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00:01Come with me on a voyage through Spain.
00:07Buenos dias, mi capitán.
00:10As I reveal the secrets.
00:12What an amazing building.
00:13That is magnificent.
00:15Of places you think you know.
00:17Look at the size of this.
00:20And the little known regions.
00:23That is spectacular.
00:25Just waiting to be discovered.
00:27This is very nostalgic for me.
00:29Smell the money.
00:31Suddenly we're on the Riviera.
00:33But I'm inside the barrel.
00:35Together we'll go beyond the hotspots.
00:38Absolutely spectacular.
00:39It's so remote.
00:41To the places where the magic is made.
00:44You have to love heat and smoke and flame.
00:51I can't wait to show you.
00:57Today I'll take you to the little known cities of Cartagena.
01:01What a fantastic sight.
01:04And Murcia.
01:05This is so beautiful.
01:07Where surprising delicacies.
01:09We are going to put the brains into the pastel de carne.
01:11Brains.
01:13Ancient therapies.
01:14The creature from the black lagoon.
01:17Ah.
01:17And traditional pastimes.
01:19Oh.
01:20Oh.
01:21Are celebrated proudly and loudly.
01:24Bobby.
01:34Our journey through Spain continues to a stunning region on its southeastern coast.
01:42Where acres of orchards and vineyards set in the mountains and valleys meet around 175 miles of the Mediterranean Sea.
01:52Welcome to the province of Murcia.
01:57Just an hour's drive south of Alicante, at the end of the Costa Blanca, few Britons visit this region.
02:05Its reputation is growing, but I think it's still vastly underrated.
02:10So come with me as I reveal a little of what it has to offer before the crowds discover it
02:16too.
02:18We begin in the region's second largest city.
02:23Magnificent Cartagena.
02:26Have you heard of Hannibal?
02:28He was the Carthaginian general who somewhat took the Romans by surprise by marching with an army from Spain into
02:35Italy through the Alps with a herd of elephants.
02:40Well, it was Hannibal's brother-in-law, Hasdrubal, who founded this great city.
02:45It soon fell to Rome, but that was not the end of its greatness.
02:49Because one civilization after another was magnetized to this natural harbor, built castles on the hills, left their mark on
03:00the city.
03:01But today, somewhat distant from golf hotels and beach resorts, many people have not heard of Cartagena.
03:09But we, with a determination worthy of Hannibal, will storm the city and make it yield its secrets.
03:22Although Cartagena has been inhabited for over 2,000 years, some of its most striking buildings are relatively recent.
03:30They represented a new style of architecture called Modernista.
03:36Rebuilding the city was possible only because of a dark period that had come just before.
03:43Local historian Maria will tell me more.
03:49Quite surprisingly, Cartagena has a lot of interesting buildings from the 19th and 20th century. Why is that?
03:56Oh, that's because the end of the 19th century was a very, very difficult moment here in Cartagena.
04:04It was a local uprising and it wanted to rebel from the state, the Spanish government.
04:13Cartagena wanted to be independent.
04:20In 1873, government forces attacked the city.
04:24And during a six-month siege, 70% of its buildings were razed to the ground.
04:33Many of the buildings in the city centre were destroyed.
04:36So it was really a chance to start new buildings, to start building new palaces like the one we're standing
04:46at.
04:47It's Casa Cervantes, one of the most beautiful buildings that were made in Cartagena.
04:53This is the first building in modernist style to be erected here in the city of Cartagena by the architect
05:00Victor Beltrì.
05:01Very, very famous here.
05:05Victor Beltrì had studied in Barcelona, where he was influenced by the extraordinary buildings of architect Anthony GaudÃ.
05:13A central figure in the new modernista or Art Nouveau style growing in Europe and the United States at the
05:20time.
05:24Beltrì returned to Cartagena bringing ideas with him.
05:32What do we mean by modernist style?
05:35It's about using new materials outside the buildings and also mixing reminiscence from classicism, but also with organic forms, which
05:47we have, for example, all these vegetal forms, the palms.
05:52We have also in the iron work, in the carvings, in the wood, we can see all that organic forms.
05:59Every single detail here has been designed just for this building.
06:05The siege created the need and modern technologies the money.
