Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 99

IN DEPTH: As the Catalan elections loom, the Olive Press explores the mass grave issue that casts a shadow over them - and who the main MALLORCA candidates are See page 6 & 7

The

OLIVE PRESS

Court date ‘Fraudsters’ exposed by Olive Press special investigation to face the music Page 2

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Your expat

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Vol. 4 Issue 99 www.theolivepress.es February 12th - February 25th 2021

Left in limbo Pensioner hell, as expat couple forced to sleep three days at airport as airline refuses green residency cards

In disguise But which controversial expat fasion designer had a day in court this week?

Page 8

The good fight The pacifist bull they refused to kill and a chat with Spain’s hottest young matador Page 10 and 11

A PAIR of British pensioners are demanding compensation after being refused a flight to Spain despite having their green residency cards.

Roger and Linda Wilson, aged 76 and 78, were forced to sleep on chairs at an airport for three days after Lufthansa wouldn’t allow them to board a flight from Dubai to Frankfurt.

The couple, who had been visiting their son, were due to catch a connecting flight to Malaga, where they have lived since 2009, but the check-in clerks said their documents were ‘not acceptable.’

“We were not given any further information other than being told to seek alternative travel arrangements ourselves,” Linda, a former legal secretary from Hertfordshire, told the Olive Press this week.

However they managed to get on an Emirates flight to Madrid without issue.

HOME: Roger and Linda

Nightmare

Surreal sights The birthplace of Spanish artists Page 14

2 147 834

And crucially, they were accepted on arrival in Madrid, without further hitches, except they missed their connection flight to Malaga due to the late arrival of their cases.

The nightmare scenario on January 7 went from bad to worse, as a succession of flights back to Malaga were cancelled.

“We ended up spending three whole nights in Madrid Airport sleeping on chairs,” continued Roger, who was a building contractor.

“A total of FIVE further flights were cancelled or delayed plus one flight re-

turned to the Gate due to technical problems.”

Incredibly the pensioners were given no offer of help or assistance by Iberia, who they eventually booked with.

“No food, drink or vouchers were offered,” added Linda. “And each time a flight was cancelled we had to go out of the Departures Area and back out to the Check In desks to rebook another flight.

“There were no desks open in the Departures area. We had to go through security and the bag check FIVE times.”

The pair, who live in Alcaucin, in the Axarquia region, finally landed in Malaga on January 12, only to find that their baggage had been lost.

“There was also no one to report the lost baggage to and the Iberia desk telephone was not answered,” Lin-

da claimed.

Since returning home the couple have consulted with various Government offices, including the Ministry of Interior in Germany, the UK government, and the Spanish and British Consulates.

“All of them told us we should have been allowed to board in Dubai. All our paperwork was in order.

“We had been to see our son for the first time in three years and took all the right precautions.

“We are now in the process of trying to get our expenses repaid together with a sum of compensation due to the extraordinary amount of stress and anxiety this has caused us.

“So far we have had no communication from Lufthansa other than a generated automatic response.”

Lufthansa told the Olive Press: “Lufthansa takes travel regulations very seriously and does everything See page 11 & 16 in its power to ensure that they are applied correctly.

“The new travel restrictions, some of which are

Tel: 952 147 834 TM

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

implemented at very short notice, are exceptionally complex. This is a challenge in practice for Lufthansa employees as well as for public sector employees.

“In regards to this specific passenger case, Lufthansa employees have followed the requirements outlined by the official authorities. For this reason, we kindly ask that you direct your questions to them.”

Iberia told the Olive Press it would investigate the matter further but added that when the Wilsons were at Madrid airport the city was under siege by historic amounts of snow.

VIP

“The situation that weekend was terrible,” it said, “In spite of that, we sent clients to hotels, but some of them couldn’t enter in Spain because of their documentation.

“We also gave them some food (restaurants in the airport were also closed), blankets and we opened the VIP lounge to let families be there, no matter their flight status.

“We did as much as we could with the little possibilities we had.”

Opinion Page 6

2

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Throat Slashed A MAN, aged 20, has been jailed for five years after slashing the throat of a man he mistook for someone else outside a nightclub in Palma.

Caring staff THE shortage of the COVID-19 vaccine has led to Son Espases hospital staff reportedly turning down the jab so that their doses are instead given to a more vulnerable person.

Thieves busted FIVE people have been jailed for robbing 50 luxury villas across Mallorca between 2018 and 2019 and taking off with more than half a million euros in valuables.

Flasher anger A 45-year-old man who flashed at youngsters aged between three and 11 in a children’s playground in Palma was surrounded by angry parents until police arrived and arrested him.

CRIME

February 12th - February 25th 2021

Checked out by police

Death driver

A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Mallorca for scamming 12 hotels across Spain with bogus credit card details.

The Algerian made reservations worth over €1,300 using a fake card number via popular online booking platforms.

On arrival at each hotel, he verified his identity by pro-

THE driver wanted in connection to a fatal hit and run in Mallorca has surrendered to police.

A manhunt had been launched after a man, aged 34, was killed on the MA-15 highway in Algaida on January 28.

Minutes before being mowed down, the victim was involved in a collision with a red Fiat Punto.

The victim got out of his car to check the damage and as he was walking over to the other driver, he was run over by another car.

This driver failed to stop and fled the scene.

ducing a British passport. He told reception staff that he was staying with a friend who would pay the bill once he arrived.

He was finally tracked down to a hotel in Palma where police forcibly made him check out of the premises and into a cell.

Justice at last

‘Fraudsters’ who ‘stole €6 million’ from British expats to stand trial after Olive Press probe EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

AN alleged serial fraudster is facing money laundering charges in the UK after being exposed by the Olive Press.

Former Marbella-based couple Rhys Williams, 39, and his wife Lisa, 38, have BOTH been charged by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.

Cemetery ruse THREE people have been arrested for luring a woman to a cemetery for a fake funeral and then launching a horror attack on her.

Police say the ex-boyfriend of the victim told her a mutual friend had died and the funeral was being held at Bon Sosec Cemetery in Marratxi.

But when she turned up for the service, her ex, another man and a woman were lying in wait.

She was punched in the face then pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked in the head, suffering a broken jaw.

She managed to break free and make it to her car.

However, her attackers jumped in their own vehicle and chased her before ramming her car from behind and triying to force her off the road.

At one point they overtook her and then slammed on their brakes to try to get her to stop.

A witness called police to report the carnage on the road with officers being able to stop the group soon after.

Attacked FACING JUSTICE: Rhys and Lisa Williams charged with money laundering The pair are due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on March 17 charged

with one count of allegedly swindled millions of euros off numerous friends and contacts, while living on the Costa del Sol. We reported how the pair from Wales drove topof-the-range cars, wore Rolex watches, and paid for €10,000-a-year private schooling, while allegedly taking up to €1.6m from victims in ‘a Ponzi scheme’.

Our investigation into the pair was followed up in the UK press, including the Daily Mail and Wales Daily Post, despite the Spanish authorities dragging their heels probing the case.

Fortunately for the alleged victims, who collectively lost €6.28 million, the courts in the UK were taking more interest.

“It has been many years coming and all the victims are extremely happy,” victim Adrian Parsons, 54, told the Olive Press.

“We are all hoping that they will both receive custodian sentences even though it is unlikely we will recover any of the money invested.

“We can only hope that they are convicted so that their records be a warning to others who come across them in the future.”

The Olive Press revealed in 2018 that the Williams’ alleged ponzi scheme was operating out of Marbella, Dubai and India. A series of victims accused Rhys Williams of snaring wealthy parents at his children’s €10,000-a-year private school in Marbella, with the help of his wife.

Opinion Page 6

A MAN has been brutally attacked by two burglars inside his own home.

Guardia Civil arrested the alleged thugs, aged 26 and 35, for the robbery, with both being held in custody.

Investigators say the two men broke into the house in Santa Eugenia. They turned on the homeowner when he told them to leave, viciously battering him before looting valuables and making an escape.

The victim was taken to Inca Regional Hospital after calling the emergency services to report the robbery.

An investigation was then launched by police to bring the men to justice with officers locating both suspects on January 28.

Guardia Civil say the two men have a violent criminal history with one carrying out a similar assault on another homeowner in Santa Eugenia.

The other is considered to be a ‘dangerous criminal’ and expert in martial arts with several active warrants for his arrest.

Triple rape horror A MAN has been arrested for robbing and raping the same shopkeeper on three different occasions.

The assailant, aged 20, was arrested by police for the triple rape of the woman in Felanitx.

During his interrogation, the man confessed to sexually assaulting the woman during robberies in 2019 and 2020.

He also admitted to the attempted rape of the woman during a fourth robbery in January 2021.

In all of the assaults the man entered the woman’s shop just as it was about to close and always when she was alone.

After demanding that she handed over cash from the till, the man would drag her into the back store room to rape her.

However, last month the man committed another robbery at the shop but instead locked the woman in the store room and fled the scene.

She was freed by a customer who heard her

HIDEOUT: Evidence found buried screams for help and the police were called.

CCTV footage from the store was analysed and a few days later the suspect was identified.

After being arrested, the man led officers to a hideout in Felanitx where he hid incriminating items connected to the robberies and sexual assaults.

www.theolivepress.es

Busting a move INFLUENCER Demi Rose Mawby is Ibiza’s latest expat - and it looks like she’s living life to its fullest.

The stunning British model, who boasts 15million followers on Instagram, relocated to the White Isle from her hometown of Birmingham last year.

Demi has been busy sharing snaps of herself settling into life on the ‘Magic Isle’, including posing in skimpy bikinis and sunbathing in the nude.

The 25-year-old, who has ex boyfriend Tyga in common with fellow social media maven Kylie Jenner, made the leap to move to the party island after struggling with her mental health during lockdown in London.

Explaining her move she said: “I have loads of friends out here, the weather is nice, and it is a perfect backdrop for my modeling work.”

She added that the move was ‘one of the best choices’ she has ever made.

