Live News From Spain As It Happens

PREPARING for the first Feria de Abril since the Covid-19 pandemic reached Spain has involved some 'structural' changes for Sevilla, but residents and visitors heading to the southern city for its week-long street festival will find it every bit as enjoyable as they have for generations.

The 'April Fair', or Feria de Abril – due to be held in May this year rather than April after a three-year hiatus – normally involves crowds, so 'creative' measures have been devised as a necessity to minimise the likelihood of contagion among the public, the participants and the organisers.

Ahead of the grand switching-on of the lights to mark the start of the massive and much-loved fiesta, the hundreds, or thousands, of professionals, volunteers, and festival club members have been working behind the scenes on ways to improve safety.

One of the key differences this year will involve double awnings for the roofs of casetas, or market stall huts, rather than single-sheet covers.

These will allow the air inside the huts to circulate rather than stagnate, providing vital ventilation – which is key to preventing contagion in enclosed indoor areas.

The non-mechanical ventilation structure will be fitted at the back of the huts, where the greatest density of people congregates – largely because this is where cooking happens on the food stalls and where the bar, restaurant and catering area is based - and where smoke, steam and heat would otherwise build up.

In this way, the overall outer look of these colourful casetas does not change, from the point of view of the general public.

The restaurant seating area will look just the same, whilst the 'extra' roof part will be above the technical preparation area.

And the trademark red-and-white and green-and-white stripes on the roof canvas will not change.

Seats are likely to be spaced farther apart, people attending to the public and serving food will be wearing masks, and these will be compulsory for visitors in general in indoor areas, as is the case for everyday life in Spain.

Wristbands fitted with an NFC chip or QR code, known as 'La Pulse', created by Sevilla-based start-up Bracelit, have been adopted by a handful of casetas, allowing customers to make contactless payments if they wish, and to keep track of numbers of people entering and control crowds.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A CHILLY front from north-western Scandinavia will bring a wintery start to spring across the whole of the top half of mainland Spain, snow in inland areas and a significant temperature drop everywhere else, according to weathermen.

After several weeks of persistent, and often heavy, rain in much of the country, particularly the coasts, and a temperature 'real-feel' below what would normally be experienced at this time of year – even though actual thermometer figures have been about average or above – means the end of winter in the run-up to the spring equinox on March 21 has not felt much like an awakening of dewy flowers and watery sunshine, but more like deep autumn.

And this is set to continue for a while, or even get colder and more winterlike, says the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

What it calls a 'Scandinavian Superwave' will cause temperatures to fall by up to 15ºC, and this weekend will bring 'full-blown winter early mornings' to everywhere from Madrid to the north coast.

Meteored, another key weather network, says: “The air from the Arctic will come right up to your front door.”

The 'Scandinavian Superwave' is set to embrace the whole of continental Europe, and to enter Spain via the Atlantic and across the Pyrénées, where thick snow is expected.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IF YOU'RE aged 65 or over, you're invited on a free trip to Fuengirola's lifelike open-air safari centre, BioParc, on Tuesday (March 29).

Setting off at 11.00, the group trip will give you a chance to see animals from every continent, many in serious danger of extinction, living peacefully in areas designed to mirror their natural habitats as closely as possible.

Babies start being born around now, so you may get to see some mums with their brand-new little ones.

The animals have been bred in Europe, mostly at the BioParcs themselves in Fuengirola and Valencia, and although they are raised in environments practically identical to those they would live in if they were in the wild and are more or less left to their own devices, they have a qualified team of animal-loving carers who keep a close watch on them from a distance to make sure they are in the best possible health.

And as the BioParc centres are open-air, the animals often get close to the public – enough to be able to touch them in some cases.

As if any further guarantees of the BioParc creatures' wellbeing were needed, the centres have been endorsed by Dr Jane Goodall, arguably the world's greatest expert in chimpanzees.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

WORLD Cup football teams have arrived in Marbella to train for the huge tournament at the Costa del Sol town's top-class facilities.

Denmark's and Switzerland's national sides have been working on their technique at Marbella Football Centre (MFC), and sports councillor Manuel Cardeña says he hopes other nations will follow suit ahead of Qatar 2022.

Presenting 'National Team Week' along with MFC manager Andrés Roldán, Cardeña explained how Marbella is currently promoting itself as 'the best destination to train for Qatar', and that both Denmark and Switzerland plan to play two pre-season matches at the Málaga-province venue.

A country team would not normally travel overseas for these, Cardeña says, but they have taken advantage of their stay in Andalucía training for the World Cup to do so.

“MFC has become, over time, a key training destination for top football teams ahead of major matches,” Cardeña reveals.

Liverpool FC also did so to get ready for the Champions' League, when it played in two finals.

“This isn't the first time Denmark has been here – and it's a huge national team, having won eight of the nine matches in the qualifying rounds, meaning they've well and truly sealed their entry to the World Cup through the front door.

“Qatar's own national team was here in October, until early November, training for the Arab Cup, and they're planning on coming back to train at MFC in June and again October this year.

“In total, that'll be 20 days at MFC – a long and very full-scale preparation for the World Cup.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN appears twice in this year's TripAdvisor 'best in the world' destinations list of winners, along with 20 other established holiday hotspots on three continents.

The Travellers' Choice Awards for 'Trending World Destinations', under the heading of 'Best of the Best', hails one of Spain's favourite holiday magnets as the outright winner, with another in sixth place.

Mallorca tops the list, ahead of Cairo, Egypt – home of the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum where Tut Ankh Amon's remains and his massive collection of jewellery and body armour are held – with the Greek island of Rhodes third.

Mayan archaeological gems right on a rural beach put Tulúm, eastern México, fourth, followed by the historic coastal city of Dubrovnik, in Croatia.

Mallorca's neighbouring island, Ibiza – the second-most inhabited of the Balearics – comes next, beating the low-rise, laid-back beach city of Natal on Brazil's north-eastern tip, the safari destination of Arusha in Tanzania, and Göreme in Turkey's Kapadokya, or Cappadocia area, famous for its fascinating forest of natural sand-rock chimneys.

