In November, the Spanish Club traveled to New York City to see El Día de la Bestia (The Day of the Beast) and to have dinner at the Spanish restaurant, La Costa del Sol. The film, a modern-day morality tale, was set in contemporary Madrid and shown at the Instituto Cervantes. Many of us were surprised by it because of the themes with which it dealt, including Satanic and far right-wing cults. We were kept in suspense for most of the movie, as the fate of the world was in danger. The unlikely heroes --a tiny Basque priest, a beer-bellied, long-haired, and tattooed thrasher, and a cheesy TV psychic-- and a few comic scenes relieved the suspense. After being thrown in the world of evil and heavy metal music for two hours, we ventured off to dinner. The ambiance in this restaurant was the complete opposite of the one we had just been in. For another two hours we took in traditional Spanish cuisine and flamenco music. We could barely walk out of the restaurant because we had eaten to our hearts’ content, which is --of course-- the only way to eat. The Spanish experience did not really end there because on the way home we listened to Dr. Sutherland’s tapes of new flamenco artists. The sometimes surprising variety of Spanish culture, along with the lively and energetic members of the Spanish Club, made the evening an enjoyable one.

                                                                         Flordelisa Pérez, ’02