Wayne’s World THE millionaire brother of the former footballer Gary Lineker has teased that his Ibiza clubs could reopen this summer almost a year on from the COVID outbreak.

Wayne Lineker took to social media to share a picture of himself along with the caption: “I’m smiling because I’ve just received some very positive news #ibiza2021”.

NEWS Hit the jackpot THE Spanish government has agreed to pay €6.5 million a year to rent the prestigious Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection for the next 15 years.

And it has secured an option to buy the 400 works once the term is up. They have an estimated value of €1.04 billion.

This means that a 10-year-long saga about the future of the collection – which includes works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Renoir, Degas, Monet, Canaletto and Gaugin – has been settled, with the works saved for Spain.

The deal was struck by the Department of Culture with Baroness Carmen Cervera - the widow of industrial tycoon Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, who died in 2002.

The new arrangement also means that Gaugin’s Mata Mau will be returned to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. It was controversially removed last June as negotiations heated up.

Seeing red Fed up residents don’t want their homes declared a cultural asset

February 12th - February 25th 2021 DANI Dyer has finally revealed her son to the world, and it appears his name is a nod to his Spanish roots.

Reality star Dani paid tribute to her mum’s Spanish heritage and named her first born Santiago (pictured inset and with Dani), the Spanish translation of Saint James.

The Love Island 2018 winner, 24, announced that the adorable newborn had already been affectionately nicknamed ‘Santi’. Dani’s grandad, who she affectionately calls ‘Bruv’ is from Mallorca and

3

Spanish eyes mum Jo even had a Spanish-cockney themed wedding when she tied the knot with Dani’s dad Danny Dyer in 2016.

Dani used her podcast with Danny to share her baby son’s name. She told fans in a pre-recorded voice memo: “I know you’re all probably wondering what we’ve called him.

There’s been a lot of assumptions going on, some are actually really funny to be fair, but his name is Santiago.

“I know a lot of you are probably thinking ‘What?!’ but that is his name but we are going to be calling him Santi.

“I think it sounds nice on the birth certificate.”

Wolftastic

Battered

The 58-year-old who also owns nightspots in Marbella, Tenerife, Alcudia in Mallorca, Zante and Paphos, left Ibiza last September after revealing that his six European clubs were ‘battered’ because of the pandemic.

The Celebs Go Dating star has also been forced to postpone the opening of his new venue O Beach Dubai.

The playboy no doubt fancies some time relaxing in the sun after a difficult 12 months that saw his £30 million European nightclub empire in trouble.

Wayne’s former Lineker UK bar business has collapsed with a £100,000 debt.

Previously known as Linekers (UK) Ltd, the name was changed to Duane International Ltd, after his son, last year.

CAPTION RESIDENTS of a block of flats branded as the ‘most Instagrammed private building’ in Spain are up in arms over plans to declare the building a ‘cultural asset’.

Furious home owners say they already have to put up with people wandering in to take snaps of the ‘iconic building’, leading residents to erect signs telling passersby to keep out.

Now, if the plans to list the La Muralla Roja (The Red Wall) as ‘an Asset of Cultural interest (BIC) come to fruition, they will have to set opening hours for sightseers to visit.

And that, they say is not on for a building that dates back to the 1970s.

Objection

It was designed by Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill and is located in the upper part of Cala de la Manzanera (Alicante).

The Calpe Cultural and Ecological Association(ACEC), claims that the local council has not replied to a written objection sent last April over the BIC move. The BIC process started in 2015, but La

By Alex Trelinski

Muralla Roja property owners say that nobody from the authority has spoken to them since then about the move.

An ACEC statement condemned ‘the absolute lack of

interest of the council in telling the residents and agreeing with them any moves to make the building a cultural asset’.

“We have become mere spectators of a process that will have many consequences on our daily lives,” the statement continued.

KIM CLARK

WOLF hunting has been banned throughout Spain making the Iberian wolf a protected species, along with the Iberian Lynx and the Cantabrian Brown Bear.

Spain’s Environment Ministry has ruled that protection for wolves in the south of the country will now be extended north of the Duero river, where controlled hunting had still been allowed.

Farmer’s unions have lashed out that the nationwide hunting ban will lead to more attacks on livestock, and that farmer’s ‘needs’ have been ‘ignored’.

Spain’s Environment Ministry has however promised to work with farmers on ways to protect cattle without harming wolves.

Spain is home to an estimated 1,500-2,000 Iberian wolves, with 90% in the northern regions of Castilla y Leon, Asturias and Galicia where it is believed that, until now, up to 400 wolves were killed annually.

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NEWS

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Two more weeks COVID restrictions are set to be extended by two weeks despite a sharp fall in the coronavirus infection rate.

President Francina Armengol said: “It is important to maintain a good trend in infections for another 14 days before we begin to relax our measures.”

Armengol stressed that the restrictions ‘were working’ and in the past two weeks, have brought the COVID-19 incidence rate down by 49%.

She went on to explain that the ‘ICU occupancy and evolution of the British strain of coronavirus’ has made the government ‘particularly prudent at this time’.

Cautious

For these two reasons, the president said that the de-escalation plan would be ‘cautious’ in order to ‘avoid a fourth wave of the virus’.

“Our decisions will take into account advice from experts to ensure the best measures are taken,” said Armengol.

On Monday, the Balearic Islands recorded its lowest number of new coronavirus infections since September 2020. Only 53 people were diagnosed with COVID-19.

FORMER Madrid regional president Cristina Cifuentes (pictured) faces more than three years jail for faking a masters degree.

She allegedly instructed staff at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos to fake a document proving that she had pre-

Pop star’s stolen possessions on way home JAMES BLUNT is set to be reunited with his prized possessions stolen from his Ibiza home earlier this year.

Police confirmed they had arrested two Romanian brothers in connection to the robbery and believed to be behind dozens of burglaries at luxury villas on

Degree of guilt sented her end-of-course dissertation.

The former regional president has so far failed to show the actual project and claims she ‘lost it’ when she moved house.

Former government aide and civil servant Maria Teresa Feito is facing the same penalty as her ex-boss, while the

February 12th - February 25th 2021 public prosecution also wants university boss Cecilia Rosado to be jailed for 21 months for helping Cifuentes obtain the fake degree in Public Law. Cifuentes was forced to resign in 2018 after a video was made public showing her stealing two pots of face cream from a hypermarket in 2011. The CCTV footage was aired right at the height of the scandal over her alleged master’s forgery.

Blunt joy

By Isha Sesay

the island.

They said that they had recovered valuables worth

Beach bums POLICE kicked a crowd of hundreds of people off Cala Mayor beach.

Officers say the majority were flouting coronavirus restrictions, with most not wearing a mask or practicing social distancing and many boozing during Sunday’s incident.

Local police were called in by a resident. On seeing the size of the gathering reinforcements were summoned and officers started handing out €100 fines.

In January, the Balearic government tough COVID restrictions were brought in amongst which social gatherings between people who do not live together were banned.

hundreds of thousands of euros in the operation including sculptures, paintings, champagne and jewellery as well as a weapon thought to belong to Blunt.

Last month, the You’re Beautiful singer offered a cash reward for information on the suspects.

He said that the thieves had stolen his cufflinks, clothes and sunglasses as well as a pocket watch given to him by his grandfather and a bayonet from his days as a soldier in the Kosovo war.

In an appeal to Diario de Ibiza, Blunt said with a touch of humour: “The thieves took about 100 items, including a black and white rug that my wife did not like, so I suspect she could be involved.

“They also took all my t-shirts and shirts, so they must not have a very good sense of style, since I am not known for mine.”

He continued that he ‘understood that it was a difficult time for many people on the island’ but that his ‘only real sadness’ was to lose his beloved family heirlooms.

Vim-NO! BRITISH expats have been left without their favourite grocery items due to ongoing Brexit issues.

Supplies of Marmite, Yorkshire Tea and Vimto have dried up in some areas after trade between the UK and the bloc became frustrated by the extra red tape.

Banned

It comes after major supplier the British Corner Shop announced that it was temporarily suspending orders to EU countries as DHL had suspended collections.

Brits in Spain have said they have been stuck without their home favourites and have no options to travel to other stores as most are banned from travelling outside of their municipality.

Friends.

Reset.

Music.

At OD Port Portals we have our own star rating. In fact, we have all the stars of the Mallorca sky and we will enjoy them all together every summer night at OD Sky Bar, on our spacious terrace and at our restaurant On Top. A hotel full of local experiences, music, art, gastronomy, yoga, pre-parties, flea markets, brunches, concerts, Pilates, tardeo, sea, sun and all the stars. A hotel full of life.

Horizon.

Sunset.

Memories.

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The Iberian ribbed newt thrown a lifeline BIOLOGISTS at Valencia’s Oceanogràfic park have successfully managed to reintroduce a severely threatened species of newt back into the Serra Calderona nature park between the provinces of Valencia and Castellon.

The programme follows an identical scheme carried out previously in Sueras (Serra Espada, Castellon) and which was selected as one of the 10 best environmental and sustainable development projects in the Valencia region.

Vital

GREEN

Good newts!

SUCCESS: Threatened newts reintroduced to nature park

The Pleurodeles waltl, better known as the Iberian ribbed newt, is on the Valencian list of endangered species and is considered of vital importance for the maintenance of the area’s endemic biodiversity.

According to the experts, the newt helps regulate the insect population and plays an important part in the food chain.

As its name suggests, the amphibian can only be found on the Iberian Peninsula and in Morocco.

The project is entitled Oasis of life, restoration of water sources

for local biodiversity, the Iberian ribbed newt as the leading species and was launched three years ago to preserve flora and fauna that are typical to the area.

In addition to reintroducing and protecting endemic species, the programme also focuses on

Auf Wiedersehen PET! WHEN it comes to plastic bottles the EU is saying auf wiedersehen to PET and guten tag to r-PET. The Union’s European Circular Economy Strategy for Plastics has set a target for all plastic packaging to be recyclable by 2030.

This means that manufacturers will have to switch away from to use the cumbersome jargon - polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and use instead recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) In recent years the problem of plastic pollution - particularly in the oceans - has never been far from the headlines.

