de España 242. Estepona (Málaga) Tel.: 952 806 796 / 663 418 023

www.centrohiperbarico.com

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The biggest impediment to change and improvement, is always oneself. We see countless physical and mental transformations take place around us yet it is all too easy to undertake our own, ‘tomorrow.’

Boot Camp Marbella is here to make today, quite literally, the first day of a long and happy life.

BOOT CAMP MARBELLA WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BOOT CAMP MARBELLA

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ow in its fifth year, the company was founded by entrepreneur and Ironman Jan Dendauw. His aim was to bring “a serious yet fun boot camp to those seeking a kickstart to their fitness,” yet it become Marbella’s most consolidated fitness camp, inspiring people from all over the world to make the few small changes that can make a big difference.

“Boot Camp Marbella is an all-inclusive fitness camp for all ages and fitness levels, staffed by a multilingual team,” says Jan, whose youngest client is 18 and oldest, above 60. Stressed executives from all over the world are joined by new mums seeking to whip their bodies back into shape, and even seasoned athletes who wish to enjoy a week in the sun while training outdoors in a variety of settings.

Jan is surrounded by a team of highly experienced professionals: ‘the best of the best,’ well-known faces among locals into everything from yoga to cycling, resistance training and Pilates… you name it.

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Jan has a degree in Business and Marketing and it shows in the professional service he offers. Boot Camp Marbella is never boring: the camp typically lasts between four days and a week (the length of stay can also be personalised) and clients are led through dynamic workouts on the beach, taken on nature-bound mountain bike rides, and, on Fridays, challenged at the largest assault course in Europe, featuring a varied obstacle course that is as fun to complete as it is demanding.

Trainers, too, change throughout the week. “Participants love the fact that they have different trainers for every activity.” Jan also accompanies clients throughout: “I am always there, pushing and helping them overcome obstacles in turn, and making sure that the activity is suited to their fitness level.”

Marbella is another strong pulling point: “Over the last four years, it has rained only a handful of times,” recalls Jan, who notes that “Boot Camp is as much about the Marbella lifestyle as it is about fitness.

Marbella bears a unique microclimate and a varied landscape which includes the sea, lakes and mountains.” As Guetta once said, “Work hard, play hard”

–well, not so hard – Jan and the team do take clients out for lunch at some of Marbella’s trendiest establishments and always enjoy a celebratory dinner on the last day of camp.

The convenience of Boot Camp also appeals: the price includes airport pick-up and drop-offs, a stay at a luxury hotel in a room with a sea view, all meals prepared by a dedicated Chef, activities and transport, etc. The Hotel has a luxurious spa and state-of-the-art gym, and optional massage and physiotherapy treatments can be provided.

While Boot Camp does offer personalised camps, Jan notes that group camps always work best because “people inspire each other.”

He observes that participants tend to have a similar progression: “Often, what leads people to overeat or neglect their fitness is something psychological. It can be hard to face that barrier but during Boot Camp something amazing happens… and people realise they can overcome their greatest fears and that they do deserve to care for themselves.”

Ultimately this is Boot Camp’s greatest goal: to start participants on a lifelong journey in which fitness plays an important role in their day-to-day activities. Jan explains: “At Boot Camp we do

between five and six activities a day. When people go back home, they then find that fitting in just three or four activities a week is easy as pie.” There really is no excuse: we all actually do have time!

That is quite a revelation.

So, does Boot Camp work? The plethora of positive testimonials on the company’s website certainly inspires us! “Although fitness rather than weight loss is our focus, clients normally lose anywhere between two and seven kilos.

As they start feeling better, less sluggish, less bloated, it is amazing to see their confidence and happiness soar.”

There is no doubt that when we feel fit and look our best, life seems a much more beautiful adventure.

“People and governments spend inordinate amounts of money on medication and treatment, which they could save by simply avoiding habits like overeating, sugar addiction, smoking…” Jan states.

Thus far, people from the UK, Northern Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, America, China, Venezuela, Russia, Switzerland and many more countries have tripped the light fantastic thanks to the dedicated team at Boot Camp… are you ready to love yourself enough to make the most significant change you can for your heath?

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Enjoy the relaxing Shanti-Som Wellbeing Retreat RESTAURANT - SPA - YOGA - HOTEL

Relax and Enjoy

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Ctra. de Ojen km 22 - A355 Monda - Marbella Tel: 952 86 44 55 or 628 79 30 13

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ENTERPRISE LOCAL BUSINESS PROFILES FINANCE/LAW THE VIBE

Compiled by Marisa CUTILLAS

First United Nationalities of Marbella Now Summit 2016

Nicole King and TV programme Marbella Now are holding a free summit on Tuesday, April 5, at Laude International College San Pedro. The aim is to unite all the nationalities living here and give residents a voice to identify issues in Marbella and search for solutions together. From 10am until 2pm, there will be four sessions covering the following issues: Sustainable Marbella, Marbella as a Year-Round Destination, Improving Integration with the Spanish Community, and Charitable Marbella. The forum will be followed by a free presentation and workshop with Author and modern-day ‘Indiana Jones’, Michael Tellinger, at 3:30pm. i For further information,

www.marbellaazul.com/Marbella-NowTv/Registration

Panoramia Estepona and iKasa Scenic Presentation at the Kempinski HOTEL The Hotel Kempinski Bahia Estepona was a fittingly elegant backdrop for the presentation of urban development, Panoramia Estepona and housing development, iKasa Scenic. The former comprises an area of 126,000m2 close to the Felipe VI Theatre. Some 400 exclusive homes will be built, thanks to an investment of over €205 million. iKasa Scenic, meanwhile, is the first housing development in Andalucía with a BREEAM® sustainability certificate, considered one of the most prestigious in the world. The project is being developed by IKasa, a firm in Madrid with over 40 years’ experience. i www.ikasa.es

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LAURA SÁNCHEZ OPENS STORE IN MARBELLA Laura Sánchez is one of Spain’s most popular international models but she is also a style icon, lover of fashion and entrepreneur. Her latest venture is the new Bloomers & Bikini shop in Marbella, featuring gorgeous beach/pool ware and summery items. g Avda. Ricardo Soriano 13, Marbella.

Tel: 91 524 1725.

CALLING ON SPAIN’S MOST PROMISING STARTUPS, ENTREPRENEURS AND INVESTORS Global Foundation Get in the Ring, known as ‘the Olympics for startups’, will be launched in Málaga on April 20, at a venue yet to be confirmed. The event is hosted by J-Biz Lounge, specialised in organising networking events, currently in Málaga and Johannesburg, with main collaborator, Antonio Peña, from ASM magazine/Málaga. The full-day event offers exclusive coaching sessions during the day, presented by JT Foxx (pictured), a renowned Wealth Coach, Real Estate Investor and ‘millionaire underdog’.

Expo space is available, and the event will feature live entertainment, scrumptious catering, bars, guest speakers, MCs and the launch of the most exciting and entertaining startup battle in the world, with a panel of six judges. The great vibe at J-Biz Lounge will assure optimal networking results. i Startups wishing to apply should visit www.jbizlounge.com

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Vincci Selección Aleysa Wins Award for Best Online Reputation in Spain Trivago.es, a company dedicated to helping travellers find the very best hotels online, recently declared the Vincci Selección Aleysa the Hotel with the Best Online Reputation in Spain. The award is based on travellers’ ratings, which valued the top service and frontline location of the Aleysa, located in Benalmádena. i www.vinccihoteles.com

Vithas Xanit’s Mercedes Mengibar Wins Award The Andalucía Business Club recently awarded the Director of the Vithas Xanit, Mercedes Mengibar, with the Directiva 2016 (Director of the Year) prize, which values her professional accomplishments and management skills. Mercedes Mengibar, who was delighted with her award, said, “I don’t believe in individuals, but rather in teams, and I support personal and professional growth for all staff. I wish to share this prize with my staff and with everyone who has worked with me in the past.” i www.xanit.es

Alarma Universal Celebrates 30 Years of Security System Solutions

Springtime Opening Party at Plaza Village The Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa’s Plaza Village recently celebrated the arrival of Spring with a fun party attended by dignitaries, members of the jetset and the local media, featuring a live performance by guest DJ, Claude Challe.

Plaza Village is home to Serafina (serving Italian cuisine), Uni (a bastion of fine Japanese cuisine), Dani García (whipping up Michelin starred marvels), Bibo (Dani García’s tapas haven), Thai Gallery (serving authentic Thai delights) and La Suite (the place to party ‘til dawn). i www.puenteromano.com

Alarma Universal recently celebrated its 30th anniversary on the Coast. The company began in 1983, but it was when Peter Nissen took over the business in 1986, and introduced his unique ‘Security Triangle’ system to Spain, that it really began to take off. Peter recently received an award from the President of the Spanish security industry, in front of representatives from the Spanish government, senior police officers and his peers. The ‘Security Triangle’ system was initially developed by Peter in Denmark, before it was introduced to Spain via Alarma Universal. The premise behind the system is that an alarm system will only be completely effective if it has three vital elements: Detection from the security system, verification from a 24-hour control centre and reaction from security personnel. i www.alarmauniversal.com

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Ocean Clinic on the Near Future for Cosmetic Procedures Villa Padierna Reopens its Racquet Club The Villa Padierna Palace Hotel recently reopened the doors of its Racquet Club, which boasts 13 courts for players of tennis and paddle tennis. The Club, measuring over 22,000m2, aims to bring together sporting enthusiasts from Marbella, Benahavís and Estepona. i www.villapadiernapalacehotel.com

Dr. Kai Kaye of the renowned Ocean Clinic in Marbella recently shared his thoughts on the immediate future of cosmetic surgery. Surgeons, he says, are predicting a return to a more natural aesthetic, with many women opting from smaller breast implants and seeking more natural looking breasts. Luscious lips are also in demand, as are complete ‘mummy makeovers’ (which can include breast augmentation with a tummy tuck and liposuction), as well as vaginal rejuvenation. Finally, more men are seeking to have work done to the neck and chin, since ‘a chiselled jawline is what it’s all about! i For this and more exciting news, www.oceanclinic.net

Social Responsibility: Making a Difference

Aloha College One of Spain’s Best Making it onto El Mundo newspaper’s list of top schools in Spain is an aim for any school, so it was with great pride that Aloha recently announced that once again, it has done so! Aloha College students shone in many spheres: students took part in a fun race to raise money for cancer hospice, Cudeca, and availed of singing classes, which are now available at the school. i www.alohacollege.com

Three local businesses have been demonstrating social responsibility for the Butterfly Children Charity (DEBRA). Elite Golf Services has been raising funds and awareness for the Butterfly Children Charity for the past four years through its annual Andalucía Cup golf tournament. An amount of €2.471 euros from the 2016 edition adds up to a total of €22.490 raised by this company for the cause during the last five years. Additionally, thanks to the help of Advent Communication, the Butterfly Children Charity is now benefiting from a special program designed by Google to help non-profit organisations. With the skills and expertise of Advent, the charity can now reach new audiences, receive donations from previously unknown channels and increase the number of visits to their website. Additionally, Marbella-based insurance brokers, Op de Beeck & Worth, raised €9.000 for three children’s charities: DEBRA, Asociación CRECE, and Mary’s Meals. i www.debra.es

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BRAND NEW BEACHFRONT RESTAURANT FOR EL OCEANO BEACH HOTEL The luxurious El Oceano Beach Hotel and Restaurant will be one of this summer’s hottest venues, since it has just been ‘Cape Reedefined.’

The stylish hotel now boasts a newly constructed alfresco beachfront restaurant and hotel entrance. The Cape Reed design team drew its inspiration from the character and history of the ancient Phoenicians – a nation that traversed the Mediterranean many centuries ago with timber and other products. i www.capereed.com

CUDECA: FUNDRAISING WITH PLENTY OF HEART The tireless team of volunteers at Cudeca has been busy as usual, taking part in many events to raise funds for the cancer hospice. Recently, the Orange Tree Bar at El Pilar in Buenavista, Estepona, organised a walk to the top of La Concha mountain with staff and clients. Additionally, the Presidents Club of Marbella donated a car to the fifth Home Visits team of the hospice. Cudeca is pleased to announce that it recently received NGO status from Fundación Lealtad, testifying to its transparency and efficiency. i www.cudeca.org

SHÜCO EXHIBITION AT CRISTALERÍA Y ALUMINIOS MATA Crystal and aluminium store, MATA, recently held an exhibition of items from the Schüco Partners collection. Schüco sells sliding doors, exclusive doors, windows, entrance doors and more.

Cristalería y Aluminios Mata, meanwhile, located at the Polígono Empresarial San Luis, is well known for the quality of its products and services. i For further information, www.aluminiosmata.com

TIENDAS FIX NOW IN MARBELLA AND FUENGIROLA If your tablet, phone or computer is broken and you think that it may never work again, take it to Tiendas Fix – a computer store, mobile shop, and repair specialist for all gadgets. Take your pick from the Marbella or C.C. Parque Miramar branches. g Tiendas Fix Marbella:

Avda. Ricardo Soriano 34, Marbella. Tel: 951 204 325. C.C. Tiendas Fix Fuengirola: Miramar, Avda. de la Encarnación s/n, Fuengirola.

Tel: 951 311 600. www.tiendasfix.com

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Finca Cortesín Triumphs at ITB Berlin

Business Etiquette Course at Les Cubes Marie-Noëlle Communication organised a talk on Business Etiquette, by Carlos Mohino Granados. Mohino is a graduate of the Camilo José Cela de Madrid University and recipient of a Masters from the University of Granada. He is also a member of the Royal Household of the King of Spain and a Professor at the University of Málaga. The talk was attended by over 50 personalities and members of the media. i www.marie-noelle.es

Finca Cortesín recently announced its success at ITB Berlin 2016, where it took home awards for Best Hospitality Boutique Hotel 2016 in the Connoisseur Circle Hospitality Awards, and Hideaway of the Year 2015 in the Klocke Verlag Hideaways Awards. Each year, the prestigious Connoisseur Circle Hospitality Awards recognise the best hotels in the world, during what is one of the most important trade fairs in the international travel industry. Meanwhile, the Klocke Verlag Hideaways Awards is a reader-voted award by the premium German travel magazine, Hideaways. i www.fincacortesin.com

Estepona Vive Sus Calles: Lots of Fun for Estepona Residents!

International Apex Business Club Networking (ABC) Now on the Coast

Estepona recently celebrated the event Estepona Vive Sus Calles, aimed at celebrating life on the Coast. Residents enjoyed over 20 activities, including a concert by Sevillan crooners, Siempre Así, the Ruta de la Tapa (tapas tasting) event and the fifth Ham Cutting Competition. i www.estepona.es

The International Apex Business Club (better known as ABC) is a networking and social group that is ready to make a big difference to the life of businesses on the Coast. The Club provides plenty of opportunity to advance your career, customise your social media, expand your social outreach, gain additional income possibilities, grow your network, optimise your visual presentation and marketing and so much more. i Register now free of charge on

www.abc-worldwide.com

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z THE PRO business Asset managers are the serious participants in the global markets, operating on a scale that means they very much need to have their finger on the pulse. We spoke with Didier Duret, CIO of ABN AMRO Private Banking International about the real investor’s perspective.

WORDS MICHEL CRUZ PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN

ABN AMRO’S

PERSPECTIVE ON THE MARKETS

M

ost people who cast even a casual glance at the markets will have heard of the tumble stocks have endured over the past few months and the trillions of dollars of wealth wiped off them since. Companies, funds and whole industries have been shaken up by a process that began with serious stock market falls in China last year and culminated in one of the worst starts to a year’s trading ever.

Was it entirely unexpected? No, for some time now analysts have been saying that the markets were overvalued, their indexes buoyed by years of ‘cheap’ money that flowed from a post-crisis monetary regime of quantitative easing. As this bout of QE came to an end, many expected not just market volatility but also feared economic recession, and indeed, industrial indicators, low growth in China, weakness in the emerging markets and the slump in oil prices all seemed to point that way.

The only thing between us and a recession is consumer spending, some would say, while others look at the economic fundamentals and see no real indicators of an impending downturn. In fact, where the instinctive reaction is to run and hide, experienced investors know that’s often the worst thing to do – just like when you’re confronted with a real bear – so the best way is to seek the opportunity within what seems like a bear market right now.

TAKING A POSITION “The financial markets have been in

upheaval and are still fragile,” says Didier Duret, “but things have started to stabilise and you can see a process of healing going on.” He agrees that a correction in values was due, yet believes that it has been exaggerated, driven on by the fear of a large price collapse and ensuing recession. “The expectation of a marked slowdown has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, but when the markets recover before the underlying factors become evidently positive, this provides the bedrock for confidence to return.”

