May 13, 2009
On Day Five, our group left the bustle of cosmopolitan Madrid for the very different feel of the Andalucian city of Cordoba. At first glance, Cordoba represented the "Spain" our students had come to expect from guidebooks and tourist brochures -- bullfighting and flamenco posters everywhere, competing architectures of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian traditions, cobblestone streets and tapas bars on every corner.
What the students hadn't expected was the very explicit construction of the tourist experience in Cordoba -- for every real matador, there were hundreds of bullfighting t-shirts. For every flamenco show, there were rows upon rows of flamenco dresses, fans, and ruffled aprons emblazoned with "Flamenco in Cordoba!" Was this really the "authentic" Spanish experience that the students were seeking?
Authenticity was the subject at hand for our second formal class in Cordoba, as well. Held (in the rain) under an orange tree next to the Arab wall this student-led seminar was on the subjects of niche marketing and authenticity in food. Students grappled with the question of what authenticity means --
Class in session: Under and orange tree at the Arab wall in Cordoba whether certain dining experiences can be labelled "authentic" while others are labelled "inauthentic" or "constructed." Great debate ensued -- was pre-packaged paella in Cordoba any more "authentic" a dining experience than McDonald's in Madrid? While answers weren't easy, the questions were plentiful, and led us into some of our best class discussion yet.
Those questions of authenticity were also front and centre when we visited the Nunez de Prado olive oil press. This beautiful old almazara is located about 45 minutes from Cordoba in the small town of Baena. After driving through miles of olive tree orchards, we entered the town and could immediately smell the olives in the air -- an unfamiliar but glorious scent for many of us. Spain is one of the largest olive-growing regions of the world, and Nunez de Prado is widely considered to be one of the best producers. In operation by a single family since 1795, the press still produces oil from olives hand-picked daily through the peak harvest season; during that time, trucks full of olives travel to the press every hour to ensure that the press begins almost immediately after the olives come off the
Senor Nunez de Prado: A personalized tour of the olive press before brunch trees. We were told the story of the Nunez de Prado family press by a "young" Senor Nunez de Prado himself, before he treated us to a multi-course brunch featuring several of his family's fine oils. The Nunez de Prado family takes great pride in the "authenticity" of their harvesting and production processes, and few of our students could argue with the quality of the resulting products!
In keeping with our questions around authenticity and the tourist experience, we couldn't leave Cordoba without taking advantage of the architectural wonder that is at the centre of that city's history -- the "building with the identity crisis," the Mezquita. Cordoba was ruled by the Moors in the 700's AD and the construction of the Mezquita (Mosque) was started in 784AD. The Muslims built the first part of the mosque over an ancient Roman worship cite. In 1286 The Mequita was conquered by the Christians, who added their own architectural designs to the existing structure. Christian renovations continued until the 18th century but never fully erased the Muslim influence, so what we
Enjoying felafel on the Mezquita: photo by Brad Wrobleski see in the Mezquita is an architectural oddity that merges the cultures of Romans, Muslims and Christians in one location, making for a very powerful experience. The pervasive middle eastern influence on the south of Spain was the inspiration for one of our meals in Cordoba, where our whole group enjoyed falafel on the steps of the Mezquita. Middle Eastern food, eaten by Canadian tourists, in the south of Spain -- a perfect merging of culinary cultures in the midst of the merging of architecture and religion.
All in all, it was a fabulous three days in Cordoba -- now back to Madrid!