Various big name brands are already using packaging with a proportion of recyclable material, but the EU wants to make 100% recyclable - and preferably recycled - plastic mandatory.

Pressure has been mounting from consumers and environmentalists following extensive media coverage of plastic pollution, such as David Attenbrough’s Blue Planet 2.

But making packaging 100% recyclable is easier said than done, according to one Spanish company.

Carlos Enguix is head of Packaging Technologies at Valencia company, AINIA. He explained that a big problem with recycling is that there is often a degradation in the quality of the material in the process.

He added: “By using certain percentages of recycled material with virgin product, we can meet the requirements for packaging foods.”

This is a solution that is being used today , with companies using similar techniques to make r-PET around the world, with some announcing r-PET percentages from 20% to 100% already.

Under pressure SPAIN’s first high-pressure hydrogen refuelling station has been set up.

With a supply capacity of 700 bar pressure, the new station is part of a scheme to showcase the long-distance capabilities of hydrogen cell cars.

It will be used to refuel a fleet of 12 Toyota Mirai units that will be used by the companies behind the project, in order to promote hydrogen as a clean and sustainable energy.

It is the first station in Spain

February 12th - February 25th 2021

to offer hydrogen at such high pressure, making it possible to refuel the tanks of the latest generation of fuel cell vehicles in around five minutes, giving a range of 550 kilometres.

Power company Enagás and Toyota have partnered with environmental management company Urbaser, industrial gas company Carburos Metálicos, the Sumitomo Corporation and the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Employers (CEEES) for the project.

raising environmental awareness among the public and publishing scientific and educational

material.

The Oceanografic team will work closely with residents who are familiar with the Serra Calderona in order to target the best spots to release the baby newts.

Working also with the regional Agriculture department, the experts will recover abandoned waterholes, dig new ones and clear small wetland areas of invasive species.

The released specimens will be marked with an ultraviolet solution or fitted with a microchip that will enable scientists to keep track of their progress.

Natural ponds have recently been found to play a vital role in regulating global warming, as they trap and filter carbon dioxide naturally.

5

Cash savings A SPANISH town has announced that all the electricity it uses comes from renewable sources.

The green energy supplied to Orihuela on the Costa Blanca comes from solar power, hydroelectric and windmill turbines.

Angel Noguera, Orihuela’s Councilor for Infrastructure, said: “We are producing a cleaner, more ecological and more suitable energy for the protection of nature.”

The council signed an electricity framework agreement with a ‘guarantee of 100% renewable sources’ with the Diputacion de Alicante.

This ensures significant cash savings for municipalities in the province.

Municipalities and corporations that adhere to the agreement are guaranteed supplies of energy sourced purely from renewable sources at a competitive price.

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www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

OPINION Holiday hell IT is shocking to hear the tale of the Wilsons who were forced to sleep on chairs for three nights at Madrid airport after their residency cards were deemed unacceptable for travel.

The airlines and airport management have a lot to answer for, particularly given that both are in their 70s and at a high risk in terms of COVID-19.

It is completely unacceptable that Lufthansa refused the couple’s boarding on their Dubai-Frankfurt flight, especially as the rules for travel were stated as clear as day on both the Spanish Government and British Foreign Office websites.

Regardless, a quick call to colleagues in Spain should have surely clarified any doubts.

We are sorry to hear that following an Olive Press probe the German carrier is trying to pass the buck to the government authorities.

Let’s hope the Wilsons, who were left more than €2,000 out of pocket, are rightly compensated.

I

NEWS FEATURE

MAGINE if, rather than losing the Second World War and committing suicide in Berlin, Adolf Hitler had successfully invaded the British Isles and ruled them as a dictator before dying peacefully in his bed in 1975.

Then imagine if a law brought in after his death protected all those who assisted the regime, making them free from prosecution.

Next, picture a country where hundreds of thousands of former opponents lie in mass graves, which the new democratic government - in the interests of national reconciliation - feels it best to ignore. And notice that the Nazi flag, with its infamous insignia, had not been replaced as the national flag; just that the swastika was replaced with the British lion and a unicorn.

Finally, take note that Hitler’s children continue to live in lavish estates around the UK, while the dictator himself lies in a huge mausoleum in the Home Counties. A shrine, if you like, to all those (including numerous academics, businessmen and politicians) who still believe he made our country what it is today.

What may sound like a Robert Harris novel is very much the reality in Spain, 45 years after the death of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

The guns may have fallen silent, but the civil war continues, if not in the mountains of Aragon then across the dining room table and

Gotcha!

THEY say the arc of justice is long but it bends.

Let’s hope that’s the case for Rhys and Lisa Williams, who stand accused of defrauding British expats out of more than €6 million.

Three years after our initial expose of the alleged Marbella-based Ponzi scheme, the Welsh couple are now facing money laundering charges in the UK. It’s just another example of the Olive Press exposing the bad apples in what is mostly a great expat community.

No other English paper acts on behalf of its readers to bring crooks and criminals to justice.

How many other expat papers can say they have aided in the arrest and exposure of dozens of paedophiles, fraudsters and criminals over the years?

The answer to that is ZERO. Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

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Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

A NATION As Catalunya goes to the polls, the Olive Press explains how the spectre of the civil war still casts a shadow over the regions. By Barnaby Bouchard

looming over the forthcoming election in returning Spain to the perceived glory days Catalunya. of the pre-Enlightenment era. The days when This is in part to be expected; the trauma the army and Church were answerable ‘only of going through a brutal civil war in which to God and to history’. over 500,000 people were shot, tortured or While from the 1950s quality of life did exstarved to death. perience an upturn, and token But the suffocating lack of movements towards liberalclosure afforded to many afization were made to curry The politicians ter the gruesome events of economic favour with Ameriinherited 1936 to 1939, and the harsh ca, the Franco era is generally dictatorship that followed, seen as a time in which the a country has bred a tired, bitter reugliest extremes of conservasentment among many Spantism were allowed free rein. lurching iards, one that goes to the What is certain is that Spain towards chaos was held decades behind the core of how they see themselves as a people. rest of the continent economMuch is due to the nature of ically and socially thanks to the regime Franco imposed on his conquered Franco’s twisted interpretation of history and countrymen, after deposing the democrati- nationhood. cally-elected government. Remember that Germany and Italy found cloDuring nearly four de- sure at the end of their fascist regimes. cades of his Catholic Na- While Hitler and Mussolini suffered gruetionalist dictatorship, crit- some deaths, Franco passed away peacefully icism of the regime and in his bed at the ripe age of 82, in 1975, surattempts to sabotage it rounded by his family. were viciously silenced.

He died having no reason to believe Spain Even regional languag- was set to change; the government was comes, particularly Catalan prised of Falangists and religious leaders. and Basque, were sup- His Prime Minister was Carlos Arias Navarro, pressed in the aim of known as ‘the Butcher of Malaga’ for sum-

The battle for Catalunya Spain’s former Health Minister has been drafted in to stave off a new drive for independence, reports Laurence Dollimore

H

E is best known for his deadpan tilt at the camera during his stiff and serious regular bulletins on the ravages of COVID around Spain.

Part of Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government, Salvador Illa was removed from his position as Health Minister last month to help steady the ship in the Catalan elections next week.

In a bid to blunt a new drive for independence this year, the bespectacled former minister is a popular and potent weapon.

Now, remarkably, his anti-independence party is on track to win the most votes on February 14, latest polls have suggested.

The Catalunya Socialists Party (PSC) would claim 23.7% of the vote if a snap poll were held last week, a CIS survey of 2,000 voters found.

an extremely tall order in today’s fractured political landscape.

Once the MPs have been elected, they must choose a president, with each party putting forward their strongest candidate.

The speaker will put a candidate up for a vote, usually from the party with the most votes first, who will need 68 MPs to vote for them. If this fails, another vote will be held in which they will only need a simple majority. If they fail again, the process is

repeated over a two-month period until a president is chosen.

If deadlock continues, a fresh election will have to be called meaning coalitions are almost inevitable, with smaller parties able to act as kingmakers.

It means the party with the most votes is not guaranteed to form the government.

But which of the three frontrunning candidates are most likely to become president?

Pere Aragones, Esquerra Republicana (ERC), 38 The law and history graduate, who also studied at Harvard University, has taken up the helm of the ERC after its former leader was removed (Quim Torra). Aragones is left wing and staunchly pro-independence, much like his predecessor.

However he wants to prioritise

talks with Madrid. Aragones has a strong chance of getting over the 68-seat threshold with the support of fellow pro-independence parties.

Nothing is guaranteed however, particularly given recent fall outs with JxCat, the other big pro-independence party.

Uphill Close behind is the ERC, which would obtain 19.9% and thirdly JxCat, with 14.6%.

Either way, Illa would still face an uphill battle to become President of the Generalitat, as those parties would likely unite to keep him out. And even with Ciudadanos and the PP voters supporting him it may not be enough.

In total, voters in Catalunya, Spain’s second most populous region with 7.2m people, will elect 135 MPs from across four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.

However to form a government, a party needs an absolute majority of 51%, or 68 seats out of the 135,

Laura Borras, Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), 50 Elected immediately after Spain imposed direct rule following the ‘illegal referendum’ in 2017, Borras is pushing for a ‘peaceful confrontation’ against Madrid. The former university professor is currently accused of illegally awarding a public contract to a close ally, with a court case ongoing. Despite this, she has a strong chance of becoming the

next Catalan leader, and would be the first female in the role. While JxCat is behind ERC in the latest poll, a similar forecast in 2017 didn’t ring true, with Borras’ party eventually gaining 10,000 more votes than its rivals. Borras will need the support of pro-independence parties and potentially others, depending on the final vote share.

SALVADOR ILLA, Partit Socialista de Catalunya, 54 The philosophy and business graduate has long been a darling of the Socialists since becoming mayor of the historic inland town of Roca del Valles in 1995. But after being named health minister just before COVID hit, he quickly became a household name as the face of the fight against the pandemic.