The obvious comparison is China, where the preponderance of retail investors caused a capital flight that even the PRC government and the likes of Goldman Sachs found difficult to predict and prepare for. In the more mature markets, however, it is the large financial institutions that have the greatest influence, and they are beginning to see the silver lining. “At ABN AMRO, we believe the correction in stock values was such that it allows for value seekers to return to the market and take positions again.”

The bank’s private banking arm is already doing that by rebuilding its exposure – not just back to pre-correction levels but beyond them. “We are convinced that equity markets can crawl up until they reach a more realistic equilibrium point. The market forces are underpinned by the main fundamentals, which include a recovering oil price, rising commodity prices, a comprehensive stimulus package in China and positive core inflation in the US.”

NEW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES Moreover, while low inflation and cheap oil keep the energy sector struggling, they reduce cost inputs for manufacturers and enhance consumer spending power. “The higher consumer spending levels we are seeing now don’t go hand-in-hand with an impending economic recession.” For the longer run the picture is more uncertain, so ABN AMRO will be keenly monitoring the fundamentals of the global economy before deciding on strategy.

“It’s true that we have inherited structural impediments such as high public debt, too much dependency on growth in emerging markets and a lowinflation, low-yield environment that comes with an era of post-crisis financial repression, but the nature of economics is that where there is turmoil there is also opportunity.” He refers to Schumpeter’s theory that ‘creative destruction’ occurs at a time when economies and societies are undergoing a major period of change and upheaval.

“Out of the upheaval and restructuring of old industries new ones are born that lay the foundations for a new period of growth.” Seen this way, people may just look back at this moment as a dynamic catalyst of future development, especially if it marks the transition into the next evolution in technologybased economies. “One of the problems at the moment is that the investment base of growth opportunities is too narrow, but there are enterprises started up every day by a new generation that is using innovative

technology and concepts to transform the economy. It is part of a decentralising process going on at the moment in which many of the premises of the old economy are being challenged to their core. It’s confusing in some ways, but also highly exciting.”

Banks tend to invest in medium to large enterprises, where there are also many high and low tech possibilities both in the short and especially in the longer term. “Within these, we are focusing on sectors such as the emerging tech industries while also looking at demographic trends that create opportunities in healthcare and consumer-driven fields.”

The latter requires investment strategies based on a keen understanding of consumer trends. “We’ve seen the globalisation of production, the next step is the further globalisation of consumption as more and more services are consumed outside of one’s immediate environment. It is developments such as these that will propel us into the next phases of growth, and a sound investment policy has to simultaneously reflect all these factors, from the short to medium-term recovery of the markets to recognising where future growth comes from.

Ultimately, spotting opportunity and added value is how a private banker delivers returns.” g ABN AMRO Private Banking

Av. José Banús, Edf. Málaga, Local 2-B, Marbella.

Tel: (+34) 952 908 843. www.abnamro.es

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Crossing borders.

In good company.

Life moves in good company, especially when you choose to live in another country.

World Citizen Services will be your point of contact to help you with anything to set you up and beyond. Whether it’s about financing your (second) home, succession or wealth structuring, we will use our well-established global and local network to assist you in realising your dreams.

Please contact your local World Citizen Services team to discover how we can help you.

ABN AMRO Private Banking, Avenida José Banús, Edificio Màlaga Local 2-B, Marbella, Malaga, Spain. For more information visit our website at www.abnamro.es or call us at +34 952 90 88 43.

Life moves in good company

z THE PRO law

WHAT A

A new law regulating property being rented to tourists obliges those operating in this business to register them in the Registry of Tourism.

The questions surrounding it are summarised below. WORDS RAQUEL PÉREZ

HOLIDAY HOME IS AND HOW TO GET IT REGISTERED

WHAT IS CONSIDERED A HOLIDAY RENTAL HOME? Any property in Andalucía offering rental accommodation at a price set by the owner, who markets it to potential tenants via travel agencies or online platforms.

According to the Tourism Delegation of the Regional Government of Andalucía in Málaga (the Junta de Andalucía), all properties which are advertised in those portals connecting the owner and visitor must be registered as holiday homes. This rule does not affect rural holiday homes for rental, which are regulated by an existing decree.

WHAT IF THE PROPERTY IS ONLY RENTED DURING THE THREE MONTHS OF SUMMER, FORTNIGHTLY OR WEEKLY? It will also have to be registered at the Registry of Tourism. The regulation only excludes properties being rented for periods of longer than two continued months by the same tenant.

WHAT REQUIREMENTS MUST THE PROPERTY MEET? It must have been granted an occupation license. Its rooms must have ventilation to the exterior and shading systems fitted too. It will also require to have air conditioning in the living room and bedrooms, for heating and cooling. The decree demands the inclusion of a first-aid kit, tourist information on the area,

claim and complaint forms, and cleaning services prior to the arrival and following the departure of new tenants. The maximum occupancy per entire property must not be higher than 15 people.

WHEN CAN THE PROPERTY BE REGISTERED AT THE REGISTRY OF TOURISM? Registration of properties covered by this new law will start from 12th May, 2016. The Andalusian Council of Tourism urges owners of such properties to use this transitory period to prepare the necessary documentation. Owners will have three months to register and will face fines if they do not comply.

WHAT ABOUT TAXATION FOR A HOLIDAY HOME? It will be treated like an urban rental, which means that the income from the rental activity has to be included as profit in the annual tax declaration. There is no need to register as self-employed or to pay any fee, nor the VAT if the person operating the rental is the property owner.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO RENT ONLY SINGLE BEDROOMS IN THE PROPERTY? Yes, as it is stated in the decree, with the exception that it sets a condition that the owner lives in the same house in which they are intending to rent bedrooms to tourists. In fact, it is the first

regulation in Spain to include this possibility. The arrangements and documents needed are the same as if the whole property were rented. In this case, they will be also assigned a registration number for the advertising of the accommodation in the online platforms specialised in holiday rentals.

DOES EVERY TOURIST HAVE TO BE ISSUED WITH A CONTRACT, AN INVOICE, OR ASKED TO PRODUCE AN ID CARD FOR THE POLICE REGISTRY? The regulation requires having a contract for every tenant, even if they are only staying for one night.

Moreover, this written agreement must be retained for one year just in case it is requested by the Tourism inspectors. The document will contain the name of the person or entity operating the rental property, the alphanumeric code of registration in the Andalusian Registry of Tourism, the number of persons staying in the property, the dates of check-in and check-out, the total price of the stay, and the telephone number provided to the tenant to report incidents. Regarding invoicing, the owner is only required to issue a receipt for the payment of the accommodation, at the price which has been set for the rental. And for security reasons, the persons making use of the property must provide their identification for the purpose of filling in the check-in

form, although it is still pending to be determined how it will be sent to the police registry. For hotels and apart hotels it is done electronically.

WHAT IF AN OWNER WISHES TO RENT THREE OR MORE PROPERTIES WITHIN A RANGE OF ONE THOUSAND METRES? That is the polemical issue in the new regulation, which considers that those who rent three or more properties in the same building or in buildings within a range of one kilometer of each other will be ruled by the decree of Tourist Apartments. That rule, modified to include this particular case, is more demanding in the sense that it enforces the application for an opening license and to fulfil the requirements that include minimum areas for the different rooms of each property. Therefore, according to the Andalusian Government, the owner of three or more properties in this category will be required to register as self-employed to support this activity, and for taxation purposes will be subject to the particular requirements for someone who carries out business activities.

g Raquel Pérez is Director of the Perez Legal Group, comprising Lawyers, Chartered Accountants and Fiscal Advisors. www.perezlegalgroup.com

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z THE PRO vibe

Launch Party for Yorkshire Linen Prestige Yorkshire Linen Prestige, the stylish bedding and furniture shop opened recently on the Golden Mile, celebrated its launch with a party attended by members of the jet set and lovers of style. Guests marvelled at the beautiful items, including Kylie Minogue’s stunning bedware collection. Best of all, prices are surprisingly affordable. i www.yorkshirelinen.es

“Reasons to get out of bed: None!” – Anonymous

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vibe THE PRO z

Topping Out Ceremony for World Trade Center Gibraltar The Honourable Fabian Picardo, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, performed the topping out ceremony for the stunning new World Trade Center (WTC) in Gibraltar. The WTC is a partner for Gibraltar business, offering solutions that permit companies to focus on vital issues such as growing their business and making greater profits! i www.worldtradecenter.gi

“Change your thoughts and you change the world” – Norman Vincent Peale

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z THE PRO vibe

Les Rivages D’Estepona Presentation Les Rivages D’Estepona is a brand new complex on the frontline of Estepona, comprising 18 exclusive apartments and penthouses, which will be completed in December. The promoters of the project invited clients, friends and members of the press to view the show house, which boasts undeniable style and comfort, and an unbeatable location. i www.lesrivages.es

“Home is where our story begins” – Anonymous

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vibe THE PRO z

Vernissage at Laguna Village The Sauer family, owners of gorgeous seafront shopping centre and restaurant haven, Laguna Village, recently hosted a vernissage featuring an exhibition of works by Carolina Schell. The party also heralded the start of the season, which promises to be a busy one for one of the Coast’s most beautiful places to relax, shop and enjoy a great meal. i www.laguna-village.com

“If shopping doesn’t make you happy, then you’re in the wrong shop” – Anonymous

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z THE PRO vibe

Alchymia and Leonardo Luxury Interior Design Bring Exquisite Italian style to Marbella Alchymia and Leonardo Luxury Interior Design recently celebrated the Grand Opening of their new showroom, located in the Azalea Beach Commercial Centre. The event dazzled guests with the beauty of pieces in the Alchymia collection, which are inspired on history and tradition and are unmistakably Italian. With state-of-theart design and innovative materials, Alchymia offers a new approach to excellence in decoration. i www.alchymia.it

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every great design begins with an even greater storyâ&#x20AC;? - Anonymous

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h THE LEISURE travel

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B

ergamo is popular with tourists – but only those using Il Caravaggio International Airport – before being herded onto buses to neighbouring Milan. Some say the fashion capital of Milan has had its day, meanwhile Bergamo is quickly rising as a bastion of ‘authentic Italy’ from the early morning haze that drifts over this mountain town. Milan’s fairytale sister encapsulates the traditions and culture that the famous neighbouring metropolis has lost in recent decades. Bergamo deserves to be a town with an airport rather than an airport surrounded by a town.

Imagine white stone villas and cubed apartment blocks standing side-by-side with church spires and bell towers that have dominated the skyline for centuries. Picture a spooky white mist drifting down the vales cloaking the town that clings to the mountainside. Listen to the wind rustling through the trees and the call of seagulls circling over the crystal clear waters of Lake Iseo. And taste traditional Italian foods where the recipes have been passed from father to son, mother to daughter for millennia. The small town of Bergamo truly has been stolen from a fairytale story book.

Like a delicate painting by one of the greats, Raphael or Giovanni Bellini, the postcard picture-perfect walled town of Bergamo can aptly be described as an artistic masterpiece brought to life. Intricate architecture and treecovered mountains that smash into the glass-like waters of Lombardy’s second largest lake set the stage for one of Italy’s greatest theatre plays, a fairytale journey through a forgotten wonderland.

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY JOE WORTHINGTON

© Shutterstock

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Cappella Colleoni is a thing of beauty

Religiosi Legatum The town is a tightly packed haven of calm and reflection, with cobbled streets guiding cultural pilgrims along the path between the narrow alleyways and eerily silent back streets. As the bell tolls on the hour and the ringing sound bounces between the flat-walled houses, echoing through the crisp mountain air, the spiritual legacy of Bergamo comes to life.

It is impossible to miss the grey dome of the Cappella Colleoni poking out among the many religious buildings spread across this mountain retreat. The front façade of this church and mausoleum was intricately carved from blocks of marble in the late 1400s for the most powerful military leader in the town at the time, condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni. A Catherine window, complete with stained glass that creates a rainbow glow inside the church when the sun shines, dominates the front of the building, flanked by intricately carved medallions portraying ancient Roman Emperors Julius Caesar and Trajan.

A spiritual peace can be found right across the town, partly as a result of the many churches hiding around every corner, but also because of the atmosphere created by the silence, only broken by the subtle chimes of organs accompanied by heavenly choral singing that breaks free through the heavy wooden doors of these monuments to God. Pope Saint John XXIII was born in Bergamo in 1881. His spirit and presence can still be felt here.

Portraits and photographs of the former leader of the Roman Catholic Church hang on the walls of homes and restaurants throughout the town, paying testament to one of the world’s most important religious figures who was raised in a town that many Italians describe as an earthly representation of Elysium – the Ancient Roman interpretation of heaven.

San Pellegrino Palace

The City gate

A hazy day in Bergamo

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Mountain Mysteries Bergamo clings to the forested green slopes of the Bergamo Alps mountain range, bridging the gap between the snow-capped peaks and the pure waters of Lake Iseo at the base. The mountainside forests hide numerous secrets, many of which are only known to locals and the most eagle-eyed tourists who come to Bergamo to escape the hustle and bustle of Milan.

The Bergamo Alps tower over the town, so there is no better place to get a breath taking bird’s-eye view across the narrow streets and endless lake waters than at a high point in the mountains. Just a short walk from Bergamo’s central train station there is a funicular railway which takes visitors part way up the mountains to the ruins of Castello di San Vigilio, perched on a cliff jutting out from the main mountain. The castle was built to defend against attacks from invading armies when Bergamo was controlled by the Republic of Venice, and the watch tower which hangs over the cliff is still intact.

As you stand gazing out in awe at the Renaissance masterpiece laid out below, and the glistening smooth surface of Lake Iseo and its many

tiny islands, you can truly appreciate why Bergamo inspires hundreds of artists every year to paint the next Arte Laguna winner. Neatly laid-out piazzas and parks separate the close-knit domes and spires of this hilly town.

Lake Iseo is itself worthy of a prize. The unbelievably clear water of one of Italy’s largest lakes is home to hundreds of small islands that just seem to magically rise out of the waters over the horizon. Many of these islands are totally uninhabited, except for a few birds and rabbits; others keep wild fungi and truffles hidden among their densely packed trees, and some have luxury villas, mansions and fortifications planted on top, offering their owners enviable views in an alluring location.

This perfect lake is popular with couples who want to take the day to escape from civilisation and explore the many caves and caverns that have been sunk into the side of the mountains by Mother Nature. Who needs the canals of Venice for a romantic retreat, where spectators are gawping at you from the bridges above, when you have the intimate escape of Lake Iseo all to yourselves?

A panoramic shot of Lake Iseo

The Bergamo Alps

The beautiful Lake Iseo

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© Shutterstock

Tasty Lombardy No visit to Italy, whether Bergamo, Brindisi, Bari or Bologna, would be complete without sampling the many local foodie specialities that make this country world famous. Bergamo food has its origins in simple (by Italian standards) peasant dishes which have been passed from generation to generation, often unchanged since first served centuries ago. Internationally it is overshadowed

by Milanese or Venetian dishes, which is what makes Bergamo food so spectacular.

Casoncelli is a local delicacy, comprising a handmade pasta shell stuffed with locally produced spicy sausage meat. Every family has their own twist on this simple recipe, some including pepper, some salt, some oil; part of the fun is sampling the many different varieties. Il Pianone restaurant is popular with locals for its take on Casoncelli, and in Italy it’s best to trust the locals where food is concerned. Lightly salted Casoncelli pasta is served with deep red beetroot gnocchi and fragrant mountain goat’s cheese on a terrace overlooking the rooftops and narrow alleyways of the central piazza.

Bergamo, as with the rest of northern Italy, has its own varieties of wine. Many vineyards can be seen growing in the chalky earth along the hillsides, and most only produce small batches each year to preserve the quality and reputation of their tipple. The deep maroon coloured Valcalepio Rosso DOC Merlot is a Bergamo speciality. Imagine putting your nose into the glass and being greeted by the sweet scent of acacia honey combining with the slightly fruity grape. This is the original wine that Venetian nobles would have drunk in the middle ages. If it was good enough for them it’s surely good enough for us.

One export that Bergamo is famous for, however, is San Pellegrino mineral water, which is bottled in San Pellegrino Terme comune just outside of the main town. The water is pumped from a deep aquifer under the Dolomite Mountains and then lightly carbonated to give it a unique sweet-but-bitter flavour. This water has been a luxury product for over 600 years, and was described by Leonardo da Vinci as “miraculous”.

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Relais San Lorenzo The Bergamo City Wall

Fairytale Castle Retreat After a hard day exploring the splendour and majesty of this story book town, you need your own fairytale castle to escape to at night. The Relais San Lorenzo is a modern-meets-rustic escape nestled in the Bergamo Alps, offering unrivalled views across Bergamo. Simple teak and oak wooden panels and the clean lines of light grey marble sit side-by-side to both blend into the surrounding landscape and make a statement in this architecturally historic town.

