One of my clearest memories from the years I spent working at the English edition of El País newspaper was a 6pm editorial meeting in 2007, the day of the launch of rival publication Público. These evening meetings are when the paper’s section heads tell editor-in-chief Javier Moreno what they are going to publish. I remember them as dull but rather tense affairs, where each head would deliver his (it was almost always a man) spiel, and hope not to have it verbally machine-gunned by the boss. But on this particular occasion, Moreno began the meeting with an appraisal of new arrival Público. “Whatever else one might think, they have a very clear idea of Spain and who their readers are,” he … [Read more...] about The importance of being ‘El País’
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Expat kids in Spanish schools: The best days of their lives?
'The education of foreign students in the province of Alicante,' a report by the University of Alicante for Asti-Alicante, an educational charity, is an extensive piece of research that paints to a very sorry picture of the experiences of some British students in Spanish state schools. The report found that British students often segregate themselves, become involved in gangs and refuse to subscribe to the Spanish system. Eventually they drop out, choosing absenteeism as an option in their later secondary years. The problems, the researchers noted, were most acute in schools with high proportions of English students with disruptive behaviour causing significant difficulties for themselves … [Read more...] about Expat kids in Spanish schools: The best days of their lives?
Jobless in Spain: a personal viewpoint
In January of this year, I became one of Spain's five million unemployed. The redundancy in itself has not hurt me badly. I receive a decent monthly unemployment benefit (with entitlement for 16 months) and, on a personal level at least, must admit to being pleased that my husband is one of Spain's 2.5 million job-protected funcionarios. The circumstances surrounding my redundancy, though not atypical, were legally ambiguous. “Ambiguous” because I had been hired to work until the completion of an unspecified project (or 'Fin de Obra') under what remains to date the most common type of contract in Spain. As I was hired in 2009, more than two years prior to recent changes in … [Read more...] about Jobless in Spain: a personal viewpoint
Getting to the bottom of Spain’s daunting unemployment rate
Of the many bits of bad economic news Spain has received this past year, including finding deficits were higher than expected and growth rates much lower, perhaps no other figure has proven as weighty and daunting as the country’s unemployment rate. Reports released at the end of January saw that number rise to 22.9 percent, adding another dismal headline to the Rajoy government’s first full month in office: nearly 5.3 million people out of work with declines in available positions across the board, from services to the country’s still collapsing construction sector. Capturing the dour outlook of the country’s current situation, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson summarized the statistics … [Read more...] about Getting to the bottom of Spain’s daunting unemployment rate
Spain’s film dubbing: ghost of a fascist past must be laid to rest
Most ex-patriots living and working in Spain will be all too aware of the Spanish penchant for dubbing foreign-language films. Whether Spanish-speaking or not, this is enormously irritating, particularly for those of us not living in more cosmopolitan cities like Madrid or Barcelona, with more cinemas showing films in original version. The nearest big city to me is San Sebastián, which hosts an annual international film festival famed for its predilection for the avant-garde. Throughout the festival, all showings are in original version and San Sebastián is extremely proud of its cinematic culture. Yet after almost 60 years of hosting the event, there is still only one small, two-screen … [Read more...] about Spain’s film dubbing: ghost of a fascist past must be laid to rest
Even Spanish TV feels the pain
As part of swingeing spending cuts being implemented at the behest of the European Central Bank, the Spanish government is to slash state broadcaster RTVE’s budget this year by €200 million to €1.2 billion. RTVE’s board says the cuts will have a “devastating impact” on its programming, predicting that its audience figures for its two channels La 1 and La 2, will drop by 8 percent. La 1 frequently tops audience ratings thanks to hugely popular programs such as Cuéntame como pasó — a long-running drama telling the story of a family from the Franco era up to the present day— or fantasy saga Águila roja, and post-Civil War soap opera Amar en tiempos revueltos. But the channel says that the … [Read more...] about Even Spanish TV feels the pain
Valencia’s Camps is off the hook, but something still smells rotten
Francisco Camps has reason to celebrate. The Popular Party’s former president of the Valencia region has been absolved of charges of taking bribes in the form of designer suits and other garments from a businessman at the heart of the Gürtel corruption scandal. After a two-week trial, the jury voted, five votes to four, that the accusations could not be proved. But while Camps has expressed his joy at defeating the conspiracy he says was behind this case, his own party has been less jubilant. Virtually all the senior party figures who have responded to the verdict have advised Camps to take a break from politics, from Valencia mayor Rita Barberá to Alberto Fabra, his successor as regional … [Read more...] about Valencia’s Camps is off the hook, but something still smells rotten
Garzón affair reflects Spain’s tortured relationship with its past
It’s another big week for Spain’s best-known judge. Today, Baltasar Garzón goes on trial to face charges of having knowingly overstepped his authority by ordering an investigation into the crimes of the Franco regime during and after the 1936-39 Civil War. Earlier this month, Garzón faced another trial, for having allowed police to wiretap conversations between defendants in the Gürtel corruption case and their lawyers. The verdict from that case is expected any day. Garzón is easily the most controversial figure in Spain’s judiciary and opinions on him are bitterly divided. The High Court magistrate, now suspended from his duties, dared go where none of his colleagues would. The … [Read more...] about Garzón affair reflects Spain’s tortured relationship with its past
Spain’s Syrian efforts received US backing
In 2006, the United States was optimistic about the Spanish government’s initiative to act as a mediator between the Syrian government of Bashar Assad and Hizballah over the latter’s disarmament. Then-Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos made a series of trips to Damascus, which the United States saw as a positive sign to try to defuse the volatile situation in the Middle East. In a series of cables sent by the US Embassy in Madrid and released by the Wikileaks website, American diplomats advised Washington that Spain could play a constructive role in the region. On August 3, 2006, the US Ambassador in Madrid at the time, Eduardo Aguirre, reported Moratinos as saying that Syria had … [Read more...] about Spain’s Syrian efforts received US backing
It’s gonna be a love fest at the Goya awards
With 16 nominations, Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito) will probably sweep the board on Sunday February 19, when Spain’s Film Academy announces the winners in the 26th annual Goya Awards. Bringing up second place will likely be Enrique Urbizu's thriller No Rest for the Wicked, which has 14 nominations, followed by Kike Maillo's directorial debut Eva with 12. Sunday night looks set to be a very public kiss and make up between Oscar-winning Almodóvar and the Academy, bringing to an end a frosty few years. The 16 nominations end a period of chilly relations between Almodóvar and the Spanish academy, which the director quit five years ago over changes to the … [Read more...] about It’s gonna be a love fest at the Goya awards