Oh Valencia, the most charming city of all! From the winding, cobblestoned streets of the Old City to the salty boardwalk of the beach to the best bike paths of Jardines del Turia park and modernity of the City of Arts and Sciences buildings. Distinctly different from the most visited Spanish cities of Barcelona and Madrid, Valencia has traditions all their own that make it so special, and they’ve preserved these traditions for centuries.
Some of these traditions include the Tribunal de las Aguas, Las Falles and they even have their own Valencian language separate from Spanish and Catalan. But the most special and most indigenous to Valencia has got to be paella.
There are secrets, customs and rules to paella that you may not necessarily know, but if you want to enjoy it the right way, here are a few:
- Paella is eaten on Sundays for lunch, never for dinner! It is a family meal and everyone has their own way about it
- True paella does not have seafood – it has rabbit and chicken (and sometimes snails from the rice paddies)
- Divide the paella into sections and eat out of the pan – no one is allowed to eat out of your section unless you give permission
- Paella can taste different depending on who is making it and the emotions that go into it – it’s a meal of passion, tradition, family and love
The art of preparing and enjoying paella is a tradition passed down from generation to generation and respected to keep part of Valencian culture alive.
Kindle is like the Valencia of our industry – special and unique – and as we grow, we need to preserve our culture in the same way. From Peanut M&Ms to annual bonfires and everything in between, let’s be aware of what makes us unique and what makes us Kin! Let’s not forget to pass down our secrets, our customs, our rules.
(AKA…let’s bring back the initiation pranks!)
- Pants on
- Shoes on
- No kissing clients
- Speak in complete sentences
- Remember to eat meals
- Chew your food completely
- Learn how to give the Heimlich maneuver, just in case someone doesn’t chew their food completely
- Take care of each other
- Do whatever it takes to help us succeed – together