This five-star luxury abode looks like nothing else in Bergamo, both inside and out. Simple glass balconies overlook a central courtyard and the rooms are heavy on dark oak floors and black leathers. Waterfall taps and rainfall showers take inspiration from the wild and rugged nature of the Alps directly outside. In the basement, a restaurant is intertwined into a Roman and medieval architectural site, with well-preserved grey stone ruins separating guests, and the ghostly calls of voices from an age gone by echoing all around. If Relais San Lorenzo was anymore different to the surrounding scenery it would be remarkably similar. This is a fairytale retreat fit for the 21st century.

Readers can fly to Bergamo’s Il Caravaggio airport from Málaga with Ryanair throughout the year, and Mistral Air in the summer season.

Regular trains connect the airport to Bergamo’s central train station from where most of the town can be reached on foot or by funicular railway. e

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h THE LEISURE hotel

The Library Hotel Tapping into the Literary Magic of New York WORDS Marisa CUTILLAS Photography Courtesy of The Library Hotel

T

he Internet of things has drastically changed the way we search for information these days, with most of us conducting our research online. However, those of us who grew up in decades past recall spending considerable time searching for that one special book using the Dewey Decimal System.

The latter, created by Melvil Dewey in 1876, has been amended and expanded throughout the decades and the latest classification was updated as recently as 2011! In the 19th century, Dewey made the impossible a reality: finally, scholars were able to search for books in a library according to topic rather than order of acquisition. It is this visionary spirit that the Library Hotel in New York, seeks to celebrate. The stunning hotel boasts a collection of over 6,000 books, many of which are rare and highly valuable. The Hotel is ideal for those travellers with time enough to dip into some of the World’s most treasured classics.

The Library Hotel pays homage to all things literary by naming each floor after one of the categories in the Dewey Decimal System.

Thus, guests can choose to stay at

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one of the following floors: Social Sciences, Literature, Languages, History, Maths and Science, General Knowledge, Technology, Philosophy, Arts and Religion. The room menu is inspired indeed and looks something like this: Eighth Floor: Literature 800.006 Mystery 800.005 Fairy Tales 800.004 Poetry 800.002 Classical Fiction 800.001 Erotic Literature Are you beginning to comprehend what a stay at the Library must be like for book buffs and does looking at these numbers whiz you back to those wonderful school days?

The rooms contain corresponding books and artwork; for instance, the Love Room houses a plethora of erotic literature, and a collection of books chosen by famed Sex Therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Guests enjoy various amenities, including robes, slippers, and an iHome radio. In the evenings, the romantic rooftop terrace is a lofty site for conferences and cocktails, with many acclaimed writers making their way to the Hotel

to discuss their latest publications.

The Hotel sets high standards in terms of making guests feel welcome. The price for a night includes a free buffet breakfast in the Reading Room, an evening reception with a wide selection of gourmet cheese, wine and snacks, Gilchrist & Soames toiletries, an evening turndown service featuring sinful Belgian chocolates and free Internet and premium TV channels.

Parking is also free for guests, which means a lot when you’re in the centre of Manhattan (the Hotel is on the corner of East 41st street and Madison Avenue). The Library is just a few steps away from its big sister, the New York Public Library as well as a plethora of shops, theatres and restaurants. Also within walking distance is Bryant Park, a romantic place to ice skate in the winter or take part in the many festivals that take place throughout the year.

Books are food for the soul, they say, but why not take a literal bite out of the Big Apple? Madison & Vine, the Hotel’s bistro and wine bar, is one of the local jetset’s favourite jaunts. The restaurant serves hearty international and American fare

every day for lunch and dinner, as well as brunch on weekends. If you wish to experience more of New York’s savvy gastronomic culture, make your way to the food market at Grand Central Terminal, where you will find ingredients and dishes from all over the world. The colourful markets are a veritable paradise for those whose senses are stimulated by the colours of seasonal fruit, fresh fish and seafood and gourmet deli delights from top producers.

Those who like to keep fit can avail of the free access to the large network of New York Sports Club in Manhattan. The Clubs are famed for their equipment and service and offer a host of activities and classes, including cardio, tennis, motor boating, yoga, cycling and weights.

Who would have time to read a book on a visit to New York, you may ask? Anyone who feels that the best thing a city has to offer, is literature and art. Action and reflection are definitely not mutually exclusive at the Library Hotel, where there is no better way to relax after a full day’s sightseeing, than with a great book, on your very own romantic terrace.

i www.libraryhotel.com 3/23/16 5:46 PM

Skin aging is a process that is undeniably changing the appearance and characteristics of our skin. Factors such as age, hormones, sun exposure and tobacco are linked directly to this process. Aesthetic treatments can combat cellular aging as effectively as facial rejuvenation surgery.

Dr. Mario Arques has a unit dedicated exclusively to aesthetic medicine procedures, providing excellent results without surgery for many common problems. A highly qualified team dedicated to skin, health and beauty that seeks as its main goal, true to the philosophy of the doctor, to provide full patient satisfaction with the final result and offers a full range of solutions that care for the youth of the skin and ensure a radiant look.

Dr. Mario Arques who has been dedicated to medicine for 20 years, graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Granada in 1995 and with a Masters degree in Aesthetic Medicine by the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

He began his career in aesthetic medicine through participation in numerous accredited courses and by completing a Masters in Aesthetic Medicine at URJC. He then went on to hone his medical skills in the Andalusian Health Service, where he worked at an advanced level of Clinical Management in Almanzora for the Agency for Health Quality in Andalusia.

He is still training in prestigious academies and holds workshops and conferences in national and international locations. He is a pioneering physician incorporating the latest techniques for the implementation of beauty treatments, as well as the highest quality professional products in the field with the ultimate exclusive ageLOC technology treatments.

Urbanizaci贸n Alzambra- Vasari n煤mero 1 Puerto Ban煤s. Marbella Collegiate member 111107877 info@Arquesclinic.com 路 www.arquesclinic.com

tel. 662 408 408 Doctor Mario Arques/Arques Clinic

b the gourmet RESTAURANTS REVIEWS NEWS GASTRONOMY CHEFS WINE

150 Food Writers 153 Les Deux

154 Food News

156 Kevin Woodford’s Barcelona

158 Chef’s Profile: Luis Olarra of Kabuki Raw 160 Wine: Biurko Gorri

Meet some of the world’s most influential food writers, check out the colourful fare at Les Deux at the Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa, visit Barcelona with Kevin Woodford and experience highly recommended organic wines from Rioja.

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AT THE PLAZA VILLAGE IN THE HOTEL PUENTE ROMANO

Puente Romano Hotel, Blv. Principe Alfonso Von Hohenlohe, Marbella. www.thaigallerymarbella.com

Tel: 952 818 392

TAI PAN chinese cuisine polynesian bar

Serving Marbella in a Select Atmosphere for Decades.

Tel: 952 777 893 / 952 775 500 Puente Romano, Fase 2, Marbella.

Open Daily for Dinner from 8:00 www.taipanmarbella.com

SUKHOTHAI Exquisite Royal Thai Cuisine

Tel: 952 770 550 Open Mon-Sat. C.C. Marbellamar, L-3A. Marbella. www.sukhothaimarbella.com

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b THE GOURMET chefs

5

In this celebrity-obsessed world where a Chef’s PR can be almost as important as their actual culinary skills, it is a good idea to turn the TV off sometimes and dedicate the little spare time we have to reading some of the most defining works in the gastronomic world. Rather than simply provide recipes or relay their impressions of the different culinary regions they have visited, the best food writers are concerned with what lies beneath the surface: how our future food is grown or reared; the process through which produce and meat makes it from the farmer to the store; and finally, how the food that is available to us affects our habits and ultimately, our health. This is a small selection of must-read writers for those who like to scratch beneath the surface. WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

© Ragesoss

© Peabody Awards

of the World’s Most Influential Food Writers

Z MICHAEL POLLAN

This American Author has written many New York Times Best-sellers, and his 2008 book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, is considered a veritable Bible for modern food writers. Pollan analyses the link between ‘nutritionism’ (an obsession with food that is ‘nutritious’) and the Western diet, asserting that the answer to many of our ills, is this simple: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Currently, he says, plenty of what we consume is not food, but “edible food-like substances – the products of food science.

Food has been replaced by nutrients, and commonsense by confusion.” He urges us to base our diet around traditional, well-grown, unprocessed foods, since our wellbeing depends on the health of all the animals/ plants that form part of our food chain.

Pollan is also famed for The Omnivore’s Dilemma, which attempts to answer

one simple question: What should we have for dinner?

The writer analyses the fast food industry, organic food growing, and huntergatherer practices, arguing that the plethora of choice on typical supermarket shelves “confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous food landscape.” While enjoying meals, he takes us to the origin of all their ingredients and he reveals how what we eat has powerful political, economic, psychological and even moral consequences. If we don’t change our relationship to food, we will not only harm our children’s health; we will also destroy the environment which makes life possible on this planet.

Z JAMIE OLIVER Who doesn’t love Jamie? This visionary Chef, writer and TV presenter could ultimately have sat on his laurels and enjoyed his millions. Instead, he has used his influence to encourage us to return to the kitchen and to cook in a respectful manner, utilising

well sourced ingredients.

Books like The Return of the Naked Chef have inspired countless males to make their first forays into the kitchen, and have highlighted the importance of wellsourced ingredients like organic produce, extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs and lifegiving spices. He has also taken on big corporations and school cafeterias, highlighting the shockingly toxic way that processed foods are prepared.

Z ANTHONY BOURDAIN

American Chef, Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly is a guaranteed presence on most food journalists’ lists of top books on food. It is a lively, testosterone-soaked account of life behind-thescenes at a top restaurant.

Bourdain believes that all great cooks must be a little masochistic, for being a Chef is difficult, dangerous and sometimes, just plain unpleasant! Bourdain is open about the stress suffered

by Chefs (in his case, the tension was a trigger for his drug taking). He openly advises diners of tricks to be aware of: for instance, never order fish on a Monday; you’re likely to get a weekend leftover instead of the fresh delight you were dreaming of!

Z RUTH REICHL This iconic author often says she has an untold debt to the writings of Michael Pollan.

Reichl is as concerned about pesticides in crops as she is about processed foods, or improving animals’ and workers’ conditions. She was the Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet from 1999 to 2009 and is famed for sending her editorial team on majorly challenging assignments.

Under her guiding hand, Gourmet has written about everything from the conditions of tomato pickers in America (many of whom, according to Ruth, lived in ‘virtual slavery’), to the political forces that govern the food industry.

Some of her most acclaimed

works include Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise and My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes that Saved my Life.

Z HUGH FEARNLEYWHITTINGSTALL A Chef,

Journalist, Food Writer and Environmental and Animal Welfare activist, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is best known for his River Cottage series on Channel 4.

In this show, he encourages audiences to become more self-reliant and to feed their families, as he does, on zero kilometre produce, eggs, fish and meat. His iconic book, The River Cottage Meat Book passionately defends the common cow, lambasting modern factory farms and supermarket practices. The writer firmly believes that it is our moral duty to give livestock a better deal than they would have without our intervention. Instead, animals are subject to unbearable stress, pain and disease. e

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VIERNES Y Sﾃ。ADOS / FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS MED I A NO C HE HASTA LAS 6 DE LA M ADRU GADA ﾂｷ M IDN IG HT - 6 AM

PUENTE ROMANO BEACH RESORT & SPA Bulevar Prﾃｭncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, Km 177 T (+34) 952 820 900

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LES DEUX

A SWEET DELIGHT

restaurants THE GOURMET b

The Puente Romano is fast becoming a reference for gourmet dining in Marbella, from Michelin star fine dining to the Parisian chic of Les Deux. WORDS MICHEL CRUZ PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN

S

et upon a charming little square within the exclusive Andalusianstyled complex of the Puente Romano resort, Les Deux is the kind of establishment that brings a much-needed touch of chic elegance to Marbella.

Step inside and you think you’ve entered one of Paris’s famous sweet shops, for its stylish interior is not only made for a classic afternoon tea, it is also enlivened with the eye-catching tones of beautifully displayed macarons in a variety of delicious flavours.

Les Deux is heaven for those with a sweet tooth, and not surprisingly it does offer high tea, complete with finger sandwiches, in the very best of settings. A more exotic version of this tradition includes Arabic pastries based on almonds and honey that are best enjoyed with Moroccan mint tea.

But there is more to Les Deux than its pretty salon and the pleasures of its freshly homemade macarons and other sweet delights, for this is also a very stylish crêperie. Perhaps more Parisian in its elegant décor and ambience, it builds on the traditions of Brittany, whose exquisite thin and delicate crepes form the basis for a wide range of fillings and varieties.

SWEET OR SAVOURY Chef Romi is a specialist in the field, having both trained in Brittany and worked at the finest establishments. His crepes are wafer thin and perfect in consistency and

flavour, providing just the right conduit for the topping of your choice. Though crepes are generally associated with sweet combinations such as strawberry and cream, they also combine beautifully with cheese, mushrooms and other ingredients to produce a delicious savoury snack.

Basking in the March sun on the pleasant terrace of Les Deux, we decided to opt for both: a savoury crepe as our main course and a sweet one for dessert! It may sound a little indulgent, for the restaurant also offers salads, club sandwiches and other light meals, but the feather-light crepes are actually an ideal option if you’re not looking for a heavy lunch. In fact, Les Deux is open from 9am to 8pm, and later in summer, making it the ideal spot for a savoury snack or sweet temptation throughout the day.

In addition to a choice of enticing sweet and savoury options, the restaurant also offers a variety of versions, ranging from the classic crepe to little maki crepes cut and presented in the sushi style and arromières – fluffy crepes folded into a pretty basket. From our spot on the sunny, chilled terrace we enjoyed a glass of Halbtrocken Pfalz Riesling as we watched the chef prepare the crepes, which consisted of a Musketeer and a Honeymoon.

The former is a true savoury treat in the form of Emmental, Roquefort and goat’s cheese that simply melts on the tongue and makes your toes curl in

g Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa, Marbella. Tel: 951 194 760. http://instagram.com/lesdeuxmarbella 200 rer les deux.indd 153

delight. The Honeymoon is a little gentler, including goat’s cheese, baby spinach, honey, cherry tomatoes and chives – just the thing for a light, refreshing meal.

DESSERT! Dessert at Les Deux is naturally a high point, and you’re sorely tempted to run inside and scoop up some of the beautifully presented pastries on display, but we remained loyal to the crepes right to the end – well, almost. The two classics we chose, Grand Marnier and salted butter caramel, were wonderful, but you could also go for a Crêpe Suzette or a British style lemon and sugar among many different varieties. At this point it is good to mention that even people who are gluten and lactose intolerant needn’t pass up on the crepes, as a special version using a wheat called Sarazin is available in crêpes that also don’t make use of dairy products. Of course, you’d have to pay attention to the topping you choose, but it’s great that the option is there.

To round off a delightful sunny lunch we concluded with a cup of elegantly presented tea accompanied by some of those pretty macarons. The colour and flavour combinations are joyful, and I’m glad to say the melt-onthe-tongue flavour is as good as the captivating looks. For a high tea, a stylish sweet indulgence or a delicious light meal, Les Deux continues the Puente Romano tradition of bringing the world’s best culinary traditions to Marbella.