Another Greek island, that of Santorini – with its famous bright-blue domed roofs and white houses above rugged beaches – completes the top 10.

Paraty, south of Rio de Janeiro on the Brazilian coast, the Caribbean island of Aruba, the popular red-roofed historic holiday city of Split in Croatia, and the tropical beaches of Playa del Carmen on México's east coast come next, with Hawaii Island in the archipelago of the same name at number 15.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VISITORS to and residents in Mijas can find out more about its 'secrets' in a series of multi-lingual guided tours.

Find out what goes on behind the scenes at the fiestas, and uncover the local wine industry – which, naturally, includes tasting its fruits.

Trips are organised in English, German and Danish – so if you speak any of these as a second language but feel you need some practice, you could join in more than one version if spaces permit.

Mijas council ran a similar schedule of guided trips in multiple languages starting November last year – this time in English, German and French – and they proved so successful that they look set to be a permanent feature in the town.

Titled 'Mijas Secrets', the guided tour schedule runs two dates in April, a week apart – on April 10 and 17 – under the heading Semana Santa, or 'Holy Week', which is what Easter (Pascuas) is more commonly referred to as in Spain.

Parades, pageants, scary costumes, less-scary costumes, floats, and sweet treats fill the whole four days of Easter weekend in Spain, and many events stretch back even further, covering Palm Sunday.

You might well have seen a parade or two, but not be fully aware of what the various elements symbolise, or perhaps you're curious to see what the fiesta-goers get up to in between processions.

The two April tours give you exclusive back-stage access to the headquarters of the 'brotherhoods', or hermandades, as these fiesta clubs are known.

Two further trips are organised in May, again in English, Danish and German – on May 15 and 29, titled Viticultura, or 'wine and vine' culture.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CHANGES have come into force in Spain's road traffic legislation, imposing tougher penalties for the most common offences.

The points-based licence in Spain starts with a full quota of 12, and these are deducted for breaking the law, with a loss of all 12 leading to an automatic ban.

Most of the amendments to the highways law, which came into effect on Monday (March 21), involve higher numbers of points deducted for the more 'typical' breaches, such as speeding.

What are the most frequent fines for?

According to Formaster, the overwhelming majority of driving offences which see motorists fined on Spanish roads relate to speeding – in fact, 65% of fines dished out in 2021 were for breaking the limit.

Of these, seven in 10 fines were the result of speeding cars being caught on camera, or radar.

Driving too fast is by far the most common breach of road traffic laws, a long way ahead of the second-most frequent – that of using a vehicle with an out-of-date or failed ITV.

The ITV is Spain's equivalent of the MOT test in the UK, or a compulsory State-conducted regular inspection; generally, cars under four years old do not have to take one, unless they are former hire cars or courtesy vehicles, in which case the owner will receive a letter instructing them to arrange a test at the nearest accredited centre in their home region; cars between four and 10 years old require them every two years, and at 10 years old and over, every year.

The pass sticker must be displayed prominently at the top of the windscreen, and will show the date of expiry.

Failing a test means the owner has 30 days to get the faults resulting in an unsuccessful result fixed and to put the vehicle through the ITV again – during that time, the car cannot be driven except to a workshop for repairs, or to the test centre.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A VILLAGE in southern Spain wants UNESCO intangible heritage status for its pavement chatter on summer evenings – residents parking their chairs outside their front door and having an al fresco chin-wag.

Algar (Cádiz province), has just 1,400 residents, who almost certainly all know each other, but still find plenty to natter about when they pop outside every night – and mayor José Carlos Sánchez says this age-old tradition is 'the opposite of social media'.

It's a respite from the heat, saves energy from not having the air-con on – and not using the internet – hones mental health and, for the elderly, cognitive skills, as they have to make an effort to remember the day's events and can let off steam to each other; combats social isolation, and promotes a community spirit, which is exactly what UNESCO looks for when awarding intangible heritage status for an activity, a craft or an event.

Perhaps Algar is just trying to get its name on the map – in practically every village and every neighbourhood, even in big cities, you'll see local people sitting outside their houses at night having a gossip; not just on the pavement, either: Many a driver has had to slow down in a side-street and politely ask a group of chilled-out senior citizens to move, don't rush, in your own time, sorry to disturb, etc.

But it's working, as Algar not only made national media back in August, attracting visitors and fame from as far away as Madrid and Barcelona, but even had a full article on their intangible heritage bid in The Guardian. 

Of course, chatting in the street doesn't have to be the antithesis to social media. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in the same town as their friends and family, so for some, the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter really do keep them close to their loved ones and prevent isolation. But it's good to strike a balance where you're able to.

As you'll have seen from our article on Thursday this week, Spain's UNESCO intangible heritage list includes unique fiestas and shows, but other aspects of centuries-old tradition also make the list.

The thing with intangible heritage is that, by default, you can't see it. If it involves arts or crafts, you can see the result, but the 'heritage' bit is normally the process followed.

Other than the 11 pageants we mentioned earlier, nine other ancient customs make up Spain's UNESCO intangible heritage – here's what they're all about.

Manual limestone manufacturing, Morón de la Frontera, Sevilla province

Once upon a time, and still within living memory, limestone manufacturing – by hand and kiln – was a huge source of employment in Morón de la Frontera and kept the majority of the population in hay and oats for decades, if not centuries.

Along came industrial manufacturing, and machines and conveyor belts took over from human craftspeople; sure, they produced more limestone at a much lower cost, but without the love and pride involved.

Ancient knowledge of the manual, handcrafted methods became lost, rather than being passed down from parents to children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The Morón Limestone Kilns Cultural Association was set up in the early 2000s to revive the craft, improve working conditions for those who practise it, restore the kilns, and tell the world all about it.

A 'living museum' allows visitors to see the process for themselves, documentaries have been filmed, trade fairs organised, promotional activities outside the town – as far away as Morocco – carried out, and even an Iberian Limestone Congress held.

