VALENCIA'S Fallas kicked off on Sunday with the traditional opening show and fireworks display at the city's Serranos Towers.
A ROW has erupted between expats and locals over what language to teach children at schools across the Valencia region.
It comes as parents began voting this week on the main language in their child’s classroom – Valenciano or Spanish – for the 2025-26 school year. In each class, the winning language will be taught around 60% of the time and the other around 40% (with some classes also in English).
The PP-Vox regional government launched the consultation to give parents ‘the choice of what language their children are taught in’. However, the vote has triggered heated clashes between advocates of the differing tongues and exposed cultural-linguistic fault lines between communities and even neighbours.
Bamboozled
Currently, a majority of classes – including maths and science – are taught exclusively in Valenciano, but the vote taking place could upend this.
The ballot has been embraced by many expat parents, long bamboozled by having to learn a third language to navigate Valencia’s bureaucratic systems.
“For me I think Spanish is more important for my son because he will have the world open to him, but here Valenciano is the dominating lan-
Thousands of people gathered in front of the iconic structure in a much-needed moment of celebration, coming four months after the region was struck by the historic DANA floods.
Valencia mayor Maria Jose Catala pleaded for unity ‘now more than ever’ and expressed her solidarity with neighbouring towns that bore the brunt of the devastation.
From Saturday, there will be daily fireworks at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, starting at 2pm.
Until March 15, the gigantic ninot figurines will be on display at the city's Science Museum. They will then be returned to city districts and burnt in the ‘Crema’ at the end of the Fallas on March 19.
Battle lines are drawn as parents across Valencia vote on which language to teach school pupils
By Alex Trelinski
guage,” wrote German mother Jazmin Charlotte Duebelt online, “my son is already having learning difficulties with speaking.”
Another expat, Mark Charlesworth, added: “The only people speaking Valenciano are the older generations or those who wish to deliberately exclude a Spanish speaking foreigner - it does happen unfortunately.”
Meanwhile, speakers of Valenciano responded by saying ‘you should learn the language of where you live, which in this case is Valenciano.’
Another responded: “Totally agree – it’s the culture of our towns and we have to keep it alive.”
Valencia’s Minister of Education, Jose Antonio Rovira, said 560,000 families in the region are eligible to have a say
WAR OF WORDS
in the main language of education. Concerned parents have been voting so furiously that the online system has suffered several 20-minute outages since voting began on Tuesday. Each vote will apply to each school specifically, meaning some schools will end up with classes 60% in Spanish and others 60% in Valenciano.
The Ministry is not giving a running update on the vote while it is in progress, which ends on
“The time when the government decided the language is over and lessons will be taught based on what parents want,” Rovira stated.
“This gives
them a choice and decision-making capacity to follow their will,” he added. Rovira claimed his department was ‘neutral’ over the issue and that the ‘voice of the family is key to the process’ He added that whatever the result for each school year, the system will ‘remain’ balanced, with a 20% difference in lessons between one language and another.
Vexed
“The idea is that all students will have a command of Spanish and Valenciano at the end of their compulsory school education,” Rovira added. The issue of lessons in Valenciano has been a vexed one in parts of the region, especially in the south of Alicante province where the language is rarely used.
Nevertheless opposition groups in the Valencian parliament have slammed
the vote as an ‘attack on Valenciano’. Socialist education
VOTE: Regional education minister Rovira puts the decision to the parents
spokesperson, Jose Luis Lorenz, has accused President Carlos Mazon of ‘applying ultraconservative ideology and attacking the language that identifies the Valencian people’
An attempt by people opposing the vote to get it suspended was rejected by the Valencian Supreme Court on Monday. Meanwhile, there have been reports that some teachers are trying to influence voting by suggesting to pupils that they may be moved to another class away from their friends if their parents ‘vote for Spanish’.
According to the Association of Directors of Public Schools (ADEP), the vote has created problems rather than solving them.
A spokesperson said: “We are seeing a lot of polarisation between families and discussions over the language issue. [The Ministry] has generated conflict where there was none.”
Ye olde market
ORIHUELA City stages its 25th annual Medieval Market this weekend with over 300 craft stalls and traders hitting the streets from Friday in one of Spain’s biggest-such events.
Pole caught
A FUGITIVE on the run from Poland over a 2003 murder who used multiple identities has been arrested in Sagunto after a three-year search for him in Spain.
Carnival time
BENIDORM’S traditional popular carnival takes place on Saturday with the adult night parade starting from Calle Zurafa at 9pm
Life saver
AN Abloraya police officer revived an unconscious baby that fell to the ground as his mother screamed for help. The child was admitted to hospital in a stable condition.
AN Irish national who pummelled a friend to death with a knuckle duster at a Torrevieja flat during a fit of jealous rage has been jailed for just six years after taking a plea deal.
Wayne Walsh, 37, from Kilkennny, murdered Carl Carr, 38, in September 2018 on the city’s La Siesta urbanisation.
Carr’s body was discovered four
KNUCKLE DUSTER KILLER RUSSIAN MAFIA PROBE
months later in a shallow grave off the AP-7 highway, a few kilometres away in the Rojales area. Walsh had confronted Carr over a relationship he was having with his ‘on-off’ girlfriend, British model Milly Leonard.
Eyes peeled
THIS is the Scottish expat gangster who remains on the run after escaping from an Alicante prison 32 years ago - when his plot to smuggle €100m of Colombian cocaine fell to pieces.
In 1990, Julian Chisholm (pictured right in mugshot alongside aged e-fit), a deepsea diver turned drug trafficker, somehow convinced the feared Cali cartel to trust him with at least half a tonne of
Hunt for Scottish ‘narco’ who escaped Spanish jail 32 years ago
By Laurence Dollimore
the Class A drug.
Attention has been drawn to the case thanks to the new BBC documentary Cocaine and the Klondykers - a threepart series that takes a look at one of the biggest drug busts
Hitman collared
A FEARED Peruvian mafia boss accused of ordering 16 murders in his country has been arrested in Elche.
He was detained at his girlfriend’s home after an operation lasting several months to track down his whereabouts in Spain.
The fugitive led a hitman gang called Los Afiles that carried out assassinations to order, as well as kidnappings that all ended in extortion, drug trafficking and deaths.
The Policia Nacional received information last year via Interpol that he could be hiding in Spain, after the rest of his crew was brought down in 2022.
in UK history.
Chisholm, from Perthshire, quit his job in the oil industry in the North Sea in the 1980s, before moving to southern Spain and launching his criminal career.
Wayne Walsh’s plea deal was confirmed at an Elche court last week and he will have to report to authorities in mid-March, or face arrest.
Five years of the sentence are for homicide and the other 12 months for the illegal possession of weapons.
While he successfully smuggled cannabis into Europe and Scotland, he wanted a bigger piece of the pie, and turned his attention to cocaine, aka ‘white gold’.
Chisholm successfully pitched his plan to the Cali cartel, which essentially consisted of at least half a tonne of cocaine being picked up by a freight ship off the coast of Trinidad in the Caribbean.
It then sailed to the Scottish coast, where two fellow Scots were ordered to use a dinghy to ferry the bales of cocaine to Clashnessie, a small beach on the rugged north west Highland coastline.
However, on the night of the operation in December 1990, the orders from their Spanish captain came despite them being caught in a category 10 storm.
A lot of the cocaine was lost to the rough conditions, with
one fisherman later finding more than €1million worth floating in the water.
The Scottish smugglers managed to get to shore however they were later stopped by police and the plot was rumbled.
Chisholm was later arrested in Spain and was sent to the notorious Fontcalent prison in Alicante.
Chisholm was awaiting extradition to the UK when a decision was made to transfer him.
When the transfer van arrived to pick him and another prisoner up, guards said it was too large to fit through the entrance, insisting the pair would have to be walked out.
Somehow, while being escorted outside, they managed to escape from their cuffs and run into the desert. Chisholm has not been seen since and remains a wanted fugitive.
A RUSSIAN mafia that laundered millions of euros in Spain boasted of its contacts with 'well-known Spanish politicians', it has emerged.
