Casa Natal of Blas Infante, Casares

. They have tried hard, but it's no great shakes, to be honest. It's an old village house, but unfortunately, apart from some of the kitchen (a charcoal cooking area, and a few pots), curiously settled upstairs instead of downstairs where it would have been, there has been no attempt at all to show us the house as it would have been a hundred or so years ago. Instead, they have made a frankly rather boring display of panels describing events in the life of Blas Infante. In Spanish. That's fine if you can stand and read half- a-dozen or more large information panels relating events, some of minor historical impact, with people you have never heard of, in the main. But not many visitors can. Blas Infante was an important historical figure, and relevant today because of his fight not just for Andalusian regionalism (he also invented the Andalusian striped flag, and the "national" anthem), but for his fight for social justice. He was horrified by the living conditions of the day-labourers, who had no fixed employment, just being taken on by the day when the rich landowners (or rather their Stewards - these were absentee landlords) needed them for specific tasks. They were soaked by the freezing torrential rains of winter and by the sweat from the torrid sun in summer, he wrote. They - and their children - were illiterate, barefooted, and often hungry. But you won't learn this from here, to be honest. Upstairs there is a video - lasts about 20 minutes - where a young child talks to his grandmother who explains the main monuments of the town and the main events of the life of Blas Infante. It is very well done - I took a class of (Spanish) 9-10 year-olds, who sat in rapt silence throughout. But again it is in Spanish only. Unless you speak and read Spanish (and actually are able to follow Andalusian Spanish, which was spoken by the Granny, although the boy spoke pure Castillian), you won't get the most out of this visit. For example, you will miss learning about the Siege of Casares, which took place not in the long ago past, but in May 1976. 1976, under Franco's dictatorship of Spain. The then Mayor of Casares, Jose Navarro, wanted to hold a little ceremony in honour of Blas Infante, including putting up a bust in the main square. (Still there today, by the way). The Civil Governor of the province passed on instructions from the Franco Government in Madrid that there was to be no ceremony, and told anyone who had been thinking of attending to stay away from Casares, as it could be an inconvenient trip. The Civil Guard took up position on the access roads to Casares and blocked them, letting no traffic or pedestrians in or out of the town. But people who wished to attend got round this by travelling on foot, on horseback, or on mules and donkeys, using the old footpaths and muletracks across the hills. A fascinating story. It's just a pity that it is not more accessible to non-Spanish speaking visitors. The town itself is, of course, charming, with numerous little bars and restaurants. But this house-museum will probably be a bit of a disappointment for many visitors. .

An essential place for the Andalusian feeling. If you have to visit his house in Coria del Río, Seville, this one in Malaga is another mandatory stop for the Andalusian feeling. Perhaps it lacks some content and a didactic vision of the site.