In fact his notoriety led PSC leader Miquel Iceta to put Illa forward as the presidential candidate instead of himself.

Illa has long been a critic of the pro-independence parties and is a Spanish unionist.

His election as president would be a noted shift in the Catalan leadership.

www.theolivepress.es

February 12th - February 25th 2021

DIVIDED

7 Olive Press online ‘Spain’s best English news website’

More fake news

T WAR CRIMES: Many republicans were slaughtered and buried in mass graves after being captured marily executing 17,000 political prisoners an interest in exhuming the victims, such Meiras palace in Galicia, which was vacated during the civil war, and the dictator’s hand- as when the Zapatero government freed up in 2020, only allowing the family to take the picked successor, the new King Juan Carlos I, funding for it in 2007, it can just as easily be electro-domestics. had sworn to continue his legacy. The future cancelled, as it was, by the next administra- The year before Franco’s coffin was famously of Falangist Spain, ‘One, Great and Free’, tion. moved from its mausoleum in the Valley of seemed assured.

Meanwhile, the family of Franco inherited the Fallen to a simple family tomb in Madrid.

The politicians who led the famous ‘Tran- an estimated €600 million on the dictator’s Most importantly the 2007 Law of Historical sicion’ back to democracy (most of them, death, as well as being allowed continued Memory still stands, giving rights to those ironically, die-hard Falangists) ownership of artworks and who were persecuted or suffered repression inherited a country lurching lavish palaces. during the dictatorship. towards chaos. The highly inLooting, arson, It is only in the past few years There is financial aid for those trying to lofluential army had no reason that the government has fi- cate relatives and grants of citizenship to the repression and nally begun to reclaim these descendants of those who fled Spain in the to welcome democracy.

Meanwhile the country was taking the stance aftermath of the civil war. murder with no properties, rocked by riots, protests and that, as Franco assumed Efforts are, therefore, being taken to right strikes by supporters of the expower illegally, the estate he wrongs, in cases where it is not too late. hope for true iled political parties calling for accumulated as head of state While the masterminds of the Transicion justice free elections. was not his to pass on. The surely cannot be blamed for their reluctance A return to civil conflict was amnesty protecting criminals to make a hard break with the past, Spain looking likely and a comproduring and after the civil war is waking up to the uncomfortable fact that mise needed to be found. means that, across the country, families still reconciliation has to come from dialogue, It meant that King Juan Carlos would remain feud over what their parents and grandpar- not silence. head of state, while there would be no purge ents did to each other.

Grass can cover the battlefields, the veterof the armed forces.

Nearly every town and village saw looting, ans can grow old, the memories can fade.

But most pertinently, there would be an arson, repression and murder, which, with But as we have seen, until Europe’s most amnesty for all those who had done the re- no hope of legal resolution, has, as its only outspoken and effervescent people forsake gime’s dirty work, including now-ageing war outlet, long decades of festering resentment. their collective denial, their civil war cannot criminals. The infamous ‘Pacto del Olvido’, or Even the national flag remains largely un- be considered over.

Pact of Forgetting, was born: an agreement changed: The fathat the past would not be discussed, and langist symbols and imposing black Eagle that the country would move on as one.

Europe’s most forthright people, effectively of St John are gone, swore themselves to silence, because the but the red and yellow truth somehow seemed untouchable. It banner, a monarchist was true that seeking vengeance on the old symbol adopted by regime in the late 1970s could have been the nationalists, concatastrophic, and Spain certainly deserves tinues to fly from all Nerva, Huelva praise for its (largely) peaceful transition government buildings. from dictatorship to democracy, something It is an affront to many that has rarely happened before. But, as any - particularly in regions psychologist will tell you, bottling up trauma is like Catalunya, which suffered badly under not a good idea.

With 2,500 mass graves scattered around Franco - that the flag the country and an estimated 140,000 vic- which is meant to tims interred, that’s a lot of trauma and grief. symbolise nationhood While some landowners and religious figures instead symbolises were killed in Republican areas the majority the limbo caused by an ability to confront were massacred by Franco’s regime.

At present, 42 victims of Francoist repression have been found Until recently, no government has dared to history. in the cemetery of this small Andalucian town, making it, acapproach this matter, despite calls by thou- Fortunately attempts cording to its socialist mayor, a candidate for ‘the biggest rural sands of families for the reburial of loved to deal with limbo mass grave in Spain’. They are more than 1,500 people behave been gathering ones. lieved to be buried across the Huelva mining basin, notorious Many still live close to the unmarked tombs of pace. for its bloody reprisals in the early days of the war. To date, there their parents or siblings, and can tell you their In 2019 the governhave been two digs at the site in Nerva, the second of which exact location. But most family members ment declared its inwas funded by the Ministry of Justice in Madrid. Andalucia’s have now passed away without receiving the tention to locate and regional government, controlled by a coalition of the right-wing rebury 25,000 peoclosure that reburial would bring.

Partido Popular and centrist Ciudadanos, has not participated.

Attempts by local governments to deal with ple in mass graves by these graves are often met with a massive 2024. pushback, largely from the right-wing PP The Franco family Pinos Genil, Granada and Vox parties, who argue that it would go meanwhile, is being against the Pacto del Olvido and inflame old stripped of its physical inheritance; intensions.

Even when the central government does take cluding the Pazo de

Two scenes of horror from the civil war

Army generals from the old regime were not replaced during the Transición to democracy, meaning the military continued to be dominated by Falangists, who subscribed to the old Castilian philosophy that the army and government were indivisible. In 2020, Francisco Beca Casanova, an air force general who retired in 2004, professed in a Whatsapp group a desire to ‘shoot 26 million Spaniards’, lauded Franco as ‘irrepetible’, and was one of 73 former senior officers who submitted an open letter to the king calling on him to dissolve the current socialist government.

DID YOU KNOW?

HE Spanish Government has ONCE AGAIN been forced to counteract fake reporting after a slew of national papers in the UK claimed foreign tourists would be ‘banned until after summer.’

No surprise, the stories all quoted English-language website www. euroweeklynews.com, which had misquoted prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Under the headline: ‘Spain won’t welcome tourists until the end of the summer’, its writer made a massive boo boo - as it was simply not true.

As properly reported by the Olive Press, Sanchez actually told a press conference in Madrid that for Spain to ‘be in a better position’ to receive tourists ‘AS IT DID BEFORE’ the pandemic, 70% of the population would need to be vaccinated.

In other words, quite different from an all-out ban.

Nevertheless, the false story - or ‘bulo’ in Spanish - was presented as truth by British national papers, including the Mirror and Metro, who should have known better.

It led to Spain’s angry tourism minister Reyes Maroto having to counter the claims to the Telegraph the following day.

Knowing the fake story could be highly damaging to the tourism industry, she told the paper that the plan of the national Government was to actually begin welcoming tourists back this Spring.

The fake news drama comes after the same English website made up a story about a nationwide lockdown coming to Spain in September 2020.

The alarming story, which included false government sources, led to mass panic and a slew of holiday cancellations to Spain.

There was an outcry on social media and the Olive Press immediately contacted the Health Ministry at the time and demanded it addressed the issue.

Our intervention led the head of the coronavirus taskforce Fernando Simon to address the story in his daily briefing, in which he labelled the story a ‘complete lie.’

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: for the arrival of storm Justine 1- Spain braces itself(13,246 views) LISTED: Every municipality which must close 2-borders or all non-essential businesses from tomorrow in Spain’s Andalucia (10,050 views) moved to minor roads to catch 3- Roadblocks checkpoint dodgers as 27 fined in first five hours of weekend lockdown on Spain’s Costa Blanca (9,086 views)

- LISTED: The 18 municipalities in Spain’s An4lowering dalucia which can open their borders today after COVID-19 incidence rates (7,593 views) “Since the sons are away, we’ll kill the mothers.” With this abominable refrain the Nationalists justified their actions in places such as Pinos Genil, where six men and six women were killed, according to official records, ‘as subsistutes’ for family members who were fighting for the Republic. Francesca Esperidon, the eldest victim found in the cemetery, was a 70-year-old

- LISTED: The 27 municipalities opening their 5incidence borders today in Spain’s Andalucia after COVID-19 rate drops below 500 cases per 100,000 people (7,577 views)

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SPECIAL REPORT

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No model witness AN expat fashion designer behind the alleged loss of €35 million of investors money has insisted regular threats of violence were behind her involvement with the company.

Jody Smart, the sole director of failed firm Continental Wealth Management (CWM), accused her former partner of being the real owner and aggressively forcing her to be the figurehead on paper.

The ex-fashion model told a court hearing how her past lover Darren Kirby frequently turned violent and aggressive when she threatened to quit.

She told a judge at Denia Court that every time she tried to leave the British-run pension compa-

February 12th - February 25th 2021

EXCLUSIVE: Violent threats kept Jody Smart linked to the disgraced firm CWM, which paid her ‘up to €8,000 a month’

EXCLUSIVE

By Alex Trelinski

ny, Kirby would get violent.

And despite failing to report Kirby to the police, because she was ‘afraid’, she has kept videos and phone messages of him threatening her.

She was giving evidence in a private prosecution by 17 of up to 1,000 British pensioners, from all across Spain including Andalucia, who put their savings into Alicante-based CWM. The business collapsed in 2017.

Some of the individual losses added up to €800,000.

The private action accuses Kirby and Smart, along with Paul Clarke, and Stephen Ward of fraud, disloyal administration, and forging victims’ signatures onto investment dealing instructions.

A judge will decide whether there is enough evidence for a full trial to go ahead.

The solicitor leading the private prosecution, Antoni Bertomeu, told the Olive Press: “The most significant aspect of the hearings was that the accused did not deny that CWM was responsible for any wrongdoing.”

“They are merely trying to save themselves by saying they knew nothing about it and had nothing to do with it,” he added.

The prosecution has resumed after oral testimony was suspended last spring due to the

Issues

She said her salary was ‘€5,000, €6,000 or €7,000 a month’ and it was ‘sometimes as high as €8,000’, depending on ‘what Darren wanted to pay’.

