Application made to declare the Siesta an item of cultural interest

Application made to declare the Siesta an item of cultural interest
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By h.b. - Mar 14, 2010 - 10:05 AM
It follows the Madrid Regional Government's intention to give bullfighting such protection

Photo EFE

Following the intention of Esperanza Aguirre, the Partido Popular regional President of Madrid, to have bullfighting declared as a BIC Item of Cultural Interest, in order to block moves who want to ban the spectacle, now comes the suggestion that the Spanish Siesta should also be declared to be of cultural interest.

The idea comes from Daniel Dorado, a lawyer who specialises in the protection of animals. He has now presented an application in the registry of the Madrid Regional Government calling for the siesta to be declared a BIC, Item of Cultural Interest, considering it meets the same conditions for being so, as bullfighting.

In his arguments he says that the siesta is ‘a cultural fact of special relevance and significance, an art which deserves protection’. Following the claims made for bullfighting to the word he said ‘it has been for time immemorial part of Spanish culture’.

Nobel prize winning author, José Cela, described it as ‘Iberian yoga’ and said it should be carried out with pyjamas, the lord’s prayer and a urinal. The art was followed by figures such as Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill.

Daniel Dorado continues that unfortunately the siesta is threatened by our hectic way of life, and he claims that if it disappears the country will fall into chaos. He therefore considers the Madrid regional government is under the obligation to protect it by, for example, the installation of beds in the street.

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