Tourism Breaking News
The Spanish region of Extremadura will have its day in the Spain Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai this week. A wide range of activities have been organised starting on Tuesday 15 February, the Day of Honour of Extremadura. In attendance will be the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, the Spanish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Iñigo de Palacio, the President of Acción Cultural España and Commissioner of the Spanish Pavilion, José Andrés Torres Mora, and Executive Commissioner Carmen Bueno will participate.
Fernández Vara will also have an institutional agenda, meeting representatives from the political, economic and commercial fields of the United Arab Emirates.
The Spain Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is located strategically in the ‘sustainability area’ close to the nerve centre of the Expo, the Al Wazl plaza, which makes it highly attractive to visitors. The common theme will be: ‘Spain, Intelligence for Life’, which embodies the country’s communication objectives: to highlight Spain’s capability in innovation and creativity and its efforts to ensure a good quality of life on the planet for us and future generations.
On 15 February there will be a presentation of Extremadura before a range of representatives from the field of Emirati tourism and society, in which the region will be projected as a tourism destination and a good place live and invest in. The commitment to sustainability and tourism as a connecting link between Extremadura and the United Arab Emirates will be the central theme of this event, in which two videos of Extremadura will be shown. One is focused on sustainability and archeoastronomy, i.e. the importance of the stars in the construction of monuments by different civilisations that have existed in Extremadura over the centuries.
Gastronomy will play a prominent role throughout the week. For example, there will be a series of showcooking sessions by chefs from the Versátil restaurant in Zarza de Granadilla, which was recently awarded a Michelin star. They will use a number of emblematic and highly appreciated products from the region such as lamb, paprika, honey or figs.
Another traditional element of Extremadura, crafts, will also be present in Dubai. Artisans from Terracota Mérida will run workshops for children and adults that will combine thousand- year-old craft traditions with astronomy to make a strong statement about sustainability. They will do it through the #noplastic project, reproducing a small first-century water bottle that is usually on display in the National Museum of Romanesque Art in Mérida. Decorated with watercolours, the idea is to evoke the skies of Extremadura from the perspective of each young artist. With the help of audiovisual material, visitors will be taken through the history of crafts in Extremadura.
Flamenco will also be one of the main themes of the programme, with daily performances by the Vargas family. In Extremadura, flamenco not only includes local features and individual creations of artists from the region that distinguish it from other areas where the style is also popular, such as tangos and jaleos (gestures and exclamations that accompany dances), but also everything that has to do with the common heritage of Spanish flamenco, of whose origin Extremadura is a part. Indeed, Andalusia, the region of Murcia and Extremadura were the regions that sponsored the declaration of flamenco as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
The Vargas family combine music with dance, intertwining duende (mysterious charm) and sentiment to display the most deep-rooted flamenco in Extremadura. The show highlights the different forms of flamenco up to the present day. Music and emotion can be felt in every note and beat interpreted by the musicians, who transmit their soulfulness and create a new and different experience every day in collusion with the audience.
For its part, the ‘Albadulake’ company will present a show to foster the creation of dramatic arts in the rural environment and the need to visualise women on stage. ‘Serrana’ is a proposition based on a legend from the area of La Vera that picks up on local folklore and popular culture within a multidisciplinary language commonly found in avant-garde art.
Extremadura week in the Spain Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will run parallel to Gulfood, which will take place from 13−17 February 2022; it is one of the most important international agri-food fairs in the Gulf region. Here, the regional development agency Extremadura Avante will have an individual stand in the Spain Pavilion for companies from Extremadura attending the fair. Extremadura Avante has also organised a sales mission with individualised agendas for other companies from Extremadura that will be present in Dubai next week.