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b THE GOURMET news

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

Okami at the Mercado de la Merced in Málaga The Mercado de la Merced is a hub of culinary magic, with a host of eateries serving international cuisine. The market is now home to Okami, an authentic Japanese restaurant serving ramen, sushi, Japanese omelettes, Japanese curry and more. Okami’s Chefs are proud graduates of the prestigious Tokyo Sushi Academy, where they honed their craft under the guiding hand of culinary genius, Chihiro Tomita. Okami, which used to be located in the famous Calle Cister, has decided that the Mercado de la Merced is the ideal venue in which to highlight the magic of Japanese cuisine. i www.mercadomerced.com

A Cuatro Manos at Dani García Restaurant

at the Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa

Eladio Frutas y Verduras brings Michelin Starred Chefs and Top Hoteliers Together

A Cuatro Manos is set to take place at Dani García Restaurant at the Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa, from April 18 to 21. The event will bring together 71 Michelin stars under one roof, to pay homage to the great Joël Robuchon. García will be joined by Chefs the calibre of Ferrán Adrià, Joan Roca, Quique Dacosta and more. On April 18, Chefs will honour Robuchon by preparing a menu comprising 20 of the French maestro’s most iconic dishes. On April 19, Dani García, Paco Morales and Ángel León will whip up a special repast without using any techniques developed after 1995, in an event called Unplugged. On April 20, A Cuatro Manos will see García cooking alongside Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm. On April 21, García will create a dazzling meal with Sebastian Frank of the Horváth Restaurant of Berlin. i For further information, www.grupodanigarcia.com/acuatromanos

Eladio Frutas y Verduras, one of Andalucía’s most important suppliers of fruits and vegetables, recently brought a bevy of culinary celebrities to the Salón H&T, a food fair showing off the best local produce. El Lago’s Diego del Río, Messina’s Mauricio Giovanini and Dani García (whose restaurants all boast Michelin stars) were chosen to express the essence of Málaga through their dishes at the event. The Chefs were joined by Juan Gálvez of the Hotel Marbella Club, and Thomas Stork and Simon Padilla of the Puente Romano Beach Resort & Spa. i www.frutaseladio.com

New Look for All in 1 Café Russian Salad Competition Hits Málaga

El Corte Inglés in Málaga recently hosted a culinary event: the second edition of the Concurso de Ensaladilla Rusa Trofeo Media&Chef, which aims to highlight the various ways in which one of Málaga’s most famous tapas can be served. Some of the restaurants that took part in the event were El Pimpi, Mesón Ibérico, Casa Paco de Coín, Marina Playa, Arxiduna, Alejandra Catering, El Txoko, La Deriva, Restaurante 1870, Oleum la Taberna and Café de Bolsa Restaurante & Bar. i www.elcorteingles.es

With its unique blend of exceptional European food, lively atmosphere and friendly staff, the All in 1 Café has been a local favourite restaurant and bar for over 12 years. The venue has now been fully refurbished inside and out and to celebrate, the owners hosted a spectacular re-opening party featuring music from new resident Friday night Singer/Pianist, Roxy, and a host of other live perfomers. Also new for 2016 is an updated menu prepared by Head Chef, Dexter Porcincula, and a full schedule of special events including a Sunday Roast Lunch, accompanied by live music. The All in 1 Café is situated in Monte Halcones, off the Ronda Road. For latest updates and special events, check out their Facebook page. i www.allin1cafe.com

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b THE GOURMET travel

© Gary Edwards

If you were to do a Google search for Barcelona then it’s likely that your initial findings would be related to that fabulous Football club of the same name, which is home to Messi, arguably the greatest football player of our time.

For me, that’s a good enough motivation to visit this great city. However my wife would argue that the ultimate reason to visit Barcelona would be to explore the art, culture and architectural influences of Gaudi, which abound in this metropolis.

WORDS KEVIN WOODFORD

BARCELONA W

ithout doubt one of Gaudí’s most awe-inspiring works in Barcelona has to be La Sagrada Familia. This spectacular Basilica has been under construction since 1882 and is already classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, even though it’s still a work in progress. It has an anticipated completion date of 2026 which incidentally coincides with the centenary of Gaudí’s death. This is truly one of the most magnificent buildings I have ever seen in my life – astounding me even more than Messi’s incredible football skills!

So, following a morning’s wander along Barcelona’s famous street (Las Ramblas) and a full afternoon taking in the majesty of La Sagrada Familia, what you then need is a place to relax and freshen up before dinner.

My favourite hotel is The Mandarin Oriental, centrally situated on the Passeig de Gràcia, which is within striking distance of the finest shops

and Gothic quarter. The hotel has 120 interestingly modern rooms and suites, of which my favourite is the Barcelona Suite. Situated on the fifth floor, with huge windows enabling stunning views over the city, it has a fantastic outdoor terrace on which to sip a glass of Champagne, while relaxing in your own private Jacuzzi.

In addition, Barcelona has achieved a world class reputation for great restaurants and also for its chefs. Indeed this city was home to El Bulli, whose chef Ferran Adrià is without question the man responsible for pushing gastronomic boundaries with his innovative cuisine. While it’s no longer possible to experience his cooking these days, you are able to try the cuisine of one his disciples, Albert Raurich who, from 1997 to 2007, was Adrià’s head chef. The dishes offered at his restaurant, Dos Palillos, effortlessly combine complex Asian influences with traditional

Spanish tapas and the results are quite outstanding.

However, if you would prefer to climb out of your Jacuzzi, dry off, slip into a smart casual outfit and eat in the hotel, then you won’t be disappointed. Moments restaurant set within The Mandarin Oriental, is home to Michelin star chef Carme Ruscalleda and her son Raül Balam.

This duo are creating a storm in the city with their remakes of many Catalan dishes and have earned a very justifiable two stars from Michelin. Dishes with the most simplistic descriptions such as Fricando (stew of veal) and shrimp tartare are in reality very complex culinary creations, reflective of the skills required to earn those two Michelin stars. An interesting development recently has to be the introduction of their ‘anti-ageing’ dishes designed In conjunction with Dr. Manuel Sánchez, Head of an Anti-

Ageing department in the city. These are options that not only taste great, but allegedly keep you looking young.

Now this is a cuisine that has great appeal to me and I’m about to try it out. Will it work, I don’t know, but it will certainly be delicious and you’ll just have to wait and see the results!

g Kevin is an Internationally renowned chef, former Head of Department for one the UK’s most prestigious Colleges of Higher Education and more latterly one of the BBC’s most versatile television presenters, having presented Holiday, Ready Steady Cook, Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook, Big Kevin, Little Kevin, Planet Cook, The Heaven & Earth Show and a host of other network shows. He was the recipient of a National Television Award and the subject of This is Your Life and acts as a consultant to several International Hospitality Companies. Kevin Woodford is also a Presenter at BBC Watchdog.

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The Marbella Club hotel, Golf Resort & Spa

is thrilled to present its new results-oriented treatments with the latest technologies BALLANCER – INDIBA – LPG – LYMPHODRAINER

Marbella Club Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, s/n, 29602, Marbella, Málaga, Spain (34) 952 822 211 Fax (34) 952 82 88 84 wellness@marbellaclub.com marbellaclub.com

b THE GOURMET profile

The Kabuki Group has always been known as a standard bearer for Japanese cuisine in Spain. Until very recently, it boasted three Michelin stars (two for its two Madrid restaurants and one for Kabuki in Tenerife). This year, however, they have achieved one more star for the acclaimed Kabuki Raw at the Finca Cortesín Hotel. This is quite a feat for The Finca Cortesín Group, which has made a great (and fruitful) commitment to the Kabuki concept, benefitting from Kabuki’s expertise in the culinary sector to enable Finca Cortesín to shine in the gastronomic sphere. WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS PHOTOGRAPHY KEVIN HORN

Celestial Vibes

AT KABUKI RAW D

on’t be fooled by the name; Kabuki Raw may serve a plethora of uncooked temptations, but it also captivates lovers of warm delights such as wagyu beef, tempura and fried rice. ‘Raw’ refers to the produce but also to the pure, unadulterated passion for the Japanese tradition, with its emphasis on exquisite ingredients, harmonious presentation and the ideal order of things. Fish is very big at this restaurant – think fresh, buttery pez limón, mero, turbot… traditional and surprising choices given new life by delicate sauces and a pleasing display of colour and elegance.

Finca Cortesín is, as one would expect, delighted at having achieved the first Michelin star for Kabuki Raw. Chef, Luis Olarra, recalls that he was actually dining at Kabuki Wellington in Madrid when he received the great news; “Ricardo (Sanz, who founded Kabuki alongside José Antonio Aparicio) received the award for us… it was a wonderful surprise as, though someone from the restaurant is invited to the Michelin event, you never know if you will actually obtain an award.” The coveted Michelin star is a beacon that guides a restaurant to excellence, and Luis and his team at the Finca Cortesín seem to have come across the winning algorithm to ascend to sublime heights.

Luis whips up traditional Japanese dishes bearing dashes of magic derived from the Mediterranean and northern Spanish traditions.

Take his calamari usuzukuri en escabeche (a fine slice of fish served in a vinegar and white wine sauce), or the bonito tataki with ponzu sauce. Following the awarding of the star, Luis intends on “sticking to what we do best,” with dishes that often present the very finest fish and seafood delights that the Coast has to offer.

“Our ultimate aim is to progress consistently, so

we continue to be recognised for our work.”

At Kabuki Raw, diners tuck into a tasting menu comprising 13 dishes, including various types of tataki, sashimi and tartare. Then there is the Chef’s selection of sushi, or surprises such as the raw chanquetes (the latter are usually deep fried and served at chiringuitos along the Coast) or the tuna cheeks in teriyaki sauce with a colourful tsukemono vegetable medley. All dishes are made with sustainable fish and top quality produce, ensuring every bite is as healthy as it is tasty. Desserts are also big in this restaurant; talented Chef, José Ángel Bermejo, dreams up delicate delights such as a yuzu crème with white chocolate, candied dried fruit and red fruits.

Luis took on the reigns of Kabuki Raw when he was still in his 20s, quite a feat for a Chef, yet one accepted with great aplomb. His confidence largely derives from an innate talent and work ethic, while much of his inspiration is obtained from his travels. “The Hotel closes during the month of February and I take advantage of the free time. This year, I visited the País Vasco, as well as Barcelona, Madrid and Japan.” He fondly recalls dining at a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Tokyo which once again expressed “the immense flavour of Japanese cuisine despite its essential simplicity, and the careful way in which it is prepared.” These experiences inspire Luis and remind him how satisfying it is to cook for his appreciative audience, who enjoy viewing the Chef and his synchronised team at work, thanks to the open kitchen setting. Kabuki Raw may have its much-merited star (and two suns in the Repsol Guide), but for Finca Cortesín and Luis Olarra, it is ultimately about making diners happy. g Ctra. de Casares km 2, Casares.

Tel: 952 937 800. www.fincacortesin.com

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b THE GOURMET wine

Bargota is a pretty hill village in the province of Navarra, an hour southwest of Pamplona or half an hour northeast of Logroño.

WORDS CARLOS READ PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BIURKO GORRI

THE LLORÉNS FAMILY AND THE NATURAL RENDERING OF A VILLAGE AND ITS TRADITIONS

BIURKO GORRI

W

ith a population of just under 300 souls, it is on the Pilgrim’s route to Santiago though paradoxically its most famous son was Johanes el Brujo, the local parish priest, who doubled as a warlock. He was eventually denounced to the Inquisition in 1599 and is the inspiration of Bargota Witchcraft Week each July.

The village’s financial motor is its vines, which are grown on slopes varying in height from 600 to 750 metres – about as high as one finds in Rioja, for Bargota is one of 12 villages in Navarra whose wines qualify as Rioja. These produce dark, fresh, and vividly fruity reds mainly as a result of the major day/ night temperature differentials in the summer and are in stark contrast to most of the paler though no less attractive offerings from neighbouring Rioja Alavesa to the immediate west.

The other local mainstay is agriculture, mainly wheat and barley but also cardoons, borage, chard, escarole, artichokes, chickpeas, beans, olives, peppers and maize – most of which are grown in more fertile soils at around 400 or 450 metres altitude.

The local pork in particular, but also lamb, is much prized and the strictly monitored and humane rearing methods employed have resulted in national acclaim.

The history of Biurko Gorri, loosely translated as Red from the Place of Two Waters, goes back to around 1890 when grandfather Lloréns, in addition to farming, made wine in an old underground facility from 5 hectares of his own vineyards. These were primarily for family consumption but even at this stage there were two important wholesale customers in Logroño; and not until around 1940 was a local Cooperative constituted in order to centralise and professionalise local wine production.

By the time, however, that the current generation of the Lloréns family had finished its studies and returned home, circa 1986/7, said Cooperative had packed up as there were simply too many members (over a hundred) and the Spanish wine industry was embracing private enterprise.

The two dynamos of the family – quietly spoken, intense and very switched on Ramón, who is the public face and does all the

travelling; and jollier, lighter, and more voluble, hands-on Fernando who is the winemaker – therefore essentially decided to start from scratch with a new winery and, while doing so, reasoned that given such excellent natural conditions it made sense to go organic.

Their first vintage was in 1990, full organic certification followed just a few years later, and today, with the help of their three brothers and four sisters, they produce five excellent wines from their own 40 hectares of vineyards which consist primarily of Tempranillo, Graciano, a little recently planted Sauvignon Blanc, and some old vine Garnacha.

Further, given the splendid primary fruit flavours of their grapes, their use of oak is most judicious indeed and a far cry from the lazy vinos carpinteros/exercises in carpentry that many of the large industrial producers still churn out.

Equally, as they maintain the family tradition of growing so many other agricultural crops on the land they deem too fertile for grapes and still keep pigs and goats, an invitation to lunch is an absolute delight for those of us who also relish fresh, exuberant and naturally produced food!

THE WINES: Z BIURKO BLANCO 2015 Simple, fragrant and admirably restrained Sauvignon Blanc with a pronounced lemon character and depth. A most refreshing contrast to the plethora of tropical syrupy styles coming out of New Zealand though rounder and with less acid than one gets in the Loire.

Z BIURKO TEMPRANILLO 2015 Unoaked, lush, fresh, leafy blackcurrant, purple plums, and black cherries vie with a touch of chocolate. Round, ripe, and exceptionally fruity; try it slightly chilled with barbecues.

Z BIURKO TEMPRANILLOGRACIANO 2014 Awesomely dark with inky purple fruit and an attractive slightly vegetal, green pepper twist, pronounced minerality, and elements of very subtle oak.

Z BIURKO CRIANZA 2011 Most alluring, with refined crunchy, black fruit imbued toasty vanilla and overtones of green peppers.

Z PAGOS DE ARBANTA 2011 A single vineyard cuvée made from old, low-yield vines planted on stony soils with significant elements of chalk. Densely textured and characterised by dark chocolate and dark plum.

Good tannins but very silky.

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. . THE GUIDE listings

the guide

Price guide per head for a three-course meal with wine

*restaurants

under €25

€25 – €40

Yanx

american

Open from 9am Monday to Saturday and Sunday from 11am for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Centro Plaza, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 818 861

Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

C/ Ramón Areces, esq. Marina Banús, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 908 024

argentinean

HARD ROCK CAFÉ

Jacks Open seven days a week from noon till late. Puerto Banús, Tel: 952 813 625, Puerto Marina, Benalmádena. Tel: 952 563 673

Mr. gourmet burger Open from 6pm ‘til late every evening.

Avda. Luis Braile 20, San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 952 785 257

ROUTE 66 Open 10am until midnight every day.

Plaza Antonio Banderas 17/29, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 951 136 333

Buenos Aires South Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. C/ Virgen del Pilar, 6, Marbella. Tel: 952 779 297

el banco Open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to midnight.

Urb. Aloha Pueblo, Local 35, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 907 570

€40 – €60

LISTINGS PET NEWS WHAT’S ON STARS FOR APRIL FAMILY FUN €60 plus

belgian El Coto

Open daily for both lunch and dinner. Ctra. de Ronda (El Madroñal), San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 952 786 688

mytilus Open daily for lunch and dinner. Plaza de Los Naranjos, Puerto Sotogrande. Tel: 956 790 212

french

Casa mono Open Monday to Saturday from 1pm to 11pm. C/ Calderón Estébanez 19, Marbella. Tel: 952 774 578

gauchos

le bistroman

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. Laguna Village.

CN 340, km 159, Estepona. Tel: 952 897 744

Open daily for lunch and dinner. El Corte Inglés, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 909 990

ruta 40

LEs deux

Open from 9am to 12 midnight daily. C.C. El Zoco, Sitio de Calahonda. Tel: 951 133 737

Open daily from 10am to 8pm. At the Puente Romano Beach Resort. Tel: 951 194 760

Valderrama Restaurant Open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner only and on Sunday for Buffet Lunch. Apartado 1, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 132.2 Sotogrande, Cádiz. Tel: 956 791 200

gluten-free celicioso

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At the Puente Romano Hotel on the Golden Mile.

Tel: 952 820 900

greek

Red Pepper Open daily for both lunch and dinner.

Muelle Ribera, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 812 148

grills

Asador Criollo Grill Open nightly for dinner. CN340-A7, km. 166,

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Cancelada, El Saladillo. Tel: 952 784 463

Asador guadalmina Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. Urb. Guadalmina Alta, C.C. Guadalmina, Local 3, San Pedro de Alcántara. Tel: 952 883 003

cabaña nagüeles Open Monday to Thursday from 11am to 2am and on Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 3am. Urb. La Carolina, Marbella. Tel: 951 134 083

El Carnicero Open daily for both lunch and dinner. Pueblo Viejo Cancelada. Between San Pedro & Estepona.

Tel: 952 886 307

El Carnicero 2 Open every day for lunch and dinner. Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 176, Marbella. Tel: 952 867 599

El Gaucho Open daily for dinner from 7.30pm. Galerías Paniagua.

Sotogrande. Tel: 956 795 528

El gaucho de banús Open daily for lunch and dinner. Muelle Benabola 9-11, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 812 167

el rancho del puerto Open for lunch and dinner every day. Muelle Benabola 4, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 816 252

Grill del puerto Open for lunch and dinner every day. Muelle Ribera 47H, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 811 686

MARBELLA CLUB GRILL Open every night for dinner. Marbella Club Hotel.