As well as successfully bringing a dead tradition back to life, the Association's work is at least a small cog in the growing 'sustainable construction' industry, which seeks to cut waste, emissions, water use, and mining for new materials when recycled versions work just as well.

Centre for traditional culture and school museum, Pusol, near Elche (Alicante province)

Think back to your early school days, and imagine if your regular classroom career took place in a museum instead of a grim educational institution with its traditional aroma of boiled cabbage, chalk and cloakrooms. No need for school trips, and escaping tiresome playground games would be easy enough by going poking around the corridors looking at fascinating old artefacts.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN OPTICIANS' network on Spain's Costas has spoken out with concern about social media 'challenges' that could cause serious eye damage – in many cases, irreversible.

Their warnings also serve as good advice – for some of these foolhardy 'dares', at least – for the general population about what not to do with your eyes, such as avoiding exposure to bright lights.

Viral online trends involving putting yourself through unnecessary discomfort to get 'likes' and keep up with one's peers are nothing new, and before the dawn of internet, they tended to happen among friend or school class groups, making them much harder to avoid – and harder to escape the hassle from one's contemporaries if you refused to have anything to do with it.

But with social media, at least, you can log off for a bit, or pretend you haven't seen it. 

The latest crop of these so-called 'challenges', on TikTok, is putting teens in danger of permanently ruining their sight whilst their bodies are still developing.

And again, they are nothing new per se – only the methodology; the 1980s' and 1990s' equivalent involved daring your classmates to stare into a Bunsen burner or magnesium light during science lessons, and kids who rose to it may now be regretting it as they pay their opticians' bill in their 40s.

Bright eyes, damaged vision: Keep toxic substances out of them

Dr Nigel Best of SpecSavers revealed one of the 'dares' involves filling a plastic bag with a combination of bleach, hand-sanitiser and shaving cream, and holding it up to their eyes to make them 'look brighter'.

“Simply don't do it!” Dr Best urges.

“Apart from the fact that it won't make your eyes any brighter, if the bag splits and the contents leak out, it could cause corneal scarring, extreme pain and blindness.”

There's no remedy for the wreckage of bleach or alcohol getting in your eyes, and it really, really hurts.

But if you get any of these substances in your eyes by mistake, rinse them out thoroughly with clean water and go and see an optician as fast as you can.

Lights, filter, double vision

Whatever colour your eyes are, they're beautiful, even – and especially, as it's so unique - if you're one of the rare people born with an eye in each colour, and the trick to making them look great is to coordinate your clothing, accessories and makeup to highlight and complement them.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THIS YEAR'S Travellers' Choice Awards for TripAdvisor's top 25 beaches worldwide have just been revealed – and, unsurprisingly, Spain is in it.

With more blue-flagged beaches than any other country on earth, missing Spanish shores off the '25 best' would have been almost embarrassing – but when consulting some of the tropical paradise enclaves that make up the remaining 24, it's clear this is an élite list and competition was tough.

In its preamble to the line-up, TripAdvisor says: “This year, travellers went searching for places that look just like the postcard – and boy, did these sunny destinations deliver.”

We wouldn't expect anything else from Spain, of course.

“Here's where they found the most 'wish you were here' vibes,” the site continues.

Spain beat the idyllic coastal enclaves of – in descending order – Manuel Antonio beach in Costa Rica; Playa Norte in eastern México's Isla Mujeres; Nungwi Beach in Tanzania; Magens Bay in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, to the east of the island of Puerto Rico; Nissi Beach in Cyprus' party capital of Ayia Napa; Playa Bavaro, close to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic; Balos Lagoon in Kissamos, Greece; and the stunning turquoise-and-white Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima, Japan.

And it was only just pipped at the post by Poipu Beach Park in Poipu, Hawaii, which came in at number 16.

Spain's entry reached number 17 – Playa de Muro, in the village of Muro between Alcúdia Port and Can Picafort in the north-west of Mallorca.

Playa de Muro in a nutshell

Located along the less-touristy face of the largest of the Balearic Islands, the top review said: “[It] has a wonderful, sandy beach with a warm, clear turquoise sea. Ideal for children because of its gentle, shallow waters.”

TripAdvisor provides links to 30 hotels and 79 holiday lets.

A Mallorca lifestyle magazine describes it as 'a paradise beach with a Caribbean touch', with 5.2 kilometres of 'icing-sugar sand' which 'glistens like snow in the sun', which will 'make all your Christmas wishes come true'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NOW THAT the Fallas are well under way, fiesta fans in the Comunidad Valenciana are not likely to let a little bit of rain stop them celebrating for the first time since March 2019.

Well, a lot of rain, actually, but the organisers in Valencia city promised that the traditional flower-offering would still be going ahead, meaning you can now catch the gigantic Virgin Mary with her dress and body made entirely from blossoms.

Almost as famous outside Spain as some of its more world-renowned fiestas like the Tomatina – the biggest and messiest food-fight on earth – and Semana Santa, or Easter week, the Fallas hold UNESCO intangible heritage status, meaning their continuity is guaranteed, as is their global attraction.

And they're one of 11 festivals, pageants or general entertainment events that UNESCO recognises in this way, out of a list of 20 intangible heritage features in Spain.

Here's a lowdown on the showy, fiesta-y, musical and general performance-related UNESCO intangible heritage you'll find in the country – and as for the rest of the 20, they're worth a separate article in themselves, so stay tuned to our site for a description and some fascinating photos of those later on, too.

The Fallas (Valencia city and wider province)

As well as the summer solstice, the spring equinox is big in the city of Valencia, its wider province and several towns in the north of that of Alicante and the south of that of Castellón – two days before it falls on March 21, the Fallas go up in flames.

Pronounced 'fah-yas' (a 'll' is a 'y' in the Spanish of Spain), despite the apparent bilingual word-play, the name doesn't come from the fact combustion is involved – and said combustion is merely a way of ensuring the continuity of the massive yearly festival and the jobs of its artists; the papier mâché monuments, or fallas (with a lower-case 'f'), satirising current affairs and famous people (à la Alicante's midsummer Hogueras), are literally the size of a house, and storage is impractical; they cannot be brought out year after year, because they are supposed to be topical; those who build and paint them spend about 10 months on each, meaning they are constantly in work, which they wouldn't be without this apparently sacrilegious destruction.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARCELONA football club has just signed one of the biggest and most lucrative sponsorship deals in the history of the sport – and which will involve renaming its home stadium.