06:11Silver had long been mined in the surrounding area, but during the Roman Empire it had run dry.
06:19Modern methods allowed access to seams deep underground.
06:23And what better way for the city to show off its newfound wealth than with a bold new style of
06:29architecture.
06:31This is such a beautiful building. What is this?
06:35This is the town hall.
06:36I see the date up here. 1907.
06:41Tell me about the styles. It's very mixed, isn't it?
06:43Yes. For example, the French rotundas in the corners that you are seeing over there.
06:49With some elements taken from classicism, from Baroque, everything that you see, it's a mixture, a perfect blend between all
06:57these elements.
06:59I feel that great architecture lifts the spirit.
07:02And I see the people of Cartagena and the visitors just standing here and admiring great buildings.
07:07I love to see buildings like this because it's talking a lot about Cartagena's spirit.
07:16That period of great wealth shaped the modern city.
07:21But Maria wants to show me a recent discovery from a previous period of prosperity.
07:29Oh, Maria. That is spectacular.
07:36A huge Roman theatre.
07:41What a fantastic sight.
07:46And it's in between all the houses.
07:49It's just stuck in the middle of town.
07:53How was it discovered?
07:55By pure chance. 1988.
07:58The theatre is a surprise in so many ways.
08:02Not least its size.
08:04The stage alone is over 40 metres wide.
08:09How big is it? How many people could sit here, for example?
08:12Over 7,000 people.
08:15And that is quite big.
08:16So this suggests that Cartagena was an important place.
08:18It was very important.
08:19And so the Cartaginians could feel like they were in any other part of the Roman Imperium.
08:27When the theatre was built between 5 and 1 BC,
08:31Cartagena was a major Roman port.
08:33Made rich by local silver and lead,
08:36the city wanted a theatre to reflect its status
08:39and modelled on the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome.
08:44These theatres were really important structures.
08:48They were grandiose structures.
08:49Imagine if you came here as a common person
08:52and you see all this luxury, this expense.
08:55It's most impressive, isn't it?
08:56Yes.
08:58In Pink Travertime.
09:00Coming from local quarries.
09:02And also the white Carrara marble coming by sea from Italy.
09:06So this was a prestigious place.
09:09Yes.
09:10This was the luxury people wanted to see in a theatre like this.
09:17When the Roman Empire fell, the city was sacked.
09:20And over the following centuries, most of it was destroyed or left in ruins.
09:25What are these pillars here?
09:27It's a curious story because people in the Middle Ages
09:30found all these columns just thrown around
09:34and they wanted solid material to build their new buildings.
09:39And these columns have been chopped up like a chorizo, haven't they?
09:42Yes, completely like a chorizo.
09:43And this is one of the problems with Roman ruins.
09:46If people knew that they were there,
09:48they used them as a quarry for their new building works.
09:51They just came and looted everything.
09:52Yes. They just came here, they took it.
09:55It was the law of the jungle, as we say it in Spanish.
09:59The law of the jungle.
10:03What seems extraordinary, given its scale,
10:06is that over time the theatre disappeared,
10:09built over by successive city inhabitants.
10:14Then, in the late 1980s,
10:17it was rediscovered by chance,
10:19under a residential neighbourhood.
10:21Tell me about the discovery.
10:23The discovery was in 1988.
10:26But they didn't know nothing about the Roman theatre.
10:30They found a little bit and they had to work away.
10:32Yes, exactly.
10:33They found a little section of the stairs at the lower level.
10:37And then they continued with excavations
10:40until 1990 that they find out that it was a Roman theatre.
10:47Over the next 15 years, the site was excavated and then restored.
10:52The surrounding modern city simply adds to its drama.
10:59Maria, I have a thought.
11:00Shall we test the acoustic of the Roman theatre?
11:03Would you mind going up into the auditorium?
11:05And I will speak to you from the stage.
11:07It's a great idea.
11:13Maria!
11:15You can hear me clearly.
11:17Help!
11:19The acoustics are marvellous.
11:21All the worlds are staged.
11:24And all the men and women merely players.
11:29They have their exits and their entrances.
11:33And one man in his time plays many parts.
11:38His acts being seven ages.
11:49Next, I attend to a delicate delicacy.
