SPAIN ACROSS THE YEARS. PART 1: Sanguinary Civil War, Ferocious Fascism, and the Dawning of a Better Life »
Here is an enthralling personal account of fascism and the Franco dictatorship by the author who was in Spain in the mid-1970s on the University of California Berkeley’s Education Abroad Program: "The last time I set foot in Spain in 1974 and 1975 fascism and the Franco dictatorship were in their last last legs. Returning 47 years later I braced myself for experiencing big changes."
HOW NOT TO BE A DUCHESS FOR LONG: Perpetual Nobles Wiped Out in One Fell Swoop »
"The perpetuity of the Spanish nobility is no empty phrase but it could become meaningless when the title that has been created and granted by a fascist is on a collision course with a legitimate government bent on righting a historic wrong"
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.
THE KING WHO’S STUCK IN THE ORIENT »
King Juan Carlos, the father of the reigning King of Spain, Felipe VI, isn’t coming – can´t come – home for Christmas much as he wants to. Hard on the heels of headline-grabbing scandals, he has self-exiled in the United Arab Emirates since last summer. And now neither King Felipe nor Pedro Sanchez, President of Spain, feels comfortable having the octogenarian "King Emeritus" back. He used to be hero-worshipped, having engineered the way to a parliamentary monarchy after nearly four decades of the stultifying Franco dictatorship.
A GUIDEPOST REPRINT: “CURRENT EVENTS…NEWS…BUSINESS/Civil Guards Still Adjusting to Democracy,” 31 May 1985 »
A news item about the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil) and how it is adjusting to parliamentary democracy in Spain ten years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. During the dictatorship, the Guardia Civil was a reactionary element associated with internal surveillance and political repression. Once dedicated to repressing opposition to the Franco regime, the adjustment of the police, but, it seems, especially the Civil Guards to democratic rule was not always easy.
HOW THE GOOD OLD SPANISH TWO-PARTY SYSTEM GOT CLOBBERED »
In just a decade, the predictable two-party environment in Spain fractured into a wide breadth of parties and ideologies and may never revert to the what-had-once-been. This will certainly make for a more chaotic system, but a more interesting one as well.
THE BASQUE COUNTRY & THE VASCOS – 3 (Guernica, the Path to Terror at the Reina Sofia Museum) »
"Guernica, a terrifying mural oil painting of greys, whites, and blacks, was Picasso’s response to the aerial bombing of Guernica, a town in the Basque Country. With Guernica he took a leap into political discourse, reflecting the tremendous events that unfolded in the Basque town"
IT’S CONSTITUTION DAY, ¡VIVA ESPAÑA! »
"Suddenly, life in the Spanish kingdom has acquired an entirely new framework, putting paid to a prolonged dictatorship which made it an international pariah. It was an electrifying moment in the modern history of Spain"
SPAIN IN OUR HEARTS, A Book Review »
“One of the most poignant descriptions in the book is the farewell to the International Brigades as their battle is coming to a close. As they marched down the Diagonal in Barcelona 300,000 Spaniards wept, cheered, waved and threw flowers, confetti, and notes of thanks”
SPAIN IN THE EU: Thirty Years Just Yesterday! »
Come January 1, 2016 Spain will celebrate its 30th year in the EU. What has happened all these years? What will the future be?