A press release from the management does not include the exact figures, but the contract is rumoured to be for around €280 million and in force until the year 2025.

Global music streaming platform Spotify, based in Sweden and described by FC Barcelona as 'the world's most popular', will now replace former sponsors Rakuten on players' shirts.

And Barça's Camp Nou ground (pictured above) will be known as Spotify Camp Nou as permanent advertising for the subscription-only service.

Spotify itself, on its Twitter account @SpotifyNews, has released a heads-up about this massive deal, captioning a picture of multiple male and female players and music artists (second photo) with the message: “Have you heard? We're partnering with FC Barcelona to bring music and football together like you've never seen before. Learn more from our Chief Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström.”

The company's name and logo will appear on the back of training shirts and on the front of official strips for the men's and women's teams.

Barça will be permitted to add other, additional sponsors' names to the sleeves, as long as they are not in competition with Spotify.

Described as an 'historic' move for Spanish premier league football, FC Barcelona says of the deal: “For the first time in the history of the Club, the global audio transmission platform has become a title partner of the stadium, which will be renamed Spotify Camp Nou.”

The new strips will be released from July 1 this year, and the two corporate giants will 'work together to create opportunities for this iconic new shirt to become a space that celebrates artists from all over the world'.

According to the Club: “The long-term deal for property rights to the stadium will start in July 2022 and will extend via an ambitious remodelling of the Camp Nou complex, as part of the Espai Barça ('Barça Space') project.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

The trio, now aged 78 (Mick and Keith) and 74 (Ronnie), will be playing live in 10 countries, including two concerts a week apart in London and one in Liverpool, but with their début SIXTY performance in Madrid.

They will hit the Wanda Metropolitan Centre on June 1, with all-new production and a new design of their iconic lips-and-tongue logo, which was originally the creation of a London art college student in the 1970s, who was paid a whopping £50 (about €57.50) for his efforts.

This June will see the Stones back in Madrid for the first time in eight years – their last visit was in 2014 as part of their On Fire tour, then with Charlie still on the team, at Real Madrid FC's Santiago Bernabéu stadium.

And Los Rolling, as they are referred to in Spain, have met several generations of their fan-base from the stage: Probably the most memorable concert among those who were old enough to watch them live 40 years ago was at the now-defunct CF Atlético de Madrid stadium on July 7, 1982, when the heavens opened, soaking the band.

The audience were nice and dry – protected by the overhead shelters on the terraces – but the artists got a drenching, giving a new meaning to the term 'whetstone'.

Yet, exactly as a whetstone does to a knife, the rockers' show just became sharper and they carried on giving it heart and soul.

For those who will be in the UK at the time of the SIXTY tour, the concert at Liverpool FC's Anfield Stadium on June 9 will be the first in the north-western British city in over 50 years, making it a once-in-a-lifetime – or twice in the average lifetime – event; otherwise, for those based further south, two dates are planned at London's BST Hyde Park, on June 25 and July 3.

Between Madrid and Liverpool, the Stones are on at Munich Olympic Stadium (Germany) on June 5, then before they head to the UK capital, will be performing at the Johann Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) on June 13; the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern (Switzerland) on June 17; and the San Siro Stadium in Milan (Italy) on June 21.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

YOU CAN stop worrying about a sunflower-oil shortage and the knock-on effect of biscuits, cakes and the like disappearing from the shelves – national supermarket chain Mercadona's founder and CEO Juan Roig has assured there are 'no supply problems'.

Although the store has placed a cap on how much people can buy – five litres, meaning for the average household, they will have plenty in stock for a while even if they eat fry-ups daily – Roig likens this to 'the toilet-paper effect' of lockdown 2020.

Back then, rumours of a loo-roll shortage led to members of the public filling their trolleys with this bathroom staple and, naturally, the big gaps on shelves that result merely fuel widespread concerns and heighten the panic-buying frenzy.

The same is happening with sunflower oil and, to a lesser extent, olive oil and flour, due to worries that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will halt production of sunflower-farming in the latter country and dry up supply elsewhere in the world.

“Mercadona is a very strong, solid chain and there are not going to be any supply problems,” assures Roig.

“The reason we're having to restrict cooking-oil sales is because of people stockpiling – nothing else.

“We've got plenty of it available, and if everyone stopped panic-buying, we'd have more than enough to go around.”

Roig also slammed speculators, who have been attempting to buy sunflower oil in bulk from supermarkets and then sell it on at inflated prices, using the shortage rumours to convince buyers.

He said the same thing happened with lavatory paper and, later, flour, during lockdown two years ago.

Actually, restricting sunflower oil purchases is illegal, says FACUA

Meanwhile, though, one of Spain's major consumer organisations, FACUA, has warned that supermarkets restricting sunflower oil sales – and many others have done so, not just Mercadona – may in fact be illegal, and has announced plans to intervene at regional government level.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A STUDENT in Valencia has invented a T-shirt which detects heart attacks, arrhythmias and other cardio problems and sends a message to the wearer's computer or mobile phone.

Natalia Guzmán, 21, who is working on a biomedical engineering degree at the CEU San Pablo University, says the T-shirt is 'very comfortable to wear' and feels no different to 'any other that you buy in a shop'.

“It has cloth patches on the back which are sewn through with a conductor thread that carries ECG signals, right down to the waist, where dry electrodes are connected to an electronic pad,” the young designer explains.

“It's this which sends the physical information being monitored to a computer, or even to a mobile phone.”

Despite its built-in components, the patches with signal threads and the electronic pad are 'completely flexible', making them 'every bit as comfortable as any other top', with 'no rigid elements', and enables the person wearing it to be 'remotely monitored at all times'.

“Even visually, it doesn't look any different to any other type of textile we might wear on a day to day basis,” says Natalia.