11:53You said I'm suffering.
11:55I certainly am suffering a little bit.
11:57And apply a healing therapy.
11:59That's working already.
12:01Really?
12:01It's a hand action.
12:02It's these magic hands.
12:03Absolutely.
12:16I'm showing you Spain's little-known region of Murcia.
12:20We've started in the city of Cartagena on its south-eastern coast.
12:24It's overlooked by most tourists heading for the Costa Blanca next door.
12:28Which I think is a mistake.
12:30Because it has much to offer.
12:35If you drive to Cartagena, you come across a long, flat plain.
12:40And just when you think you're reaching the Mediterranean, boom!
12:44A range of mountains.
12:45And that is the secret of the city.
12:48A port protected on all sides.
12:51In this part of Spain, a cathedral stands where there used to be a mosque.
12:57That, in turn, was once a Visigostic church.
13:00And before that, there might have been a Roman temple.
13:03In Cartagena today, they are excavating beneath the bullring,
13:08where they've found a Roman amphitheatre, suggesting that the same spot has been a place of public spectacle for what?
13:17Two thousand years.
13:22One constant is that Cartagena has always relied on fish.
13:28And in the many tapas bars across the city, one, in particular, appears again and again.
13:36The humble anchovy.
13:42Few are caught here.
13:44Most come from the Cantabrian Sea on Spain's northern coast, where they're salt-cured in barrels.
13:53They're then transformed by hand into delicate fillets.
14:00It's an art reserved for a skilled tapas chef like Adriana.
14:05However, she'll show me the bare bones of the process.
14:09We'll take it.
14:10We'll take it.
14:11We'll wash the network.
14:12We'll hold the anchovy.
14:14We'll hold the anchovy.
14:16Ooh, look at that.
14:18Okay.
14:18That's beautiful.
14:19We'll turn it.
14:21And very slowly.
14:25Adriana makes it look easy.
14:27I'm not convinced that the same will be said of me.
14:30Well, you put it here.
14:31Take a little fat so it doesn't cost you much.
14:34There.
14:35Yes.
14:36So, very slowly.
14:39Feeding off the skin.
14:43Turn the fellow over.
14:44Hold him by the tail.
14:47Cantabrian anchovies are considered amongst the best in the world.
14:51And after six months stored in salt, great care is needed to prepare them.
14:57We're opening up the two fillets.
14:58Push with the fingers of the fingers to not break them.
15:02See?
15:03Separate.
15:04The trick here is not to break the anchovy.
15:06Okay.
15:07Yes.
15:07This goes here.
15:09And we take the next one.
15:12The dorsal spine.
15:15Very good.
15:17The number of times I've seen a dried anchovy or a tinned anchovy.
15:22I never quite understood how you got from that to that.
15:26It takes Adriana less than a minute to fillet the anchovy.
15:30Let's see how her apprentice fares.
15:34Now, with any luck, we'll be able to open this up.
15:39Ooh.
15:39This is the difficult bit, I think.
15:43You're going to be very little.
15:47Please, Adriana.
15:48This is my first.
15:50Well.
15:52I put this apart.
15:53Now I'm going to try and get the spine out.
15:57These things are so delicate.
16:00The spine doesn't want to come out without taking all of the fish with it.
16:07Mmm.
16:09Very good.
16:10I don't know if it's very good, but it's not bad.
16:14It's not broken.
16:15It's okay.
16:17Do you want to do more?
16:18I guess so.
16:21Okay.
16:24How many anchovies do you prepare in a day?
16:26Four kilos, four hours.
16:28Four kilos, four hours.
16:30Mucho trabajo.
16:31Yes, a lot.
16:32It hurts your back too.
16:34Oh, yes.
16:35You get that cake from doing that.
16:36At this rate, it will take me four days.
16:46I'm going to suffer you, Michael.
16:47Yeah.
16:48Yeah.
16:53In a world of high tech, there's something charming about the attention that Adriana lavishes on each and every anchovy.
17:01Okay.
17:02Okay.
17:02Arriba.
17:03Y regresa.
17:03Ya esta.
17:04La siguiente.
17:06Arriba.
17:08Okay.
17:09It's come out very well.
17:11Yes.
