SPAIN: Anti-tourism Protests & more – 24th Oct 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 24th of October twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

We start this week with continued tourist protests. On Sunday the 20th, over 6,000 anti-tourism protesters swarmed popular beaches across Spain's Canary Islands, targeting hotspots in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Maspalomas.

The demonstrators, rallying under the slogan Las Canarias has a limit, voiced concerns over mass tourism, which they say has priced locals out of housing and strained traffic, water, and sewage systems.

This protest follows similar anti-tourism actions earlier this year in Ibiza, Majorca, and Barcelona, where locals also criticized tourism’s impact on resources like water.

Next up, transportation. Spain’s popular free and discounted public transport scheme, launched two years ago to ease inflation's impact, is set to end on the 31st of December, twenty twenty-four, as the government announces it's unlikely they will extend it for everyone.

The program, which provided free Renfe train season tickets and discounts of up to 50% on various transport services, has benefited both residents and tourists. However, Óscar Puente, Spain’s Transport Minister, hinted free tickets could remain for vulnerable groups, while young people and frequent users may still receive discounts under a new proportional payment system.

From nationwide travel to something a little more local. On Saturday the 9th of November, Barcelona will officially open its newest tram section between the popular centers of Glòries and Verdaguer.

This new tram section completes the first phase of the Diagonal tram connection. The next phase, connecting Verdaguer to Plaça Francesc Macià, will take over forty months to complete, pending budget approval.

Barcelona’s newest stretch of tramline is expected to add 24,000 daily trips to the transport system and reduce up to 2,000 potential car journeys in the central Diagonal area.

Still in Barcelona, where the city's famous Franco-era power station is set for a major redevelopment project.

The Tres Xemeneies power station, built in nineteen seventy-nine in Sant Adrià de Besòs, has been vacant since twenty eleven. It is set to become a digital media and audiovisual hub with new homes, including social housing.

On Sunday, the 20th, Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, emphasized the project's importance as a key solution to reduce pressure on the city's busy center.

On to education, a recent study by the Real Instituto Elcano think tank showed mixed results in Spain’s education in twenty twenty-three.

On the one hand, the study revealed that more than half of young adults have university or vocational degrees, while 26% did not complete high school, restricting their career opportunities.

This disparity leads to a mismatch in the job market, with many graduates working in positions far below their qualifications because there aren’t enough jobs available that match their higher-level credentials—an all-too-common frustration in a country where youth unemployment remains around 12%.

Despite educational reforms in Spain, outdated practices and inefficient support might still hold many students back. That said, the Real Instituto Elcano has hope that the job market will improve with vocational training on the rise and a major overhaul of Spain’s university entrance exams set for twenty twenty-five.

Turning to energy, on Saturday the 21st, Repsol, a Spanish multinational energy and petrochemical company, announced it had frozen its planned green hydrogen projects due to uncertainty in the regulations for projects in Cartagena, Tarragona, and the Basque Country.

Repsol said it was because of concerns over potential changes to Spain’s windfall tax on energy companies, which could affect its investments in the green hydrogen sector.

This pause may impact Spain's goal of increasing its green hydrogen capacity by twenty thirty.

From green energy to Roman ruins. On Thursday the 17th, archaeologists from the University of Granada announced that they had uncovered a Roman forum and several ancient buildings in Ubrique, Cádiz.

They believe the forum, dating from around the first to fifth century AD, was a central public space for gatherings and speeches in Roman cities. Coins and North African ceramics found at the site revealed continuous occupation until the late fourth century.

Researchers also uncovered a monumental altar and remnants of columns, highlighting the area’s religious significance.

Now to the lesser-known Camino that is making a name for itself. The pilgrimage, starting in the southwest of Spain, offers a quieter alternative to the famous Camino de Santiago, and takes pilgrims across Spain’s greenways.

Called the Camino de Levante, this walk starts in the small town of Orihuela, near Alicante in the South, and leads to Caravaca de la Cruz, a city in the South East with 800 years of religious significance.

Caravaca de la Cruz is famous for its legendary cross, which is said to contain fragments of Christ’s cross since twelve thirty-two. As one of only five Holy Cities in Catholicism, Caravaca celebrates its Holy Jubilee this year, an event that occurs every seven years.

Get your awards ready, as the Spanish Film Academy has announced that actress Aitana Sánchez Gijón will receive the prestigious Goya of Honour at the thirty-ninth Goya Awards on the 8th of February, twenty twenty-five, in Granada.

The award, which is the highest distinction from the Academy, honors her remarkable career. Sánchez Gijón, who is fifty-five years old, expressed surprise at receiving the award, feeling she was still too young for such recognition.

Born in Rome to a Spanish father, she gained fame in the nineteen nineties, starring in films like Boca a Boca and A Walk in the Clouds alongside Keanu Reeves. She was also the first woman and youngest president of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving in nineteen ninety-eight.

More on entertainment as two highly anticipated series have gone down a storm this month, performing well at film festivals.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen's series, The New Years, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in early September, earning praise as Spain's best series of the year.

Three weeks later, Querer debuted at the San Sebastián Film Festival, receiving similar acclaim.

Querer explores family drama and courtroom tension, while The New Years spans a decade of personal growth, combining cinematographic flair with episodic storytelling.

Now to Galicia, in the small town of Carballo in A Coruña, the Festival Internacional Outono de Teatro started on the 26th of September and will end on the 31st of October.

For just under a month, this town transforms into Galicia's hub for performing arts, celebrating over twenty-five years of tradition and showcasing a diverse lineup of regional, national, and international talent.

The festival offers theatrical performances, including world premieres, regional debuts, and special co-productions. With its growing reputation, the festival aims to become a cultural landmark in Galicia.

Let’s talk about books. On Thursday the 17th, the language-learning site Memrise published a guide highlighting the richness of Spanish literature and offering tips for readers learning the language.

Spanish is one of the world’s most spoken and widely read languages, with around 500 million native speakers, so its literary history is like no other. Recommended classics include Gabriel García Márquez's Cien años de soledad, and Isabel Allende's La casa de los espíritus.

The guide emphasizes the importance of reading in the original language for a deeper connection to the text and provides advice for language learners such as avoiding translating every word, taking it slowly, and choosing enjoyable books.

As autumn comes, the streets come alive with the scent of roasted chestnuts, or castañas, a beloved seasonal snack.

Traditionally linked to All Saints Day on the 1st of November, roasted chestnuts were once eaten to symbolize souls saved from purgatory, a ritual known as castañada. The custom also helped church bell ringers stay energized during night-long vigils.

And finally, on Friday the 25th, probably the day you are listening, a pyjama party with a silent disco to demand more and better night trains. With a live DJ, it'll happen simultaneously at different train stations across Europe.

The event will be organised in Barcelona by the associació per la Promoció del Transport Públic (PTP) and Back-on-Track, among others.

We're at a crossroads. With ever-growing carbon emissions from aeroplanes and a lack of commitment to a credible alternative, we call for support from the EU and all governments to develop night trains.

We'll meet on Friday 25 October, at 8:30 pm around Barcelona Estació de França.

Bring your pyjamas, pillows, mobile phone and headphones. We will be dancing in silence, full of positivity, to say together we want to travel by night train.

To see pictures of me and my six-year-old in lovely Paddington Pijamas check #PyjamaParty4NightTrains ·

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Thanks for tuning into the Rorshok Spain update. You can connect with us on social media as @RorshokSpain on Twitter and @rorshok.spain on Instagram.

¡Hasta la próxima!