What is a TAPA?

Nowadays it's very common to see TAPAS bars everywhere, but do these places really sell what they offer? What is really a TAPA? Very often, a TAPA is sold simply as an overpriced snack, a small piece of food presented as an internationally recognized Spanish dish, but this is not what the whole thing is all about. 
Actually, the origin of TAPAS couldn't be further from the word "overpriced". The first TAPA was actually just a slice of bread, used to cover the clay bottles people used to drink the wine from in the old times. Bread was placed on top to stop flies from going into the bottle (hence the name TAPA, which in Spanish means "cover"). In order not to waste this piece of bread, people would add something on top to eat it with, and then voilà!… the first tapa was created.

Of course, TAPAS have changed a lot over the years, and the current concept of TAPA is much wider than just a slice of bread with cheese or jamón. In Spain, TAPAS can be anything served in small portions, but its real meaning refers more to the cultural activity of eating and drinking out with other people rather than the actual food. We spaniards love to enjoy food with others over a glass of wine or beer, and that's exactly what we do when we "go for tapas". In short, TAPAS is food as a means to socialize and enjoy life.

So I invite everyone to come to my country and have the real TAPAS experience, with its friendly people, its inexpensive and top quality wine, and of course, its delicious food…. Salud!