17:12It's now time to make one of Cartagena's most popular tapas, La Marinera.
17:18In the late 1970s, a hungry sailor asked for a bar snack.
17:23In the kitchen, there was a breadstick, Russian salad, and anchovies.
17:30And so the story has it, La Marinera was born.
17:34Ta-da.
17:37Muy bien.
17:38MuchÃsimas gracias a ti.
17:40A ti, Mike.
17:41Y ahora?
17:43Te la tienes que comer.
17:45Exactamente.
17:46Now, time to eat.
17:50I've always thought that one of the great things about a tapa was its simplicity.
17:54I mean, a breadstick, Russian salad, and an anchovy.
17:57Could anything be more straightforward?
18:00Shame on me.
18:01I had no idea that the anchovy had been six months in salt, and it takes me about five minutes
18:08to peel.
18:09So, the tapa is not simple, but it is delicious.
18:16Mmm.
18:18Marinera from Cartagena.
18:22Creamy, crunchy, fishy.
18:28My hunger satiated, I'm heading to one of the region's most spectacular natural landmarks.
18:35Just north of the city, it's Europe's largest saltwater lagoon, the Mar Menor.
18:43It's a body of saltwater.
18:46There's a band of land that almost cuts it off from the sea, but saltwater goes to and fro.
18:52Famous for chameleons and flamingos.
18:59It's also been a source of sea salt since the Roman Empire.
19:03The intense colour of the water is caused by salt-loving microorganisms which thrive in the shallow pools which are
19:12created as the water evaporates, leaving the salt behind.
19:18Sitting on the lagoon's shores is Los Alcáceres.
19:21In the summer, the fishing village is popular with tourists who flock here for the nearby golf courses.
19:29The attraction for me is a dirty secret, found at the end of the jetties that poke into the warm
19:37water of the lagoon.
19:40Hello, gentlemen. What a pleasure. My name is Michael.
19:43So, I find you putting mud on yourselves.
19:46Why are you doing that, may I ask?
19:48Because this is really good for the health.
19:50Yeah? Yeah. It keeps you moisturised.
19:53It has minerals on it.
19:56And it's really good for your bones and your muscles.
19:59Locals say that if you do that six days in a row, you don't get ill during the year.
20:05Do they charge for the mud?
20:08No, you don't have to pay nothing. You can use it wherever you want.
20:12But that's extraordinary, isn't it? Because, I mean, a spa could be very expensive.
20:16But this is for nothing.
20:19Smearing your skin in mineral-rich mud has been practised since Roman times.
20:26Today it's recognised as a therapy for skin conditions and inflammation.
20:31Some believe this mud can work miracles.
20:36I'm meeting regular baither Bernadette, who has chronic arthritis.
20:42Nine years ago when I was diagnosed with this condition, they were really worried that within three years I would
20:48be in a wheelchair.
20:49And that was nine years ago?
20:50Yes. So...
20:51And look at you.
20:52Yeah.
20:53Far from a wheelchair.
20:54And you put that down to the mud, do you?
20:56Yes.
20:57I know. I'm now back cycling.
20:59And, you know, walking long distances.
21:02I want what she's having.
21:07In order to do that, I'll need a costume change and my trusty bucket.
21:12And we're off.
21:17Then you go and pick nice soft mud.
21:23Okay.
21:32Excellent. That's enough now.
21:33Is it?
21:34Yes.
21:35Will that do the two of us?
21:36Absolutely.
21:37There's quite a lot of me, you know.
21:44Tips on application. How do you put it on?
21:47You apply the mud in a light coat.
21:50You go ahead and show me.
21:51Okay, I start it.
21:52I start with my legs.
21:54Mmm.
21:54In a light coat.
21:55It doesn't have to go on very thickly.
21:56Keep all that arthritis at bay.
21:59Yes.
21:59Give the knee a good rub.
22:02I need you to put it on my back.
22:05That's working already.
22:07Is it? Oh, gosh.
22:07Absolutely.
22:08Really?
22:08Well, it's the hands, you know.
22:09Yes.
22:10Nothing to do with the mud.
22:11It's the hand action.
22:11It's these magic hands.
22:13Absolutely.
22:13Yeah.