A Policia Nacional probe that brought down the gang in January discovered they had phoned Cuban authorities about plans to build a solar energy farm on the island and told them they were close to several Spanish political leaders.
Raids
Among the gang’s clients were Serbian and Albanian cartels, the Mocro Maffia, Colombian cartels, the Armenian mafia, clans from Ukraine and even some from China. Some 14 people have been arrested and properties were raided in Madrid, Malaga, Marbella, Torremolinos, Coin, and Ayamonte as well as Lisbon, with €1 million in cash seized.
A Policia Nacional officer from Huelva was among the mafia's payroll and provided Spanish residency documents to its members, saying they needed asylum due to the Ukraine war. He also had 'political contacts', offering the mafia investments on the Huelva coast in land and hotel complexes.
Rubiales dodges jail
SPAIN’s former football chief Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault for the infamous kiss he planted on Jenni Hermoso after the 2023 World Cup final. The judge fined him €10,800 after the nine day trial in Madrid’s National Court, but
A SPANISH mayor has called on Meghan Markle to change her As Ever logo, insisting it plagiarises her town’s ‘historic’ coat of arms.
As Ever is part of Markle’s personal lifestyle brand that she uses to sell a range of products such as fruit preserves and home essentials.
But Xisca Mona, leader of the sleepy village of Porreres, in Mallorca, told the Olive Press this week that she was ‘shocked’ upon seeing the logo.
It features a palm tree flanked by two hummingbirds, which Markle claims symbolises her home in California with husband Prince Harry.
Yet the design is remarkably similar to Porreres’
ish Football Federation dodged a jail sentence. He was, however, acquitted of the more serious crime of coercing Hermoso into publicly saying that the kiss was consensual, for which prosecutors had demanded two-and-a-half years.
Last week’s ruling prohibits Rubiales from approaching Hermoso within a radius of 200
ROYAL RIP-OFF
Megan Markle under fire for ‘copying’ historic coat of arms of Mallorcan town for her lifestyle brand
by Laurence Dollimore
coat of arms, which also shows two birds flying on either side of a palm tree. Xisca told Olive Press: ‘We are still a bit shocked, we thought it was fake news at first, we didn’t know what was happening.
‘Then loads of newspapers and media started calling us and we realised it was serious.’
She said the similarities are ‘undeniable’, adding: ‘They are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colours, but they are nearly identical.’
She continued: ‘All jokes aside, we really want them to change the logo because our coat of arms is very special to our culture and has been linked to our
town since it was founded hundreds of years ago.
‘It is very important to our identity and now it is being used to sell products like jam.
‘The truth is that although this has given our once unknown town some publicity in just a few hours, we don’t like our coat of arms being used, we want them to pull the logo.’
However, while there is a desire to fight the Sussexes, Xisca said the town hall will probably choose not to.
She explained: ‘We simply cannot fight such a big company like that, we are a small town with limited resources.
‘We may send a letter ask-
Sex bomb drops
will post two concerts in Spain as part of his hectic Defy Explanation Tour 2025. Fans in Andalucia will be treated to a show in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz, on August 11, which he will follow by taking to the stage in Alicante just two days later on August 13.
Gere-ing down
HOLLYWOOD legend Richard Gere is looking to put down roots in northern Spain's picturesque Galician coast.
The Pretty Woman star, 75, and his Galician wife Alejandra Silva, 41, have been spotted viewing luxury properties in the exclusive enclave of Oleiros, just 15 minutes from A Coruña city.
erty in the area for at least two years, though no deal has yet been finalised.
"They visit every summer and stay with Alejandra's family, but now they want their own place," revealed a local estate agent.
Oleiros, with its population of 38,333, has become one of Galicia's most desirable addresses.
It boasts the highest per capita income in the region and ranks among Spain's 25 wealthiest municipalities.
Sources close to the couple confirmed they've been interested in purchasing a sea-view prop-
The coastal town is known for its Blue Flag beaches including Santa Cristina ing them to remove the logo and to find a new one.’ She added that the people of Porreres ‘invite Meghan and Harry to the town’ with open arms and joked that if they want to use their coat of arms as a logo, ‘they
and Bastiagueiro, historic Santa Cruz Castle, and stunning sea views along its maritime promenades.
Gere wouldn't be the only high-profile resident – Pablo Isla, former Inditex chairman, and Sandra Ortega, daughter of Zara founder – and Spain's second-richest person – Amancio Ortega already call the area home.
EXCLUSIVE
should at least sell apricot jam’ - in reference to the locally renowned apricots.
TWINNED: Megan Markle’s brand logo (left) bares a striking resemblance to the coat of arms of Porreres
REQUEST: Mayor Xisca Mona has politely asked Megan Markle to change her brand logo
February 27th -
deaths
AN autopsy on a British couple found dead at their San Fulgencio home has ruled out violence or anything suspicious as the cause of their deaths. The bodies were discovered inside their Parque del Bidasoa property on the El Oasis urbanisation on February 13. It is believed the 82-year-old man and 74-year-old woman had been deceased for several days. The man, who regularly walked his dog, had not been spotted for about a week.
The couple both had medical issues and he had recently been admitted to Torrevieja Hospital.
They were classified as 'vulnerable' and were among a group of 20 people being monitored by San Fulgencio social services and the Cruz Roja.
A Cruz Roja worker called the police after not getting a reply during a home visit.
See da Vinci like never before
VALENCIA’S City of Arts and Sciences
will host a unique interactive exhibition that boasts virtual reality as part of a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci.
The complex’s Science Museum will be home from next Thursday to an immersive experience merging art, science, and technology in a unique journey celebrating the Italian genius.
Leonardo da Vinci is much more than an artist — he was a visionary who revolutionised science, engineering, and innovation. The exhibition will be a unique opportunity to explore his legacy and his impact
on the world today and in the future.
The displays have been created and produced by Grande Experiences in collaboration with Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Museum.
Visionary
They combine digital technology with an audio-visual tour of his main artistic works, inventions, codices and drawings. Split into six themed areas, visitors will be able to interact with recreations of his ingenious machines, discovering the connection between da Vinci’s visionary ideas
Too little, too late
Mobile phone alerts warning of the DANA disaster
arrived too late, judge declares
COUNTLESS deaths could have been avoided in the Valencia DANA disaster if phone alerts had been sent to residents earlier, a judge has ruled.
The judge leading the probe this week said the warning messages were 'notably late', arriving hours after flooding had begun. He added that the texts -
By Alex Trelinski
eventually sent at 8.11pm - were 'wrong in context' as many people had already died in their homes, garages, or on roads. Meanwhile, Valencian president Carlos Mazon has finally admitted that he did not arrive at the emergency
coordination centre until 8.28pm – long after people had started dying. It comes as a court in the ‘ground zero’ town of Catarroja is coordinating legal proceedings into the emergency response of the biblical rainfall and flooding on October 29 last year.
In a written statement, he said the damage to property
HUNDREDS of people have taken to the streets of Denia to protest against a ‘government land grab’. It comes after the coastline boundaries were changed in 2023, affecting more than 3,600 buildings along a two-kilometre stretch of the coast.
The affected homes face reclassification by the ‘Costas’ coastal authority as they will now be on government owned-land.
Their owners will be forced to take a 75-year 'concession deal' with the authority, in a move protesters branded unfair, obsolete and a form of ‘psychological abuse’. Spokesperson Francisco Ros said: "It cannot be that good people, who have paid their taxes and followed the law are going to lose their properties… They are usurping our homes.”
and current technology. One
affecting hundreds of thousands of people 'could not have been avoided, but the deaths could have been'.
He said his investigation will focus 'on the obvious lack of warnings to residents who could not take any measures to protect themselves'.
Still missing
DRIVERS have breathed a sigh of relief after the government vowed to fix an infamous bottleneck in Torrevieja.
The Ministry of Transport said plans to upgrade almost five kilometres of the N-332 to a dual-carriageway will move forward following a positive environmental impact report. The budget has been increased to €55 million and will now go through a final draft process, advertising a construction contract, and a period of public consultation. No timeline has been given by the ministry, after it has taken six years to draft basic plans and go through the environmental impact process.