Smart said she only put her name to the firm to help out Kirby who was having ‘issues with his wife’ and wanted to stop her accessing company assets.

Smart, who owns clothes company Jody Bell SL, declared that her livelihood was fashion and insisted she had no knowledge of what went on with CWM. She added she was merely the ‘face’ of the company.

She did however, refuse to answer questions from Bertomeu, who has been leading the pri-

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and merely shared clients with the business.

The judge has now asked for full details of the investments.

“All the risk assessments will have to be provided which prove that the clients had their money placed into high-risk portfolios,” said Bertomeu.

“The judge has been very proactive and can see that crimes have been committed, but it will be a very long process,” he added.

Bertomeu believes that if ‘everything goes to plan’, a trial date could be set for next year.

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Down

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ternational Spain, but told the hearing that he is currently unemployed.

He also refused to take questions from Bertomeu.

Another of those grilled was advisor Stephen Ward, who ran Moraira-based Premier Pension Solutions, which ceased trading in 2017.

Ward admitted to having worked with seven of the claimants, and confirmed that his company had a business collaboration with CWM. He insisted that he was never paid ‘a single cent’ from CWM

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ON TRIAL: Jodie Smart with legal representative and (left) former boss Darren Kirby who ‘turned violent’

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vate prosecution for two years, and left the Denia courthouse via a fire exit.

Case coordinator Angela Brooks, who brought the 17 claimants together, told the Olive Press: “Watching the defendants walk in and out of court was disgusting as they bobbed and weaved to get out of the way of photographers.”

One of these was Paul Clarke, who was involved in helping Kirby build up CWM. He denied forming the company and being Kirby’s business partner, claiming he merely helped in the office and trained some staff members, as well helped do some supermarket shopping and ‘getting Darren coffees’.

He added that he left in August 2010 because of Kirby’s ‘aggressive and abusive’ attitude.

Clarke went on to run other businesses, including AES In-

OP Sudoku

Angela and Antoni

pandemic.

Statements last year from ex-employees of CWM said that the claimants had lost their money due to risky investments.

Answering questions from the judge, Jody Smart said she became a partner in CWM, formed by Kirby, in 2012.

In the testimony, seen by the Olive Press, she also admitted he transferred up to €8,000 a month into her private bank account through to 2017.

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LA CULTURA

February 12th February 25th 2021

Second time round for Blas SPAIN’S Blas Canto will soon find out which song he will be performing at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam.

Spain’s national broadcaster, RTVE, will be staging a special show sometime this month (date to be announced!) where Blas will offer up the choice of two numbers.

It will then be totally up to the viewing public to choose which song he will take forward to Rotterdam in May. It’s a strong case of deja-vu for 29-year-old Blas who was

Culture Vulture THE Teatre Principal in Palma has taken top spot in the leaderboard for ‘Best Cultural Offer in Mallorca in 2020’.

The Observatory of Culture ranked the historic theatre, which opened its doors in 1667, with the highest marks in a year they described as ‘being made especially complicated as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’.

The capital’s renowned Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Arts took second place, followed by Fundacio Literaria, CaixaForum and the Atlantida Film Festival.

Tough

Last year, cultural venues had a particularly difficult year with the Balearic government ordering their closures under a period of tough COVID-19 restrictions.

Once they were finally allowed to reopen, they had to operate under a limited capacity, leaving many venues to think outside of the box in order to draw in spatially distanced crowds.

born in Ricote and brought up in Molina de Segura.

He was set to represent Spain with a song called Universo in Rotterdam last year.

The pandemic then struck, forcing the competition to be postponed for the first time in its 65-year history.

While the UK has been coy over whether last year’s entrant, James Newman, will return, RTVE have kept faith with Canto, albeit with a fresh song.

His two options remain under wraps but are said to be ‘very different’.

Blas Canto said: “I’ve got another shot at this and I’ve been part of the writing team for both the songs.”

“The songs are totally me and I’m very pleased with both of them.”

One big change this year is that there will be no voting from a studio jury of experts, which has led to controversies over song selections.

Both entries will be performed in Spanish, with Blas having gone through the selection process last year, and in 2011 as a member of the popular boyband, Auryn.

TUNE: Give us a song Blas Canto

Cheque mate

SUCCESS: The Queen’s Gambit has been good news for one Spanish company

Sales for chessboard maker soar thanks to The Queen’s Gambit THE Spanish woodworking company that supplied chess boards for hit Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit is cashing a large cheque after sales rocketed.

Rechapados Ferrer, which was founded in the 1950s in La Garriga, Catalunya, noted a slight rise in sales during the first lockdown.

However, it was the success of the Netflix miniseries which would do as much for his company as it has for the world of chess.

The Survivors

by Jane Harper

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“When the series came out, it all just went crazy and drove sales of chess boards through the roof,” David Ferrer, founder of the company, told the Guardian.

“In the past two or three months, we’ve had orders in for 40,000 boards – twice the number we’d make over the entire course of a normal year.”

The Queen’s Gambit miniseries, based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name, has been viewed by over 62 million people and was nominated for four categories at the 2020 IGN Awards, winning Best Drama TV Series of the Year.

Champion

The response from the public has been equally explosive, with Chess.com alone reporting millions of new users since the series was aired.

British chess champion, David Howell, lauded The Queen’s Gambit for being ‘well choreographed and realistic.’

Despite the resounding success, it was a long haul for writer Scott Frank and producer Allan Scott.

Scott purchased the screenplay rights for the story from Tevis’ widow in 1992, but for decades broadcasters rejected the idea, saying that no one would be interested in watching chess.

On October 28, 2020, just five days after it was aired, The Queen’s Gambit became the most viewed series of the day on Netflix.

9

10

LA CULTURA

February 12th - February 25th 2021

Twist in the tale As the controversial toro season is set to kick off, Jack Gaioni looks at the true life pacifist bull, Civilon, which inspired a children’s fairy tale and could help to scotch the beef over bullfighting

T

HE divisive subject of bullfighting is never far from the surface in Spanish culture, especially now it’s nearly the season for it (March to September).

Is it an anachronistic and barbarous

bloodsport that should be banned or an artistic expression embedded in Spanish cultural tradition that should be preserved? Although 90% of corridas in Spain were culled by Covid last year, voices on both sides of the argument remain bolshy and deafening.

But there’s a little-known Spanish vignette about a girl, her pet bull and a bullfight that maybe – just maybe – might offer some common ground for both sides. Consider the story of Carmelita Cobaleda and her pet bull, Civilon. If you’ve read American author Munro Leaf’s 1936 book, Ferdinand the Bull, it could ring a few cowbells...

Civilon was a handsome black ranch bull born and raised amongst the cork oak pastures of 1930s Salamanca. Bred to be fearless and aggressive like all toros bravos, honing his skills in bouts with his brothers, Civilón possessed those traits in spades along with one unprecedented characteristic: he loved people, children especially; Carmelita, the breeder’s seven-year-old daughter, in particular, after she tended his wounds and gave him

OLE: Bullfighting is a divisive subject in Spain but is never far from the surface in Spanish culture

a name.

Often, after doing battle, Civilón would trot over to nuzzle her in the most docile way.

However, in the training ring, he would remember his DNA, butting, charging and gouging. But he also loved a pat and a treat, just like any household pet!

News of the gentle giant soon spread around Spain and even abroad through the pages of the international press. The

Italian magazine Estampa dedicat- form and his breeding, the animal ed several 1936 covers to Civilon charged into the ring and launched posing with children and comely himself at the Picador’s horse at señoritas. And thoufull force. He almost sands flocked to Saltoppled over nag and amanca to witness rider!

Spectators the astonishing sight But after being so leof a one-ton fighting thal, he then casually demanded bull eating from a little trotted to the side of a pardon for girl’s hand. the ring, looking to be Against this backdrop, the bull which petted. a shrewd manager of The audience of fought bravely 24,000 spectators the Barcelona bull ring contracted Carmeliloved it! They rose in ta’s beloved bovine to unison and demanded fight, banking on the bull’s populari- a rare ‘indulto’ - a pardon for a bull ty to pull a capacity crowd. which has fought bravely.

Civilon did not disappoint. True to Thus, the animal is spared and returned to its home pasture to become a stud for the rest of its life.

After a few passes from the matador that day, the main door was opened and he trotted out to freedom.

Superficially, it’s a heartwarming, innocent tale. Between the lines, there are some key takeaways that might help both sides of the bullfighting divide to find some common ground.

MONUMENT: In honour of the brave bull Civilon Let’s take a look.

Bull the other one!

●● The narrative of Civilon is said to be the true story behind the most popular children’s parable ever. Munro Leaf’s Ferdinand the Bull became a best-seller, hailed the greatest children’s classic since Winnie the Pooh. Set in Andalucia with illustrations of the countryside around Ronda, the fictional Ferdinand prefers flowers to fighting, does battle in Madrid’s bullring and lives to tell the tale. ●● Gandhi was a fan but Franco banned the book and Hitler burned it as pacifist propaganda. Published in 60 languages and never out of print, its meaning is still hotly debated by everyone from politicians and psychologists to the LGBTQ community. ●● In a rebuttal with his own children’s story, the Faithful Bull, aficionado and Republican sympathiser Ernest Hemingway wrote about ‘a bull not named Ferdinand and he cared nothing for flowers … he loved to fight’ ●● Ferdinand also stars in a 1938 Oscar-winning Disney cartoon and a 2017 Oscar-nominated computer-animated movie

DID YOU KNOW?

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February 12th - February 25th 2021

11

Talking bull

For over two decades Jairo Miguel has been one of the most controversial figures in bullfighting. You just might not have heard of him - yet.

J

AIRO Miguel Sánchez is only 27 but already he has two decades of bullfighting under his cape. People have had their eyes on him since he learned to fight at just five years old and left a crowd in western Spain slack-jawed when he slayed his first bull three years later. Now his following is in the thousands, in no small part to social media, where he has over 10,000 PRODIGY: Miguel killed his first bull at the age of five fans watching his every step and sweep.

