Mine was Reading 2011, and I'd tell you all about it if I could remember much. I remember The Strokes being disappointing and Muse putting on a good show despite having some of the worst music on earth. Besides that, I remember my phone getting nicked, somebody trying to set my tent on fire while I was sleeping in it, and the unforgettable taste of warm Fosters. Valle de Sensaciones is a lot of things, but Reading Festival it is not.
Valle de Sensaciones is a long way from heritage rock acts, camping and narcotics, it's a polyamory festival. Polyamory being the practice of engaging in a number of sexual relationships at the same time, with every single person consenting, of course. Well, they're doing things a little differently over in Spain. Valle de Sensaciones, meaning Valley of Sensations in Spanish, is a small eco-village set up based in Granada.
Like many eco-villages, it was founded in 2000 with the aim of being a space that people could live in, while also focusing on sustainability as well as living both an artistic and a natural life. Allowing people to get back to nature and integrate that with human dynamics created a communal space that has evolved ever since.
At Valle de Sensaciones, they hold a number of workshops and festivals throughout the year. Some of these focus on areas such as compassionate listening and ways to express yourself with clarity. Others, such as Ubuntu Spirit, showcase afrobeats, clay construction and African cooking.
Then, most famously, they have the Eros Laboratory, the polyamory-focused "heart-centred space of exploration and experimentation in the field of authentic relating and eros". In many ways, polyamory is an extension of the principles that the eco-village was founded upon. It encourages communication, cohabitation and human expression.
As well as the polyamory itself, there are wider discussions on the self. There's an effort to encourage personal development, to help break down boundaries between people, both personally and on a wider level, and look at how society instils prejudice within us.
The festival doesn't look at polyamory as an excuse to create a testosterone-filled fuck-fest, but rather a chance to express themselves outside of the constraints of society. The belief at Valle de Sensaciones is that it's possible to love more than one person at the same time and that love itself is an entirely natural feeling, not something that can be locked in by monogamy, something that is a social construct.
This isn't your traditional festival. You're not going to find yourself propping up at the Brother Bar supping on ice-cold cider, or stumble into a D&B set at 5am. It's a festival where the only keys are communication and honesty. If you're looking for something a little more holistic and introspective, then perhaps Valle de Sensaciones could be for you.