HANDS OFF OUR HOMES! VAN BAN
A total of 224 people died in the historic floods, and three people are still missing, having been likely swept away by torrents that filled streets and carried away thousands of cars.
The judge also commented on complaints made against firefighters, which suggested they could have done more to save lives.
“The torrents of water and mud that flooded streets made it unfeasible for fire vehicles to gain access to people who were drowning,” he said.
ELCHE council has banned motorhomes and caravans from two beach parking areas. The move comes amid a backlash against illegal overnight camping at Carabassi with authorities at adjoining Santa Pola taking similar action in the cape area.
The prohibition also applies to La Marina beach, affecting vehicles more than 2.2 metres wide. Police have erected temporary signs ahead of permanent boards appearing before the Easter holiday.
Elche's tourism councillor Irene Ruiz said: “This protects the natural environment including the dumping of sewage from vehicles into the sea which puts swimmers in danger, especially during the summer.”
Puerto Blanco Set to Open This Summer
Exciting news for maritime enthusiasts and tourists alike as the renovation works at Puerto Blanco marina are set to conclude in the coming months.
The facility is expected to welcome visitors this summer, although it will initially open without all commercial spaces and restaurants fully operational, as these are still in the commercialisation phase.
Marina PortBlanc, the company awarded the concession for the construction and operation of this mooring area, is currently engaged in several key projects.
One of the most notable is the construction of an elevated pedestrian
walkway, which will connect the port entrance to the breakwater. This feature promises to offer visitors breathtaking views of the port and the Calpe coastline.
Simultaneously, the company is working on various commercial establishments, including two restaurants and a beach bar-kiosk in the beach area, two additional hospitality establishments on the walkway, nautical activity premises, and port captain’s offices on the ground floor. Plans are also in place to pave the entire infrastructure.
The conditioning of Puerto Blanco, which began in September 2023, has involved significant maritime works.
These include dredging the
inner basin, reinforcing the breakwater, and installing a floodgate at the port entrance to reduce water agitation within the basin.
Marina PortBlanc has also installed 150 mooring berths, constructed perimeter concrete docks, and worked on stabilising the slopes in the area.
As part of the project, the Puerto Blanco beach has been regenerated, gaining approximately 700 square metres in extension.
This ambitious infrastructure project is nearing reality, with a final investment currently standing at over €9 million. This figure represents an increase of €4 million from the initial estimate, attributed to
several factors including delays in starting the works due to boundary issues between administrations, the complexity of dredging and dam maintenance, and the need for additional reinforcement of the breakwater.
In just a few months, Puerto Blanco will emerge as a new jewel on the coast, offering enhanced maritime facilities and promising to be a significant draw for both locals and tourists seeking to enjoy the beauty of the Spanish coastline.
of the highlights is an immersive gallery that will take people back to the streets of Florence, Rome, and Milan during da Vinci’s time.
NEEDLESS: Lives could have been saved by more timely phone alerts
EXPERTS WHO CARE ABOUT YOU
Voted
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
OPINION
You can’t have it both ways
WHILE Spanish towns want to reap the economic benefits of motorhome travellers, it seems no one is investing in the necessary infrastructure to make this influx comfortable for both residents and caravaners.
Since Covid-19, Spain has become an exponentially popular destination for van lifers and snow birds, caravaners who come from northern Europe to escape the winter cold.
Despite over 350,000 people travelling around the country in motorhomes and caravans, there are just 1,100 official sites to park up – causing chaos for locals and tourists alike.
The lack of facilities means many caravaners pitch up in national parks, next to beaches and on abandoned lots.
Though most are respectful of their surroundings, there are some that couldn’t care less about the state they leave their winter homesteads in once they travel back to the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
We have heard multiple reports of caravaners throwing human waste into public drains, onto beaches and into bushes, producing a ‘foul stench’ and prompting public health concerns.
Others report seeing van lifers masturbating and committing other sex acts in public, often targeted at their female counterparts who are left feeling unsafe and disturbed.
It seems that the swathe of unregulated parking opportunities in Spain has attracted Europe’s riff raff and they won’t go away until local authorities do more to stop them.
Local councils could filter out bad apples by installing facilities and charging motorists to use them, like is often the case in France.
Police could also perform more checks on illegal car parks and clamp down on those overstaying their welcome.
It is a shame that a few disrespectful travellers give the rest of the van life and caravanning community a bad name.
Instead, we should focus on putting measures in place to ensure Spain attracts only the respectful, peaceful and clean people that local communities would welcome with open arms.
Expats claim caravaners and van lifers are ruining the costas as they invade thousands of natural spaces and parking lots, dumping excrement, taking litres of water for free and even committing sex acts in the open air
WHEN Cor Vandenhoek moved to Torrox Costa nine years ago, he invested in one of the most expensive properties on the market under the promise that nothing would ever obscure his view to the sea
It was a vow that was sadly to be broken.
Just seven years later, the abandoned lot in front of the Dutchman’s upmarket Punta del Faro Urbanisation is ‘inundated’ with over around 60 new homes.
Not the sort of bricks and mortar properties that you might expect an expat homeowner would be complaining about sullying his view… but a phalanx of illegally-parked camper vans (see below), whose occupants’ behaviour leaves a lot to be desired.
The retired hotel owner has certainly got a point, with the long line up of campers stretching almost as far as the eye can see.
It is a similar picture at hundreds, possibly thousands of beauty spots, from Huelva up to the French border with Catalunya.
While ugly, it is what the so-called ‘van lifers’ get
ers told WITH
EXCLUSIVE by
up to in them - and outside of them, cruciallythat has most incensed Cor and, as the Olive Press has established, thousands of his neighbours and fellow expats along the costas.
“I wanted to retire and have a quiet life here but I have never seen such chaos. Torrox was a beautiful place, the Saint-Tropez of Spain, but now it’s being abused and we can do nothing about it,” the 75-year-old told the Olive Press Cor claims he has seen the caravaners ‘masturbate in broad daylight’ and ‘throw human faeces’ in the bushes from his balcony. And it’s a story we have been hearing for months, since we first reported on the issue.
“I can’t even walk my grandchildren to the beach because there’s dirty tissues, condoms and shit everywhere,” continued Cor, who sent us a series of photos as evidence, as have many other readers from around the costas.
The pensioner also claims the van lifers put
their rubbish, including human waste, into his urbanizations’ bins, paid for out of each resident’s €128 per month maintenance costs.
It is a similar story up the coast in Fuengirola.
Age Care volunteer Ray Mynott, 77, told the
Olive Press that he had seen many caravaners dump excrement around the fairground.
“They also dump their shit in the storm drains, blocking them, or directly dump them in the nearby Parque del Rosario.
“When we go to walk the dog, there’s a really unpleasant smell and I’ve even seen someone park his van over the storm drain to empty his waste directly into it. This goes down into the river and into the sea.”
The former chauffeur continued: “I’ve also seen people take around 16 litres of water from the park in a single day. They literally just park up and fill all their containers. They don’t pay any taxes for that.”
And the local welfare leader added that many expats believe the van lifers are up to no good.
“A lot of people in the Los Boliches area do not feel safe anymore because we don’t know who these people are,” he explained.
“The council thinks it’s helping the economy, but when I asked one of the restaurant owners near the feria ground where they all park he told me all the campers do is use their toilets.”
And it is not as if the van lifers disagree.
Veteran traveller and member of the Catalan Caravaners Union (UCC) Cesar Semarro told the Olive Press this week: “There’s always some pigs that behave badly. They ruin it for the rest of us.”
However, he claimed this was a small minority of motorhome owners who do not represent the largely ‘respectful’ community.
The 78-year-old, who has been travelling
ARE YOU BURYING THE SARDINE?
Andalucia marks the start of spring with a bizarre ritual that goes back centuries
ASH Wednesday is approaching once again, and with it will come the rather strange sight of Andalucians ‘burying a sardine’.
Yes, odd but true, but this will mark the end of the indulgence of Carnival and the start of the restraint of Lent.
For the British, a sardine is generally just an inch long thing crammed in a flat little tin full of oil, and Lent merely vague childhood memories of pancakes sticking to the ceiling.
turn to dust fairly soon.