This is the bullfighter for the Instagram generation - and he’s only just getting “You can’t live in the past started. but you can’t forget it. I The Extremadura athlete is one of want to push beyond the Spain’s sparkiest stars in any sport, stereotype of a bullfighter. moving to Mexico at 11 to practice proIt’s time to renew.” fessionally after being twice fined in his hometown near Caceres for fighting underage. He’s been gored twice, on both occasions when he was 14. The first time he broke two ribs, the second time his lung was punctured by a bulls horn, brushing and sport, jokhis aorta and nearly penetrating his heart. Another ing that while old inch in the wrong direction and he would have been fashioned fighters dead. Unfazed, he made a full recovery and, aged adorn shimmering just sixteen, killed six bulls in a single afternoon. jackets and billowHis father, Antonio Sánchez, was also a professional ing shirts, he trains bullfighter. “He didn’t want me to be a torero.” Jairo in sunglasses and Miguel says. “He didn’t like the risk involved and I sweats. understand that.

“Unfortunately the “I get frightened too, still. Everytime I go in the square world of bullfightI am afraid. Not just for my life, but also of failure. I ing is still very old-fashioned. It is good we have old want to achieve my dream and become the best in values that cannot be lost, we have a code that our the world. ancestors created but it does need a bit of updating.

“I want to succeed, to stand out and leave my name “We are in a century where we have everything at on this profession. Yes, it is true you have to endure our fingertips but this new generation cannot underthe injuries, the mishaps, but to me it is worth it.” stand us because of the negative connotations bullWhile his parents believed their young son’s aspira- fighting has. I’ve always thought that I can’t change tions were just a phase, Jairo Miguel always knew the world, but I can change mine. bullfighting was a ‘way of life, a true passion’. As a “What we do is not bad, but it must be renewed to toddler his mum couldn’t get him to sit still in front of the present times to be more accessible to young cartoons but he would be utterly absorbed by tele- people and new cultures. vised bullfights for hours on end. “It wasn’t a game “Let the next generation have the power of choice for to me,” he said. “It was what I was always meant to them to see if they like it or not.” do.” Less clear, perhaps, was his path to become a “I cannot change bullfighting, but I am in the process social media star. of sharing. Although I am young in age, I want to Now he wants to harness his online presence to rev- be able to renew that part. I would like when all this olutionise the way people perceive Spain’s most tra- happens, not to lose the essence of what my profesditional - and controversial - past time. He dreams sion is and that people appreciate what it is to be a of being recognised beyond the plaza de toros and bullfighter. It is art, it is athleticism - and it should not be seen as a major player in the world of fashion be lost”.

LEGENDARY: Civilon and Carmelita enjoyed international

Bulls: Considered one of the dead- own power. In the man’s world of liest land animals, in Spain they are matadors, breeders and trainers, bred for aggression, with little hu- perhaps Carmelita subconsciously man contact. Yet, although Civilon assumed the role of feminine nurcould fight to order, he also respond- turing agent. Would it not make ed to human kindness. This sug- bullfighting more palatable if there gests that bulls are living, breathing was more feminine input in this trasentient beings as emphasised by ditionally ‘macho’ field? the anti-bullfighting lobby as well as the noble, ferocious beasts desired Civilon’s experience in the Barceloby aficionados. na bullring took place The indulto: This parin 1936, when the don is rarely granted Spanish Civil War was Science to bulls in Spain but imminent. And unlike often in other bullfightsuggests that Ferdinand, the fictioning nations like Mexial bull whose story little girls co, France and Columwas published the bia, where audience same year, there’s a identify with figures confirm its consad twist to this tale. strong animals Our real life hero never tinued popularity. Is it not possible that, as made it back to graze Civilon’s fight shows, the sweet grass of his audiences can fully appreciate the Salamanca pastures, much less pageantry without the blood? lead the life of a superstud.

Instead, a few days after being Carmelita: Science suggests that spared the matador’s sword, he little girls tend to identify with strong was requisitioned by hungry local dynamic animals (e.g. horses, dol- Republican soldiers, butchered and phins) as a way of expressing their eaten as rations.

IN UNCERTAIN TIMES, WE SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE As a road user you’re accustomed to expecting the unexpected.

However, if you have concerns about the impact of Brexit or the Coronavirus pandemic may have on insurance policies, Línea Directa would like to reassure its customers that their car insurance policies are one constant to be relied on in these uncertain times.

UK DRIVING LICENSE If you have lived in Spain for at least 6 months, your UK driving license must be exchanged for a Spanish driving license before 30th June 2021.

You need to book an appointment at your nearest DGT (Departamento General de Trafico) by calling 060 or via their website.

You will need your NIE document to do this.

TM

902 123 282

“

“

We’re here to help

If your license has not yet been verified, you will be allowed to drive in Spain for 6 months from 1st January 2021.

CAR INSURANCE All vehicles must be registered and have insurance before using or parking on Spanish roads.

Car insurance from Línea Directa comes with a wide range of covers designed to provide peace-of-mind and all manageable online from the comfort of your home.

Their fast and efficient telephone service is managed by English-speaking customer service. You can also visit their website 24/7.

PERSONAL ATTENTION Línea Directa has been providing personal attention and expert advice to customers for over 20 years.

They guarantee to provide the best expat

car insurance with the right coverage.

Fully personalised policies that fit both your needs and that of your wallet. And their qualified English speaking customer service staff can guide you through any claims you may need to make.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS Customers can rest assured that all Línea Directa employees, experts and support services abide by the most stringent COVID-19 guidance protocols ensure effective sanitisation, cleaning and disinfecting.

Repairs on your car will be carried out in well-ventilated areas, using disposal gloves, and proper personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times.

BEST PRICE. BETTER COVER In these uncertain times, it’s good to know that your vehicle is in safe hands. You can request a free no obligation quote by call-

ing local area number 952 147 834. Línea Directa will provide the most competitive price, backed by the most comprehensive service.

Call Línea Directa on 952 147 834 and speak to one of their English-speaking customer service people and find out which cover best suits your needs. *Fully comprehensive offer valid for new customers only. Guarantee subjec t to cover, repair at approved garage, and cour tesy vehicle availabilit y. Subjec t to conditions. O ffer ends 30/11/18.

Brexit and COVID are not wreaking total havoc as prices are back on the up, but 2021 could be tough, writes Campbell Ferguson of Survey Spain in his annual report

P

RICES of properties in Andalucia COVID-19 and variants have mostly held up over the last year, our network of agents and As with most countries, Spain has been valuers have found. regulated to a great extent by its COVID exThere has certainly not been a huge col- perience. Complete shutdowns, municipal lapse in values...And that’s very much boundaries, flights cancelled, etc, etc, but the case in the higher end of the market. the principal problems for most, have been Take one recent study of a villa in Mar- the shutdown of the catering and leisure bella. Its value rose gradually from 2018 facilities, as well as the closing of schools, until the beginning of 2020, but then with the latter causing panic over child dropped back to the 2018 level over the care for working parents. next four months, before starting to rise Knowing the new regulations, and keepagain in the second half of the year. ing up with them, has been confusing for There has also been increasing demand everyone, but for tourists the restrictions for building surveys from UK clients, in- have discouraged most visitors, even when dicating that more Brits are buying than travel was permitted. perhaps predicted, probably to acquire homes before Brexit changes everything. Increased home searches Lifestyle change has certainly been a significant factor for many nationalities, All agents have noted a huge increase in with many finding they prefer to change internet searches and enquiries for propto their holiday home location for lock- erties. down, instead of big cities.

And while it’s perhaps inIt also makes sense in the evitable that people locked long term as they can work down in colder climates are Brexit may now just as effectively from going to seek some escaphome as they can from an have moved off ism relief viewing homes office, with commuter time can only dream of, many the front pages, they and stress being avoided. have become serious as they Increasing numbers of but it still has a realise that they don’t have new families are registerlive within commuting dislong way to run to ing their children in private tance of their places of work. schools on the coast, makThis will be the major lasting ing the change even more change after COVID. And it’s permanent. definitely encouraging for sunny Spain.

However, I believe next year is going to see the economic effects of the restric- Is Brexit taking a toll? tions really hit, with countries unable to keep bailing out companies and individ- Brexit may now have moved off the front uals indefinitely. pages, while all the details are worked out, The Brexit effect on exchange rates, but it still has a long way to run. taxes, travel, and bureaucracy will also The ramifications are changing Europe make the British think twice before mov- and Britain, and the lives of their citizens ing here. with many details still being thrashed out However, overall, it’s looking pretty by the bureaucrats over finance, trade and healthy in the long-term for the costas, travelling. and things should boom particularly We have found that many people in the UK once the current COVID-19 restrictions are ignorant, or in denial, of the changes have ended and the world learns to live that have already and must inevitably ocwith the ‘new normal’ in a year or two. cur.

We have seen a gradual shift in some formerly heavy British expat areas, away from being UK-centric, to becoming more international.

Price is right UK residents appear to be able to carry on as before, as long as they have taken Ask een Betw ce eren Diff Average care of the residence paperwork and Ening Price and Actual Selling Price glish still seems to be the lingua franca.

0.

202 vs 2019 Of more concern to sellers and agents is how new residents will be treated.

Quarters of 2019 This is not yet entirely clear, but it appears that Spain is certainly keen to encourage continuing applications for Januar y to March – 7.61% residency from Brits.

April to June – 10.69% However there are likely to be some July to September – 9.7% changes to the tax situation and periods October to December – 11.29% of stay are likely to place some interim restrictions upon new expats, while acQuarters of 2020 cess to health care will be a vital component.

6% 8.6 Januar y to March – However, these changes apply to the whole of the EU and so Spain should April to June – 12.93% not be disadvantaged compared to othJuly to December – 8.94% er European countries.

New residents will have to start their TO CONCLUDE: This indicates residencia process at the Spanish condrop tial stan sub no is e that ther sulates back home and there are two in in prices the UK; in London and Edinburgh.

