Oz in Spain

Article reprinted courtesy of Home & Lifestyle Magazine

It has been a long time coming. Four decades after he moved from his Málaga birthplace to Madrid to (eventually) become Spain’s most celebrated international actor, Antonio Banderas is back with his own local theatre and inaugural performance.

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Singer-songwriter supremo JJ Cale, one of the originators of the “Tulsa sound” (a genre influenced by blues, jazz, country, folk and rockabilly), has died in California aged 74 after suffering a heart attack. Apart from his own memorably laidback albums, he wrote timeless masterpieces covered by other top musicians, including  “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton, and “Call Me The Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Johnny Cash.

Summer Chic at Nikki Beach

Nikki Beach’s 10th anniversary celebrations in Marbella officially begin with the über-glamorous White Party on 30 May. Already opened to the public in April, Nikki Beach Marbella’s plush seaside setting of all-white beach sun beds and chic drapery includes a large outdoor restaurant, centrally located octagon-shaped bar, Lifestyle Boutique with items including Nikki Beach-branded and designer clothing, swimwear and cover-ups, indoor-outdoor VIP area (with elevated lounge area and stunning views of the Mediterranean) and spa area by the beach.

The lunch and dinner menu features signature tastes and spices that are representative of all the countries where Nikki Beach is located, including delicious salads, creative sushi rolls, original seafood entrees and slow-roasted free-range rotisserie chicken.

Nikki Beach Mallorca, which was inaugurated last year, is now also open for the new season, with its White Party to be held on 6 June.

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a) That South Korean “pop sensation” Gangnam Style has officially become the first video on YouTube to reach one billion views…

b) That when South Korean “pop sensation” Gangnam Style took over top spot one month earlier (with 805 million views since its launch in July 2012) Justin Blubber’s Baby video clip had been leading the way…

c) OzinSpain actually first performed a remarkably similar “horse-riding dance” in 1982 towards the end of a long and memorable company Christmas dinner – i.e. when Psy aka Park Jae-Sang was just five years old (and, perhaps fortunately, 23 years before the advent of YouTube)…

d) South Korea apparently sees such popular culture as a “potent export force”…

e) All of the above…

Santa María de los Reales Alcázares (Úbeda)

Palacio de Jabalquinto (Baeza)

Jaén is something of a hidden treasure for many visitors to Andalucía. The seven other provinces (Málaga/Costa del Sol, Granada, Sevilla, Cádiz and, to a less extent, Córdoba, Huelva and Almería) tend to corner the market when it comes to tourism in Spain’s renowned southern region. […]

The people have decided… this hauntingly evocative photo, “Graveyard”, taken by Julie Fletcher at Menindee Lakes in new South Wales, has won the People’s Choice Award in the ANZANG Nature Photography Competition at the South Australia Museum. […]

Marbella’s favourite soul diva, Yanela, has made it through the first stage of La Voz (the Spanish version of The Voice singing competition) and will do battle in the second stage on Telecinco (Wednesday 24 October, 10pm). Cuban-born Yanela, a popular performer during Marbella’s summer gala season, wowed two of the “coaches”, David Bisbal and Melendi, with her version of Aretha Franklin’s Natural Woman – ultimately opting to join the former’s team.

(Photo: Jesús Domínguez © Museo Picasso Málaga)

Málaga’s Museo Picasso takes a look at the grotesque in art in its latest exhibition. On show until 10 February, The Grotesque Factor features more than 250 works by almost 80 artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya, James Ensor, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix, Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon. […]

Spirit of the Plains (1897)

A retrospective exhibition of one of Australia’s foremost Art Nouveau artists is on show at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Born in Goulburn in 1871, Long studied in Sydney before gaining prominence in the Symbolist movement in the late 19th century – creating haunting images of the Australian landscape, frequently featuring mythical creatures. […]