To rub it in, as it were, he smears every forehead with real ashes, and the people wear this stain proudly for the rest of the day.
It’s really all about the start of Spring, and the end of Winter.
Historians tell us it is actually pagan and existed long before Christianity hijacked it some thousand years ago.
By Michael Coy
In Andalucia however, sardines are something very different, and Lent is a very important thing to celebrate. Let’s tackle Lent first.
This year it starts on March 5, better known as Ash Wednesday. Don’t be surprised if you see people out and about with a grey smudge on their foreheads. They’ve been to church, for a special ceremony in which the priest reminds them that we’re all made of dust, and will all re-
We are actually celebrating the return of flowers, lambs and baby birds etc, as we say goodbye to ice and snow. Which brings us to sardines. Have you ever seen a small wooden boat packed with sand at a beach restaurant here? With fish cooking on balsa-wood splints over a charcoal fire?
restaurant
This is a classic Malaga delicacy, called espeto de sardinas
The migrating fish (big, oil-free and delicious) swim along the coast at this time of year, and a percentage of them end up as part of an espeto or ‘skewer’.
This is where we need to turn to Francisco Goya, the Spanish painter.
Goya (who died in 1828) loved to depict popular festivals around the country, and that’s why one of his canvases (right) is entitled, Burying the Sardine It is a ceremony which is still maintained today in many Spanish towns. Some say it dates back to King Carlos III after being served a plate of sardines which had ‘gone off’ in the 18th century. Understandably furious, he commanded the offending fish to be buried. Whether true or not, the festival is an Ash Wednesday event which is symbolically about destroying the past and being born into the sunny, warm future.
Many places have different versions of the ceremony, and expect to see people dressed in mourning. While others put on the disfraz (disguise) of priests and nuns. Some places carry the sardine through the streets – don’t worry, it’s a dummy sardine – and bury it, sometimes in a coffin, in an actual grave. And that’s when the fun begins. Are you going to bury the sardine this year? at
SEX ACTS: And the leftovers in the bushes by Cor’s Torrox home, while Cesar (above right) with his van and quad
Yzabelle Bostyn
A YEAR TO DREAM
Valencia’s ‘starchitect’ Fran Silvestre brings his award-winning style to Sotogrande
SEE PAGE 10
SEE PAGE 8
Find out how to declutter, not only your living space, but also your mind on page 8
Just can’t get enough!
THE British are still the most important international buyers in Spain. Despite Brexit they still bought 40% more properties here than the Germans last year.
Only Polish and Dutch buyers increased on a larger scale than the Brits, who bought a staggering 8,728 properties last year.
The Germans bought just 6,230 properties and the French 5,025, which is a worrying drop of 14% in 2023.
cord year for foreign buyers, who bought 92,958 properties, which is a 6% increase on 2023 and only marginally below Spain’s record year of 2022.
According to data from the Spanish Land Registry, Polish buyers are the rising stars in the market with a dra-
matic 36% increase in purchases. Dutch and American buyers also showed strong growth, rising by 18% and 13%, respectively.
Norwegian buyers, however, virtually fell off the map, with a collapse in home purchases of 63%.
The final quarter of 2024 was particularly strong meanwhile, with 24,985 sales involving foreign buyers - a 27% year-on-year increase
and the best Q4 on record.
This suggests that international demand for Spanish property is accelerating as the market heads into 2025.
Despite the slight slowdown in 2023, the 2024 figures indicate that Spain’s appeal to foreign buyers remains robust, with Brits continuing to lead the charge.
With no signs of demand waning, the Spanish property market looks set to maintain its momentum in the year ahead.
But buy-to-let investors have been
spooked by Spain’s new housing legislation, which has included ‘tenant-friendly’ policies such as rent controls in ‘strained’ neighbourhoods. Nationally, properties sold as investments account for one in four sales.
In Madrid, which has so far weathered the regulatory storm, it’s still a healthy one in three.
But in Catalunya, where investors are getting cold feet, it’s dropped from to less than one in four – its lowest level ever.
The Queen of eliminating clutter, Brandi Freeze, explains how her company Airy Spaces can work miracles for you this spring
HEN clutter takes over it starts innocently: a drawer that won’t close, a chair overtaken by things meant to be dealt with ‘later’ or a collection that quickly grows.
Clutter becomes a mental weight, adding stress and making a space feel heavier.
Clutter doesn’t just sit in a corner - it seeps into the mind, creating unfinished business or chaos, turning a restorative space into something overwhelming. Even small things impact focus, mood and well-being.
Ever walked into a room that made you feel instantly drained? That’s clutter at work.
Creating a Balanced Home
A balanced home isn’t about perfection or minimalism; it’s
about designing a space that supports daily life.
The difference between a space that flows and one that doesn’t lies in what we choose to keep or let go of.
Clearing out the excess (old clothes, forgotten gadgets, or things that no longer serve us) brings a space to life.
Decluttering creates room for what truly matters: peaceful moments, inviting corners, and a home where you can recharge. Your space should nurture, not drain.
The Real Benefits of Decluttering
● Instant stress relief – Clutter is visual noise, keeping the brain in a state of tension. Clearing it out creates an immediate sense of calm and ease
and a lighter, more inspired way of living
● Easier decision-making – Less stuff means less overwhelm. With only what truly matters in sight, everyday choices (what to wear, what to cook, what to focus on) become simpler and more intentional.
● Sharper focus and mental
clarity – A clutter-free space reduces distractions, helps the mind to think more clearly and boosts productivity
● Deeper, more restful sleep – A tidy, peaceful environment signals the brain to unwind, making it easier to fall and stay asleep
● More energy and motivation – Clutter drains mental and physical energy. Letting go creates space for fresh ideas, new habits
● More time for what matters – No more wasting hours searching for lost items or shuffling piles of ‘stuff’.
A streamlined space frees up time for hobbies, loved ones and moments of bliss.
Letting go isn’t losing, it’s gaining freedom. The less clutter in your space, the more room there is for the life you actually want to live and build.
Spring Cleaning: Revitalize Your Space: It is a lot More Than Just Tidying Up Spring invites a fresh start, not just for our homes, but our mindset. Stripping away the old creates space for new possibilities and a vibrant environment. Start with a seasonal wardrobe reset.
We hold onto clothes for many reasons - past jobs, occasions, or sizes we hope to fit again. Asking, ‘Does this reflect who I am now?’ helps simplify decisions. Letting go makes getting dressed easier and more enjoyable. Here are a few of my tips for making a great head start this Spring.
Clearing the Kitchen
Counter
The kitchen is often the
TIME FOR A SPRING CLEAN?
busiest space. Clutter here adds stress before a meal begins. Clear countertops make meal prep a simple, creative process.
The One-Year Rule for General Spaces
A helpful guideline: if an item hasn’t been used in the last year, it’s likely not essential. This applies to books, electronics, and sentimental items. Letting go frees up space and mental energy.
Mindful Tech Declutter
Technology is a hidden clutter source. Unused apps, outdated gadgets, and overloaded inboxes contribute to mental overwhelm. Organizing digital files, deleting apps, and clearing inboxes reduces distractions and streamlines tasks.
Clearing Out Common Areas
Living rooms, entryways, and hallways often accumulate clutter, but they set the tone for how we feel at home. Keeping them clear creates a welcoming atmosphere that promotes relaxation. Simple acts such as tidying shoes, sorting mail, or clearing away old magazines will have an immediate impact.
Keeping It Simple: Small Habits for Lasting Change
Once decluttered, maintaining balance doesn’t have to be a chore.
A quick tidy-up before bed prevents buildup. Designating key areas (like counters and bedside tables) as ‘no-clutter zones’ creates calm and a welcoming start to the day.
Being mindful of what enters the space is just as important. Before adding something new, ask, ‘Does this bring value, or will it just take up space?’
Over time, this keeps things intentional
and meaningful. When a home is in harmony, life flows more smoothly.
Small shifts create more ease, calm, and a home that supports the life we want to live.
