Two September classics: drifters and movies

The month of September in San Sebastian

We start September, a month characterized by going back to school, university or work. The holidays are over for most of us and we have to get down to work. The good news is that San Sebastián continues to offer you a wide variety of cultural and sporting events. We have to continue taking care of our health and it is important to find time to enjoy and rest; In this respect, this city is unique: its living conditions favor a healthy balance between study and leisure. That is why we encourage you to get to know Lacunza IH and have a linguistic and cultural immersion experience with us. September is an ideal time to come and visit us as there are no crowds of tourists and the weather is very pleasant. In addition, you cannot miss two classics of the season such as the regattas and the Film Festival.

The traineras and the Flag of the Shell.

The first two Sundays in September in the Bay of La Concha, a competition of drifters known as the Flag of La Concha. Do you know what a drifter? It is a boat typical of the Spanish Cantabrian coast, which was formerly used for fishing and today is adapted for the sport of rowing regattas.

In the towns and cities bathed by the Cantabrian Sea there are many fans of this sport. Throughout the year, especially during the summer months, provincial and regional championships and the Spanish Championship of Traineras are held. The Bandera de la Concha is one of the oldest competitions. It has been held since 1879 in the male category and since 2008 in the female category. The team of traineras from San Sebastián called donostia and keeps a nice story about its origin. In the beginning, there were 12 clubs in the city made up of various gangs of fishermen. Over time, they began to have financial difficulties and the number of rowers decreased. In the end, they realized that if instead of competing with each other, they put all their efforts together, they could eventually create a single winning club that would bring prizes and honor to the city. that's how he was born donostia, which has accumulated 14 Banderas de la Concha, 1 Euskadi Championship and 2 Spanish Championships.

The San Sebastian Film Festival: Zinemaldia

Another event that San Sebastián can undoubtedly boast of is its famous Film Festival/Donostia Zinemaldia, which this year celebrates its Edition 69of September 17 to 25. Our festival is one of the most prestigious in Europe. International stars such as the likes of Gregory Peck or Elizabeth Taylor, and, more recently, Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt. The international or European premieres of films that are part of the history of cinema have also been held here; for example, Vertigo of the master Alfred Hitchcock or the first title of the saga of Star Wars.

In recent years, the Festival has been able to reinvent itself several times until it has found a balance between quality independent films and the tastes and interests of the general public. And the thing is that we people from San Sebastian are very demanding moviegoers, much more sometimes than the film critics themselves. In order to satisfy everyone, the Zinemaldia has, in addition to its Official Section, an offer of very varied sections: “New directors”, “Zabaltegi”, “Horizontes Latinos”, “Made in Spain”, etc. The hard part now is choosing...

do you know Rifkin's Festival (2020), the film with which Woody Allen paid a very personal tribute to San Sebastián and its film festival?

In the following link, you will find all the information about this edition: https://www.sansebastianfestival.com/es/. Also, you can get closer to the building Tobacco, which is located next to our school Lacunza Spanish Courses. In Tabakalera are the Festival offices, the Basque film library and the Elias Querejeta Film School (EQZE), which jointly offer a “cinema” program 365 days a year. What do you think? Do you dare to live with us for a while?

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