Remember back in August when I finally got to meet long-time Twitter pal Francisco and his friends Eduardo and Miguel at La Grulla? Well he sent me this mention in the ABC newspaper today and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Having my work recognised is always an honour, but it feels extra special when this recognition comes from my “fellow Spaniards”. So I especially liked the “Sevillana since 1993” bit. 🙂

For those who don’t speak Spanish here is a translation…

Although several neighbouring cities (which we are not going to name – these are not the times for more regional rivalries) have long been trying to snatch the title of “birthplace of the tapa” from Seville, the truth is that little or nothing is done by our city council to exploit said claim.

In fact, just one person, Shawn Hennessey – Sevillana since 1993 – has done more to make our tapas known (through her blog, organizing tapas tours for foodie tourists, and social media activity…) than the entire tourism delegation.

We continue to be a country of solitary Quijotes, and it always takes somebody from outside to remind us of it.

Aunque varias ciudades “vecinas” que no vamos a mentar – que no están los tiempos para más rivalidades autonómicas – llevan tiempo intentando arrebatar a Sevilla el origen de la tapa, la verdad es que poco o nada se hace desde nuestro ayuntamiento para explotar dicho reclaim.

De hecho más hace una sola persona, Shawn Hennessey – sevillana desde 1993 – por dar a conocer nuestro tapeo (a través de su blog, organizando rutas de tapas de guiris-foodies, moviendo contenidos en redes sociales…) que toda la delegación de turismo.

Siguimos siendo un país de quijotes – o quijotas – solitarios, y siempre tiene que venir alguen de fuera para recordárnoslo.