About Airy Spaces
Brandi Freeze is the found- er of Airy Spaces, which is based in Sevilla. She is passionate about helping people and creat- ing functional and nurtur- ing spaces. Specializing in declutter- ing and home organization, Airy Spaces offers custom- ized solutions that bring balance and harmony to homes while working to- wards a simpler, more in- tentional way of living. For decluttering tips, chal- lenges, and inspiration, visit www.airyspaces.com or follow @airyspaces on social media. Happy Decluttering!
A REVOLUTIONARY social housing project in Spain has bagged the RIBA International Prize 2024 - the world’s most coveted award for cutting-edge architecture.
Modulus Matrix: 85 Social Housing, designed by Peris + Toral Arquitectes, is turning heads in Catalunya with its unique, eco-friendly design.
The six-storey, timber-framed block in Cornella, near Barcelona, is home to 85 apartments that are nothing like your average council flats.
Inspired by Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, the building’s layout features
modular rooms that all measure the same size (3.6m x 3.6m) and are arranged around a central communal courtyard.
The clever design encourages socialising, with open spaces that can easily adapt to different family struc-
tures and needs. Every flat benefits from cross-ventilation and dual orientation to maximise natural light and airflow. Plus, the building is made from timber, cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions and slashing construction time.
chores visible.
Private balconies and Barcelona shutters offer added privacy, while thoughtful acoustic measures ensure peace and quiet between flats.
Inside, there’s no fixed layout: the rooms can be rearranged as residents see fit, and spaces like kitchens are at the heart of the home, challenging traditional gender roles by making domestic
The project was completed in 2021 and aligns with the goals of IMPSOL, a public body behind socially innovative housing in the area.
The group has won plaudits after churning out similar projects in the area, each aiming to deliver affordable, high-quality housing to more people.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) - which has been celebrating outstanding work for over
180 years - was particularly impressed with its social premise.
RIBA President Muyiwa Oki hailed the design as a ‘game-changer’ saying it offers a new blueprint for adaptable, long-term housing solutions. And it seems the locals agree — many residents initially sceptical about the layout have since come to love how the design suits their everyday needs.
Meanwhile, the RIBA Emerging Architect Award 2024 went to ARCity, a firm from Shenzhen, China, for their bold Six Bricolage Houses project, which blends modern design with oldworld charm.
EMERGING AWARD: went to ARCity for blending the old with the new in Shenzhen, China
GAME CHANGER: Scheme is a ‘new blueprint for adaptable long term housing solutions’ around Spain and Europe
E has done it again. Renowned Valencian ‘starchitect’ Fran Silvestre has unveiled his latest jaw-dropping home, and it is no disappointment.
His firm of architects has become a household name in the past two decades with its iconic houses, which are predominantly white with edgy, clean cut lines - and very expensive.
On his seeming obsession with white, Silvestre explains: “We use white for three reasons.
“There is a strong contrast between blue and white. It is a symbol of culture. The second reason is scientific. When you have a white interior it makes it look more spacious.
“There is also the thermic question. You cannot have a big black box under the Spanish sun. “And lastly, it is the subjective reasons about the perception of beauty.”
His latest creation overlooking Sotogrande golf course exemplifies Silvestre’s
vision of harmony between architecture and its surrounding environment.
The design centres around what he calls ‘the interplay of shadow and light’ with the boundary between indoors and outdoors blurred by a cantilevered roof that brings both elements together.
This generous roof not only provides shelter from the scorching Cadiz sun but also protects against the heavy rains that often fall from the nearby Sierra de Grazalema, known as the rainiest place on the Spanish mainland.
Silvestre explains that the house is divided into four zones: the ground plane, the shadow cast by the roof, the transparent glass that facilitates efficient temperature control, and the soft, warm wood interior.
The design also incorporates a layer of water actually on the roof (it could be called a roof-wide paddling pool!), which serves as both thermal and acoustic insulation.
The goal for Silvestre was to create minimal impact on the environment while offering an immersive experience of ‘inhabiting shadow’ in the serene surroundings of Sotogrande.
This latest home is a fitting continuation of the stunning
WHITE Magic
designs that Fran Silvestre Arquitectos have become renowned for - and is indeed his latest signature design. No costings have been revealed, but you could think of a number, add a few zeros, and you probably won’t be too far wrong!
INHABITING SHADOW: This is the aim of Fran Silvestre in Sotogrande landscape
IMPACT: The home is designed with the environment at heart
Fran Silvestre’s latest Sotogrande design is the work of a magician
INHABITING SHADOW: This is the aim of Fran Silvestre in Sotogrande landscape
in mobile homes for over 50 years, explained that the style of travel skyrocketed in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“People came to Spain because it’s a paradise with year-round sun. But because of the pandemic, they didn’t know the etiquette,” he confirmed. “Now they abuse the system, especially the snowbirds who come for winter,” he added. Above all, he insisted it was important to understand the difference between parking and camping.
Parking for a day or two he believes is an entirely acceptable norm and gives everyone a chance to enjoy places.
“But camping is staying for months and acting like the street was your back garden. These people give us a bad name.”
Huge growth in numbers
The Olive Press has established that around 350,000 motorhomes are normally to be found travelling around Spain at any time, with the majority coming from abroad.
According to the Spanish Caravaning Association (Aseicar) 6,459 new motorhomes were registered in 2024 in Spain, a 22% increase compared to the previous year.
Catalan Semarro claims these campers are a great source of income, especially in ‘empty Spain’ (by which he means the interior) which of course is largely true.
“Our association and others like ours offer guidelines on how to behave and if these rules are followed, you should be welcomed by locals
JOY: At Goya’s Burying the sardine festival
with open arms.
“That means spending money in bars, shops and restaurants,” he said.
“If a small inland village has 50 residents and four or five caravaners come and spend money, that’s a good income for the
local villagers.”
One inland village, L’albi, in Lleida province, allegedly calculated €62,000 in local sales from motorhome owners in just one year alone after providing a safe parking area, including toilets, water and picnic tables.
However, most towns in Spain lack these essential facilities, caravaners claim.
And it is not only losing vital income, but it is causing problems.
“The coast is oversaturated for sure and many campsites are booked up a year in advance,”
regular British traveler Alan Harris, from Dorset, told the Olive Press
“I think the solution is for councils inland to provide proper sites with facilities and then charge a small fee. That’s what they do in France and the situation is much better.”
frequently come under the crosshairs of the local police in Orgiva with claims of drug-dealing and other illegal activity.
Erikkson has crossed paths with many such undesirables, revealing on her YouTube channel that she frequently sees gay men having intercourse in bushes and has had to chase off men masturbating near fellow van lifers.
But being fair, most of the van lifers are simply looking to drop out and are largely harmless, choosing alternative ways of life.
It’s mostly Germans who don’t
want to spend money and overstay
The 70-year-old former plumber continued: “I once spent €1,000 in a week in Javea, if you multiply that by the amount of people, that’s an awful lot of money for the local economy,” he said.
“Despite this, Javea council moved the campers on and the nearby bars were utterly horrified, they’d just lost lots of business.”
However, he admitted that some caravanersmostly Germans - come to Spain with ‘huge’ vans loaded up with supplies.
“It’s mostly Germans who don’t want to spend money and overstay their welcome,” he claimed.
He also admits that many long-term caravaners are moved on following complaints from residents who own ‘expensive’ beachside homes.
One classic person who regularly overstays her welcome, by her own admittance, is Therese Erikkson, 33, from Sweden.
The vanlife videographer appears to like winding up local residents.
“My favourite spot in Marbella is in front of some million euro mansions,” she boasted in an interview with us.
“They hate us parking in front because they see us as a threat to normal society, they want you to be in the rat race with them.”
While describing life in Marbella, or anywhere on the costas, as a ‘rat race’ seems a little wide of the mark, it is the fact that van lifers and most winter visitors are not obliged to pay local taxes, that really annoys residents.
And some are unlikely to pay tax at all going on investigations of large van-lifer settlements by the Olive Press around Orgiva, in Granada, and in particular, up on the Algarve, in nearby Portugal.
One settlement
‘Beneficio’ that often had up to 1,000 people living in it, has
And some of them, including freelancer Erikkson, is all for contributing more to the local authorities.
“I think a subscription system would be good, a yearly membership to park wherever you want in Spain for €50 to €100,” Erikkson, who trains photographers, suggested.
