For six days each year, the streets of Seville sway to the sounds of flamenco and the rhythm of hooves

The streets are awash with an array of vibrant colours, the air alive with anticipation. At every corner horses’ prancing hooves and girls’ flamenco frills flash by in a sangria-induced haze and it is impossible not to become embroiled in this energetic and dazzling spectacle. This is Spain at its best.

Seville’s Feria de Abril began in 1847 as an agricultural fair, but has since developed into one long party that takes place every year. This year the festival lasts from 28 April to 3 May.

Jason Webster, author of Sacred Sierra, loves the quirky individuality of Spain, a quality he went in search of – and found - by buying a farm on Valencia’s ‘lucky’ mountain.

Spain has a magic to it that you either get or you don’t. For years I’ve explored my fascination for the country through a series of books looking at emblematic Spanish themes such as flamenco, the Moorish heritage and the Spanish Civil War, all the while trying to express something of the appeal of the place – something that gets under your skin and stays there.

Estrella Morente, daughter of famed singer Enrique, has rapidly made a name for herself as a flamenco artist. But, like her father, she’s not too worried about playing by the rules

"Flamenco's going through a wonderful period," says Estrella Morente. "It's reaching out into every corner of the world, and every one of us who is doing their bit to make it universal is proud of that."
Estrella Morente herself is in the vanguard of those responsible. Still only 28, and with only three albums behind her, she will be appearing at Sadler's Wells as part of the 2009 London Flamenco Festival. She sounds distinctly unfazed by the prospect: "When you're onstage, you put a bandage over your eyes and you give yourself up to the moment just the same, wherever you may be."

In part two of our three-part series on health, we look at undergoing dental procedures in Spain

With dental surgery it’s not always necessary to have a pre-treatment consultation face to face – most of the big dental clinics in Spain are set up to give very accurate diagnoses and patient treatment plans over the Internet. But if it’s important for you to see someone face to face in the UK, do ask as plenty of clinics have surgeons visiting the UK on a regular basis.

Rising star of the restaurant world, Mark Parris, is earning his reputation in his own restaurant in Almuñecar, a labour of love he shares with wife Sandra

“We had talked a lot about moving to Almuñécar, though not as quickly, but we just liked this place and thought it was a good time to sell what we had in England, so we sold our flat in London and invested everything we had in Los Laureles.”
It seems like setting up his own restaurant, Los Laureles, is a move that is working out beautifully for Mark Parris, who is rapidly gaining a reputation as a celebrity chef with an enviable reputation and appearances on local television. He and wife Sandra moved to Sandra’s hometown of Almuñecar in early 2007.

In February Spain goes carnival crazy, with parades, meringue fights and feasts – and the best part is that anyone can get involved

The scene is a swirl of colour and noise, with music, whistles, singing and shouting blending together to signal the arrival of that special time in the Spanish calendar – the carnaval.

Brilliantly coloured feathers and skimpy sparkling clothes in bright colours are de rigeur for the flamboyant processions parading down the palm-lined streets against a backdrop of mountains and cloud-scudded blue skies. The carnival queen, dwarfed by an elaborate costum,e is carried on a float, followed by people on foot dressed as anything from pirates to exotic peacock-like creatures.

Gael García Bernal is a man with a plan: ducking the Hollywood lifestyle for family time in Mexico and working on films that promote new talent and stir his soul, like his latest, Blindness

“My twenties was just a rehearsal,” announces Gael García Bernal, sitting opposite me in a hotel suite in Cannes. The Mexican star of Babel and The Motorcycle Diaries turns 30 two days after the UK opening of his new film, Blindness, and he’s already thinking about how to celebrate: a three-part party, one bash for each decade. “I want to do it in three places: in Guadalajara, in Mexico City and in Havana, Cuba.” Raised in the first location and based in the second, why does he also want to take in Cuba? “Why?” he says, fixing me with those intense green eyes. “Doesn’t it sound great?”

Famous for his impassioned portrayals of New York as much as for his neurosis, Woody Allen has turned his director’s eye to Barcelona, and the city’s never looked more romantic.

When Woody Allen announced he’d be making his first film in Spain, you can bet the Spanish tourist board was delighted. Promising it to be a “love letter to Barcelona and from Barcelona to the world”, it seemed like the legendary filmmaker was determined to do for the Catalan city what his 1979 black-and-white classic Manhattan did for his native New York. In other words, romanticise what is already one of the world’s most romantic destinations.

Paz Vega has never worried about taking the typical route to Hollywood stardom, but with four English-language movies on the way, global stardom is knocking on her door

Quite what Paz Vega likes about the name ‘Orson’ I can’t say. But it obviously does something for the Spanish star. Married for five years to Venezuelan restaurateur Orson Salazar, she named their one year-old son after his father too. Now she has an affair with Orson Welles – on screen at least – in her new film Fade to Black. She plays Italian actress Lea Padovani, who becomes romantically embroiled with the legendary actor-director (played by Danny Huston) while he’s in Rome shooting the 1948 film Black Magic. But with Welles on the rebound after being rejected by Rita Hayworth, don’t expect theirs to be a hearts and flowers romance. “I think like many, many love stories, it starts with a bad beginning!” laughs Vega.

Penelope Cruz is finally coming into her own in English-language film, and she’s so happy she could sing

On a cold winter’s day in Berlin, Penélope Cruz breezes into the boardroom of the Adalon Hotel like a ray of sunshine. Once dubbed the ‘Spanish enchantress’, she may be 5ft 6in but you can’t fail to notice her. Dressed in figure-hugging navy jeans, tailored black jacket and silver-hoop earrings that peep through her long black hair, the 34 year-old starlet is in a triumphant mood. And no wonder: in town to promote Elegy, she’s just received some of the best reviews she’s ever received for an English-language film.