Description
VALENCIA
Book Summary
This book is an intimate, literary journey to the city of Valencia, written from the perspective of someone who has chosen it three times: to be born, to live, and to write about it. Raquel Bada crafts a personal narrative that weaves together memory, urban myths, and the emotional geography of a Mediterranean capital. The reader will discover a Valencia defined by contrasts: the great sea and the "small sea" of the Albufera, the fire of the Fallas as a collective exorcism, and a flat landscape where everything seems possible. A work that transcends the traditional travel guide to become a literary exploration of the Valencian identity.
What is it about?
Writer and editor Raquel Bada offers a personal and profound vision of Valencia, her hometown. Through evocative prose, the book traverses the spaces that define the capital: the Mediterranean as a constant horizon, the Albufera as a refuge of light and rice paddies, and the flat streets that invite discovery. The author probes the city's foundational myths, from the Fallas as a ritual of purification to the figures of its artists, poets, and painters, whom she presents as the inventors of a unique light. This is not a standard historical chronicle, but rather an emotional portrait where landscape, culture, and personal memory merge to offer a unique literary experience.
Main themes
- Valencian identity through its urban myths and traditions.
- The relationship between the Mediterranean landscape (sea and Albufera) and artistic creation.
- Fire as a symbolic element of renewal and resistance.
- The role of the writer as an emotional cartographer of their city.
- The Valencia of artists, poets, and painters as architects of their own aesthetic.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for readers interested in travel literature with a personal, essayistic approach, for those seeking to know Valencia beyond conventional guidebooks, and for lovers of cities as literary spaces. It will also appeal to those who enjoy urban memoirs where the author serves as an emotional guide, as well as to Valencians who wish to rediscover their city from an intimate and poetic perspective.
What this book offers
- A literary and personal vision of Valencia that goes beyond tourist clichés.
- A reflection on how myths and traditions shape the identity of a city.
- An emotional portrait of the Mediterranean and the Albufera as symbolic spaces.
- An exploration of the figure of the artist as a creator of a unique light and aesthetic.
- A reading experience that combines memory, landscape, and popular culture.
Technical Specifications
- Author: BADA, RAQUEL
- Publisher: Tintablanca
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: VALENCIA, VALENCIAN COMMUNITY LOCAL HISTORY, TRAVEL LITERATURE
- Collection: MAXIMA COLLECTION
- Binding: Cloth
- Publication Date: December 2025
- Number of pages: 240
- Weight: 450 g
Editorial Review
VALENCIA is presented as a literary endeavor that transcends the travelogue genre to delve into personal and collective memory. Raquel Bada succeeds in building a narrative that, starting from the intimate, achieves a universal dimension by exploring how a city can be both a stage and a protagonist. The cloth binding and the careful presentation of Tintablanca’s Máxima collection reinforce the work's status as a special object. Recommended for those seeking a read that combines poetic sensibility with a lucid view of the urban landscape and its myths.