“It could be used, for example, by anyone from a sportsperson who wants to keep a check on their heartbeats, through to a person with a chronic heart condition who needs to be monitored constantly, and it's much more comfortable than having another, similar device like a Holter [a portable ECG machine worn under the clothes for up to 48 hours to check heart rhythm during normal daily activity], since the main aim was to create something that was easy to wear – so that a person who had to be monitored every day around the clock could carry on with their normal life without being hindered through having an ongoing health condition.”

She is currently working on a 'new prototype' of the same kind of T-shirt, but using polymer instead of the conductor thread and patch.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BRAND-NEW health centre should be open in Marbella by next spring, giving the Costa del Sol town 'an indispensable facility' to help cater for its growing population and ever-increasing tourist numbers.

The old Ricardo Soriano town planning centre (in the picture below, by the town hall) will become the new GP practice, and the local council will fund the actual building work, according to mayoress Ángeles Muñoz.

Staffing and equipping the future surgery will be taken care of by Andalucía regional government's health authority.

The job of constructing the clinic has just been put out to tender, with a budget of nearly €2 million and a deadline for bids of March 28.

Once the contract has been awarded, the work will be finished within 12 months.

By then, it will be April or May 2023, and assuming the equipment has already been ordered and is ready to move in, the practice could be open by summer next year, or shortly before.

Sra Muñoz says the health centre will be 'a hugely important facility for Marbella town', as it will 'reduce queues and patient numbers at the main Leganitos surgery' and will 'benefit a high number of Marbella residents'.

It will also benefit holidaymakers and long-stay visitors, since whichever practice they use will have a reduced workload as a result of redistributing patients.

Marbella council has been campaigning for the extra clinic for 'over 10 years', Ángeles Muñoz says.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

A JEWELLER has revealed how the rock-sized emeralds General Franco gave his granddaughter for her wedding were 'just painted glass stuck together with egg-white'.

Carmen Martínez Bordiú, who has just turned 71 - and whose mother Carmen Franco y Polo was the only daughter of the dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975 - would have been celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary on Tuesday this week (March 8), were it not for the fact that she and husband Prince Alfonso Jaime de Borbón y Dampierre had divorced after 10 years of marriage – and he was then killed seven years later, in 1989, in a skiing accident in Colorado, USA.

Balenciaga's last stand

The nuptials of the dictator's granddaughter were on the scale of a Royal wedding, attended by hundreds of celebrities from Spain and beyond, and hogging all the headlines.

Her bridal gown was the last-ever creation by iconic haute couture designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, who died from a sudden heart attack aged 77 - just 15 days after Carmen Martínez Bordiú wore it to walk down the aisle in – whilst on holiday at the still-operating Parador Hotel in Jávea, Alicante province.

Along with a dress designed by the Basque fisherman's son who clothed the likes of Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly and Marlene Dietrich for red-carpet events, Carmen Martínez Bordiú wore a lavish tiara studded with huge emeralds.

Granddaughter's wedding rocks

Although she did not wear them on the day, the bride had a necklace, earrings, ring and brooch to match, and was frequently seen wearing them after her grandparents, General Franco and his wife Carmen Polo, gave them to her as a wedding gift.

Her mother told her that they had been made to order by a jeweller's in Palma de Mallorca at her aunt's recommendation, and they seemed entirely in keeping with the no-expenses-spared pomp of her marriage ceremony.

She later gave the dress on permanent loan to Barcelona Costume Museum, although it has been released from there a handful of times for one-off exhibitions – and may well be in Jávea this summer when the Costa Blanca town hosts its Balenciaga display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the designer's passing.

Glass bead game

As for the emerald jewellery and matching tiara, Carmen Martínez Bordiú, following her divorce – and now seven years after the death of her grandfather the dictator – took them to the prestigious London auction house, Sotheby's.

And she was shocked by the valuation provided, according to master jeweller Pablo Milstein, who has tracked the story, attended the wedding and spoken personally to the family over the years.

The valuers explained the massive green rocks were not, in fact, emeralds, but were doublets of glass, painted green on one side, glued to a flat piece of talc-stone with egg-white, then sealed behind with a metal plate.

'Fake' emeralds like these had been in use since as far back as 1572, according to Milstein – at least, that was the year master jeweller Juan de Arfe explained the process in his book on the subject.

Even then, despite being made from glass, the jewellery itself went up for auction as one lot and the tiara as a separate lot – so as to avoid the public identifying the seller as Franco's granddaughter – with reserve prices set by Sotheby's of between 30,000 and 50,000 Swiss Francs, the equivalent of between €29,000 and €48,000.

Nobody bought them in the end, though, so Carmen took them home again.

Eventually, though, the tiara, with its painted-glass beads instead of real emeralds, was sold in London – with the buyer's full knowledge of what they were – for £60,000 (about €71,400); at the time, in the 1980s, this would have been enough to have bought two detached family homes in the average UK county.

US model in nuptial emeralds

It appears the rest of the set – or at least, the necklace – have never been sold; Carmen Martínez Bordiú's now-ex sister-in-law, Josefina 'Jose' Toledo, was seen wearing it 25 years later.

Canary Islander Jose Toledo, who will be 57 in a month's time, was married to General Franco's grandson José Cristóbal Martínez Bordiú for 33 years and has two grown-up sons, but they divorced in September 2017.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THREE years after it was last celebrated, the Comunidad Valenciana's giant March Fallas festival is back on, with massive, colourful papier-mâché monuments in every neighbourhood of almost every town within the province of Valencia.

A handful of locations in the north of the province of Alicante, such as Dénia and Pego, and in the south of that of Castellón, also host the huge fiesta which typically starts with the statues' unveiling on March 16 and ends with their being burned to the ground on the night of March 19, a public holiday in the region.

Whilst numerous towns and villages go in for the Fallas in a big way, meaning you do not have to be in Valencia city itself to get the full experience, Spain's third-largest metropolitan area is the biggest version, with over 700 monuments or fallas satirising celebrities, politicians and current affairs, and tends to be more 'global' – the themes of these monuments are easier for non-residents to understand compared with those in smaller towns which focus on sending up more local issues.