22:14Would you like me to do something for you?
22:16Yeah, would you mind doing my face?
22:17I will do it.
22:21Can you see me getting more beautiful there by the moment?
22:23Absolutely, by the second.
22:25There's a rather massive area you've not done yet,
22:27which is the nose.
22:30You might need another bucket for that.
22:35You know, Bernadette,
22:36I've just been a little bit worried
22:37that someone I know might see me looking like this.
22:40But, um...
22:41They won't recognize you.
22:42Well, that's true.
22:43But you won't tell anyone, would you?
22:44Because my name would be mud.
22:46My lips are sealed.
22:50It seems to me that as it dries,
22:52it kind of tightens on your face.
22:55Yes.
22:55You feel a little bit tingly.
22:57Yes.
22:57Is that what you get as well?
22:58Yes.
22:58Bit of a tingle.
22:59You know it's working then.
23:00All right.
23:02The creature from the Black Lagoon.
23:07Next, an extraordinary boudoir.
23:09This is so beautiful.
23:11And an awful meat pie.
23:13Is that a complete brain?
23:15The hard one.
23:16That's a heart brain.
23:17Yes.
23:27Our journey through Spain continues along its southeastern coast,
23:31through the little-known region of Murcia,
23:34where we're heading away from its second city
23:36and on towards its first.
23:42The capital is also called Murcia.
23:46It is a city with a reputation for being very hot.
23:49It's set in a bowl of mountains.
23:51It has a very beautiful cathedral.
23:5630 miles inland,
23:59the city of Murcia sits on the fertile plain of the Segura River.
24:07Founded as a provincial capital by the Emir of Cordoba in 825,
24:13Murcia later became a centre for silk production,
24:16connected to the Silk Road,
24:18a trading route that linked China to the west.
24:21The city still has vestiges of that industry and its successors.
24:28Some of the streets in Murcia are named after the trades
24:32that were conducted there in the Middle Ages.
24:34Caboneria, soap makers.
24:37Plateria, silversmiths.
24:39And traperia, well, that was tanners and then suppliers of cloth.
24:44And that street has an interesting history
24:46because King Jaime I built a wall to separate Muslims from Christians.
24:50The wall was not very popular.
24:53It didn't last very long.
24:54And when it came down, it left a straight and wide void,
24:58which is today probably the city's most popular shopping street.
25:07Calle Traperia leads onto the city's most famous landmark, Murcia Cathedral.
25:15But before I take you there, behind closed doors,
25:20there's the most surprising of buildings.
25:24Oh, Christina, this, this is so beautiful.
25:29What a fantastic place.
25:34Helping me to explore the extraordinary Royal Casino of Murcia
25:38is local historian Christina.
25:42This building is a social club to hide society of Murcia from 19th century.
25:52Casino, in this case, means a members club, not a place for gambling.
26:00Its construction began in 1847.
26:02Their inspiration for its interiors was drawn from further back in Spain's rich history.
26:11They wanted to copy different places from different periods of history.
26:17So here it's like we're travelling to La Alhambra in Granada.
26:22And it's very interesting to me that as late as the 19th century,
26:26Christian architects are still copying the Islamic style as a tribute and a sort of nostalgia too.
26:33Yes, in the 19th century there was a romantic moment about the past.
26:39Yes.
26:40People started to look back and wanted to copy those societies.
26:46If you read around the perimeter of the room,
26:49we can read all the time nothing greater than Allah.
26:54Think about that Catholic society.
26:56They didn't know what they were writing.
26:59They wanted to copy it exactly.
27:01And it was a Catholic society.
27:04Doesn't make sense.
27:07Each room we enter is another surprise.
27:11Oh!
27:13A pretty and highly decorated room.
27:17This room is really beautiful.
27:19Yeah.
27:20This is the ladies dressing room.
27:22But it was a gentleman's club.
27:23But in the year 1920, it changed.
27:27Women could become full members of the casino.
27:31Aha.
27:31So they decided to create a room for them.
27:35With a very beautiful ceiling.
27:37Quite interesting because one thinks of Spain as having a lot of machismo.
27:42I mean, married women couldn't have bank accounts until relatively recently.
27:47So I'm amazed that in 1920 they were full members.
