A trip to the heart of the world’s most colourful nation - Spain.
'Who is Jesulín?' I asked. 'Who is Jesulín?' said Julio. 'Just the most successful matador in the history of de bools. Almost everyone you meet in Spain has something to say about Jesulin,' he said. 'Si, si, if you want to write a book about Spain, Jesulín is your man.'
For Tim Elliott, a man who buttered his toast to the edges and was always home in time to see the news, Spain was synonymous with flamboyance, passion, spontaneity and adventure.
In Spain, he felt, people inhabited every inch of their lives. They feasted upon it, up to their elbows. They drank red wine with lunch and smoked full-strength cigarettes. So when he heard about Jesulin, a handsome and talented young bullfighter who fills arenas with adoring women, Elliott went looking for him, certain the man dubbed 'the Beckham of bullfighting' held the key to the heart of this enigmatic country.
Criss-crossing Spain on a diet of tapas and sherry, he finds himself plunged headlong into a world of ancient ritual, eccentric characters and all-consuming passions. It's a quixotic quest through a land where no one is ever on time, there's always a fiesta on somewhere, and the gossip glossies are as revered as Columbus.
Funny, fast-paced and revealing, Spain By the Horns takes you below the surface of the world's most colourful nation, to experience a Spain you'll never forget.