Given that, for people travelling from abroad or from other parts of Spain, Valencia is the quickest and easiest gateway to the festival – with an international airport and an underground train line running straight from inside the terminal to the city centre – most people who do not live in the Comunidad Valenciana will probably experience the Fallas there rather than in another part of the province.

And to help them, along with locals joining in the general festivities, parties, parades and eating and drinking that happens around the clock during Fallas week, the metro will be running 24 hours a day.

From now until March 20 inclusive, an additional 48 security and police officers will be at the main railway stations to provide assistance, directions and general information for visitors, as well as ensuring they are safe.

The metro stations of Xàtiva – just outside the main Estació Nord rail terminal – and the next one along, Colón, will shut between 12.30 and 14.30 from March 16 to 19 inclusive, when the mascletaes, or colourful gunpowder-banger shows, take place, and underground station Alameda, close to the Túria riverbed gardens, will close two hours before the late-night fireworks between March 16 and 18 inclusive and for an hour or so afterwards.

Fortunately, all these are a fairly short walk from the next stations – those who would normally get on or off at Xàtiva or Colón should continue on to Àngel Guimerà, Plaça Espanya, or Bailén – or Alameda during the lunchtime slot.

Instead of Alameda, during the night firework displays, travellers are advised to use the stations Colón and Facultats.

Even though stations closest to the noisy displays are closed when they are happening, the metro itself will run 24 hours a day from March 15 to 20 inclusive, or '120 hours of non-stop service', according to city transport authorities.

Ahead of the festival, the regional government has launched a travel-card, known as a SUMA pass, which allows access to the metro, the MetroBus, the outer suburban rail or Cercanías, and the urban bus service, using just one ticket and one price.

These were first aired on the last day of January and are currently used by just over a third of all passengers on Valencia's public transport.

SUMA cards cost €8 for one zone, €12 for two zones, and €20 for all areas out into the radius of the city as far as the airport, which is in the nearby town of Manises.

This means prices for travel cards have come down by an average of 50% in the past two months.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO years on from the Covid-19 pandemic entering Spain and with its first peacetime lockdown in centuries on the horizon, survival rate among those who catch the virus is now 'above 90%', according to medics.

National Spanish news reporters who visited intensive care in mid-March 2020 at one of the country's worst-affected hospitals at the time – the Ramón y Cajal in Madrid – have now gone back there to find out how the situation compares in the same month in 2022.

With the hitherto unnamed Coronavirus bursting into Spain just weeks after the Chinese city of Wuhan went into total lockdown, Madrid was completely devastated by uncontrolled contagion, with pop-up hospitals and mortuaries on industrial estates, beds in corridors, and almost every resident in the capital having lost at least one family member or friend from the disease.

Conversely, outside of Spain's largest cities, the impact of the first wave of the virus was almost anecdotal – official figures post-lockdown showing cases of towns of 25,000 with just 18 cases and three deaths, or of 11,000 inhabitants with two cases and no deaths, were very common.

In the beginning, though, figures by municipality or even region were not revealed, which was partly why the national lockdown was so successful: Everyone assumed everyone else was infected unless proven otherwise, and acted accordingly.

After the Spanish public was gradually 'released' through a four-phase 'unlocking', the national government praised the nation for its responsible, community-spirited behaviour – pulling together for the greater good, even whilst apart.

It was estimated that the first, total shutdown, where the only 'excuse' for being outside the home for three months was essential supermarket shopping, potentially saved millions of lives.

Over 100 and all intubated in 2020; just five and fully conscious in 2022

Journalist Carlota Chiarroni and photographer Jorge París from the daily newspaper 20 Minutos said the 'critical' nature of the scene before them two years back was 'palpable', with over 100 patients in the ICU, every single one of them intubated and face-down, and only one of them conscious with the rest either out cold or under heavy sedation.

The crisis was so severe and came on so quickly that the Ramón y Cajal even had beds in the operating theatres to accommodate all those who had to be admitted for urgent treatment.

Now, the media team say that of the 24 beds in intensive care, only five are occupied, all of them awake, and some of them waving to the visitors.

Head of the anaesthetics team Dr David Pestaña says: “This is no longer a hospital on the battleground in the midst of a war.

“Two years ago, out of every three patients admitted to hospital with Covid, you knew that one wouldn't survive, and it was just awful looking at the people being brought in and knowing immediately which ones were not going to make it. It was a horrible sensation.

“The first wave of the virus hit us full-on. Only those who were really seriously ill were admitted – those who were gasping for breath – it was frightening.

“Back then, practically everyone who came in had to be intubated.”

Fast-forward to March 2022, and Dr Pestaña says: “Not any more, though.”

More contagious, less fatal – and rarely the main cause of admission

Head of the ICU, Dr Raúl de Pablo, said: “We're much calmer now, although it's true that December and January were pretty bad.”

This was when the Omicron variant had reached Spain – a strain which is drastically more contagious, but less likely to be fatal.

The fact Omicron increased pressure on intensive care units was due to 'patients admitted with Covid' rather than 'patients admitted due to Covid', explains Dr de Pablo.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

UKRAINIANS without valid residence permits living in Spain will automatically be given leave to remain in the country, even if they arrived before the war broke out, the national government has confirmed.

Residence will be granted automatically to anyone from Ukraine already in Spain, and the process of moving in will be simplified for all those who have family, particularly partners and underage children, as Spanish residents, and who wish to join them.

The same will apply to those currently legally resident in Ukraine who come from non-EU countries originally.

Residence documents will be accompanied by work permits, so that new arrivals can start earning money the moment they reach Spain, explains government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez.

The decision will suppose a 'legal modification' which 'widens the subjective scope' of migration law, creating an 'exceptional mechanism' in line with the recently-announced European Union directive.

This directive allows anyone leaving Ukraine to escape the war to be granted asylum automatically for at least a year and up to a maximum of three, in any EU member State, with full access to national public health and education services and any recognised government aid or benefits the country in question normally offers.