27:50We can say that 1920 and especially 1930s were very progressive if you compare it with what happened later with
28:02the dictatorship.
28:05After 1939, such progressive changes came to an abrupt halt.
28:10When under General Franco's nationalist government, women lost their right to vote and other freedoms.
28:19They were fully restored only in 1978.
28:25My father was a member of a casino and it was a very valuable thing to him.
28:30He would go down to the casino to have a coffee or whatever.
28:34But I think most of all for conversation.
28:37What he would call a tertulia.
28:40Yes.
28:40So he and a group of other friends regularly would meet for conversation at the casino.
28:45Mm-hmm.
28:46The casino is an important part of their daily life.
28:50They come here, have a coffee, talk with friends, different things.
28:55And they share knowledge.
28:57Thank you so much.
28:58I've enjoyed the tour of the casino.
29:00Not just for the appreciation of the building, but I think also it's an insight into a Spanish way of
29:07life.
29:08Yes, it's a secret that we have here.
29:15There's no secret about the city's most prominent landmark, which must be viewed and appreciated.
29:24Constructed in the Middle Ages, it marked Murcia's transformation from a Muslim into a Christian city.
29:32The cathedral has a facade in that over-the-top style known as Baroque.
29:39But behind here is a much older cathedral.
29:42Indeed, it used to be a mosque.
29:44And when the Christians took over from the Muslims, they converted it into a cathedral and created a beautiful square
29:50so that people could see it.
29:53The facade was added in 1751.
29:56Some 230 years later, the cathedral still towers above the surrounding city.
30:03The cathedral has a lovely bell tower, which took centuries to complete.
30:08But when it was finished, it turned out to be the second highest in Spain, beaten only by that in
30:14Seville.
30:14It has a set of bells, including Nona, which weighs more than a tonne, four foot in diameter, and it
30:21sends out over all the city the most marvellous, resonant...
30:32Ermite.
30:39And it was never done in 1751.
30:46and has been selling Murcia's special meat pie ever since.
30:51It does smell very well, isn't it?
30:54Carlos is the seventh generation of his family to bake them here.
30:59How old is this pie?
31:02It's like at least more than 300 years old.
31:07That's extraordinary. How do you know that?
31:09There's a document that explains the way to make meat pastels.
31:17This is from 1695 and it's a king's order.
31:23Wow.
31:26King Carlos II of Spain's decree specified every detail.
31:32Even down to the exact dimensions of the case
31:36and the quality of the flour that would be used to create the pie.
31:41Carlos has agreed to reveal the secrets of how he makes it.
31:46Keep this, this way, okay?
31:49The other way.
31:51Let's see how you do it.
31:53Vamos, Michael.
31:56Poco a poco, poco a poco, perfecto.
31:58Muy bien, Michael.
31:59Muy bien.
32:01What do I do at the end here?
32:02Ah, don't worry. You cut it.
32:04I just cut it.
32:06Olé, Michael. Muy bien, tÃo.
32:09That's not too bad, actually.
32:10No, no.
32:11Y tú lo que tienes que hacer es...
32:15suave...
32:16con posas...
32:18Ah, that's so interesting.
32:21Vale.
32:22You're using dough, almost like a sponge,
32:25to press down on the other dough.
32:27Yeah.
32:28And make these nice shapes.
32:29Yeah.
32:30After that, you have two.
32:32Meanwhile, I finish that.
32:34So that cuts the pastry, doesn't it?
32:36Yeah.
32:41Next, in goes the filling.
32:44Minced beef and salt.
32:46Sliced, hard-boiled egg.
32:48And then, normally, chorizo.
32:51Today, Carlos is making an especial.
32:57We are going to put the brains into the pastel de carne.
33:01Brains?
33:02Brains.
33:02Pork brains.
33:04Pork brains.
33:06Is that a complete brain?
33:08The half one.
33:09It's a half brain.
33:11Oh, poor little piggy.
33:12So how much of this do we put in?
33:15Everything.
33:15What, everything in one pie?
33:17Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:18Wow.
33:18What kind of flavor does this add?
33:21It's like...
33:22Like iron?
33:24It's quite disgusting.
33:26I don't like it at all, eh?