“We’re mostly hardworking, normal people who want to travel. I hope Spain can see that we contribute to society.”
It’s a question that will raise much debate but, unless it is better regulated and can be proven to contribute to the local economies, it will end up causing much more conflict over the years to come.
What does the law say?
Caravans and motorhomes can legally park jas normal vehicles in Spain. How- ever, Spanish road authorities (DGT) updated the law in June 2024 so that campers cannot take up more space than the vehicle itself (for example, by putting up a hammock or shade), stand on anything but wheels and emit any fluids such as chemical toilet waste. While it was lauded as ‘protecting’ car- avaners, the law failed to include other types of mobile homes, including con- verted vans.
The new regulation also did not clari- fy if it is permitted to sleep in mobile homes, but most have interpreted the law as a green light, saying as long as vehicles are parked correctly, they can do as they please.
Many municipalities however, have their own rules when it comes to over- night parking, so make sure you check before taking a lie down. Fines can range from €200 in prohibit- ed areas and up to €60,000 in environ- mentally-protected areas.
GREEN AND SEEN
In a promise to our
vertisers - we are continuing to ensure that
of newspaper copies are accounted for.
After implementing the new tech for the first time last issue, we had just 0.67% of our papers returned across ALL of our pick-up points in Spain.
It’s all thanks to our new ‘Proof of delivery’ system which helps us guarantee that Spain’s most popular English newspaper gets into all the right hands.
This is a stark contrast to our rivals, whose newspapers get left in huge piles each week and often end up getting blown around the streets.
Yes, wherever you live, you will have seen hundreds of canopies left, literally sitting on the shelf. Unclaimed and unloved.
Indeed, rival distributors tell us they now call delivery day ‘pickup day’ as there are so many papers going unread that have to be returned. We have never had that problem and are always the first free newspaper to get picked up wherever we distribute.
To guarantee this continues, we have teamed up with the UK’s largest free newspaper delivery company, Self Select Media.
In a high-tech and vital new way of delivering our newspapers, we get proof of delivery of every drop with photos and exact numbers distributed… and even better, monitor the numbers into the single digits.
In an important drive for sustainability and accountability, we can now ensure our advertisers all our papers have been safely dropped AND signed for And we can make sure we don’t unnecessarily waste paper and money, as part of the process.
Contact sales@theolivepress.es if you need more information
CONFIRMATION:
ROOM FOR TWO: Therese shares her van with furry friend Tindra
GRIDLOCK: Charity worker Ray Mynott says vanlifers dump their shit in the nearby park and take up to 20 litres of free water a day
chocolate!
find out more
CHOCOLATE is becoming more expensive and less available thanks to climate change, a study has found.
US research group Climate Central found increasing temperatures are making the sweet treat’s main ingredient, cocoa, more difficult to grow. Over the past ten years, farmers have found that they can’t grow the year-round crop for three weeks of the year due to higher temperatures. This can also lead to a reduction in the quality of the harvest.
A separate report from UK charity Christian Aid suggested this is having a negative effect on cocoa farmers.
Working with water
Ciao GREEN HEART
The solutions to Spain’s drying-out rivers are not ‘crazy rocket science’ explains Leeds-based professor
A LEADING ecologist has set out to save Spain’s dwindling river systems from the twin threat of climate change and excessive demands on water consumption.
Martin sor
Julia Martin Ortega (left), a professor of ecological economics at the University of Leeds, has warned that rising tem-
KNOCK IT DOWN!
THE JUNTA will meet with the central government on March 4 to discuss the demolition of the illegally-built, 24-storey Algarrobico hotel in Almeria.
The Andalucian government will be looking for a ‘quick, realistic and effective’ solution to the 20-year Cabo de Gata eyesore.
Carboneras Council will also be involved in the talks, following the Junta’s request in March 2024 that they reclassify the land as protected natural park land.
EXCLUSIVE
By Yzabelle Bostyn
peratures are causing ‘intense river dryness’ across parts of the country.
But the academic says her solutions to this ‘intense dryness’ are not ‘crazy rocket science’. They include creating more shade near rivers to cool down waterways, clearing forest to prevent fires and switching to less water-intensive crop farming.
“The natural system is disrupted and unbalanced, so to fix it we need to work with it,” Ortega, 45, told the Olive Press
One river that has been particularly affected has been the Rio Genal in Ronda, which flows through a number of villages, including Genalguacil, Jubri-
“We need dialogue, realism and pragmatism,” Junta spokesperson Carolina España said.
OP QUICK CROSSWORD
PARCHED: Rio Genal in Ronda is suffering from increased dryness
que, and Benarraba, before eventually joining the Río Guadiaro near Casares.
The Genal has been hit with longer dry spells in an increasing number of areas, according to Ortega, with knock-on effects for the local biodiversity and community.
The Sevilla native academic is part of an international study known as ‘DRYvER’, which has been studying rivers across Europe for the past five years,
measuring the effects of global warming.
“While it is normal for rivers to dry over the summer, this process is now starting earlier, finishing later and spreading,” she said.
“Patterns of river dryness are intensifying in Spain due to climate change and water use. It’s only going to get worse.”
Some of the consequences of these effects are that
they rob species of their habitats, flooding becomes more intense and the likelihood of forest fires goes up.
The lack of water also has a profound effect on local communities, Ortega warns – some residents even lamented the loss of their connection to the river during workshops.
Identity
“It affects them deeply because they have less opportunities to connect with the river, where they used to spend time with their families and nature. They lose this sense of identity and cultural cohesion,” she said.
“People really care about the issue but there’s not enough knowledge, we need more awareness so that people can take action.”
This may also have an economic impact, with tourist activities in the waterways limited and a lack of water for agriculture.
THE SPANISH government has called on the EU to protect green financial policies over fears they will be scaled back in the pursuit of ‘simplification’.
It likened the changes to ‘open heart surgery’ and urged ‘surgical precision’ to avoid the collapse of EU green policy.
“Achieving our climate targets and strengthening the green agenda will go a long way towards reinforcing the competitiveness of the European Union,” said the letter, signed by the ecology minister Sara Aagesen. It comes after calls from businesses to reduce red tape that requires investments to be climate friendly. The ‘unprecedented simplification’ process aims to reduce the administrative burden by 25% for all businesses and 35% for SMEs. Brussels will present the first phase of the amendments on February 26.
6 Its capital is Gaborone (8)
8 New stocks (1,1,2) 9 Hallucinating (6,6) 10 Asian magician (6)
12 Adapt looter adapted (6)
14 Old king who died young (3)
15 Web designer (6)
16 They may be shod (6) 17 Of equal extent (12) 20 Inevitable consequence of dining out (4) 21 Light and delicate (8)
Average men (4)
Highly regarded (8)
Something most visitors go through (4,8) 4 Iconic small car (4) 5 Mammal able to kill poisonous snakes (8)
7 Father got hut demolished for an annexe (12)
11 Mesmer’s field (8) 13 Not quite a full house (3,5)
18 Grain prepared for brewing (4) 19 Shorter than eons but longer than periods (4) 18
DRY: Ecologists in action from Leeds doing hydrology studies in the Genal Valley
Don’t bite back
AMERICAN companies in Spain have reminded a Trump administration planning to slap tariffs on the EU that the US has a trade surplus with Spain.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Spain sent a letter to the US stressing Spain imports more from the US than it exports.
It comes after Trump claimed he was considering setting reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose import duties on US products.
“We call for dialogue and the search for consensual solutions that avoid trade retaliation and reduce uncertainty for companies and workers on both sides of the Atlantic,” the chamber ruled.
Hotel hotspot
Spain’s accomodation sector received the most investment in Europe in 2024, beating the UK
SPAIN has cemented its position as Europe’s hottest hotel investment market after €3.3 billion poured into the sector during 2024.
Although down slightly from 2023’s €4 billion, it was still enough to beat competition from the UK into second place. Madrid and Barcelona remained key players, securing €589 million and €572 million respectively, but it’s the country’s secondary cities that are
Embassy threat
THE US Embassy in Spain is insisting that all Spanish suppliers that operate in America with ‘diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies’ will be dropped within days. It follows from the executive order signed by President Donald Trump to stop such policies.