After these three years, it is possible that the cross-State agreement will be modified and extended if the war remains ongoing – if peace has been declared, many refugees will probably want to return home, but those who wish to stay in their adopted country may then be able to apply for permanent or long-term residence via the normal routes if they are settled and have a regular income.

The automatic residence rights process applies to all Ukrainian nationals in Spain, given that those already living in the country cannot now return there under any circumstances, due to the conflict.

Around 100,000 Ukrainians were living in Spain prior to the war, with or without a residence card, but they will now be given these for a minimum of one year irrespective of their work status or income.

The Spanish government is working on the basis of around 12,000 Ukrainians arriving in the short term – double the figure of 6,000 it initially anticipated – and fully expects the numbers reaching Spain to multiply as the war continues.

So far, the United Nations calculates that around two million people have fled Ukraine in the last fortnight.

Isabel Rodríguez says president Pedro Sánchez and his cabinet are now working closely with the various regional governments across the country on a blanket refugee resettlement plan, which she hopes will be signed off at the forthcoming Presidential Conference in La Palma (Canary Islands).

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MICROWAVES: Where would we be without them? Take away our hob, our oven, if you will, but don't touch this little cube-shaped object on the worktop that probably cost between €50 and €100 and without which we probably couldn't eat, except cold stuff like tortilla and salads.

Hard to believe they were not even mainstream until 30 or 35 years ago, and that many older and middle-aged adults resisted buying one – they'd managed decades of household life without one and never starved as a result.

Of course, urban myths would soon ensue once they started hitting the shelves – and, surprisingly, over a generation later, still abound. Turns out there's still a lot we didn't know about these must-have appliances that looked just like our TV sets until a decade ago when screens turned flat.

Luckily, one of Spain's leading consumer organisations, the OCU, is here to unravel the mysteries that have hung around microwaves since the beginning of the 1990s.

“Electrical appliances sold in Spanish shops are, in general, very safe, because they'll have passed through rigorous quality control processes,” the OCU assures.

It also lists what's true and false in a handy little guide just released.

Does the radiation from a microwave affect the food being cooked?

“No. It's one of the most common myths about microwaves, and it's completely false,” stresses the OCU.

“The radiation emitted simply causes molecules to vibrate, which produces heat and warms up the food, but does not modify the atoms or turn food radioactive.”

So you won't suddenly turn green and nobody will be able to see your insides at a glance. What a relief.

And there's no truth in the rumour that cooking in a microwave destroys the vitamins and nutrients in the food in a way that would not occur with baking, roasting, grilling or frying, according to the OCU – almost the opposite, in fact, given that cooking time is reduced by using a microwave, meaning the good qualities in foodstuffs are less likely to be eroded by long-term exposure to heat.

That said, some nutrient loss is inevitable through heating, but not all foods can be eaten uncooked and some are actually healthier for you after cooking than when raw.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Can we really fry with Extra Virgin Olive Oil?   Should we?   Is it not just a waste of money?   Should we be frying food full stop? 

I wrote about this subject a few years back but I still get numerous questions and comments related to frying with olive oil. There are still many many people who have the understanding that you shouldn't fry with olive oil because "it is said" to be carcinogenic. This is is totally unfounded, so I thought I might clear up many doubts surrounding this subject with the hope that people will spread the word; Olive Oil is good for everything! Frying is one of the oldest forms of cooking common to all of the Mediterranean Basin: Europe, Asia and Africa. In short the homeland for the Olive Tree. As a method of cooking it is dominant in all cultures and religions scattered throughout the region.

Investigations have shown that frying is actually beneficial to the organism, particularly from the physiological point of view contrary to general opinion. “But fried food is fatty and can’t be digested properly and it gives me a heavy stomach” is an all too common remark. Whether the food that is fried is digested easily or weighs down your stomach depends to a great extent on the type of oil used, the temperature of the oil and the manner in which the food was fried. Yes, even frying has its art form!

Studies undertaken on healthy subjects and patients with gastro-duodenal problems (gastritis, ulcer, liver and biliary complaints) have shown that there is no relationship between food fried in olive oil and these illnesses.

It all comes down to how edible oils deteriorate when heated. All oils will eventually suffer an alteration in their chemical structure when exposed to high temperatures. The alteration undergone by vegetable oils when heated for frying is far quicker, creating far more fatty acids, particularly from seed oils and more so if the initial acidity of the oil was already high. It will always be more stable if it has a high content of natural antioxidants - vitamin E - polyphenols. This alteration also varies according to temperature and the length of time heated, the number of times the oil is used and the manner of frying, if it is continuous frying it changes less and the type of food being fried is also a determining factor when using vegetable oils. Frying fish, especially oily fish, increases the polyunsaturated acid content of the oil, facilitating its rapid decomposition. So you better hope your local fish & chips shop changes their oil regularly if they use sunflower oil.

This is where the real benefits of extra virgin olive oil come to light. Extra virgin olive oil is ideal for frying. In proper temperature conditions, without over-heating, it undergoes no substantial structural change at all and keeps its nutritional value far better than other oils, not only because of the antioxidants but also due to its high levels of oleic acid (good fatty acids). It has a very high smoking point of 210ºC which is substantially higher than the ideal temperature for frying food which any cook will tell you is around 180-185ºC. Those fats with lower critical points, such as corn and butter, break down at this temperature and form toxic products. I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen thermometer, you can find them on Amazon for less than 10 euros.

“My chips were all greasy and full of oil!” Well, they were probably fried with vegetable oil (as seen in the picture). Apart from it being healthier, one of the best reasons for using extra virgin olive oil for frying is that it forms a crust on the surface of the food that impedes the penetration of oil and improves its flavour. Food fried in extra virgin olive oil has a much lower fat content than food fried in other oils, making extra virgin far more suitable for weight control. Extra virgin olive oil, is the most suitable, the lightest and the tastiest medium for frying.