PROPERTY

February 12th February 25th 2021

Fit for a prince ONE of Spain’s most expensive properties could soon get the royal treatment.

An African prince has reportedly set his sights on a palatial home in Mallorca The sprawling Italian mansion, which was valued at €57 million when it was built in 2017, boasts spectacular views over the Bay of Alcudia.

Randy Koussou, Prince of Benin could soon be lording over the 3,500 square metres home - which reportedly has a mortgage cost of €147,539 per month.

Of the top ten most expensive properties in Spain, four

ROYAL RETREAT: Randy’s new pad? of them are in Mallorca, including a 17th-century traditional country house in Puigpunyent valued at €26.5 million and the Sa Muntanya estate in Puerto Andratx.

Priced at €24.5 million, it has its own heliport and eight rooms and lies on over 100,000 square metres of land.

Village offering free house and business to young family to fight depopulation FOR young families one of the hardest things to do is to get on the first rung of the property ladder, But one village in Spain is not only offering the chance of a free home – but also a business to go with it.

Tabanera de Cerrato in Palencia(pictured) is looking for a family with children to move to the area as it struggles against depopulation, and to that end is offering a free house, complete with grocery store, on the ground floor to the right candidates.

And it is proving to be an al-

Home alone

luring offer for people, maybe looking for a change of lifestyle or a leg-up into the world

Hull of a price tag TALK about extravagance. An anonymous buyer in Spain just splashed out nearly €10 million on a superyacht.

The boat, named Takara, is the work of Francesco Paszkowski, an Italian purveyor of luxury gadgets.

It was originally built in 2016

but was reworked in 2020 and boasts five staterooms, and all-important sun deck fitted with a bar, sun loungers and Jacuzzi.

Decked to the halls, the boat can accommodate up to 12 guests, plus seven crew. In addition to the master suite there is a VIP suite, double room and two twin rooms.

LANDLORDS in Spain are owed an average of €3,179 by their tenants amid the coronavirus pandemic, a study has found.

The most frequent unpaid amount is currently €2,750, the report by Somos Seguros revealed.

The data was compiled from 12,500 claims related to unpaid rent from seven different insurance companies.

At the most extreme end, some landlords are owed €15,000, but the average amount handed out by insurance companies is €336, while the most common payout was €185.

Madrid, Barcelona and Andalucia saw the

of property ownership.

Local mayor Luz Íscar has already had more than 500 applicants from Spain and as far afield as Argentina and the Netherlands.

The village is located in the Cerrato region of Palencia and has only 142 inhabitants – and declining.

The house is in the process of being renovated in the village and the grocery store is located on the ground floor.

“We wanted to provide a business for the family and a service for the village,” the mayor said in a recent interview.

The house is being renovated through a programme run by Junta de Castilla y Leon, and the premises on the ground floor will be set up with the support of the local authorities in Palencia.

Rental pains

most claims over the studied period.

In the most extreme cases, insurers have come to pay up to €15,000 to compensate for the non-payment of rent by a tenant.

Faced with this situation, rental insurance, recalls the association, offers various protections for owners who put properties on a rental basis; the most common coverages are the protection of payments and the repair of damages suffered by the property.

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 1 Shrimp, 5 Exhale, 8 Damaged, 9 Tune, 10 Best, 12 Fields, 13 Excel, 14 Lows, 16 Tops, 17 Rafts, 18 Feeble, 20 Hide, 22 Bays, 23 Rewards, 25 For now, 26 No-show.

Down: 2 Hedge, 3 Inmates, 4 Pig, 5 End of life, 6 Hythe, 7 Lined up, 11 Scarecrow, 15 Oregano, 16 T-shirts, 19 Bison, 21 Disco, 24 Wen.

SUDOKU

Sun is shining... for now

12

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Pizza the action

SPAIN’S largest pizza chain, Telepizza, has launched a fully vegan menu complete with plantb a s e d meat and dairyf r e e cheese toppings.

Branded as Las Veguis, the new menu features vegan cheese made by Violife, along with NoPollo vegan chicken and NoPicada vegan ground meat made by Dutch brand The Vegetarian Butcher. Prices will be the same as for its other more traditional animal-based options.

Vegan fast food arrived at the big fast-food outlets in 2019, as Taco Bell added vegan beef made with a mixture of oats, beans, and peas. Papa John's last year launched two vegan pizzas as demand for the option increased from customers.

Telepizza's Nacho Martin said: “We have had vegetarian items on our menus for years, but to create something that is 100% suitable for vegans, we worked with companies who have considerable experience of what is needed”.

February 12th - February 25th 2021

New stars in town

Spain record lowest number of tourists in five decades

THE number of tourists visiting Spain last year was the lowest in five decades, new figures have revealed.

Spain’s tourism sector plummeted by nearly 80% compared to 2020.

The country, which usually sees 75 million visitors a year, suffered from a drop in tourism triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Visitor numbers tumbled to

No go

just 19million in 2020 - the lowest figures since 1969, according to the national statis-

tics office INE. Despite the promise of COVID-19 vaccinations, De-

Beach please!

AN idyllic beach off the coast of Mallorca has been named as the best in Spain by the Lonely Planet.

Platja des Coll Baix, located six miles from Alcudia, topped the list that also celebrated Playa San Pedro in Almeria and Ibiza’s Platja de Ses Salines.

The peace found at Platja des Coll Baix is almost otherworldly.

Crystal clear water and thick golden sand is often left untouched - largely because the only way to reach this snug stretch of beach is on foot.

Its exclusivity - you might just believe you’ve found your own private island - is the main reason the beach was picked as the best in Spain by the Lonely Planet.

They said: “Journey through the woods to reach Platja des Coll Baix, a pristine strip of sand on the island of Mallorca.

“Snug below sheer, wooded cliffs, this shimmering crescent is all pale pebbles and teal

I

F, like us, you’re obsessed with keeping up with the latest news and regulatory changes from HMRC, you’ll know all about Making Tax Digital (MTD) and be preparing yourself for this seismic change.

●● Making Tax Digital (MTD) regulations are designed to make calculating tax easier and more accurate through the use of digital software ●● To comply with MTD for Income Tax, landlords and the self-employed will need to use software to keep digital records of business income and expenses and submit a summary every quarter ●● MTD for Income Tax is for UK businesses and landlords, who usually submit a Self Assessment tax return. ●● It will come into effect for your next accounting period that starts on or after 6 April 2023 Of course, if you’re one of the 99% of people who would rather not think about tax, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about, whether you are affected, and what you need to do to prepare.

But fear not! Our tax nerds love an opportunity to make confusing tax regulations simpler and clearer. Once you get used to the new process, it should also make your business accounting easier, clearer, more predictable and cheaper, as you won’t need to rely on an accountant.

You also have a bit of time to prepare, with HMRC showing that they can be forgiving to those who drop the ball. It is the biggest tax change in a generation, after all, so they won’t be too hard on you!

APARI’s MTD software is already approved by HMRC so we know exactly how it all works. Here’s what you need to know...

BEACH BEAUTY: Platja des Coll Baix waters. The catch: it’s only accessible on foot or by boat. Come in the early morning or evening to see it at its peaceful best.”

It is one of two Mallorcan beaches that were on the 2021 list released Wednesday, along with Cala Mesquida at number seven.

Other beaches on the list, in order are Playa San Pedro, Playa Oyambre, Playa de Torimbia, Playa de la Concha, Praia As Catedrais, Cala Mesquida, Playa de Mónsul, Flecha del Rompido and Platja de Ses Salines.

13

cember was one of Spain’s worst months for tourism on record.

International travel to the country fell 85% lower than it was in December 2019 after authorities imposed new travel restrictions to curb the spread of the new variant in COVID-19 infections.

Spending was also down, with tourists visiting in December bringing in just €19.7 billion euros to Spain’s economy 78.5% less than the year previous.

THIS year, Mallorca has added two more Michelin stars to its favoured gastronomical scene.

DINS by island-born master chef Santi Taura has been recognised for his restaurant in Palma that celebrates Balearic cuisine.

Bens d'Avall Restaurant in Soller, run by father and son duo Benet and Jaume Vicens, will also receive the coveted mark.

Mallorca now has nine Michelin stars with the list made up of Andreu Genestra for Son Jaumell, Es Raco d'Es Teix in Deia, Voro in Canyamel, Jardin in Puerto de Alcudia, Es Fum in Palmanova, as well as chefs Adrian Quetglas and Marc Fosh, both who have restaurants in Palma.

Decimated

Spain’s economy continues to be one of the hardest hit as travel restrictions decimate the once lucrative travel industry.

France overtook Britain as Spain's most important source of tourists last year, accounting for 3.9 million arrivals, a 65 percent decline over 2019.

Around 14 percent of Spanish hotel jobs, or 190,000 posts, were cut in 2020, according to Spanish union CCOO.

STAR CHEF: Santi Taura

Death of the Tax Return...

UK tax is going digital

How APARI’s software can make your life easier What is Making Tax Digital?

The new MTD regulations are designed to make taxes easier and more accurate through the use of digital software. It’s already a requirement for VAT and will be extended to all VAT registered businesses from April 2022. At some point in the future, it will apply to Corporation Tax. We focus on MTD for Income Tax, which the Government announced in July 2020 and will change the annual tax return for millions of people like you.

What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? To comply with MTD for Income Tax, landlords, the self-employed and tradespeople will need to use software to keep digital records of business income and expenses and submit a summary every quarter.

At the end of the year, you need to submit any other income - for example from employment and finalise all of the information. If you choose good software, it will be able to do all of this for you.

You will get your total tax liability (tax owed) for the year which needs to be paid by the following January, just as you would now.

So the main changes are: a) use MTD software; b) keep digital records and c) make a submission to HMRC once a quarter.

Who does it apply to?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is for UK businesses and

landlords, who usually submit a Self Assessment tax return. It is a requirement for anyone with more than £10,000 of combined turnover from business and property income.

If you submit a Self Assessment tax return but don’t have business or property income, MTD for Income Tax doesn’t affect you.