In Spain, the law imposes equality and LGBTI plans on companies that have a workforce of more than 50 people. Affected suppliers who have operations in the US have been given five days to comply with the new rules or the embassy will ‘suspend payments’.
By Walter Finch
increasingly catching investors’ eyes, according to consultancy firm Christie & Co.
The Balearic Islands emerged as a particular powerhouse, attracting €679 million in investment, outperforming the Canary Islands’ €598 million. This surge in island investment highlights the growing appetite for premium holiday
SMARTER
destinations among international tourists and investors alike, with foreign investors accounting for 40% of all deals.
“We’re seeing a significant shift in focus,” explained Alberto Martin of Christie & Co.
“While Madrid and Barcelona continue to attract investment, secondary cities are becoming the new hotspots for investors looking for promising repositioning opportunities.”
The luxury sector dominated the market, with four and five-star properties accounting for 70% of all room transactions, reflecting a post-pandemic shift towards upmarket accommodations.
Several headline-grabbing deals marked 2024, including the €200 million acquisition of Madrid’s Miguel Angel Hotel
BONANZA: Spain’s hotel sector recieved €3.3bn in investment last year
(pictured) by Stoneweg and Lopesan, while the prestigious Six Senses Ibiza changed hands in another major transaction. Looking ahead to 2025, experts predict investment levels will remain robust, staying above the €3 billion mark.
Opportunities
Secondary cities and island destinations are expected to lead the charge, offering fresh opportunities for growth in Spain’s flourishing hospitality sector.
For potential investors and property watchers, the trend towards individual asset purchases, which made up 75% of all transactions, suggests a market increasingly accessible to family firms and private investors, rather than just large corporate players.
Eastern promise
SURGING investment from China is fueling the rapid growth in specialised law firms that employ Chinese-speaking lawyers in Spain.
The Chinese Law Association in Spain claims there has been a significant increase in legal firms catering to Chinese clients, particularly those advising on investments in strategic sectors.
The association estimates approximately 50 specialised firms now operate in this niche market.
This trend corresponds with China’s position as Spain’s fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching €51.8 billion.
Chinese investors are particularly active in renewable energy and electric vehicle manufacturing, attracted by Spain’s climate, infrastructure, and favorable geopolitical position. Major Chinese investments include a €4.1 billion joint venture between automaker Stellantis and Chinese battery manufacturer CATL to build one of Spain’s largest electric vehicle battery plants in Zaragoza.
Last summer, Chinese legal giant Grandall Law opened an office in Madrid, having previously operated through local partners.
Experts have noted that Chinese investors also value Spain as a gateway to North African and Latin American markets.
Intimação Sobre Reclamação por Dependência nos Termos de G.L.c. 119 §.39M. Processo
NºES25A0011SJ, Euridineia Camilo Peixoto Medeiros, Autor vs. Cristiano Teodoro da Silva, Réu “Pai Um.”
Ao Réu acima mencionado: Ao réu acima-nomeado:
Foi apresentada à este Tribunal uma Reclamação pela parte Requerente, Lorrayne Ferreira, solicitando Achados Especiais de Fato e Decisões de Direito e requerendo a aplicação do Status de Imigrante Juvenil Especial nos termos de M.G.L. 119 § 39M.
50kg can raise fuel consumption by nearly 3%.
4. Maintain a consistent speed: Gradually accelerate and ease off the accelerator early when slowing down.
Use higher gears: Keep the engine relaxed by using higher gears at lower RPM to save fuel. Turn off the engine during long stops: Idling wastes fuel. Switch off the engine if you’ll be stopped for more than
Use air conditioning wisely: Keep windows closed and set air conditioning to 21-23C to avoid excessive fuel con-
Switching to an electric vehicle can drastically lower CO emissions, and don’t worry because Generali Expatriates also offers specific cover for electric vehicles, including travel assistance, battery protection, and civil liability up to €300,000 per claim.
Generali Expatriates provides tailored solutions for all vehicle types with over 200 brokers and agents to assist you in your language.
Você deve responder ao advogado da parte Requerente, Stephen E. Bandar, no endereço 2000 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 2, Cambridge, MA 02140, até o dia 14 de Maio de 2025.
Se você não fizer isso, o tribunal seguirá com a audiência e julgamento desta ação. Você também deverá apresentar uma cópia de sua resposta no escritório do Registrador deste Tribunal em Essex, localizado em Essex Probate and Family Court, 36 Federal St, Salem, MA 01970 Honrada Katherine A. Field, Primeira Juíza deste tribunal.
The affected companies must now try to work out how the new demand can be balanced up with EU regulations.
more than
PUNTERS have expressed their shock after spending ‘more on breakfast than their flight’ at a new Malaga Airport cafe.
TikTokers Carliyo and Natalia Palacios were shocked when they tried Madrid three-star chef Dabiz Muñoz’s Hungry Club The pair suspected prices would be high before even looking at the menu, knowing the world-renowned chef’s fame.
They soon got a wake up call when they realised breakfast cost them a whopping €36.50.
Natalia ordered a ‘posh’ ham and cheese toastie, totalling €15.40. Meanwhile, Carliyo went for a stracciatella and pesto sandwich clocking in at €16.50.
“It looks great, but the truth is this is costing us more than the flight,” Carliyo exclaimed.
“Yeah and the uber!” Natalia agreed.
FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL
November 29thDecember 12th 2023
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CALM DOWN RYAN
THE boss of Spain’s airport operator, Aena, says he’s happy to meet with his Ryanair counterpart so long as he ‘calms down’ over the current dispute over regional airport taxes and big fines.
open arms if they calm down and return to treating everyone normally and respectfully.”
He added that Ryanair should look at how it conducts relations with institutions and that the Spanish government ‘deserves respect’.
Maurici Lucena said that stunts by Ryanair chief, Michael O’Leary, like appearing with a clown dressed as Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy achieved nothing. Lucena said: “We are waiting for them with
But Lucena also praised the Irish carrier for its ‘operational excellence and for pioneering cheap air travel.
ILLEGAL RENTAL CRACKDOWN
Tough new tourism laws threaten fines of up to €600,000
A NEW law could see owners of illegal tourist flats in Andalucia slapped with fines of up to €600,000. The sustainable tourism bill has received preliminary approval and increases fines for ‘unregulated tourist activity’ in all categories. For serious infractions, fines will now be levied from €10,000 up to €100,000. Meanwhile, serious infractions will go from €100,000 to €600,000. The law will also give local councils the power to allow
By Yzabelle Bostyn
or deny homeowners to use their properties as holiday flats or villas.
This rental accommodation will become classed under the same umbrella as hotels.
“They will have the same rights and responsibilities,” explained Junta spokesperson Arturo Bernal.
Inspection measures will also be improved, utilising the latest technology and all guests will need to be registered. Designated areas will also be established for tourist use, separate from residential zones although these may overlap.
Greater communication and collaboration between local councils, the Junta, businesses and social groups is being encouraged.
The Observatory for Local
and Sustainable Tourism will work with the Andalucian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FAMP), the Andalucian Business Federation (CEA) and the Junta’s Tourism Board.
It is hoped the law will be pushed through in the first half of 2025 using €10 billion of European funds.
Hotel boost
THE number of visitors staying in Costa Blanca hotels set a new January record with 227,388 people according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Overnight stays from foreigners totalled 509,434 – the highest January figure since 2006 and the fourth best total of the century.
Domestic visitors accounted for 116,509 people, the second highest figure ever, only beaten by the 125,000 recorded in 2019. Last month’s returns show significant progress towards deseasonalisation of the hotel sector, with 332 establishments open – 30 more than a year ago. Over 58,000 rooms were available leading to an average occupancy of 47%, which rose to under 52% at weekends.
OP Puzzle solutions
Quick Crossword
SPAIN’S wine exports grew in value last year but volumes fell, according to industry figures.
Exports increased in value by 1.4% to €2.98 billion last year, although the rise came as volumes slid 5% to around 1.9 billion litres.
The figures mark ‘the second best year’ for Spain in terms of the value of its wine exports – only bested in 2022. In 2024, the UK was the main market for Spanish bottled wines in terms of value and volume.
