Culture at Cervantes – May 2015

Your guide to this month's highlights at the Cervantes Institute

Preview | 03 May 2015

As warmer weather slowly approaches, where better to retire after a drink in the early evening sun than the Cervantes Institute, where you can keep the balmy Mediterranean dream alive with some flamenco, a film screening or a wine workshop?

It's a cinematic month, as a new contemporary film season kicks off on 13 May with movies every Wednesday thereafter until 3 June. The free screenings begin with Diamantes Negros (Black Diamonds), the story of two young boys who arrive in Spain from poverty in Mali having been persuaded to follow their dream of becoming football stars; the following weeks bring a collection of seemingly unconnected but diverting sketches (Gente en Sitios (People in Places)); La Herida (Wounded), about a young girl struggling with borderline personality disorder; and the tale of a teacher who, having used Beatles songs to teach his students English in 1966 Spain, sets out to meet John Lennon (Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados (Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed). Those wanting to go deeper may be interested in a series of cinema workshops running alongside the screenings, allowing participants to further explore the issues presented in the films.

Having worked with the likes of PJ Harvey, Eels and Jim Barr of Portishead, Spanish singer-songwriter Maika Makovski brings her many talents to the Institute on 30 May in a concert presented in collaboration with the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Hailing from Palma de Mallorca and of Macedonian and Andalucian descent, she began writing songs at age 12 – now 31, her vocals are peaty, her guitars gutsy and loose. Fans of Polly Jean and Courtney Barnett take note. Further musical delights are to be found in a special flamenco show on 15 May, with dancer Jairo Barrull, singer Melchior Campos and guitarist Ismael de Begoña giving a minimal performance that seeks to resurrect the purest essence of the art form, originating from Seville's tablaos (stages).

And finally, if you've stuck with us for news of that Spanish wine workshop, good things come to those who wait: learn how to select a good vintage, match it to your meal and get the best for your money across two evening sessions on 14 and 21 May. Appetizers and, of course, a few snifters of wine are included. After all that culture, a little cultivating of the palate can be excused.

Instituto Cervantes, 326-330 Deansgate, Manchester http://manchester.cervantes.es/en