Memoirs from Malaga: A Tuna In the land of Paella

About a month ago, I was doing my routine I'm-bored-so-I'm-going-to-look-for-the-cheapest-flights-on-Ryanair.com and I found one that was from Malaga to Valencia, round trip for 20 euros and some pennies (the taxes were more than the flights!) As we were already looking for a mini-vaca (because after working an exhausting 12 hours a week, we needed a vacation) me and my roommate Erica couldn't pass up such a good opportunity.

Thank goodness we were so smart. It definitely had to be one of the best trips I have ever taken. And quite possibly one of the most unique.

Besides a "free" guided tour provided by our hostel, there were no museums, no cathedrals, and nothing else out of a boring guide book (with all due respect, I usually live by and love guidebooks).

The first night we came to Valencia, we encountered a eerily quiet city, with few people out and dining on a Friday night. Being that we weren't especially eager to go out (totally exhausted from our 12 hour week of course, and wanting to get a full day in on Saturday), we found an excellent eclectic restaurant around the corner, had a scrumptious meal, and immediately crashed at the hostel afterwards.

The next day we tried to get as much in as possible, which became nearly impossible as we were constantly distracted by the markets, gardens, and architecture of the city (ok, and a little bit of Zara and Calzedonia on the side). We bought veggies at the largest market in Spain for our dinner that night (2.60 for eggplant, pepper, zucchini, onion, and a TON of basil. love this country!) We wandered through the city gardens (which was established by the city residents as a protest against the proposed freeway in the same location) and made our way to the famous Ciudad de los Artes y Ciencias, designed by the famous Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava (who is currently designing the WTC transportation hub in NYC). In midwest terms, it was unreal, and the buildings seem to come straight from a Star Trek episode. Making it to the end, we discovered that the aquarium was a bit out of our budget (and besides, it was close to lunch time), and we went back to the center to a recommended vegetarian restaurant. We were so taken in by Valencia's ultra chill vibe, we took our cue and tomamos una siesta afterwards in preparation for our evening ahead.

...Which was crazy. We headed out with our new German roomies en tow (and our Italian roomie from the night before) and as we were trying to find a hoppin' place to put down roots, we ran into a tuna from Sevilla, and we never looked back.

First off, let me explain. A tuna is a group much resembling a university fraternity, except that they dress in 17th century outfits, play ancient instruments, and have folk jam sessions for hours at a time. It's way cooler than it sounds.

(Getting back to the story...) The Tuna invited us into the bar to in order to serenade us, and it didn't stop until about 4:30 and two more bars later.

The next day after sleeping in and barely catching the free breakfast, we did the walking tour where we learned a lot about how the Christians conquered the Muslims in Valencia (pretty much the same story as every other city in Spain...) and had the mandatory paella that you must have while in Valencia (without rabbit or snails though - we went strictly seafood). The Tuna had invited us to watch their competition in the Art Center that night, which not only gave us an opportunity to see the Ciudad at night (impresivo!) but also see other Tunas from around Spain give their best performances. Our Sevilla group won for best original song and overall second place (the grammys of Spain?). But even before the other performances were over, the Sevilla group didn't miss a beat (pun intended) and they started jamming in the lobby of the auditorium.

We followed them to the afterparty at this gorgeous hotel where they shoved food and drinks at us (including a sip of ceremonial beer out of the 2nd place prize cup!) and within moments started playing their instruments and belting their lungs to traditional Spanish songs, and even some we recognized from other places like Bamboleo and La Bamba. The dancing and singing didn't end until nearly 8am (and another couple venues later).

Erica and I caught a snooze (maybe?) and rushed around to get ready and check out of our hostel, and even got a brief walk of the town and hot chocolate before catching the metro back to the airport. At one point, Erica and I both remarked to each other that everywhere we went that day, we could still hear the guitars and singing ringing in our ears. Not bad at all.

Fortunately, our goodbyes weren't final as we ran into a small group of the Sevilla Tuna men that we had been talking with the night before. So before our respective flights we had a conversation (without music, oddly enough) about travels, politics, life, and love (ok, not love, but any longer and it would have gone there!) with the guys. We left with addresses promises that we would make them each a ribbon for their capes with our words of love and dedication.

It was an incredible and unforgettable weekend, and I definitely owe a lot to my extremely extroverted and fun travel buddy, Erica, who got me out there and meeting more people than I would have ever met on my own. I saw a beautiful city, met incredible people, participated in a centuries-old tradition, and learned more about Spain, its people and myself in the meantime.

I'll post some pictures here, but for a fuller review, visit my facebook album here.