More than 98.8 million litres of Rioja was exported last year- up 4.4% on 2023.
SLAPDOWN: Illegal tourist flat operators could recieve eyewatering fines
CHOCS AWAY!
A LEADING Spanish scientist has revealed chocolate can help you live to a century.
Endocrinologist Florence Comite says dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, a type of antioxidant that fights cell aging. She eats the chocolate everyday, backed by numerous studies showing a link between cacao and lowered risk of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
Bloody healthy
Dark chocolate can help improve blood pressure, blood circulation and the elasticity of blood vessels. It can also reduce LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol and increase HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol.
However, to achieve this desirable outcome, the chocolate consumed must have a high cacao percentage, ranging from 7090%.
A SPANISH cardiologist has revealed the best time to drink coffee for your heart health. According to Aurelio
Heart
healthy
morning reduces cardiovascular illnesses by 31% and premature death by 17%.
Rojas: “People who only drink coffee in the mornings have better life expectancy and are less likely to have heart attacks.”
A European Heart Journal showed drinking coffee exclusively in the
“However, if you drink it all day, those benefits disappear because it can affect your circadian rhythm, increase the risk of inflammation and provoke high blood pressure,” he warned.
BABY MAKERS
THE rate at which people are procreating in Spain has gone up for the first time in a decade.
A total of 322,034 babies were born across the country in 2024, which was a modest 0.4% bump (1,378 more) on births compared to 2023.
Migration
The rise, small as it is, marks a turning point after ten consecutive years of declining birth rates –although the preliminary figures could be revised and eliminate the good news.
Experts reason that the
Check your chickpeas
Spain’s birth rate increased for the first time in a decade in 2024 thanks to net migration
tion."
By Walter Finch
birth rate bump has been driven by rising net migration to Spain.
"If fertility decreases but birth rates increase, it means the fertile population is growing,” explained Albert Esteve, director of the Center for Demographic Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
“And the only way to increase the fertile population is through immigra-
THE SPANISH consumer watchdog (OCU) has issued a warning about eating chickpeas and other legumes without cooking them.
Uncooked chickpeas can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients such as minerals and proteins. While not dangerous, OCU recommends cooking, boiling, sprouting or soaking chickpeas to remove the undesired-nutrients they contain, such as phytic acid. This also makes chickpeas more tender and easier to digest. However, it is worth noting that anti-nutrients have some benefits including protecting against insulin resistance and serving as an antioxidant.
STAFF ABUSED
PHYSICAL and verbal assaults on health staff in Spain's cities rose by 29% in 2024, according to the Policia Nacional. But the big rise may reflect a health community that is more aware about reporting incidents with a zero tolerance stance against all violence. Figures showed health professionals
in urban centres filed 406 complaints against patients, relatives and friends who assaulted them in some way last year.
Verbal attacks rose sharply last year, accounting for 70% of incidents, while physical aggression in the form of pushing, shoving, and hitting actually fell. That reduction accounts for why arrests went down from 115 in 2023 to 106 last year.
Spain offset its low fertility rate of just 1.4 babies per woman in 2023 by welcoming net migration of 642,296 people – among the highest immigration rates in Europe.
Crushing cancer
A SPANISH scientist in the UK has discovered a new way to predict and prevent the spread of cancer.
Regional variations were significant. Cantabria (13.3%) and the Balearic Islands (5.7%) recorded the highest increases in births, while Galicia (-4.4%) and the Basque Country (-3.7%) saw the sharpest declines.
Later
Only five regions achieved positive population growth: Madrid, Murcia, the Balearics, Melilla, and Ceuta.
The data also exposed Spain's continuing trend toward later motherhood. Births to mothers aged 40 or older have increased by 8.5% over the past decade, now representing 10.4% of all births compared to just 7.2% in 2014.
A recent CIS (Center for Sociological Research) study identified economic constraints, work-life balance challenges, and housing costs as the primary barriers to family formation in Spain.
Over 77% of respondents
Victoria Sanz Moreno (above), of the Institute of Cancer Research London, revealed how malignant cells changed shape in response to their surroundings, making it easier for them to escape and spread the cancer.
cited ‘lack of economic means’ as the main reason for having fewer children. Even with this slight recovery, birth rates remain 24.7% lower than a decade ago, going to showing the demographic challenges Spain continues to face.
“Our research uncovered the road map that cancer cells follow to break out of a tumour, enabling it to cause a secondary tumour elsewhere in the body,” the professor of cancer cell and metastasis biology said. “Now that we understand this roadmap, we can look to target different aspects of it, to stop aggressive cancers from spreading."
Understanding how this phenomenon, known as metastasis, works is key to developing treatments and stopping aggressive cancers from spreading. Drugs are already in development to target these cells and the genes which drive these deadly changes.
REuse
REduce
Doped on duty
A TRIO of Malaga police officers have been hospitalised after accidentally eating drug-laced sweets that they confiscated from a Fuengirola cannabis club.
Spidey scare
A PILOT with a spider allergy was bitten by a tarantula mid-flight between Dusseldorf and Madrid. The plane landed safely and the pilot was treated with anti-inflammatory medicine.
Tangled web
A CADIZ man, 36, has been fined for faking his own kidnapping to get out of paying €400,000 for a luxury flat he committed to buying to ‘prove’ he had won the lottery –which he had not.
Tunnel between Spain and Morocco uncovered – but this one used to smuggle drugs
A TEAM of engineering specialists from Spain and Germany studying the feasibility of digging a tunnel to Morocco have been beaten to it. Commonly believed to be the engineering feat of the century, it turns out a mafia of enterprising narco traffickers dug one several years ago. Of course, theirs doesn’t connect two continental shelves
EXCLUSIVE
By Laurence Dollimore
under the Strait of Gibraltar. Instead, it runs between Morocco and the north African Spanish territory of Ceuta. Images show how the entry hole was built into the floor of a warehouse, before being hidden by a metal manhole covering, which opens up to reveal a
Toothy tourism
A NEW York architect has allegedly saved thousands by flying to Barcelona for emergency dental treatment.
David, who bought €428 return tickets to the Catalan capital just five hours before the flight, had three back to back appointments with an
NARCO NOUS
series of ladders. These gave way to ‘a cavity approximately 12 metres deep,’
operation for a total of €333. The dentist diagnosed him with nerve cell necrosis from an infection. David then underwent four tooth reconstructions, totalling €361 at a Vitaldent clinic, coming to a grand total of €1,123. When compared to the cost of dentistry in the Big Apple – €4,200 – the enterprising architect saved himself over three grand.
according to the Guardia Civil in a statement. It continued: “It led to an underground gallery propped up with wood that runs towards the border, which would have been used to transport drugs between Morocco and Spain."
NOSES IN THE TROUGH: Two Guardia were arrested over drugs tunnel
The authorities, unable to explain how such large quantities of drugs were entering Ceuta, had long been searching for the entry route, according to local reports.
The Guardia Civil added: "This is the third phase of the so-called 'HADES' operation, in which 14 arrests have been made in the last three weeks, two of them Guardia Civil officers. "These arrests are related to the seizure of three trucks that were hiding more than six tonnes of hashish in hidden compartments."
A GOAT had to be saved from a fifth-floor windowsill in Madrid, leaving rescuers dumbfounded as to how it got up there.
Emergency services were alerted by a concerned neighbour who had noticed the sight of the animal trapped 20 metres above street level.
The goat, perched on the overhang in Villaverde district, was at risk of falling to not just to its own bizarre death, but potentially the even more bizarre ending for anyone walking below. Most bizarrely of all, the building, has been ‘empty for some time’ according to neighbours. It is so far unknown who owns the goat nor how it got there, with one local woman exclaiming that it ‘came from heaven’.
Damn the gram
ANOTHER self-seeking daredevil has been hit with a fine for climbing up 25 metres onto a famous monument ‘for the gram.’ Emergency services quickly attended the scene at the old Roman aqueduct in Segovia, fearing the man might be preparing to throw himself off. After coming down to the assembled Policia Local and being identified, the man was hit with a fine that could be as high as €3,000.