Blvd. Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, s/n, Marbella.

Tel: 952 822 211

Old Town Grill

Open Monday to Saturday for dinner and Sunday for lunch. C/ San Lázaro, 3, Pza. Victoria, Marbella.

Tel: 952 867 306

Restaurante Rancho

Closed Wednesdays. C/ 4/5 Montemayor, Cancelada (opposite the Farmacia). Tel: 952 887 828

Al Rolo

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Ctra. Cádiz, exit Las Chapas. Tel: 952 831 922

Open from 1pm to 4pm and 7pm to 11pm daily.

At Reserva del Higuerón. Avda. del Higuerón 48, Benalmádena. Tel: 952 661 174

VOVEM

Albert & simon

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. Odeon, Locales 9-10, C/ Las Yedras, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 003 434

Open for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday and for dinner only on Saturday. Closed Sundays.

Urb. Nueva Alcántara, Edif. Mirador, Bloque 4-B, Marbella. Tel: 952 783 714

indian

Casares. Tel: 951 704 884

barbq artesanal burgers Open every day for lunch and dinner. C/ Jacinto Benavente 5, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 656

beach house Open daily for lunch and dinner. Urb. Coto de los Doles, Carril del Relojero, Elviria, Marbella.

Tel: 952 839 458

beckitts Open Monday to Sunday for dinner. C/ Camilo José Cela 4, Marbella. Tel: 952 868 898

Jaipur palace

alberts

Besaya Beach

Open every night except Tuesday for dinner. CN340, km 194, next to Camping Cabopino, Marbella. Tel: 951 310 004

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Puerto Cabopino.

Tel: 952 836 886

Jaipur Purple

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Strachan 11, Málaga. Tel: 951 500 022

Open Monday to Thursday for lunch, Friday and Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for lunch.

Urb. Coral Beach s/n, km 176, Marbella.

Tel: 952 777 299

Open daily for dinner. CN 340, km. 166, Estepona.

Tel: 952 888 353

Massala Open daily for dinner. 57, Duquesa de Arcos (Sabinillas seafront). Tel: 952 897 358

Mumtaz Open daily for both lunch and dinner. Casa No.7, P. Banús. Tel: 952 812 090

alumbre Amanhavis Open for dinner from Monday to Saturday from 8.00pm. Calle del Pilar 3, Benahavís. Tel: 952 856 026

amigos Open for dinner from Monday to Saturday.

C/ Málaga 3, Benahavis. Tel: 952 855 175

aroma

international

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Moncayo 23, Fuengirola. Tel: 952 665 502

Open Monday to Thursday from 7pm ‘til late, on Friday and Saturday from 1pm to 4pm and from 7pm ‘til late and on Sunday from 10am ‘til late. Dársena de Levante, Local 39, Estepona Port. Tel: 951 703 060

Open every day for lunch and dinner, closing Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 8pm. Ctra. Arroyo de la Miel, s/n, Benalmádena. Tel: 902 102 675

11&11 Restobar

baboo lounge and restaurant

Aidan’s bar & Grill

Bahia beach

Open Thursday to Tuesday for dinner from 5:30pm.

Open daily for lunch and dinner. CN340, km 146.5,

BIBO Open every day for lunch and dinner except Sunday afternoon and all of Monday. At the Hotel Puente Romano. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe s/n, Marbella. Tel: 951 607 011

Black and white Marbella Open daily for lunch and dinner. Muelle Benabola, under the Torre de Banús, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 815 607

Brunings Kitchen continuously open Monday to Friday from 1pm to 11pm. Saturday – dinner only. Closed Sunday.

Las Palmeras 19, San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 952 786 156

CAFÉ DE RONDA Open daily for breakfast and lunch until 7pm.

Avda. Ramón Gómez de la Serna 23, Marbella.

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Tel: 952 862 149

Cafetería ke Open daily for lunch and dinner. Puerto Deportivo de Sotogrande, s/n. Tel: 956 790 333

Casanis Open every day from 6pm except Sundays.

C/ Ancha, 8, Marbella. Tel: 952 900 450

celima Open every day for lunch and dinner. Hotel Hermitage, Ctra. de Casares, Casares.

Tel: 952 895 639.

cerrado del águila Open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Urb. Cerrado del Águila, Camino del Acevedo, s/n, Mijas Costa. Tel: 951 773 521

c’est la vie

Open Monday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. C.C. Azalea, Edif. A, CN340, km 173, Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 951 339 309

Spa

Galeria San Pedro

Open daily for lunch and dinner. CN 340, km 199, Miraflores Playa, Mijas Costa. Tel: 952 587 550

El Bolero

EL OLIVO

Open from 11am until midnight. Closed Sundays. Avda Las Palmeras 15, San Pedro Alcántara.

Tel: 952 780 927

Open every night for dinner from 8-11pm. The San Roque Club, CN 340, km. 127, Cádiz. Tel: 956 613 030

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for lunch. At Marbella Golf & Country Club. CN 340, km. 188, Marbella. Tel: 952 830 500

El Campanario Open every day for lunch. Open for dinner on Friday and Saturday. CN 340, km. 168, Estepona. Tel: 952 880 126

El Restaurante del Casino

EL CASTILLO

Fabiola

Open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. C/ El Pilar s/n, Benahavís. Tel: 681 294 442

Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and on Sundays for lunch. Cortijo Los Canos, Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro, CN-340, km. 132, Sotogrande, Cádiz. Tel: 956 695 114 / 619 694 484

El Corzo Open daily for dinner. Hotel Los Monteros, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 187. Tel: 952 771 700

EL GRAN GASTBY

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Paseo Las Palmeras, 15, San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 952 783 394

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Muelle de Honor, Puerto Banús. Tel: 951 778 797

cortijo fain

EL JINETE

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Ctra. de Algar, km. 3, Arcos de la Frontera, Cádiz. Tel: 956 704 131

Open daily for dinner except for Friday. Ctra. La Cala Golf, km 45, La Cala de Mijas. Tel: 952 119 170

del mar

El lago

Open daily for lunch and dinner. At the Hotel Puente Romano. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 820 900

Open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. Urb. Elviria Hills.

Avda. Las Cumbres s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 832 371

Don Leone Open every night for dinner. Puerto Banús, Marbella.

Tel: 952 811 716

Open for breakfast every day. At the Kempinski Hotel Bahía Resort. CN 340, km. 159, Estepona.

Tel: 952 809 500

D-wine

El oceano beach hotel Restaurant &

EL MIRADOR

Open every day for dinner from 8pm-4am. Hotel Andalucía Plaza s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 814 000

Finca Besaya Open daily for lunch and dinner. Urb. Rio Verde Alto, s/n. Tel: 952 861 382

Finca El Forjador Open daily for lunch from 1-4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Ctra. de Casares, km. 10. Tel: 952 895 120

fonda restaurante el postillón

GD Gourmet deli marbella Open 9:30am to 9pm from Monday to Friday and Saturday from 12am to 6pm. Closed Sundays.

Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe 7, Marbella.

Tel: 952 774 049

girasol Open daily for dinner from 6.30p.m. Avda. del Prado, Nueva Andalucía, Marbella. Tel: 952 813 859

hermosa Open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner from 7pm.

Closed Monday. Local 1A. Puerto de Cabopino.

Tel: 952 837 483

Herrero del Puerto Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Casas de Campos, 1, Málaga. Tel: 952 122 075

hills cafe Open every day for breakfast and lunch, except Monday. Dinner by reservation is possible on Friday and Saturday. Tel: 952 856 171

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 7:30pm to 11pm. Ctra. de Mijas, km. 1, A-387, Alhaurín El Grande.

Tel: 951 254 520

Horizon steakhouse

funky tapas

hotel marbella club buffet

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Avda. Miguel de Cervantes, 68, La Campana. Tel: 952 814 041

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Avda. Antonio Machado s/n, Benalmádena. Tel: 952 560 094

Open every day for lunch. Blvd. Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 822 211

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il mare Open every evening for dinner. Playa del Rodeo, Marbella. Tel: 951 319 372

karma

Open daily for lunch and dinner except Tuesday.

C/ de las Piedras, Gaucín. Tel: 951 709 075

La Loggia

Open every day from 10am until late. C/ Las Violetas 7, Conjunto Andalucía Garden Club, Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 952 815 736

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks. Hotel Villa Padierna & Flamingos Golf Club, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 166 (Cancelada exit), Benahavís.

Tel: 952 889 150

LA biznaga

La Terraza

Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and on Sunday for lunch only. Ctra. Ronda, km. 46, Urb. Las Medranas, local 4, San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 951 275 750

Open everyday lunch and dinner. Golf Hotel Guadalmina, Marbella. Tel: 952 882 211

la brisa Open for dinner Thursday to Monday from 7pm.

Kempinski Hotel Bahía Estepona. CN 340, km. 159, Estepona. Tel: 952 809 500

La cabaña del mar Open every day for lunch and for dinner from Monday to Saturday. Kempinski Hotel Bahía Estepona CN 340, km 159, Playa El Padrón, Estepona.

Tel: 952 809 500

LA CANTINA DEL GOLF Open for breakfast and lunch until 8pm. Closed Sunday. Flamingo Golf Club, Cancelada, Benahavís.

Tel: 951 318 815

la famiglia Open Monday to Saturday for dinner from 7pm.

Closed Sunday. Calle Cruz, Plaza Puente Ronda, Marbella. Tel: 952 775 412

LA GRANADA DIVINO

La Terraza Open daily for dinner. La Cala Resort, La Cala de Mijas, Mijas. Tel: 952 669 000

La Veranda Open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner.

Hotel Villa Padierna, Urb: Flamingos s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 889 150

La Verandah Open week days for dinner at 7:30pm and weekends for lunch and dinner, closed Tuesdays. Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 136. Playa Guadiaro, Torre-guadiaro, Cádiz.

Tel: 956 615 998

Tel: 952 866 630

les cubes Open daily for lunch and dinner. Urb. Oasis Club, CN340, km. 183, Marbella. Tel: 952 868 396

los arcos Open every night for dinner. Hotel Meliá La Quinta, Urb. La Quinta Golf s/n, Marbella.

Tel: 952 762 000

los bandidos Open every night for dinner. Muelle Ribera, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 815 915

Los naranjos restaurant Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Urb. Los Naranjos de Marbella. Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 952 816 105

Macaoo beach Open daily for lunch and dinner except Sunday. C/ Jose Echegaray, San Pedro de Alcántara.

Tel: 952 113 618

Magna Café Open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. C/ Calderón de la Barca, s/n. Tel: 952 929 578

La veranda lobby bar

Mc café

Open every day for lunch and dinner. At the Kempinski Hotel Bahía Estepona. CN 340, km 159, Estepona. Tel: 952 809 500

Open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Marbella Club Hotel. Blvd. Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe, s/n. Tel: 952 822 211

LIMA

Messina

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 6pm to 12am and for lunch on Sunday from 12pm to 5pm.

Plaza Practicante Manuel Cantos 2, Marbella.

Open for dinner Monday to Saturday. Avda. Severo Ochoa, 12, Marbella. Tel: 952 864 895

MOJO

Open from Monday to Saturday for dinner from 8pm ‘til late. Monte Paraíso Golf, Marbella. Tel: 951 217 272

momo marbella Open Monday to Saturday from 6pm to midnight. C/ Tetuán 7, Marbella. Tel: 952 771 560

mos eisley Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12pm to 12am. Closed Mondays. Urb. El Pilar, C/ Ojén, km 166, Marbella.

Tel: 951 196 609

Miraflores Golf Restaurant Open daily for Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 199. Urb. Riviera Golf.

Tel: 952 931 941

NELI Gs Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. C.C. Benavista, Estepona. Tel: 952 928 576

nōmō brasserie Open for lunch and dinner every day except for Sunday. Bulevar de San Pedro, San Pedro de Alcántara. Tel: 951 702 168

NUEVA CAMPANA Open daily for lunch and dinner, except Tuesday.

Avda. Miguel de Cervantes, 68, La Campana.

Tel: 952 814 041

OCHO Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. C/ Moncayo 12, Fuengirola. Tel: 952 460 232 / 648 502 822

oyarbide Open daily from 12pm to 12am. C.C. Guadalmina, Urb.

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Guadalmina Alta. Tel: 952 882 820

passion café Open for lunch and dinner every day. C.C. La Colonia, San Pedro de Alcántara. Tel: 952 781 583

puente romano beach club Open daily for lunch. Blvd. Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe s/n, Marbella.

Tel: 952 820 900

PURO BEACH Open daily for lunch and dinner. Laguna Village, Playa El Padrón, CN 340, km 159, Estepona.

Tel: 952 800 015

Restaurante royal Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At the Hotel Torrequebrada, Benalmádena Costa.

Tel: 952 441 414

Rojo Open every day for lunch and dinner except Sunday.

C/ Granada, 44, Málaga. Tel: 952 227 486

Sea grill At the Puente Romano Beach Club. Open daily for lunch and dinner. CN340, km 187, Marbella.

Tel: 952 820 900

shanti-som – amrita Open Monday to Thursday from 1.30pm to 4.30pm, Friday and Saturday from 1:30pm to 4.30 pm and 8pm to 10.30pm. Ctra. de Ojén, km 22, A355, Marbella-Monda. Tel: 952 864 455

Skina Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Friday and Saturday for dinner only. Closed Sunday and

Monday. C/ Aduar 12, Old Town, Marbella.

Tel: 952 765 277

931. C.C. La Cañada, Marbella. Tel: 952 868 663. C.C. Parque Miramar, Fuengirola. Tel: 952 663 937

smart café

the little geranium

Open 8:30am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9:30 am to 6pm on weekends. C/ Los Olivos 1, above the Enjoy Golf Academy in front of Aloha College.

Tel: 690 001 045

Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. C/ Ronda, La Cala de Mijas, Mijas Costa (pedestrian street behind the Town Hall). Tel: 952 493 602

sollo Open nightly for dinner except Sundays. Urb. Reserva del Higuerón, Málaga. Tel: 951 385 622

Open 9am to 11pm every day except Sundays.

Avda. Ricardo Soriano 1, Local 1 (Edif. Portillo), Marbella. Tel: 952 772 577

Suave

The orange tree

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Paseo Maritimo Rey de España 93, Fuengirola.

Tel: 952 866 627

Open every evening from 6:30 pm-11 pm. Plaza General Chinchilla 1, Plaza de los Naranjos, Marbella. Tel: 952 924 613.

SUite

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Dinner and afterwards dance to music by resident DJ. Thursday to Saturday. Hotel Puente Romano, Marbella. Tel: 952 820 900

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Manzana, Locales 8-11, Pueblo Los Arcos, Elviria.

Tel: 952 830 868

sutton

tikitano

Open nightly for dinner. Urb. Marbellamar 93, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 760

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Urb. Guadalmansa, CN340, km 164, Estepona.

Tel: 952 798 449

The meeting room

Tel: 608 100 945

Trocadero Sotogrande Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Paseo del Parque s/n, Sotogrande.

Tel: 956 795 012

UNI Open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. At the Puente Romano Hotel on the Golden Mile. Tel: 952 820 900

Venta garcía Open daily for lunch and dinner every day except Monday. Ctra. de Casares km 7, Casares. Tel: 952 894 191

villa padierna club de mar Open daily for lunch from 1pm to 6pm.

CN 340, km 166, Marbella. Tel: 647 791 515

zest Open Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 4:30pm and for cocktail hour from 4:30pm to 8pm. Centro Plaza, Marbella. Tel: 951 319 151

zozoI

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

CN 340, km 168, Benamara, Estepona.

Tel: 952 883 259

Trocadero arena

Open Wednesday to Monday for dinner. Closed Tuesday. Plaza Altamirano 1, Marbella. Tel: 952 858 868

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Torre Real Beach, Marbella. Tel: 952 865 579

Terra Sana

trocadero beach

italian

Open Monday to Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nueva Andalucía next to the Casino.

Tel: 952 906 205. Marina Banús, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 817 977. C.C. Laguna Village, Estepona. Tel: 951 901 050. C.C. Mary Sol, Sotogrande. Tel: 956 796

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Playa de la Carolina, Marbella. Tel: 610 704 144

tanino

Trocadero Entre dunas Open daily for lunch and dinner. Playa del Pinillo s/n (CEPSA exit next to Marbella Arch), Marbella.

Al Dente

Open every day for dinner. Closed on Mondays.

Urb. Jardines del Puerto, local 12, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 906 181

Amore e Fantasía Open every day for lunch and dinner from 7pm

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onwards. Muelle Benabola, Casa 5A, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 813 464

aragona Open every day for dinner. Avda. del Mar 3, Marbella. Tel: 951 134 322

Aretusa Open daily for dinner. Front line P. Banús.

