MANIFEST OF THE NANAISTS

1.We profess Spanish surrealism. Though it may be surprising, Iberian surrealism emerged during the Spanish Golden Age with the picaresque novel, Cervantes (through his quixotic dialectic) and the witticisms of Lope de Vega, Góngora and Quevedo. However, the second peak of the genre did not come until the 20th century. Antonio de Lara (AKA Tono), member of the so called Other ’27, with Miguel Mihura, Edgar Neville, Enrique Jardiel Poncela, K-Hito, José López Rubio, Enrique Herreros, etc. said: “Our generation was a real precursor generation, for we are laughed at to this day”. Pedro Laín Entralgo also noted: “There is a Generation of ‘27, the one of the poets, and another Generation of ‘27, the one of the restorers – or rather, the creators – of contemporary humor”. We Nanaists aspire to take after that Other ‘27 and use their humor, elegant, surrealist and magnificent, to dissect reality. If the mediums used by the intellectuals of the Other ‘27 were magazines and theatre, we will add the cinema, music, dance and the plastic arts. Any medium is valid so long as we are still being made fun of in a century. The fruits of the generation of La Codorniz were named Luis García Berlanga y Rafael Azcona. In their movies, we laughed as much as we cried. That is the cinema we aim to create: absurd, hilarious critic, subtle and extremely sensible. Sometimes barbarous, but always ours.

2. We create from the Classics and Antiquity.As we haven’t found the Fountain of Eternal Youth yet, we drink from Socrates, his disciple Xenophon, Pliny the Elder and Cicero. Rafael Gomez, known as EL Gallo, supported that the classic was what we couldn’t improve. We Nanaists don’t break with the past, we dive into it in order to keep building. Just like great filmmakers, we learn to make films by watching John Ford’s movies attentively, starting with The Searchers.

3. Our leitmotiv is the chase rather than conquest itself (maybe that’s why we sympathize with Ulysses). Each morning, we reread the Myth of Sisyphus. The creator’s task must be akin to that of a tireless Sisyphus, that despite being crushingly aware of the futility of his efforts, doesn’t give up on his mission. Saint Augustine wrote: “We shall search as if we were about to find, but we will never find, rather, we will be forever searching”.

4. We defend “natural effects” above “special ones”.Ramón Gomez de la Serna said that that in which civilization progresses most is the perfecting of packaging. As Hegel, we claim form must be in accordance with content, no matter how much this upsets Platonic idealism.

5. Bullfighting is a sacred rite:the only hope to be free and our last opportunity to continue existing.

6. A hobby for each of our senses and, for our favorite one, two hobbies. We have the firm purpose to recover the idea of a “living space of experimentation for our senses” that the sculptor Alberto Sánchez defended. The tenth command of the School of Vallecas preached wisely: “First gluttony and then sleep, then lust and then outbursts…”.

7. We enjoy Grandeur, or at least what remains of it. That is, we admire the delicacy and refinement of French culture. Its integrating capacity dazzles us, creating the universal French from talent born in other lands. We are absolute Francophiles despite Napoleon and some other details we choose to overlook. We get captivated by their philosophy and literature, pictorial art and chanson. Our sybaritism, inherited undoubtedly from the French, obliges us to end our meals with a piece of dark chocolate.

8. Spain’s main sources of wealth are our language, our artistic legacy, our local gastronomy and Spain’s mild climate.Paradoxically, we won’t maximize any of them for financial gain. Another non-negotiable tradition for a good Nanaist is the siesta, the Iberian yoga, as Camilo José Cela used to say.

9. We preserve popular music, the one that emerges and dies in the hearts of villages. Popular music reflects what the soul lacks, that is why music from sad villages is joyful and music from joyful villages is sad. All the romantics loved popular music, because it offers an imaginary past, sometimes even a heroic one.

10. As Nanaists we are consciously or unconsciously from the Atletico de Madrid,the only team that had supporters even before its existence, just as in the case of Marcus Aurelius, Mariano José de Lara, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer or Dostoyevsky. Being from the Atletico de Madrid involves a particular way to confront life.

A real Nanaist does not discriminate, he understands the diversity of colors. We are an open group in search of other beings ready to find the beauty hidden beneath the ruins.

NANAIST DIET

Inspired by the avant-garde of the early 20th century, Nanaism was born as a protest to the cultural and, most of all, ethical degradation of our society.

