Author: Ben

3 big stories from this weekend, all amazing in their own right:

1 – General Jose Mena was placed under house arrest after insinuating that, under the terms of the Constitution, the army would have to intervene if Catalan’s are granted greater autonomy. Shades of the attempted 23-F military coup in 1981?

2 – A man was shot dead in Seville, receiving nine bullets to the head, after hitting a girl with his car. The girl, a member of a gypsy family, survived with only minor injuries. The 64 year old got out of his car to help as soon as he hit the child, but several members of her family jumped out of vans parked nearby and began shooting. Four people have been arrested so far, but no-one has been formally accused of the crime.

3 – 176 people died on Spain’s roads this Christmas, from December 23rd to January 8th, 39 more than last year’s total for the same period. The CEA (European Automobile Commission) has blamed a soft approach to road safety advertising, black-spots on minor roads, and a lack of regard for the dangers of drink driving.

Technorati Tags: driving, accidents, roads, spain, shooting, Catalan, gypsy, news

On January 5th every year the Madrid Metro fills with parents holding their children in one hand, and a step ladder in the other. How else are the kids going to see over the heads of all those greedy adults, that also come down for the thousands of free sweets tossed from the floats in the passing ‘Cabalgata’ procession? Led by the ‘Reyes Magos’, or three kings, this traditional parade of open-bed lorries and tractor trailers heralds the end of the exhausting Christmas marathon, a succession of ever-more important family feasts, endured every year on the 24th, 25th, 31st, 1st, and ending at last, today, on January 6th.

Today is ‘Reyes‘, when Christmas presents are traditionally exchanged all over Spain, and the whole country has the day off. An uncharacteristic calm has settled on the rainy city. The shopping is over, there’s a park-anywhere rule as relatives pour in from the provinces and stick their cars down the centre lines of the streets, on pavements – no towing or tickets today. And there’s a palpable sense of relief. At last, with all the celebrations under our belt, perhaps we can get back to our run-of-the-mill, hectic city life.

Technorati Tags: Spain, Reyes, Christmas

David Meca has just completed a 110 kilometre, 25 hour swim from Javea in the province of Alicante to San Antonio in Ibiza. The 25 kilometre open water world champion arrived with mild hypothermia, exhaustion, and a dislocated shoulder. The worst moments came during the 14 hour night, when he suffered jellyfish stings, an extreme drop in temperatures, and the spotlight on his support boat failed.

Click here for photos.

Technorati Tags: spain, swim, ibiza, catalan, Meca

That was then, this is now: 2005 and 2006 in perspective – an interesting look at the last and the next twelve months in Spain, by Expatica. I never knew Glastonbury was coming over here…