Tel: 952 812 898

Carpaccio

Tel: 952 816 453

Don giovanni Open Friday to Monday for dinner. At Hotel Finca Cortesín. Ctra. de Casares, Casares. Tel: 952 937 800

Frascati Open daily for lunch and dinner. Plaza de Los Naranjos s/n, Sotogrande. Tel: 952 790 392

gold restaurant

Local 21-22, Calahonda, Mijas Costa.

Tel: 952 934 667

Lombardo’s Open daily from 7pm. Galerías Paniagua, Sotogrande, Cádiz. Tel: 956 795 924

MADE IN SARDINIA Open every night for dinner. C.C. Cristamar, Avda.

Julio Iglesias, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 906 608

Open every day from 12pm ‘til midnight for lunch and dinner. C.C. Pinogolf de Don Carlos 34, Elviria.

Tel: 952 850 148

seraFina Open from Monday to Saturday for dinner at the Puente Romano Hotel on the Golden Mile.

Tel: 952 771 798

valparaíso

Metro

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Frontline Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 813 357

Open every day from 10am to 12 am. Complejo Benabola 13, Beach Side, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 929 055

casa tua

Il Tartufo

nunos

Open every evening for dinner. C/ Ortiz de Molinillo 14, Marbella. Tel: 951 712 227

Open from Monday to Saturday for dinner from 6:30pm. C/ Tetuán 9, Marbella. Tel: 951 087 323

Open daily for lunch and dinner. At the Caleta Hotel. Catalan Bay, Gibraltar. Tel: +350 200 76501

CONRADS IL Ristorante

la fiorentina

O mamma mia

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Avda. del Prado s/n, Edif. Sport Café, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 628 593 409

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. El Pilar, Local 11 (opposite the Crown Plaza Hotel), Estepona.

Tel: 952 885 765

Open every day except Sunday for lunch and dinner. At El Corte Inglés Food Hall, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 909 990

Da Bruno

la pappardella di estepona

Pizzeria Picasso

Open all day. Da Bruno Cabopino: CN-340 Km. 194,7. Tel: 952 831 918. Da Bruno a Casa: Marbella Mar, Local 1, Marbella. Tel: 952 857 521 – closed on Sunday. Da Bruno A San Pedro: Avda. del Mar, local 1E, San Pedro. Tel: 952 786 860 – closed on Monday. Da Bruno Sul Mare: Edif. Skol, Paseo Marítimo, Marbella. Tel: 952 903 318/19. Da Bruno Mijas Costa: Ctra. de Mijas, km. 3.6, Mijas. Tel: 952 460 724

Open every day for lunch and dinner from 1pm to midnight. Puerto Deportivo de Estepona.

Tel: 952 802 144

Open daily from 12 noon. Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 813 669

portofino laguna village

Asia Food

LA pappardella sul mare

Open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

C.C. Laguna Village, Estepona. Tel: 952 808 035

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Centro Comercial, Pinares de Elviria, Marbella. Tel: 952 850 060

Ristorante Regina

Asian fusion bing

Open every night for dinner and Sunday for lunch.

Edif. La Ruleta, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 814 529

Open 12.30pm-4.30pm and 6.30pm to 12am daily.

Fuengirola, Paseo Marítimo, L-42C. Tel: 952 470 218

ristorante san martino

asiatico zen

Leonardo da vinci

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. Pinares de Elviria s/n, Elviria, Marbella. Tel: 952 832 702

Open every night for dinner. Urb. Doña Lola,

Rosmarino della piazza

Open every day for lunch and dinner except Tuesday lunch. C/ Lirios s/n, Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 952 817 691

Da Paolo Open everyday for lunch and dinner. Muelle Ribera, casa G-H, local 43, Puerto Banús.

Open every day for lunch and dinner. C.C. Laguna Village, Estepona. Tel: 952 807 354

la trattoria de marbella Open nightly for dinner from 6:30pm.

C/ Las Malvas, Edif. Online, Local 4, Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 952 817 591

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Puerto Marina, Benalmádena. Tel: 952 446 460

Open nightly for dinner. Ctra. Mijas – Fuengirola, km. 14, Fuengirola. Tel: 952 485 996

Villa Tiberio Open Monday to Saturday for dinner. Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 178, Marbella. Tel: 952 771 799

mediterranean

Restaurante bar carmen Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. C.C. Laguna Village, CN 340, km 159, Estepona.

Tel: 952 806 739

oriental

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BAMBOO

Cádiz. Tel: 956 613 030

Tai Pan

C.C. Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 908 577

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Ctra. Istan km 1, Marbella. Tel: 952 906 674

Makitake

Open seven days a week for dinner. H. Puente Romano, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 177, Marbella.

Tel: 952 777 893

scandinavian

Dragón de Oro Open every day from 12.30-4pm and 7pm until midnight. Closed Monday lunchtime. Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 141, Urb. Hacienda Guadalupe, Manilva.

Tel: 952 890 956

golden wok Open every day for lunch and dinner. Urb. Marbellamar, Marbella. Tel: 952 866 840

Hanuri KOREAN BBQ & BAR

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Ribera s/n (above disco Seven), Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 811 592

meca Open every day for lunch and dinner. C.C. Pino Golf, Don Carlos, Local 1, Elviria, Marbella.

Tel: 952 830 365 / 658 646 829

Namazake Open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner. Hotel Puente Romano. Tel: 952 820 900

Open Tuesday-Friday dinner only from 6pm ‘til late and Saturday and Sunday for lunch and dinner.

C.C. Los Jarales 6, Calahonda.

Tel: 951 406 082/ 952 932 011

Osaka

HIDEYOSHI wagyu

Sakura

Open every day for lunch and dinner.

CN 340, km 178.5, Marbella. Easy parking.

Tel: 952 857 403

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Avda.

Jardines del Puerto, L.5, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 817 536

KABUKI raw

Sapporo

Open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner. At Finca Cortesín Hotel. Ctra. Casares s/n, Casares.

Tel: 952 937 800

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. Costa del Sol, upper level. CN-340, km. 166 (Estepona).

Tel: 952 888 710

Kaiden Sushi

Sukho Thai

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Centro Com. Guadalmina Alta, Guadalmina 4, local 2, lower floor, San Pedro de Alcántara. Tel: 952 896 508

Open for dinner from Monday to Saturday. Centro Comercial Marbellamar. Tel: 952 770 550

Kama Kura

Open for lunch from Monday to Friday and for dinner from Monday to Saturday. C/ Ramón Gómez de la Serna, 5, Marbella. Tel: 952 863 193

Open Tuesday to Saturday from 8-11pm. The San Roque Club, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 127, San Roque,

Open every day 13:30-16:00 & 19:30-24:00. CN-340, km. 166 (Benavista). C.C. Costa del Sol. Tel: 952 885 751

Sushi Katsura

Ta-kumi

Aloha restaurant

Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Gregorio Marañón 4, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 839

Open every evening for dinner from 6pm to 11.30pm. Avda. del Prado s/n, Nueva Andalucía.

Tel: 952 811 285

Teppanyaki samurai

Skandies

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Avda. Manolete 20, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 816 549

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 7pm to 11pm. Closed Mondays. Avda. Antonio Belón, 26 (behind the lighthouse), Marbella. Tel: 952 776 323

thai gallery At Plaza Village at the Hotel Puente Romano.

Blvd. Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe s/n, Marbella.

Tel: 952 818 392

Thai Style Open daily for lunch and dinner. Avda. Playas del Duque s/n. Edif. Gaviotas IV, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 813 675

tHapa thai Open every day for lunch and dinner. Urb. Puerto Deportivo 13, Edif. Poniente, Estepona.

Tel: 951 318 445

top thai Open daily for lunch and dinner. Centro Plaza, 64, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 951 319 778

seafood

cervecería ostrería santiago Open daily for lunch and dinner. Avda. del Marzo, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 078

El Barlovento Open from 11am-4pm and 7.30-11pm every day except Mondays. Puerto Deportivo de Sotogrande, Cádiz. Tel: 956 790 370

Restaurante La Marina Open every day from 1-4.30pm and 8pm until midnight. Paseo Marítimo s/n, La Atunara, La Linea de la Concepción, Campo de Gibraltar.

Tel: 956 171 531

Tse yang Dimsum club

La Torre

Open daily for lunch and dinner except Sundays.

At El Corte Inglés Food Hall, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 909 990

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Muelle de Honor, Club de Mar, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 811 561

Wasabi

Open daily for lunch and dinner. Plaza de la Victoria, Old Town, Marbella. Tel: 952 765 170

Open daily from 1.30 pm for lunch and dinner.

Marisquería La Pesquera

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listings THE GUIDE .

Restaurante El bote

178, Marbella. Tel: 952 827 880

Benavente 33, Marbella. Tel: 952 822 511

PALACIO DE LA PAZ

Open every day for lunch and dinner. Paseo Marítimo Rey de España, Fuengirola.

Tel: 952 660 084

Hacienda

Vila do grove

Recinto Ferial. Fuengirola. Tel: 952 589 349

Open from 1-4.30pm and 7.30 -11pm. Closed on Sunday afternoons and Mondays. Urb. La Alcaidesa, La Linea de la Concepción.

Tel: 956 582 700

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

C/ Las Malvas, Edif. On Line, Local 2, Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 813 415

TEATRO ALAMEDA

palapa Open daily for lunch and dinner. C.C. Laguna Village, CN 340, km 159, Estepona.

Tel: 952 808 165

Santiago Open daily for lunch and dinner. Paseo Marítimo, 5, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 078

spanish Bahía

La máquina Open daily for lunch and dinner except Sunday.

At El Corte Inglés Food Hall, Puerto Banús.

Tel: 952 909 990

la moraga bistró Open daily for lunch and dinner. C/ Ramón Areces s/n, in front of El Corte Inglés, Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 817 448

vegetarian

Calle Córdoba 9, Málaga. Tel: 952 213 412

TEATRO CERVANTES Ramos Marín, 199, Málaga. Tel: 952 224 109

TEATRO CIUDAD DE MARBELLA

loving hut

Plaza Ramón Martínez, Marbella. Tel: 952 903 159

Open daily from 10.30am to 11.30pm. Avda. Miguel Cano 11, Marbella. Tel: 951 245 889

TEATRO SALON VARIETES

*cinemas & theatres

VERACRUZ CINES

AUDITORIO MUNICIPAL MIJAS

YELMO CINEPLEX

Plaza de la Libertad 2. Mijas. Tel: 952 590 380

Plaza Mayor. Tel: 902 220 922

*golf guide

Emancipación 30. Fuengirola. Tel: 952 474 542 Veracruz. Estepona. Tel: 952 800 056

Open every evening for dinner. At Hotel Don Carlos. Avda. Zurita s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 768 800

La red

AUDITORIO MUNICIPAL TORREMOLINOS

Open daily from 9.30am to 6pm. Playa La Fontanilla, Marbella. Tel: 952 821 450

Plaza de España, Recinto Ferial. Tel: 952 379 521

Casa de la era

La Taberna del Alabardero

Marbella. Tel: 952 825 035

Open only for lunch – call for times. Ctra. de Ojén, km 0.5, Marbella. Tel: 952 770 625

Open everyday for lunch and dinner except Monday. San Pedro Playa, Urb. Castiglone. Tel: 952 785 138. Also at Ctra. de Ronda, km. 167, San Pedro. Tel: 952 786 265

CENTRO CULTURAL EL INGENIO

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 956 791 0400. www.alcaidesa.com

Garcia Morato, s/n. San Pedro. Tel: 952 786 968

Alhaurín Golf

CINESA LA CAÑADA La Cañada. Marbella. Tel: 902 333 231

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 595 970. www.alhauringolf.com

Mesón el adobe

cines teatro goya

Almenara Golf

Open daily for lunch and dinner except Tuesdays. Avda. La Fontanilla, Edif. Balmoral, Bajo 3, Marbella. Tel. 600 003 144

Avda. Julio Iglesias, Puerto Banús. Tel: 951 196 665

cinesur

27 holes, Par 72. Tel: 956 582 027. www.sotogrande.com

C.C. Miramar, Fuengirola. Tel: 952 198 605

Aloha Golf Club

mi taberna

MULTICINES ALFIL

Open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner.

CN340, km 178, Marbella. Tel: 952 827 880

Avda. Camilo José Cela, s/n. Fuengirola.

Tel: 952 800 056

18 holes. Tel: 952 907 085. www.clubdegolfaloha.com

Paellas y Más

MULTICINES MEDITERRÁNEO

Open daily from 10:30am to 11pm. C/ Jacinto

Mijas. Tel: 952 663 738

Casa Fernando Open from Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. Avda. del Mediterráneo s/n, San Pedro de Alcántara. Tel: 952 853 344

DGust Open Monday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Avda. Duque de Ahumada, Marbella.

Tel: 952 863 780

El Portalón Open Monday to Saturday for lunch 1-4pm and dinner from 8pm-midnight. Ctra de Cádiz, km

AUDITORIO PARQUE DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN

Alcaidesa Links

Atalaya Golf 18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 882 812. www.master-hotels.com

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. THE GUIDE listings

KRAV MAGA SELF-DEFENCE CENTRE At Hotel Pyr, Puerto Banús. Tel: 655 689 455

MANOLO SANTANA RACQUETS CLUB Ctra. de Istán, Km 2. Marbella. Tel: 952 778 580

MARBELLA GUN & COUNTRY CLUB Monda. Tel: 952 112 161

MARBELLA SPORT Km 171.5. San Pedro Alcántara. Tel: 952 788 315

MULTI SPORT Avda. Picasso 27. San Pedro. Tel: 952 782 801

New Concept Training Monte Paraíso Country Club, Camino de Camoján s/n, Marbella. Tel: 952 866 843

02 CENTRO WELLNESS Plaza del Mar. Marbella. Tel: 952 900 420

P-E SPORTS CLUB Urb. Parcelas del Golf, Aloha Gardens, N. Andalucía. Tel: 952 818 357

qi sport Urb. La Alzambra, Marbella. Tel: 952 907 090

SATURNIA REGNA Marbella Tel: 952 761 475, Elviria. Tel: 952 834 835

SEVEN STARS SCHOOL Tai Chi & yoga. Pasaje Estrecho, Estepona.

Tel: 952 923 055

Sport Club Reserva del Higuerón Avda. del Higueron, Benalmádena. Tel: 952 565 761

SPORTCLUB ROUTE 66 Ctra. Mijas, 1.5km. Fuengirola. Tel: 952 461 648

SPORTING CLUB ATALAYA PARK HOTEL CN340, Km 168,5. Estepona. Tel: 952 888 212

TICKET-TO-RIDE Cristamar, Pto. Banús. Tel: 952 905 082

Vitality studio C.C. Le Village, Marbella. Tel: 952 902 362

*museums

Cabopino Golf

18 holes. Tel: 956 695 209

18 holes, Par 70. Tel: 952 850 282

La Zagaleta Golf & Country Club

Cerrado del águila

18 holes. Members only. Tel: 952 695 209

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 951 703 355

Lauro Golf 18 holes

Club de Golf La Cañada

Alhaurín de la Torre. Tel: 952 412 767

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 956 794 100

Los Arqueros Golf & Country Club

C.C. Alhamar, CN-340 km 197. Tel: 952 934 684

Parque Arroyo de la Represa. Marbella.

Tel: 952 862 926

El Paraiso Club de Golf

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 952 784 600

ATENAS

Bull-fighting Museum

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 952 883 835

Los Naranjos Golf Club

Barquilla 1. Marbella. Tel: 952 776 240

Plaza de Toros. Estepona.

Estepona Golf

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 815 206

AZTEC COUNTRY CLUB

Museo Cortijo Miraflores

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 937 605. www.esteponagolf.com

Marbella Club Golf Resort

Urb. Riviera del Sol, Mijas-Costa. Tel: 952 934 477

Marbella. Tel: 952 902 714

18 holes, Par 73. Tel: 952 113 239

CENTRO DEPORTIVO EL FUERTE

Museo de Bella Artes

Finca cortesín golf club

Marbella Golf & Country Club

Av. El Fuerte s/n. Marbella. Tel: 952 861 624

C/ San Agustin 8. Málaga. Tel: 952 218 382

18 holes, Par 72, Tel: 952 937 883. www.golfcortesin.es

18 holes. Tel: 952 830 500

CENTRO DE YOGA Y SALUD INTEGRAL

Museo del Grabado

Mijas Golf

Ramón y Cajal 21. Marbella. Tel: 952 773 804

Hospital Bazán. Marbella. Tel: 952 825 035

Flamingos Golf Club

36 holes, Par 70. Tel: 952 476 843

CENTRO PLAZA GYM

Museo de la Villa

18 holes, Par. Tel: 952 889 157. www.flamingos-golf.com

Miraflores Golf

Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 817 074

Plaza de la Libertad 2. Mijas. Tel: 952 590 380

18 holes, Par 71. Tel: 952 931 960

Cerrado del águila

Museo Ralli

Golf Río Real

Monte Mayor Golf & Country Club

Mijas Costa, Málaga. Tel: 951 773 523

Urb. Coral Beach. Marbella. Tel: 952 857 923

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 756 733

18 holes. Tel: 952 113 088

CLUB DEl SOL

Museum of Málaga Wines

Golf Torrequebrada

Parador Málaga del Golf

Carrera 39. Ojén. Tel: 952 881 453

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 442 742

18 holes. Tel: 952 381 255

Tennis /paddle classes. Calahonda.