33:28But people go crazy with this flavor.
33:31Really?
33:32What's your busiest day?
33:34El entierro de la sardina.
33:35The burial of the sardine?
33:36Yeah.
33:37We celebrate the end of the Easter.
33:39Yes.
33:39When we left the fish, and we're going to start to eat meat.
33:43Yes, of course.
33:44The end of Lent, the end of the period when you can't eat meat.
33:47So you bury the sardine, you go back to meat.
33:51This special day to celebrate the pastel de carne murciano
33:56was introduced in 2009.
33:59How many pies did you sell that day?
34:01Close, 1,000.
34:03That's extraordinary.
34:03And they're all made by hand?
34:06Yeah, yeah.
34:08What in my mind makes the pie stand out from other Spanish pies
34:12that I've enjoyed is its lid.
34:15Rubbed with pig fat, the pastry is then tightly rolled
34:19before being sliced like a stick of rock and stretched by hand.
34:2625 minutes in the oven, and it's ready for me to try.
34:33That is really crunchy.
34:37This is the most spectacular puff pastry.
34:39It has this spiral, doesn't it?
34:41It's so good looking.
34:45Hmm.
34:46That's a great pie covers.
34:48And this is a pie for all occasions.
34:52For rich, for poor, for home, for picnic.
34:55Congratulations to you and generations of your family
34:58on this amazing meat pie.
35:04Next, I learned the look.
35:06Look at the woman.
35:08There's a pie.
35:10Excellent.
35:11And taste a tasty pastry.
35:13The trouble is you get it on your nose.
35:14No, you put it on your nose.
35:26Although my journey through Spain's little-known Murcia region
35:30is coming to an end, there's still time to show you
35:33a couple of special places.
35:36In Spain, families are extraordinarily united and close.
35:43It's typical for older relations who may be invalids
35:48to live with a family.
35:50Communities are also very strong.
35:54People of all generations come together habitually,
35:58but also, more broadly, I think people of all generations
36:02are really interested in sustaining customs and traditions.
36:07And they do so wholeheartedly and unitedly.
36:18I've heard that, 15 minutes' drive from the city centre,
36:21in the town of La Alberca,
36:24there's what's called a Peña Huertana
36:26that's been keeping alive ancient traditions.
36:41It's a pleasure.
36:45It's a pleasure.
36:46It's a pleasure.
36:47Juan Manuel is president of Peña Huertana La Seda.
36:51Tell me, what is a Peña Huertana?
36:54What is?
36:54The Peña Huertana is an apolitical association
36:59that defends the traditions of the huerta
37:02and our Murcia region.
37:03The word huerta means an orchard.
37:07What type of huerta, what sort of orchard was there here?
37:10Huerta.
37:10The word huerta means what has been
37:13the subsistence of all the Murcians.
37:15It was where the rice was cultivated,
37:19the vegetables, the berries,
37:21the tomatoes, the tomatoes, the tomatoes,
37:23and the seda gusans.
37:24That's why the word peña is the seda.
37:28Up until the arrival of the Islamic Empire
37:31in the 8th century,
37:33the art of silk making was unknown in Spain.
37:37Centuries later,
37:39it would become Murcia's main source of wealth.
37:42Much of it manufactured by families living off the land,
37:45growing mulberry trees like these
37:47to feed the silkworms.
37:50Here, you made silk.
37:52Yes.
37:54Here was the seda.
37:55In the garden.
37:56The garden was the neurological center
37:58of the Murcia's heart,
38:00where the seda was cultivated.
38:02The gold of the huerta.
38:04It was what families could subsist
38:06for a whole year thanks to the seda gusans.
38:10Now, Juanma, tell me about your clothes.
38:13What are you dressed in?
38:13This is a typical Murcia dress.
38:17This is a winter dress,
38:19a third-file pantalons,
38:20a chaleco and a brocade.
38:21What about the hat?
38:23The hat.
38:23The hat is typical Murcia.
38:26Put it.
38:28It's a beautiful hat.
38:30Typical Murcia hat.
38:32My hat is a little bigger than yours.
38:34Also, it's not like this.
38:35The hat has to stick.
38:36Like this.
38:38It's nice.
38:39No, no, no.
38:40Look.