We Nanaists stand in rebellion against those habits and customs that have become increasingly detached from Juvenal’s classic expression «mens sana in corpore sano»We stand for a set of principles that seek to help us achieve both physical and psychological fulfillment of any who chooses to, without prejudice and complexes, walk the path of the Beyond Man.

“The Übermensch will only be possible if exceptional men dare to transform the values of old and create new ones from their life as exceptional and bountiful beings”. practicing Nanaist, or the Beyond Man described by Nietzsche “will be a Roman Caesar with Christ’s soul, or like Napoleon and Goethe combined into one, or an epicurean god; profoundly cultured, beautiful, powerful but benevolent, strong, free and independent, capable of understanding the universe and life as they are”.

BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR THE ENJOYMET OF PEAK PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

“My observations of nature have convinced me that nothing that we can imagine is incredible”. This aphorism by Pliny the Elder, Hippocrates’ legacy, the observing of traditions and the conclusions of some of the most influential and wisest thinkers of all time are the bases upon which scientific support for this diet lies.

Our aim is not to set a series of complex nutritional rules, with numbered meals, set times for eating and specific products and quantities, as traditional diets do, them being advisable for the fattening of livestock but clearly vexatious for free and noble men, who have both discernment and common sense.

Whosoever chooses to walk this path can eat what he wants, when he wants, so long as he keeps three key aspects: better fresh than preserved or frozen, better ecological than conventional and better artisanal than industrial. And if the product is from next door, all the better.

There is a necessary but unfulfilling product, the rest are recommended.

“Water is the driving force of nature”Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1419). Painter, architect, scientist, engineer, Italian.

Hidden beneath that undeniable truth, there is an important caveat to be made which is that in the case of Man, on occasion more evolved and refined than other plant and animal species, ingesting water straight is not the best course of action. Unlike other creatures —like say, toads— Man’s metabolism is fit for other beverages that have many more organoleptic qualities than water, such as wine and beer. Water is gastronomically despicable, little else can be said of a product that aims to be colorless, odorless and insipid. Does any sane man enjoy drinking such a thing?

As any erudite will surely know, water is composed of two hydrogen atoms for one oxygen. With such scant credentials, water’s importance to Man boils down to being a fundamental ingredient in beer and the main component of wine.

Civilized man must approach water with respect for its composing nobler drinks, and with caution and moderation. He who drinks water does not set himself apart from wild beasts, and if he drinks of it greedily may even drown in it. “All waters contain the color of the drowned”, said Cioran.

Now then, let us go onto recommended foods:

“Half earthly, half spiritual, chocolate is a drug that elevates our souls to the great beyond” –Pedro García Cuartango. Spanish journalist and writer.

““Olive oilpurges all ills away”.–Unknown, Spanish proverb.

Olive oil is the only oil that has any right to be referred to as oil, as only it is derived from the olive. It is also alone in that it is obtained without heating, which destroys vitamins and antioxidants, and neither does it use solvents which generate residue.

“One rule in life: if you can smell garlic, everything is alright”. –J. G. Ballard (1930-2009). British author.

Black garlic is recommended for multiplying the benefits of conventional garlic and being more apt for social relations and spreading.

“Water "Wine sows poetry in hearts”.– Dante Alighieri (1625-1321). Poet, writer, philosopher and Italian political thinker.

Red wines and champagne are especially recommended.

“Water The Iberian pig is the king of the pasture, the bull his guardian and the truffle his coveted princess”. – Ismael Díaz Yubero. Author and veterinary from Madrid.

" Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”.–Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American Politician, scientist and researcher.

“An almond’s sweetness will remain unknown until it is within one’s mouth” –Berber proverb.

" Honey is gifted with properties that contribute to the strengthening of health and lengthen one’s life”. –Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). Greek Philosopher and scientist.

“Dessert without cheese is like a beauty who is missing an eye”.–Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826). French politician, gourmet and writer.

The adoption of these foods to one’s diet guarantees the best health, is symptom of intelligence and brings man closer to the greatest joy. It is remarkable, too, that it is the only diet that has no rebound effect. It is proven that, if one stops eating these products and does not exchange them for others, he will not gain weight.

As a colophon, we wish to remember Sir Winston Churchill, who said: “The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen's lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire”. Even if gin and tonic has not been added to the diet, it not being a food item, we effusively recommend its daily intake, for it is indispensable medication and the best companion for such a rigorous diet. Drink in in a shifter: in this magical elixir are many of the botanical precepts that are used in modern medicine contained.