Tel: 952 939 595

Guadalmina Golf

Real Club de Golf Las Brisas

Dynamic training centre

Museum of Miniatures Carromato de Max

36 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 883 375

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 810 875

C.C. Le Village, Marbella. Tel: 952 775 021

El Compas. Mijas. Tel: 952 489 500

La Cala Golf Resort

Real Club de Golf Sotogrande

FITNESS CENTRE NEW STYLE

Pablo Ruiz Picasso Foundation

54 holes, Pars 71, 72 and 73.

Tel: 952 669 033. www.lacala.com

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 956 785 014

Amapolas, s/n Nueva Andalucía. Tel: 952 817 916

Plaza de la Merced 15. Málaga. Tel: 952 060 215

San Roque Club

Fuerte Gym

Picasso Museum Málaga

La Dama de Noche

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 956 613 030

Avda. El Fuerte, Marbella. Tel: 952 861 624

9 holes, Par 70. Tel: 952 818 150

Santa Clara Golf

GIMNASIO ESTADIO

Palacio de Buenavista, C/ San Agustín 8. Málaga.

Tel: 952 127 611

La Duquesa Golf & Country Club

18 holes. Tel: 952 850 111

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 890 425

Santa Maria Golf & Country Club

Trav. Huerta de los Cristales, Marbella.

Tel: 952 828 217

La Quinta Golf

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 952 831 036

HAPPY DIVER’S CLUB

27 holes, Par 72.Tel: 952 762 390 www.laquintagolf.com

Sotogrande Club de Golf

Atalaya Park Hotel, Marbella. Tel: 609 571 920

18 holes. Tel: 956 785 012

HOTEL PUENTE ROMANO

Calahonda

La Reserva Sotogrande

Valderrama

CN340, Km77,5. Marbella. Tel: 952 820 900

C.C. El Zoco. Tel: 952 932 175

18 holes, Par 72. Tel: 956 791 200 www.valderrama.com

*gyms & sports clubs ALHAMAR GYM

Basilica Vega del Mar San Pedro Alcántara. Tel: 952 781 360

Bonsai Museum

Roman Public Baths Guadalmina Baja. Tel: 952 781 360

*post offices

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listings THE GUIDE .

El corte inglés Puerto Banús. Tel: 952 909 990

Fuengirola Tel: 952 467 843

Estepona C/ Málaga 82–84. Tel: 952 800 537

Fuengirola Pza. los Chinorros. Tel: 952 474 384

Marbella Jac. Benavente, 14. Tel: 952 772 898

Nueva Andalucía C/ Jazmines. Tel: 952 810 887

San Pedro Pizarro, 41. Tel: 952 780 39

*street markets Monday benahavís

Arts & Crafts. Village Square, from 8pm

Marbella Fairground (Avda. de Juan Alameda), 9am-2:30pm

Tuesday Churriana 9am-1pm

Fuengirola Recinto Ferial (close to the CN340, on the same side as the bullring), 9am-2:30pm

Monda C/ Los Huertos, 8am-2:30pm

Nerja C/ Chaparil, 9am-1pm

Wednesday Alhaurín de la Torre Avda. del Limón, 9am-2pm

benahavís Arts & Crafts. Village Square, from 8pm

Benalmádena Costa

Rincón de la Victoria

Tel: 952 939 595

(Second hand items) Recinto Ferial, 10am-2pm

Málaga. Plaza de la Iglesia, 9am-1pm

Club de tenis don carlos

Calahonda Calypso, 9am-2pm

Saturday Coín

Hotel Don Carlos, Avda. Zurita, CN340, km 192.

Marbella. Tel: 952 768 800

Estepona

C/ Urbano Pineda, 9am-1pm

Club Internacional de Tennis

Avda. Juan Carlos II, 9am-2:30 pm

La Cala

Ctra. Cádiz, km 173. Marbella. Tel: 952 813 341

Istán

Recinto Ferial, 9am-1pm

Club Madroñal

At the entrance to the town, 9am-2pm

Maro

Benahavís. Tel: 617 647 223

La Cala

Close to the Nerja Caves, 9am-1pm

Club Nueva Alcántara

Recinto Ferial, 9am-1pm

Mijas Costa

San Pedro Alcántara. Tel: 952 788 315

Thursday Alhaurín El Grande

Las Lagunas, 9am-2pm

Hofsaess tennis academy

Nueva Andalucía

Monte Elviria (next to German School).

Tel: 952 835 812

Málaga

Next to the bullring. Park near CN340 and walk upwards, 9am-1pm

Opposite the Guardia Civil Offices, City Centre.

9am-1pm

Sunday benahavís

Ctra. de Mijas, Km 3,5. Mijas. Tel: 952 474 858

San Pedro

Arts & Crafts. La Ermita Park, from 10pm

Ctra. de Istán, Km 2. Marbella. Tel: 952 778 580

By the sports pavilion, in the Divina Pastora district, 9am-2pm

Estepona

Marbella hill tennis club

Puerto Deportivo, 9am-1pm

Avda. El Fuerte, Marbella. Tel: 659 677 539

Torre del Mar

Fuengirola

marbella playa tenIs

Avda. Europa, 9am-1pm

Recinto Ferial, 9am-2:30pm

CN340, km 189, Marbella. Tel: 657 619 630

Torremolinos

Málaga

Miraflores Tennis Club

El Calvario, near Town Hall, 9am-1pm

Next to Rosaleda football stadium, 9am-2pm

Urb. Miraflores, Km 199. Calahonda.

Tel: 952 932 006

Sotogrande

Puente Romano TEnnis club

At the Marina, 9am-1pm

Marbella. Tel: 952 820 900

*tennis clubs

royal tennis club marbella

Aztec Country Club

Sport Club Reserva del Higuerón

Urb. Riviera del Sol, Mijas-Costa. Tel: 952 934 477

Avda. del Higueron, Benalmádena.

Tel: 952 565 761

By the Guardia Civil Offfices, City Centre, 9am-1pm

Vélez Málaga Opposite the Guardia Civil Offices, City Centre, 9am-1pm

Friday Benalmádena In the area between Tivoli World and the Plaza San Pedro, 9am-1pm

Calahonda

bel air tennis and paddel club

Calypso, 9am-2pm

Urb. Bel-Air, Estepona. Tel: 952 883 221

Las Chapas

Club deL Sol

La Víbora, 9am-2pm

Tennis/paddle classes. Calahonda.

Lew Hoads Tennis Club Manolo Santana Racquets Club

El Rosario, Marbella. Tel: 952 837 651

*tourist offices Benahavís

Tel: 952 855 500 Benalmádena Tel: 952 442 494 Estepona Tel: 952 802 002 Fuengirola Tel: 952 467 625 Gibraltar Tourist Board Tel: 956 774 950 Marbella Tel: 952 822 818 Málaga Tel: 952 213 445 / 952 216 061 Mijas Tel: 952 485 900 Ronda Tel: 952 871 272 San Pedro Tel: 952 785 252 Tarifa Tel: 956 680 993 Torremolinos Tel: 952 381 578

*train

Customer assistance T: 952 128 267 General Info T: 902 240 202 Reservations T: 902 240 202 Ave T: 952 128 079

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pets THE GUIDE .

Cuddle Clones

WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS

SUREFLAP MICROCHIP PET FEEDER: A New Way to Separate Your Pets at Mealtimes

Plush Replicas of Your Beloved Pets!

If you’d love to have a bespoke plush toy or sculpture that looks just like your pet (cat, dog or smaller pet), then you must get your hands on your very own cuddle clone. Cuddle clones are a great way to celebrate the love and happiness that pets bring into our lives. The company also makes bespoke statues of your pet, so you have a wide choice in terms of how you’d like to remember your furry friends. i www.cuddleclones.com

If you have more than one cat or dog, you may notice that the greedier one always eats their companion’s food, as well as their own. Food that lies around the home can annoy in other ways, by emitting an unpleasant smell or tempting little toddlers to get their hands dirty. Sureflap’s Microchip Pet Feeder keeps food ‘locked away’; all your pet needs to do is approach it when it feels hungry. A sensor recognises their chip and only opens for the right pet, thus keeping food far away from children and other pets. i www.sureflap.com

Lenticular Sclerosis in Dogs and Cats

If your pet is aged six to eight (or more) and you notice their retina has gone slightly cloudy (or grey), a visit to the veterinarian is a must.

Your pet could have cataracts but, more often than not, they have lenticular sclerosis – an age-related hardening of the lens of the eye which is considered a normal change. It is important to obtain the right diagnosis, however, since it is impossible to differentiate this condition from cataracts at home. As is always the case with pets, diagnosis and early treatment are crucial.

Processionary Caterpillars are Still Here Processionary caterpillars officially made their comeback in February, causing devastation to so many pets owing to their dreaded toxins and filaments. The best thing to do if you have dogs or cats is avoid any areas with pine trees. Infected trees contain white sacks suspended high up in the tree; these sacks house the caterpillars, which eventually break free (often, the whole sack will drop to the ground and the caterpillars will make their way to safe ground so they can metamorphosise). These caterpillars cause everything from loss of the tongue to death so do your pet a favour and avoid all pine-bearing areas until the season is over.

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what’s on...

. THE GUIDE what’s on

Events in April and first week of May Until April 8 ART – MÁLAGA

Alejandro Hermann and Viviana Vammalle present Forever Africa, an exhibition of works that pay homage to a beautiful land and its people. At the Diputación de Málaga. www.malaga.es

Until April 12 ART – MARBELLA

Artistas Eclécticos members Sinikka Ahokas-Gröhn, Margit Björklund and Richard Wood will be exhibiting silk paintings and oils at the new venue of the Clinica Veterinaria Mijas Pueblo.

Avda. Mexico 21, Mijas Pueblo. Opening hours are 10am to 1pm and 5pm to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Until April 30 ART – MARBELLA

The Marbella Ralli Museum will be hosting an exhibition dedicated to magic realist artist, Carlos Revilla. www.rallimuseums.com

Until September 11 ART – MÁLAGA

The Museo Picasso de Málaga presents Juego de Ojos. Fondos de la Colección – a new exhibition exploring the prominence of eyes in many of Picasso’s works. Featuring drawings, ceramics, illustrated books and more. www.museopicassomalaga.org

NEW AND REGULAR EVENTS Monthly on different days AMERICAN CLUB – MARBELLA

The American Club Costa del Sol Chapter meets monthly for excursions, sports and social events. Tel: 952 772 789. www.americanclubcostadelsol.com

AMIGOS DE LA CULTURA – COSTA DEL SOL

The members of this cultural group meet at different times and places for lunches, lectures, concerts, ballet, theatre, opera, etc. Further information, Tel: 669 445 809.

LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE – MARBELLA

Integral Psychotherapist Gabriella Kortsch helps you with everything from relationship breakdowns to depression, poor communication with loved ones or financial stress, at her weekly group meetings, which start at 7:30pm. For information on locations, info@advancedpersonaltherapy.com

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday JIVE – MIRAFLORES, ESTEPONA AND LA DUQUESA

Learn to dance with Colin and the team from Jive Spain at Miraflores Restaurant on Tuesday, El Campanario on Wednesday and El Goleto at Duquesa on Friday. For precise times, colin@jivespain.com

Every Wednesday ART – MÁLAGA

The Museo Picasso de Málaga offers free guided tours in English (included in the entry price), from 11:30am to 2pm.

Tickets cost €8 for adults. Children enter for free. www.museopicassomalaga.org

FLAMENCO – MIJAS

Every Wednesday at 12pm, a dazzling flamenco show takes place at the Plaza Virgen de la Peña in Mijas Pueblo. www.mijas.es

Every first Wednesday of the month CULTURE AND COCKTAIL – MARBELLA The Association of Art and Culture Marbella holds a monthly cocktail at Magna Café at Magna Marbella Golf, from 8pm-10pm. Tel: 627 833 262. www.artandculturemarbella.com

Every Thursday NETWORKING – MARBELLA

The Marbella Business Group holds its weekly breakfast meeting, which features presentations, discussions and introductions of new members.

At 8am at the Hotel Senator in Marbella.

To become a member, www.marbellabusinessgroup.com

Every last Friday of the Month COFFEE MORNING – ESTEPONA

ADANA animal rescue charity coffee morning at Plaza Manilva (outside Longman’s Bookshop) 11am – 2pm.

Kennels open 10am – 5pm Monday – Friday and 10am – 2pm Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Further information, Tel: 952 800 975. www.adana.es

BUSINESS LUNCH – MARBELLA

Marbella Business Institute holds an invitation-only lunch club for local and visiting business people, active and retired. To apply, visit www. marbellabusinessinternational.org

Every Saturday MARKETS – PUERTO BANÚS

Head for the Puerto Banús bullring every Saturday for a fun street market featuring everything from clothing to music, accessories and home ware.

Starts at 9am and ends at 2pm. www.marbella.es

Friday April 1 to Friday April 22 ART EXHIBITION – EL CAMPANARIO

The El Campanario Golf & Country House will be hosting an art exhibition

by Mercedes López Charro and Kay Hutchinson. Mercedes is known for her youthful illustrations depicting the best of life on the Coast, as well as inspirational messages, while Kay Hutchinson is a vibrant modernist painter. www.elcampanario-resort.com

Saturday April 9

Every First Sunday of the month

Pietro Mascagni’s beautiful opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, will be performed at the Teatro Cervantes de Málaga at 8pm. www.teatrocervantes.com

PAD animal shelter, Cerros del Águila, welcomes visitors from 12pm-3pm.

Further information, Tel: 952 486 084. www.padcatsanddogs.org

OPERA – MÁLAGA

OPEN DAY – MIJAS

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Tuesday April 5 CULTURAL SUMMIT – MARBELLA

Nicole King of TV programme, Marbella Now, has organised the first United Nationalities of Marbella Now Summit 2016, a meeting of multicultural people seeking to brainstorm and share ideas on how to help each other. Also featuring a talk by Author, Michael Tellinger. At Laude School in San Pedro from 10am to 7:30pm. For further information, look up United Nations Marbella Now Summit 2016 on Facebook.

Friday April 8 to Wednesday April 13 THEATRE – FUENGIROLA

SALVA presents the hilarious, risqué comedy Are You Being Served, written for the stage by the original scriptwriters Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.

Nightly at 8pm, Sunday at 7pm. www.teatrocervantes.com

Saturday April 9 LATIN MUSIC FESTIVAL – MÁLAGA

The Festival Palmundo will be taking place at the Auditorio Municipal de Málaga at 2pm. Featuring some of Latin music’s most popular artists, including Don Omar, Prince Royce, Carlos Vives, Farruko, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Yan Collazo. www.palmundo.es

Sunday April 10 FLAMENCO – MARBELLA

Enjoy the lively El Bosque Grimm Flamenco show at the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella at 6pm.

Thursday April 14 ART EXHIBITION – LA CALA

Costa del Sol DFAS presents an exhibition of works by youths from ADIMI, a charity providing essential services to young disabled people.

Last year, Costa del Sol DFAS organised and funded art workshops for 30 of these youngsters. Six paintings were chosen from 70 drawings and paintings to be sold as greeting cards, with all proceeds going to ADIMI. www.costadelsoldfas.com

Thursday April 14 to Sunday April 17 GOLF – SOTOGRANDE

The Real Club Valderrama will be hosting one of the most important golf tournaments in Spain: the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, hosted by the Sergio García Foundation.

For a precise programme of events, www.europeantour.com

Friday April 15 PACO ARROJO – MARBELLA

Paco Arrojo is the magnificent singer who wowed the judges and audience alike during The Voice competition and lucky fans from Marbella will be able to watch him perform magnificent ballads at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Marbella at 9pm. www.marbellacongresos.com

Saturday April 16 MARI CARMEN MOLINA – MARBELLA Andalusian chanteuse, Mari Carmen Molina, will be performing songs from her albums Y Desperté and Maldita Distancia, at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Marbella at 9pm. www.marbellacongresos.com

Sunday April 24 OCEAN CLUB SATURDAYS – PUERTO BANÚS

Catch some rays by the pool and enjoy a fabulous lunch every Saturday while you enjoy live DJ music and a superb party atmosphere. www.oceanclub.es

Monday April 24 DOG SHOW – ESTEPONA

international food and music. All day at the Fuengirola fairgrounds.