When will Making Tax Digital for Income Tax come into effect?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax was first announced in 2015. The timetable has moved back over the last few years as the Government and HMRC try to give it the best chance of success. On 21 July 2020, the Government formally committed to a specific timetable for changing the law and turning Making Tax Digital for Income Tax into a legal requirement.

In HMRC talk, they announced: for your next accounting period that starts on or after 6 April 2023, all Income Tax Self Assessment customers with a turnover of £10,000 or more from business income or income from property will be required to complete their affairs by MTD. All landlords and most self-employed people have an accounting period that starts on 6 April.

This means you’ll have to:

●● Use software to record and submit your business and/or property income between 6 April 2023 and 5 April 2024; ●● Use software to finalise your business and/ or property income between 6 April 2024 and 31 January 2025; ●● Submit any non-business information and finalise your overall tax affairs by 31 January 2025. You can choose to do this using software or using the HMRC website.

If you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you won’t need to submit a separate Self Assessment tax return.

How do I ensure I am compliant with MTD rules?

At APARI, we think the best first step is to start using software to keep your business records.

Ignoring the tax side of things, this will give you better information about your profit. You can get started with a FREE APARI account today.

Once you’re familiar with digital record keeping, you may be able to voluntarily sign up to use MTD. Most businesses and landlords will be eligible to join by April 2021 so they can get familiar with the changes. Don’t worry if you change your mind - you can still submit a tax return as normal.

Everyone that uses MTD will need to choose compatible software, which they connect with their HMRC account. APARI’s MTD software is already listed on HMRC’s software selection tool.

Once connected, the software will then tell you when you need to submit information, such as your quarterly return.

Follow us next month to find out what you need to do.

14

S

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

PAIN is an art aficionado’s paradise with three of the most famous museums in the world clustered in its capital alone. Madrid is known as the Golden Triangle of Art for its monumental Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums.

But for a real brush with genius there’s nothing like a prowl round the homes of the artists themselves.

An intriguing alternative to the typical grand establishments, these

1.

F

undació Pilar y Joan Miró (Palma de Mallorca): A modern museum built around the studio and finca of Joan Miro (Barcelona, 1893 – Palma, 1983).

Miro found inspiration in Mallorca at the age of 63 where the painter -sculptor -ceramicist had his dream workshop designed by his friend, the Spanish starchitect Josep Lluís Sert. Miro bought the house in Cala Major in 1956 where he lived until his death, after which the premises was enlarged to hold a permanent exhibition of his works.

His graffiti can still be seen on the walls and his studio has been left untouched since his death, with work in progress, open tins of paint and black smudges all over the floor.

casa museos reveal a more personal side to the maestros who once lived there, providing a privileged glimpse into their psyches through the objects that were part of their everyday lives.

Spain is generously appointed with these intimate treasure houses which can be found everywhere from the major cities to the tiniest pueblos. Art connoisseur or merely nosy, here are six house museums in Spain you should definitely take a peek at.

At home February 12th - February 25th 2021

Explore six artists’ house-museums in Spain for a Through the Keyhole experience with knobs on, writes Cristina Hodgson

S

alvador Dali House Museum (Portlligat): The residence of Dali (Figueras 19041989) from 1930 until the death of his wife and muse Gala in 1982.

Dali was drawn to the landscape, the light and the isolation of Portlligart, a small village on the Girona coast, and set up home in a fisherman’s shack.

Over time he purchased other neighbouring cottages, creating a labyrinthine house.

Unsurprisingly, his taste in home decor is as surreal as his paintings, with countless stuffed animals. The polar bear decked out in gaudy necklaces standing in welcome at the entrance maintains Dali’s special blend of eccentricity and flamboyance.

Not to be outdone, his wife has her own place.

The Gala Dali Castle House-Museum at Pubol occupies an 11th century castle redecorated by Dali as her monument and mausoleum.

Don’t miss the Gala Bath and Dali’s signature elephants-on-stilts sculptures rampaging through the garden.

2.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

15

with the maestros February 12th - February 25th 2021

G

oya’s Birthplace (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza): Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos 1746 – France, 1828) came into the world here.

A humble farmhouse dating from the early 18th century, it has been lovingly restored with furnishings and household objects typical of the era.

The Civil War left it partially destroyed but in 1982 it was declared a Historical Monument and opened to the public as a museum.

The adjacent Museum of Etchings houses a permanent collection of Goya’s graphic work from the series known as Los Desastres, Los Caprichos, Los Disparates and La Tauromaquia.

3.

4. E

l Greco Museum (Toledo): The home of celebrated Mannerist painter El Greco (Greece 1541 – Toledo, 1614) His house no longer exists today but its precise historic replica has been created 200 metres from the original site.

Located in Toledo’s old Jewish Quarter, it showcases many of El Greco’s later paintings - works which puzzled his contemporaries but have gained newfound appreciation in the 20th century for their dramatic expressionism.

The 16th century clone home also showcases furniture and local pottery from the period as well as works by some of El Greco’s disciples, such as Luis Tristan.

6.

5.

S

orolla Museum (Madrid): Renowned Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla Bastida (Valencia, 1863 - Cercedilla, 1923) lived here with his family from 1911 till his death in 1923.

His house was converted into a museum after his death, and is one of the best preserved of any artist in Europe, retaining its

Picasso Museo Casa Natal (Malaga): The birthplace of Pablo Picasso (Malaga 1881 – France, 1973) who lived here from 1881-4.

This small house collection covers almost 80 years of the artist’s work as well as

original look and housing the largest collection of his works.

Aside from his portraits and landscapes the house is filled with keepsakes Sorolla gathered during his life: sculptures, jewellery, antique photographs, letters and a curious and extensive collection of ceramics ornamenting every corner of the museum.

touching family photos and memorabilia, including Picasso’s christening robe. The family rented the first floor of the house in Malaga’s beautiful Plaza de Merced for three y e a r s before moving a few doors up the street where they remained until 1891. As well as a monument to the life and work of Picasso it’s also the headquarters for the Picasso Foundation.

The foundations of the house also contain important archaeological evidence of Malaga’s Phoenician, Roman and Moorish roots dating back to 7BC.

long! It’s Pablo Diego Jose Fran●● Picasso’s full name is 23 wordsno Maria de los Remedios Cipriacisco de Paula Juan Nepomuce Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso. A no de la Santisima Trinidad Martyrchristening! real mouthful for the priest at hisof saints and relatives. ●● His long name comes from a listpiz,’ shortened for lapiz, Spanish ●● Picasso’s first words were ‘piz ural born artist. for pencil. Without doubt, a nat

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Switching sides A DRAFT law will allow people in Spain to change their ‘official’ gender simply by signing a declaration, with no surgery, medical treatment or psychological tests needed.

FINAL WORDS

Bad rap LEFT-WING rapper Pablo Hasel has been jailed by the Supreme Court for nine months for allegedly ‘glorifying terrorism, inciting violence and insulting the Spanish crown’ in tweets and songs, prompting the government to pledge a law change.

MALLORCA

Your expat

voice in Spain

Pontiff the finger of blame

Vol. 4 Issue 99 www.theolivepress.es February 12th - February 25th 2021

Latin flops

SO much for Latin lovers - it seems that when it comes to the kink factor, Spain can’t get it up.

While Spaniards are known for their passionate nature - and the sultry good looks of stars like Enrique Iglesias (pictured) have proved a world-wide hit -, in the bedroom they’re positively prudish according to a new study.

God’s will A PRIEST who escaped a fine on a technicality when his own congregation called police to complain he was not wearing a mask during mass at the Virgen del Camino church in Callosa de Segura (Alicante) has gone down with COVID.

Spaniards fail to perform while Brits revealed to be the secondsauciest citizens

By Kirsty McKenzie

While neighbouring Portugal came out on top of the global study rating each country’s ‘Sex Index’, Spain failed to even break into the top 10 sauciest spots.

Researchers who looked at internet searches for sex-related

terms, including sex toys, lingerie, dating apps and positions, found people in Portugal were most likely to Google kinks including BDSM and threesomes.

Even more surprising was the news that the UK also topped the charts in the ranking of the

A SPANISH couple with COVID-19 have got married in a Madrid hospital in a moving ceremony organised by the nurses. Rosario, 62, and Fernando, 70, caught the virus from Rosario’s son and were admitted to La Paz hospital on January 23.

They were subsequently transferred to the Isabel Zendal hospital, where they received treat-

In sickness... ment in separate rooms.

Fernando had never expressed an interest in marriage in the 13 years they had been together, but lying in his bed on oxygen made him realise that it might be now or never. He popped the question over WhatsApp, much to Rosario’s delight.

world’s sexiest countries.

In fact, the UK has the second-sauciest citizens in the world, according to the very specific data.

The website in question, Pour Moi, has revealed the kinkiest positions and toys searched across Britain - and lets just say the Brits are big fans, ahem, of putting in research before they slip between the sheets.

Folks in the UK’s most Googled sex positions are reverse cowgirl, doggy style and missionary, plus the old ménage à trois is a popular kink. And while we’d argue folk in Spain are among some of the sexiest in the world - we have a way to go to beat Ireland, Australia and Sweden who all made the top ten.

HE may be Argentinean and she Brazilian, but this unlikely ‘couple’ have caused a storm in the Spanish press and on social media.

Natalia Garibotto is best known in South America for her saucy Instagram posts, many of them featuring her wearing - well not a lot.

So when she claimed that none other than Pope Francis was an admirer many Roman Catholics took a double take.

The 27-year-old glamour model claimed that the 84-year-old pontiff had ‘liked’ her image on an Instagram post.

Blessing This, it turned out, was not the sort of thing that Spain’s stricter Roman Catholics appreciated, so a spokesman for the Holy See had to sweep into action and pointed the finger of blame at Instagram.

He pooh-poohed the claim and told journalists that while the Pope sometimes gives the go ahead for social media posts set up by a professional team, this was certainly not the case here. The spokesman instead referred queries to Instagram, saying that the social media giant should come up with an explanation.

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