The speed at which time passes and the intensity of modern life can catch us unprepared for the arrival of summer. In response, 'Diari Valencià', through its Culturplaza section, has prepared a summer escape guide with cultural proposals that invite imagination and escapism. The aim is to offer tools to experience a better summer, whether through reading, cinema, or music.
Actress and musician Aurora García Agud evokes her childhood and the moments when culture helped her navigate summer days. She recommends Isao Takahata's film My Neighbors the Yamadas, highlighting its humor and light animation, ideal as a window into everyday life. For the afternoon, she suggests the essay The Only Thing We Have Is Time, which reflects on the integration of time in performing arts, and Jalaluddin Rumi's poetry collection Diwan of Shams of Tabriz, for finding beauty in the ordinary. Her summer soundtrack includes the Argentine cumbia of Supermerk2.
Writer Kike Parra, founder of the Select School of Writing, chooses The Strokes' Someday for its blend of nostalgia, youth, and freedom, evoking shared summer afternoons. In literature, he opts for Julio Cortázar's End of the Game, recalling childhood summers and exploration. Parra particularly remembers his stays in La Adrada (Ávila) during his adolescence, marked by discoveries and games.
Film critic Agus Izquierdo proposes mental refuges for the summer. He recommends Ceramic Songs' album Here for its drawn-out, nostalgic songs, and Takeshi Kitano's film Kikujiro no Summer, described as a tender summer road movie. He also mentions the work of photographer Martin Parr and suggests Aftersun for the emotionally adventurous. In literature, he highlights Alejandro Zambra's novel Chilean Poet, for its exploration of affection and daily life.
Poet and cultural manager Víctor Benavides associates summer with the 'socarrat' of the magazine Val15 (Universitat de València, 2026) and recommends Júlia Sentís's Palpentes, winner of the VIII Salvador Iborra Poetry Prize. To conclude his suggestions, he offers Elsa Moreno's Prendida and Un llumí a la llengua, an anthology of desire.
Editor Claudia Villanueva recommends Cookie Mueller's Walking on Crystal Waters in a Black-Painted Pool, for its sense of adventure and journey into the counterculture of the 70s. Musically, she suggests the French band La Femme, especially their first album, for evoking summer playfulness and sensuality. Finally, she proposes François Matton's book Better at Sea, about building a wooden boat.
Fanzine creator and researcher Dafne Calvo associates many summer works with childhood, highlighting Miguel Delibes's The Road for portraying post-war Spain through childhood memories. In cinema, she admires Sean Baker's The Florida Project, which explores childhood summers in difficult contexts, emphasizing that summer is an attitude towards time. Calvo also values reading and the short story genre, citing Raymond Carver's Cathedral.
