Category: Feature article
-
From a Whisper to a Scream: The Tempests, Allen Toussaint and Hurricane Katrina
Joining the dots between a North Carolina soul band and New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint. For Roger Branch, sound engineer and founder of the sixties R&B band The Tempests, New Orleans had an attractive pull for studio engineering and production work. Like most musicians in the South, there was a deep affinity for the…
-
Brushstrokes, Light and Tradition: Art Rituals that Renew the Year
In Helsinki, December afternoons arrive and leave quickly, like a visitor without an intention to stay. As temperatures drop well below freezing point, city dwellers refuse to leave their homes as early as 3pm. Many experience Kaamos, a Finnish term for seasonal depression. On an online discussion forum, a business traveler visiting Helsinki writes: “By…
-
The Babu, the British and the Cartoonist: Visual Satire in Colonial Bengal
Protest art takes its shape in various forms, emerging as creative elements that challenge and criticise the injustice powerplay in society. Political cartoons and caricatures have long had a dual purpose: to critique political figures and to entertain the masses. Whether it was the Roman satirical drawings, James Gillray’s political cartoons or Benjamin Franklin’s 1754…
-
Journeying Through Memories of Illinois Route 3: Exploring Pere Marquette State Park
Part 1 of personal reflections and historic explorations of the Grafton to Cairo length of Illinois Route 3 by writer and poet Richard Stimac. When I was young, my parents would take me to the 8,000-plus acres of Pere Marquette State Park, just north of Alton, Illinois. We’d drive up Illinois Route 3 from where…
-
The Lynchings of Schley County
Being an avid collector of old civil rights material, I’d already amassed a pile of these NAACP membership cards. I guess what drew my attention to this particular one that appeared on eBay was the date—coinciding with the passing of the 1963 Civil Rights Act. Like most who buy on that platform I tend to…
-
Malta: Exploring Manoel Island and Valletta
Malta has been on everyone’s hit list, and not just that of tourists – centuries of invasions and colonisation are confirmation of that. There’s a theory that Greeks gave the island its name – Malta is close to their word Melite meaning honey-sweet, affirming the centuries-long association with production of varieties such as ghasel tas-saghtar,…
-
The Keffiyeh—On Culture, Consumerism and Sumud
Sumūd (Arabic, noun: steadfastness, perseverance) Among the uncertainties that laid ahead for the Global Sumud Flotilla as it sailed towards Gaza last week, there was one known—that its effect on holding the world’s focus on Gaza hasn’t gone unnoticed. Uninformed, or biased armchair critics may have fired predictable comments that the flotilla is futile saviourism.…
-
The Soul of Nashville. Exploring an Alternative Music History
Regarding a personal obsession of writing about soul music, the book House of Broken Hearts: The Soul of 1960s Nashville was undertaken in an attempt to resolve one nagging omission. A fair chunk of my travels has been spent scouring the Carolinas, Virginia, and Louisiana in an attempt locate, research and document the oral histories of solo…
-
Moving with Pets: a UK Owner’s Guide to Spain’s Entry Rules
For many pet owners, cats, dogs and other animals are considered part of the family, and the decision to move to another country involves equal consideration of pet entry requirements. To ensure pet transfer from the UK to Spain runs as smoothly as possible, owners should be familiar with legal issues and logistical aspects from…
-
Carolina History: How Black Music Influenced 1960s Southern White America
Rightly, history books are full of how African American racial and cultural identity was suppressed in the southern US states. Even North Carolina, sometimes cautiously described as one of the more ‘progressive’ states of the South, was not entirely exempt from a reputation of hostility toward Black communities. In the 1960s, this was ably demonstrated…
-
Conscience or Crisis? Exploring Overtourism, Foreign Investment and the Spanish Housing Market
The elephant in the room, but something to consider for those contemplating overseas relocation. The lack of available and affordable housing for Spanish natives has been a real concern for years. In 2025, the effects are being noted from afar. Cultura explores the state of the Spanish housing shortage, the impact of rental and foreign…
-
The Power of Song, from the Underground Railroad to Chicago Rhythm and Blues
Wade in the waterWade in the water childrenWade in the waterGod said He’s gonna trouble the water We are the sons and the daughtersWe gotta stand up and make it loudJust like our God told the PharaohLet my people go We are a new generationFrom the ones who have gone beforeHe’s calling us out of…
-
Understanding Taxes for the Self-Employed in Spain
This article provides a general overview of the tax system as it applies to self-employment, assuming Spanish ‘tax resident’ status. It is not intended to represent legal advice or replace advice from a qualified and reputable financial advisor. Where specific tax rates are presented, these have been derived from sources at the time of writing…
-
Hidden Histories of the Mississippi Delta: Po’ Monkey’s Juke Joint
“We had to ask the owner of Abe’s BBQ in Clarksdale how to get there. His hand-written directions on the back of a napkin was our GPS for this shack at the edge of a cornfield. Don’t expect signs to point you there. Heck, don’t even expect signs with road names. It opens around eight…
-
Discovering the Street Art of Santiago’s Barrio Bellavista
Admittedly, the Windles were all pretty jaded with the early flight into Arturo Marino Benitez airport. But as the taxi eventually pulled up outside our accommodation we had serious concerns about rushing the research. There was no expectation of luxury but Expedia images can also lie, and the entrance of iron bars and an intercom-only…