Thursday April 28 TANGO – NERJA

Producciones Lastra presents a new show called Entre Tangos, comprising all the different expressions of Argentinean tango, including dance, song and music.

The show will bring the audience the magic of the Argentinean tango of the 1930s, the Belle Epoque and Parisian Tango Cabaret. At the Centro Cultural Villa de Nerja at 9pm. www.nerja.es

Friday April 29 OCEAN CLUB OPENING PARTY – PUERTO BANÚS

Dogs of all kinds will be strutting their stuff at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos de Estepona at 11am. www.estepona.es

The Coast’s most happening big club will be opening its doors to the public once again, with a dazzling pool party from 7:30pm onwards. Make sure to wear white and/or silver. www.oceanclub.es

Tuesday April 26 POOL PARTY – MARBELLA

Saturday April 30 ROMEO SANTOS – FUENGIROLA

Thursday April 28 to Monday May 2 FERIA DE LOS PUEBLOS – FUENGIROLA

Sunday May 1 ROCK FESTIVAL – MÁLAGA

Be part of the chic Faces of the Port Pool Party at the Sisu Boutique Hotel. The dress code is beach chic and glamorous. www.sisuboutique.com

The Feria de los Pueblos is one of the highlights of Fuengirola’s activities calendar. Featuring activities for kids, stands from a plethora of countries, and

Monday April 11 CULTURAL TALK – FUENGIROLA

Brian MacDonald will be giving a talk on his experience of living among the nomads of Iran and his travels throughout the Near East and Afghanistan. The nomadic tribes of Caucasus, Anatolia, Persia and Afghanistan and their woven rugs, carpets and dowry bags illustrate the skill of the women who produced exquisite works of woven art using vegetable colours and ancient designs.

At the Salón Varietés Theatre at 4:30pm. www.costadelsoldfas.com

The King of Latin Bachata music, Romeo Santos, will be performing live at the Complejo Deportivo Municipal Elola in Fuengirola at 9:45pm. For tickets, www.elcorteingles.es

The Auditorio Municipal Cortijo de Torres-Málaga will be hosting a concert by rock bands Medina Azahara, Triana and Alameda, at 9pm. For tickets, www.elcorteingles.es

DA BRUNO SHOWS

Da Bruno Sul Mare will be hosting four musical dinner events this month:

Wednesday April 6:

Michael Jackson tribute

Tuesday April 12: Opera singing

Tuesday April 19: ABBA tribute

Tuesday April 26:

Friday May 8

Broadway musical performances

BEACH PARTY – MARBELLA Euphoria Marbella will be holding its opening party, involving a three-hour party cruise from Puerto Banús to Marbella. Featuring international DJs, a free bar and the chance to take a swim in the glistening Mediterranean. From 3pm to 7pm. www.euphoriavip.com

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. THE GUIDE stars

www.russellgrant.com

Russell Grant’s Monthly Horoscope April 2016

ARIES March 21st - April 20th An opportunity to get an advanced degree, travel overseas or publish some written work could arrive in early April. Your charisma will be at an all time high, making it easy to attract romance.

A jealous authority figure may try to block your path to success. Resist the temptation to get drawn into a power struggle on the 7th, when the New Moon ignites your rebellious side. You’ll be able to strike out on your own towards mid-month.

Launching your own business or taking a freelance assignment is a strong possibility. Don’t hesitate to negotiate a higher salary than you are offered.

Your ability to wheel and deal will be very strong during the second half of the month. Resist the urge to overindulge or you could become tired and listless. It’s important to look your best at work.

The Full Moon on the 22nd marks an exciting turning point in an intimate relationship.

An opportunity to get an advanced degree, travel overseas or publish some written work could arrive in early April

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TAURUS [21 APR - 21 MAY]

An intense relationship will make you excited about the future. You may decide to make a serious commitment in the early days of April. Keep this union a secret for the first half of the month. This will allow you and your amour to get used to the new arrangement.

The New Moon on the 7th could cause some pangs of anxiety. It will be harder than you expect to relinquish your independence. Going on a solitary holiday may ease your fears. Don’t be afraid to have a heart to heart talk about finances with your partner in April. You may decide to have three bank accounts: Yours, Mine and Ours. On the 22nd, the Full Moon will help you and your partner form a united front. If you’re single, you could meet your soulmate in a club, a nightclub, an environmental group or even an antique shop. Splash out on some new clothes or a makeover as May approaches.

GEMINI [22 MAY - 21 JUN]

Your best friend, romantic partner or a colleague will be extremely supportive.

Accept their help while pursuing a cherished dream. You could reach heights you never thought possible in early April. Jealous friends could fall by the wayside near the 7th, when the New Moon puts a strain on weak relationships.

You’re about to learn an important lesson about loyalty.

During the second half of the month, you could receive an inheritance, tax refund or legal settlement that will put you in a more secure financial footing. Take this opportunity to launch your own business or change careers. Pursuing work in a creative field will be exciting, but you’ll have to be frugal in the early stages. Don’t hesitate to accept an entry level position around the 22nd, when the Full Moon will send some intriguing work your way. You might be serving as an assistant to an important artist, producer or gallery owner.

CANCER [22 JUN - 23 JUL]

You can make good progress on the fitness front in the opening days of the month. Take this opportunity to launch an exercise regime. Eating well and sleeping more are also strongly advised. The New Moon on the 7th will tempt you to accept a job offer, but beware.

It may be advisable to wait for a better situation; you don’t want to work for an oppressive tyrant. Launching your own business is definitely worth considering in April. A relative or neighbour who believes in you might be prepared to offer you some start-up capital. A creative project will come to fruition on the 22nd, courtesy of the Full Moon. This impressive performance will pave the way for more lucrative opportunities. Getting paid for your artwork will be the answer to a prayer. You might decide to get involved with an artists’ collective as a means to showcase your work. As May approaches, there will be power in numbers.

LEO [24 JUL - 23 AUG]

You’ll have a chance to do some business related to the arts in early April. If you’re looking for work, you could land a steady job in a creative field. Serving as an apprentice or an assistant to a prominent figure in the painting, publishing or design world is a distinct possibility. You might have to ask for additional training near the 7th, when the New Moon reveals some gaps in your knowledge. Don’t be afraid to admit your lack of experience; it’s the fastest way to acquire marketable skills. Adopting a humble attitude isn’t easy for you, but it is very likely to lead to career success in April. The Full Moon on the 22nd will mark

an improvement to your home life. You could move to a nicer place or add a relative or roommate to your household. This base of operations will make it easier to improve your job prospects during the closing days of the month.

VIRGO [24 AUG - 23 SEP]

A legal settlement, dividend or inheritance will arrive in the early days of the month, relieving some of your financial problems. Resist the urge to splash out on some luxuries with this windfall. It’s better to conserve your resources. The New Moon on the 7th will require you to pay a big bill or satisfy an old debt. The longer you put off this obligation, the more expensive it will become. A temporary job assignment could become available at a religious, cultural or educational organisation in mid-April. You might have to postpone a home improvement project until you build up your savings. Good news about a loved one’s job will arrive on the 22nd. Go out and celebrate this marvellous turn of events. Try not to be resentful of their success. Their progress is the result of a team effort. Taking pleasure in their happiness will make you more attractive to positive energy.

LIBRA [24 SEP - 23 OCT]

Travelling on business could put you on the path to love in early April. If you already have a romantic partner, this would be a good time to sign a long term contract with a vendor or investor. Turn a deaf ear to a manipulative relative who is always criticising your best friend. On the 7th, the New Moon will force you to make a choice between friends and family. Take this opportunity to draw healthier boundaries with your kin. Don’t allow them to dictate the terms of your romantic and social lives. An intense flirtation will fill you with excitement during the second half of the month. It’s fun to banter with someone who is as witty and intelligent as you. The Full Moon on the 22nd will draw some extra money into your bank account. Take this opportunity to splash out on clothes, jewellery and toiletries. Luxury products are as essential as food and water to you.

SCORPIO [24 OCT - 22 NOV]

A steady job with plenty of growth opportunity will arrive in early April.

Be sure to accept this offer, even if it means starting at the bottom of an impressive organisation. You’ll quickly rise up the ladder to success. Resist the urge to get into a war of words with a pushy colleague on the 7th. That’s when the New Moon will implore you to establish yourself as a team player. Your love life will show signs of excitement during the second half of the month. This is a great time to embark on a romance, plan to get engaged or think about exchanging wedding vows. The Full Moon on the 22nd invites you to spoil yourself. Splash out on some luxuries and give yourself a treat or two. Propose an idea for a new product or service as May approaches. Originality will set you apart from the crowd. Buy your best friend or romantic partner a beautiful token of your appreciation.

SAGITTARIUS [23 NOV - 21 DEC]

The opportunity to travel for business will arrive in the opening days of April.

This is a great time to sign some new business or extend an existing contract. If you’re unfamiliar with certain customs, ask to be enlightened.

It’s better to admit your ignorance than pretend to

possess expert knowledge on the 7th. That’s when the New Moon invites you to adopt a humble attitude for the sake of acquiring new information. Your health will undergo a dramatic improvement in the second half of April, thanks to a new fitness regime. Resist the urge to adopt a rigorous exercise routine. Slow and steady wins the race. On the 22nd, the Full Moon will prompt you to get some rest and relaxation. Even a social butterfly like you needs to recharge your batteries from time to time.

Finding a steady job is a strong possibility in the closing days of April.

CAPRICORN [22 DEC - 20 JAN]

Home life will be very satisfying in the opening days of April. This is a great time to scale back your social life for the sake of some down time. The New Moon on the 7th warns against making radical changes to your surroundings. It’s better to maintain the status quo right now. Around the middle of April you’ll have a chance to study or travel. Expanding your horizons could put you on the path to love. If you’re already in a relationship, take a relaxing holiday with your amour.

Resist the urge to push a relative into making a hasty decision during the second half of the month. A strategic retreat will yield better results with this family member.

On the 22nd, you should attend a party. Your magnetism will turn heads and attract admirers. Prepare to make some powerful friends. You will find someone with a foreign accent particularly charming. The two of you will make a great team.

AQUARIUS [21 JAN - 19 FEB]

You’ll meet some influential people in the opening days of the month. This will be a great time to attend parties and professional conferences. Try to listen more than you speak at these gatherings. The New Moon on the 7th warns against blurting out embarrassing remarks. You should also double check the address field on emails before clicking the ‘send’ button. The middle of April brings you a chance to improve your living situation. This will be a great time to move to a nicer place, buy a piece of land or make some home improvements. An exciting career opportunity will arrive on the 22nd. Working for a focused executive will be a welcome change of pace. You’re tired of taking orders from disorganised people who lack vision. You’ll have a chance to buy some beautiful furniture and artwork as April turns to May. Don’t hesitate to splash out on quality items.

PISCES [20 FEB - 20 MAR]

A career opportunity will arrive in early April. This is the best time of the entire year to land a terrific job. Don’t hesitate to ask former employers, teachers and coaches to write some referrals for you. Steer clear of discussing money matters on the 7th, when the New Moon will undermine your earning power.

Your job description could change around the middle of April. Stay calm. These adjustments could ultimately work in your favour. If you can’t get the salary you want, you’ll be able to negotiate some good fringe benefits near the 22nd. That’s when the Full Moon can attract impressive perks. When given a choice between taking a flat salary and earning a commission, choose the latter.

You’ll easily outperform the competition. Advertising and social media will be key components to your success. A captivating blend of words and images will drive new business to your door. Be relentless about getting the word out.

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. THE GUIDE family

April is that special time of year when spring is in the air and Marbella is buzzing with excitement. If you’re looking for fun, family-friendly things to do, here’s our Top Eight for this month. For updated information on the latest events in and around Marbella, visit www.marbellafamilyfun.com

April Calendar

FAMILY FUN STROLL ALONG ONE OF THE MAGNIFICENT PASEOS

Whether you enjoy a morning run or are looking for a casual lunch with the family before a siesta, there are numerous paseo marítimos to choose from in Marbella that feature kids playgrounds, lively cafés and bustling shops. Some of the family favourites are the Paseo Marítimo near Marbella centre and the new, multi-million expansion of the San Pedro Boulevard.

For details, search ‘boardwalks’ on www. marbellafamilyfun.com

VISIT OLD TOWN MARBELLA – ON A SEGWAY!

This is something the kids will love and the family will not forget. Experience the charm and sophistication of Old Town Marbella on a Segway and literally glide through history while learning fun facts along the way. Tel: 617 669 761. www.g2move.com

VIP CINEMA EXPERIENCE IN PUERTO BANÚS

Get the VIP movie experience at the fabulous cinema theatre in fashionable Puerto Banús. If you secretly want to know how it feels to be treated like Eva Longoria or Antonio Banderas while enjoying your favourite movie – this is the way to do it! Tel: 951 196 666. www.cinesteatrogoya.com

FAMILY YACHT EXPERIENCE

Whether it’s for a family of four or forty, this is the way to really enjoy the Mediterranean in its full glory. The views of Africa and Andalucía are spectacular and – if you’re lucky – you’ll see dolphins frolicking right beside your boat. Tel: 660 409 600. www.marbellacharter.net

HIKE LA CONCHA

Here’s one that not many locals even know about. Enjoy a day out with the family hiking through the cool headlands of the Costa del Sol. Hikes range from beginner to advanced and this is a must for any group that loves the great outdoors. The mountain is 1,215 meters high and famous for its group selfies.

Don’t forget to say ‘cheese’! Tel: 637 886 788. www.healthfirststudio.com

PLAY A GAME OF PADEL

If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a lot like tennis but considered more fun because it’s so easy to pick up. This fast-paced game is as enjoyable to watch as it is to play and there are numerous facilities in Marbella which offer court rental and all the gear you need to experience this popular local sport.

For details, search for ‘padel’ on www.marbellafamilyfun.com

CANYONING – FOR ADVENTUROUS FAMILIES If you like the water and the sensation of a rushing river, this one is definitely for you. Just minutes from downtown Marbella, canyoning combines climbing, swimming, jumping and lots of laughing.

The sport was actually invented by hikers who had to work out ways to safely negotiate narrow valley pathways.

Tel: 673 227 595. www.xlifetours-marbella.com

BUGGY TOURS

A big hit with thrill seekers who want to experience the hills overlooking the Mediterranean, these powerful buggies hold two people and can easily traverse hidden paths winding through narrow valleys. You can see stunning views of the coastline and even enjoy a picnic overlooking the crystal blue waters of the sea. Tel: 607 643 541. www.marbellabuggys.com

Wishing you a fabulous April full of fantastic experiences with the family.

For further information about these and other events taking place on the costa del sol, visit marbellafamilyfun.com

APRIL 1 APRIL FOOL’S DAY Although it’s not celebrated by the Spanish, don’t be surprised if you see some of the local establishments enticing you to join in the fun with special offers.

APRIL 9 DOG WALKING WITH THE TRIPLE-A ANIMAL SHELTER Every Saturday this acclaimed local shelter invites you to help those dogs without homes to enjoy a brisk walk outside of their cages. It’s a lovely way to show the kids how to offer something back to the community. 10:00-15:00 at Triple A Shelter, Tel: 607 163 379. www.tripleamarbella.org APRIL 10 FLAMENCO MUSICAL Known as the El Bosque Grimm Flamenco Musical show, this is a highly recommended way to enjoy Spanish storytelling through this beautiful style of dance. At 6pm at the Teatro Ciudad de Marbella.

APRIL 24 DOG SHOW For dog lovers, this is a wellknown show held annually.

You’ll see loads of talented family friends and the kids enjoy seeing the pets in action. Even better, the event raises money for a great cause. At 11am, Palacio de Congresos Estepona.

APRIL 28 – MAY 2 FUENGIROLA INTERNATIONAL FAIR Known as the Fuengirola Feria de los Pueblos, this event attracts thousands of locals to enjoy a week of multicultural events, crafts, gastronomy and fun rides for the kids. From 1pm to 5pm at the Fuengirola Fairgrounds.

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Staycation

There’s snow, there’s sun, there’s après-ski!

Te invitamos a un Moscow Mule para celebrar las últimas 6 semanas de la temporada!

Join us for a Moscow Mule as we celebrate the final 6 weeks of the season

EscapaNevada: nieve, sol y après - ski. ¡Qué más!

El Lodge Ski & Spa C/ Maribel, 8 - 18196, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Spain T (+34) 958 480 600 ellodge.com / reservas@ellodge.com

*Icon Signature Villas / Villa Nº 24 / € 1.930.000

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