In November 2010, Juan Luis Cebrián, the founding editor of El País, and CEO of the Prisa Group, the media empire to which the newspaper belongs, announced the sale of 70 percent of Prisa for €900 million to a New York-based investment group The reason for the sale was a €4.7-billion debt he had created after an expensive foray into pay-TV was followed by the financial crisis and a downturn in advertising. At the time of the sale, Prisa’s debt was more than 12 times its withered stock market value. The sale spelled the end of Cebrián and the Polanco family’s control of Spain’s leading media group, which had been founded on the success of El País over more than three decades. "Better 30 … [Read more...] about Juan Luis Cebrián: last man standing?
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The wisdom of doubt: Álvaro Siza
This year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture, called Common Ground has drawn attention not only through its various exhibits but also in regards to the critical writings surrounding the show. Exhibition director and British architect David Chipperfield had chosen the title Common Ground as a means of addressing the “apparent lack of understanding that exists between the profession and society.” Even with a broad-based title, this latest Biennale may mark a turning point after a period of exhibitions focusing on celebrated designers and showpiece buildings. Furthermore, the decision to award Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira its lifetime achievement award could be pointing to a … [Read more...] about The wisdom of doubt: Álvaro Siza
Bittersweet celebration for Basques a year after end of ETA’s violence
During a visit to Gipuzkoa recently, it was hard at first to gauge how important the Basque regional elections are to people there. Today marks a year to the day since ETA announced the “definitive” end of its campaign of violence and Sunday’s vote will be the first without the terrorist group’s shadow looming large. And yet, when I talked to locals about what all this historic fact meant to them, many replied that rather than celebrating the peace, they were fretting about the economy. The Basque Country has weathered Spain’s crisis better than most, but it still has a jobless rate of 15 percent. “People are thinking so much about how to make ends meet that the other stuff doesn’t … [Read more...] about Bittersweet celebration for Basques a year after end of ETA’s violence
Jesús Eguiguren: the last negotiator
One film conspicuous by its absence at this year's San Sebastián festival was Ángel Amigo's 80-minute documentary, Memorias de un conspirador (or ‘Memoirs of a Conspirator’), about incumbent Basque Socialist Party President Jesús Eguiguren. In the film, due for release this autumn, the leader of the Basque Socialist Party (PSE) offers a personal perspective on his more than 30-year career in politics, in particular his dealings with ETA. It was talks instigated “off the record” by Eguiguren and former Batasuna spokesman, Arnaldo Otegi in 2002 that eventually paved the way for the 2006 negotiations between ETA and Zapatero's government. Memorias director Amigo was nonchalant about the … [Read more...] about Jesús Eguiguren: the last negotiator
Gibraltar: Fish, football and frontiers
On September 25, Mariano Rajoy took the podium at the UN General Assembly in New York, where Spain was hoping to win a rotating seat on the Security Council. The Spanish prime minister chose the moment to press for joint talks with the UK about the sovereignty of Gibraltar. He called on London to “reinitiate bilateral dialogue on the decolonisation of Gibraltar… We have now lost too many years.” Unsurprisingly, Spain failed to secure a seat on the Security Council, and London issued a waspish response, denying that decolonisation was even an appropriate concept: “The 2006 Gibraltar Constitution provides for a modern and mature relationship between Gibraltar and the UK. This description … [Read more...] about Gibraltar: Fish, football and frontiers
Artur Mas: independence hero, or cynical politico clinging to power?
Does Artur Mas, the man who likes to be called the president of Catalonia, really think that this northeastern region of Spain is going to become an independent nation any time soon? Does anybody? Surely not. In which case, why is he pushing the self-rule agenda? In recent weeks, Mas has gone from being Mariano Rajoy’s partner in crime in supporting unprecedented austerity measures to rabble-rousing independence leader, suddenly pulling the rug from under a bemused and increasingly befuddled-looking prime minister. Mas met with Rajoy in September, pushing for a deal that would give Catalonia a bigger share of the tax revenue it generates for the central government. When Rajoy turned … [Read more...] about Artur Mas: independence hero, or cynical politico clinging to power?
Catalonia goes Kosovo
One of the most memorable moments in world literature is when Captain Ahab nails a doubloon to the mast of the Pequod. Gold is a good argument, especially in desperate times. In Catalonia, the gold is the taxes, the nail is the term “fiscal deficit” (or “Spain steals from us”) and the mast’s new sails have “independence” written all over them. Money now being the driving force behind Catalan separatism does not take away one iota of its ethnic dimension. The referendum that is now envisaged, and to a lesser degree the upcoming regional elections, will split Catalonia between those who feel Catalan and those who feel Spanish. Both factors combined, the rise of nationalism in an economic … [Read more...] about Catalonia goes Kosovo
Spain’s Congress protests in pictures
All images: Felipe Fuente … [Read more...] about Spain’s Congress protests in pictures
San Sebastián Film Festival: Happy Hoffman and a hold-up
The 60th San Sebastián Film Festival drew to a close on Saturday evening, with triumphs for French film Dans La Maison, which took the Golden Shell, Blancanieves, The Dead Man and Being Happy, Foxfire and Fernando Trueba, for El artist y la modelo. Macarena Garcia and Katie Coseni shared the Silver Shell for Best Actress, for Blancanieves and Foxfire while the Zinemaldia jury awarded the Best Actor prize to José Sacristán for his performance in The Dead Man and Being Happy. A Special Jury Prize was also awarded to Blancanieves. A second 60th anniversary Donostia Prize (following on from Oliver Stone’s) was also awarded to Dustin Hoffmann, who presented his directorial debut The … [Read more...] about San Sebastián Film Festival: Happy Hoffman and a hold-up
Socialism and the future of Catalonia
Snap elections in Catalonia will be held on the November 25; the key issue is what Catalonia will be in the future and how it will relate to Spain and the European Union. Artur Mas’s CiU, the party which governs Catalonia (with 38 percent of the vote in the 2010 election), will present a platform in favour of the “Estat Propi”. This formula, roughly translated as “Free State”, avoids the term “independence” which for Mas would signal not only a break in relations with Spain but also with the EU. Mas, who fully understands that isolation of Catalonia from Europe would be financially and politically catastrophic, is anxious to avoid the rhetoric of rebellion. Radical separatist party ERC … [Read more...] about Socialism and the future of Catalonia