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Showing posts from August, 2013

Fishing boats

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The majority of those who book a holiday at the Costa del Sol are avid for sunshine, sangria and grilled fish, but they generally know little about local culture. Before living here permanently, I was not an exception. And I am still learning a lot every day. A couple of months ago, I saw for the first time a very special boat on our beach. I was told that it was an old typical boat of this area called  jábega ,  which was used before by fishermen. It is supposed to be of  Phoenician origin and its name should come from the Arabic word sabaka meaning "fishing net". Nowadays, those boats are only used for rowing races. They all have the same typical form and are of incredible beauty. They wear names, are mostly painted with strong colours and have a lot of interesting details (painted eyes, spur with snake head...). Enjoy!

International Left-handers' Day

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Once a year, on August 13th, I forget that I am a visual artist and a translator to focus on the fact that I am also a left-hander. I know that many lefties are proud to have their own day. Personally, I do not like so much the idea that we still need a special day, although I find it important to promote awareness that we are still discriminated in a predominantly right-handed world: the tools we need to be able to work properly or without injuring ourselves (scissors, knives, tin opener, symmetric ladle, pencil sharpener, ruler, computer mice, left-handed music instruments, etc.) are often not to find in normal shops at normal prices. Cameras, cash machines or turnstiles which symmetric design are most of the time not to find at all. I hate one-sided clothing (shirts, jackets and trousers with pockets at the wrong place and/or opening the wrong way) and I would like be able to eat with the knife in the left hand and the fork in the right hand without be stared at as if I were a Mart