A VERITABLE WEDDING BOOM — CAN’T WAIT TO SAY “I DO” »
We don’t know about other countries but in Spain there's a veritable boom in the wedding industry right now. That's a stark contrast to, say, March-April 2020 when 17,000 weddings had been postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, This year, many couples refuse to wait any longer to say “I do”!
LA SIESTA BRAVA: HOW NOT TO BEAT THE SPANIARDS IN THE ENDEAVOR »
No Spaniard feels guilty about taking a snooze. You’ll see many a parked car from which a lone sleeper dangles out his feet. They nod in the subways, in the parks, in lobbies and stairways. Not only are they guilt-free, they don’t even worry about getting mugged. Perhaps there’s a built-in respect on the part of a Spaniard mugger toward a restful would-be victim. The mugger would probably feel guilty!
PRESCRIPTION FOR MENTAL HEALTH ON WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY. Ho-Hum. »
No doubt the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting people’s mental health. Particularly hard hit, according to the World Health Organization, are health and other frontline workers, people living alone, students, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions. But there are no specific groups that get targeted by the malaise. Fear, anxiety and insecurity are our constant companions early on in the pandemic, and at this late stage. AND beyond. Our mental health has been played havoc with. To make the bad situation worse, services for mental, neurological and substance-use disorders have been severely disrupted.
A SECOND OPINION: BUCKING BRONCOS AND BULLS OVER FOR THIS YEAR IN PNDLETON »
The Carnival left town. The cowboys and cowgirls loaded up their horses in their horse trailers and headed for other Rodeos around the country and Canada. The Indian Village was taken down and the tribes returned to their reservations. The most exciting event was the Indian bareback relay race. . .But all the hustle and bustle disappeared the day after closing, with Main St. open again to traffic and the horse pooh cleaned up as if it had never been there.
SPAIN’S FIESTA NACIONAL IS PACKED WITH PATRIOTISM, PRAGMATIC USAGE AND MISTAKEN RELIGIOUS MEANING »
The Fiesta Nacional is, as the name denotes, an annual celebration across Spain of a huge Spanish legacy that gave the world – the New World – a single (Spanish) denominator for the cultures in the vast Americas and brought the region under one dominant language. It set off the Golden Age of exploration and colonization, catapulting Spain as the first-ever world power. But couching it in today’s politically acceptable lingo, the Fiesta Nacional is touted as celebrating Spain’s union and brotherhood with the international community.
DAVIDE FRACASSO, A FABULOUS BAR, AND THE BEST COCKTAIL »
The SantaMaria drinks are created with the unique personality of each of its clients in mind. One look at you, one simple question, and a couple of minutes later they are back with what may yet be your newest favorite cocktail! Davide Fracasso's creation, "Character", not only charms but also won him the Bacardi Legacy Competition, one of the world's most prestigious cocktail competitions.
THE ACM 0CT0BER 2021 NEWSLETTER »
See what's on at the American Club of Madrid. Check out ACM'S October 2021 Newsletter!
THE VANQUISHED VIRUS GIVES WAY TO THE RE-DAWNING OF THE OLD NORMAL »
Many are acting as though the pandemic is now behind us. The attitude is infectious! The old, but most especially the young, are letting off steam in a typically Spanish way: laughter in the bars’ terraces, in the parks, the plazas. . . The sound of the joy of being alive. The signs of the returning old times.
STATESIDE STORIES: AN OPEN-DOOR POLICY THAT MAKES MIGRANTS SUFFER »
Almost 220,000 migrants have been apprehended at the US southern border from July 2021. Biden reversed Trump’s “stay in Mexico” policy and ended the construction of a border wall. Yet he says that the border is not open. Tell that to the thousands of migrants who collect at the border waiting for their chance to enter the US come what may. There has to be a better way.
THEY’RE GOING BANANAS! »
“Please don’t bury my bananas” is the collective prayer of the planters on La Palma where the Cumbre Vieja volcano is still spewing molten lava that devours houses, schools and banana fields as it plows its sinister way down to the Atlantic. It isn’t just that the lava buries everything that gets in its way. The ashes not only settle on the fruit but on whole plants and kill them off. Who can foretell what measly number of bananas would be harvested now, in view of the eruption? And to think that over 10,000 of the island’s 85,000 population depend on banana employment!