38:41Look.
38:41Look.
38:43Look.
38:44Look.
38:44Look.
38:45Look.
38:51Since 1975,
38:52members of this Peña have dressed,
38:55danced,
38:56played and eaten
38:58to ensure that their ancestors' customs
39:01are sustained.
39:02Hello, Pilar.
39:03Hello, Michael.
39:04What are we doing here?
39:06We're doing paparajotes.
39:09Paparajotes.
39:09Yes.
39:10Yes.
39:10What does it consist of?
39:11Paparajotes is a potter
39:13that is prepared
39:14with a lemon leaf.
39:16It's boiling in a bowl.
39:18It's boiling.
39:20And when they're boiling,
39:21they're boiling in sugar with canela.
39:23Thought to have been introduced
39:25by Sephardic Jews,
39:27during the Muslim rule,
39:28this is a local delicacy
39:30with a North African twist.
39:32Shall we try them?
39:34Come on.
39:35You first.
39:36You too, right?
39:37Come on.
39:39So,
39:40you don't eat the leaf, do you?
39:41The leaf doesn't eat it?
39:42No.
39:43The leaf doesn't eat it.
39:46Mmm.
39:48Mmm.
39:48Mmm.
39:48It's very sweet, of course.
39:50It's lovely.
39:51Crisp.
39:52Lemony.
39:53What a shame that you can't
39:54eat the leaf as well.
39:55What a shame that you can't
39:56eat the leaf as well.
39:58It's excellent.
39:59Good.
40:00Mmm.
40:01The trouble is,
40:02you get it on your nose.
40:03No,
40:04you put it on your nose,
40:06so...
40:06No.
40:09I think there are lots of
40:10hungry mouths over here.
40:11Let's see who would like one.
40:16The game of boloswerfplanos
40:18is traditional to the region of Murcia.
40:21Muy bien, muy bien, muy bien.
40:22All you have to do
40:23is knock over one of the nine pins.
40:26What could be simpler?
40:29Yes, ma'am.
40:30Yes, ma'am.
40:32To this side.
40:42You're a good teacher.
40:44You're a good coach.
40:46Amigos.
40:48Gracias.
40:49Bueno,
40:49I think we've earned
40:50our paparajotes.
40:51Vamos.
40:52Venga.
41:01Venga.
41:02The time in the unfamiliar region of Murcia
41:04is all but over.
41:06I'm drawn towards the sanctuary
41:08of Our Lady of the Fountain.
41:10Named after the patron saint
41:12of the city below,
41:13it seems the perfect place
41:15to look back
41:16over this much underrated region.
41:22It's only quite recently
41:24that they discovered
41:26the Roman theatre
41:27at Cartagena.
41:28And at this moment,
41:30they're still excavating,
41:32digging deeply through layers,
41:35discovering history
41:36that spans many dynasties.
41:39And that, I think,
41:40is how you have to approach
41:41this corner of Spain,
41:43willing to dig under the surface
41:45to find out what people eat,
41:49what games they play
41:50and how they dance.
41:53Whether you come to this
41:55little-known region
41:56in search of beautiful buildings
41:58like the cathedral
42:00and the casino in Murcia
42:02or to test the healing powers
42:05of the sulfurous mud baths,
42:07there's so much to unearth.
42:10Surprises are plenty
42:11and lots of fun.
42:15Next time...
42:16Is that the journey starts?
42:18I'm in Ibiza.
42:19Can you just show me your technique?
42:21What?
42:24Hello, Formentera.
42:26This is a first for me.
42:28Our lady's looking very fertile.
42:31You've got a nice cage on it now
42:32in case any guests behave badly.
42:34It's time for me to take a walk
42:36on the wild side.
42:42And Portillo in Ibiza
42:43is a must-see next Thursday, right?
42:45It's Battle of the Brains
42:47as Jeremy Vine leads out
42:48the team captains,
42:49Carol Vorderman
42:50and Sally Lindsay
42:50a new celebrity puzzling
42:52starting Monday at 7.
42:53And over 26 years later,
42:55Steve Wright
42:55recently confessed
42:57to a sixth killing.
42:58Murder trial,
42:59the Suffolk Strangler
42:59is brand new next.
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