Last month saw the release of the film Alacrán enamorado, the story of promising boxer Julián and his group of heavily-tattooed, neo-nazi friends, who spend their days in the ring and their nights beating up immigrants and members of ethnic minorities. Despite some strong performances, instead of tackling the complexity of the subject full on, this adaptation of Carlos Bardem's third novel is ultimately a superficial story of love and triumph against the odds. All of which is a shame, as Alacrán enamorado raises some potentially interesting questions regarding race relations in Spain. Figures published by the Spanish Institute for National Statistics reveal that immigration has risen … [Read more...] about Spain still wrestles with immigration
integration
Tales for Tapas: Compelling drama
Apart from that Sinatra-esque farewell announcement in 2001, Sir Alex Ferguson’s just-confirmed departure from Manchester United has been a model of timeliness accompanied by a minimum of fuss – in rather stark contrast to the goings-on at Real Madrid, where the José Mourinho soap opera, now ostensibly focused on the benching of the goalkeeper and captain, in reality hinges on the fine print of the manager’s employment contract. Despite his age (quite advanced in football years) Iker Casillas remains at the peak of his prodigious powers. His dissatisfaction about being dropped from the first team, the coach suggested this week, is fuelled by the covert desire for a more “manageable” … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: Compelling drama
Catalonia, immigration and populism
The attorney general’s announcement on January 20 that plans by the Catalan town of Vic to stop registering undocumented immigrants on its census were unlawful appeared to bring the furore surrounding the case to a close. After an outcry on the part of immigrant and human rights groups, Joaquin de Fuentes Bardají insisted that any immigrant should be able to register in their local municipality with just a passport (a visa or other documents being unnecessary) and therefore gain access to health and education services. But while Vic now appears unlikely to push ahead with its controversial initiative, this town of less than 40,000, just under a quarter of whom are migrants, has managed … [Read more...] about Catalonia, immigration and populism