It is an oil that goes much further than other oils, and not only can it be re-used more often than others, it also increases in volume when reheated, so less is required for cooking and frying. This is one major fact to take on board when evaluating the cost. You won’t need to waste as much oil. There is no problem in re-heating extra virgin olive oil even up to 3 or 4 times and in some cases more, although I doubt anyone would actually do it! The higher the polyphenol content in the extra virgin the longer it will last and it is the polyphenols that protect the oil from the heat. Picual varieties tend to be very high in polyphenols, so medium to a robust extra virgin is ideal.

The digestibility of heated extra virgin olive oil does not change even when re-used for frying several times. The only thing that will be altered is that it will adopt the flavour, as will any oil, of what you previously fried in it. But if you use a certain amount just for chips/potatoes you can re-use it over and over in your deep fat fryer, something that is not so advisable for vegetable oils and nonetheless everyone still does it. Extra Virgin Olive oil should not be mixed with other fats or vegetable oils and should not generally be used more than four or five times. The oil used for frying should always be hot; if it is cold the food will soak up the oil, no matter what oil it is. It needs to be hot to form a sealed crust. 

Don't forget 185º is my sweet spot and be careful not to put too much food in the oil especially if it is frozen.

Author : https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/ianandspain.aspx

EVEN though everyone who uses a car in Spain knows – or should know – what the legal drink-driving limit is, most motorists are unclear as to how much alcohol this translates to in terms of liquid volume, so the Guardia Civil has released a guideline.

Of course, the only safe amount is zero – in all cases, not just on the road – and the Guardia Civil strongly advises those who know they are going to be driving not to touch a single drop.

But what happens if you've sat down for a beer or a glass of wine in front of the TV one evening and, midway through it, an emergency crops up – a friend or family member in crisis, in hospital, or a pet needing to be rushed to the 24-hour veterinary surgery? Even after just one sip, you should forget about driving under normal circumstances – although in an extreme situation like this, would that one sip put you over the limit and leave you at risk of a fine or, more importantly, putting yourself and other road users in serious danger?

Different limits for different people

Changes are afoot in national road traffic laws, which will include under-18s – who, in Spain, cannot drive a car, but may ride a moped, small motorcycle or pushbike – having a total zero alcohol limit, and the margin of 20 kilometres per hour for overtaking no longer permitted.

Full details will be revealed over the next two weeks by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), but the drink-driving limit will remain the same, at 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood, or 0.25 milligrams of alcohol per litre of breath when tested.

For those who have passed their driving test less than two years ago, and for professional drivers – cabbies, coach drivers, and so on – in the course of their work, the limit is lower still, at 0.3 grams per litre of blood or 0.15 milligrams per litre of breath.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S two largest metropolitan areas have been listed among the top 10 European cities to invest in property for yet another year – and both have risen in the rankings since the 2021 report.

Consultancy firm PwC, along with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), have published their most recent investment research findings and describe a 'post-pandemic leap in confidence'.

Commercial confidence in the property market is at its 'highest level since 2014', the report states, whilst also predicting 'profound changes' to the estate agency industry as a result of 'changing consumer demands, digitalisation and an ever-stronger ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance] agenda'.

Residential property ranks jointly with logistics as the top investments post-Covid, and 'green' energy infrastructure, 'life sciences and data centres' are, additionally, tipped to be increasingly sought-after.

“[A] need for organisational transformation embracing technology, skills and ESG [sustainability performance] is a key priority, according to 68% of estate agency leaders,” the article reads.

'Positivity, relief and short-term optimism' in the European property industry

Now in its 19th year, the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe report for 2022 considers the professional views of 844 property industry specialists, who largely found 'positive outlooks' had doubled in the past 12 months, 'reflecting a broad sense of relief and short-term optimism that the industry has remained resilient during the pandemic'.

But for the longer term, a widespread sense of uncertainty remains as industry professionals continue to 'come to terms with the radical changes to the business...brought about or accelerated by Covid-19'.

'Strong investor demand' is reported for 2022, and the analysis quotes Urban Land Institute Europe's chief executive, Lisette van Doorn, as saying that the continent-wide property industry is 'coming to learn' that the end of the major public health crisis caused by Covid 'is not a straight line'.

“There is pent-up demand from which to benefit, but [the industry] also needs to get to grips with what 'restarting the economy' really means,” says the CEO.

“The current uncertainties are reflected into quite strong sentiment swings while, at the same time, the industry is struggling to interpret the potential impact issues like supply-chain disruptions, surging energy costs and labour shortages will have...and how long these issues might last.”

Challenges the industry seeks to adapt to

PwC and the Urban Land Institute break down shorter-term uncertainties for business in general, and specifically for the property industry.

Online security is a concern for two-thirds of them, inflation for six in 10 surveyed and interest rates for 55%.

But the most pressing challenges perceived for the coming year are availability of suitable land and assets, for two-thirds; sustainability and decarbonisation or 'net zero' requirements, for 61%, and the biggest of all, availability of resources and the cost of construction, for 88%.

The latter is the most likely – although all have a potential – to affect keys-in-hand timescales and the price of new builds.

This is closely linked to Lisette von Doorn's 'supply-chain disruptions', as building materials have become harder to source and more expensive, affecting major civil engineering works as well as residential property construction.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH celebrity chef José Andrés is on the Poland-Ukraine border handing out hot meals to refugees fleeing the latter country.

After reaching the frontier fence in Medyka at around 18.00 CET on Thursday, the US-based restaurateur had dished up over 4,000 dinners by noon the following day.

José, 52, is known for being one of the first on the scene whenever a disaster, natural or human-driven, occurs, in order to keep those affected well-nourished.

From the Haïti earthquake to the Beirut explosion, from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas to government workers left without their wages following ex-president Donald Trump's shutdown, the star chef and his team from his charity World Central Kitchen get straight into the eye of the storm - literally, in many cases – and sets up his portable stove, cooking and hand-delivering meals.

Originally from Mieres, Asturias, José Ramón Andrés Puerta moved to the USA when he was 22 and runs a string of élite eateries across the country, although he focuses almost as much on his disaster relief as he does on the businesses that keep his bills paid.

After Amazon boss Jeff Bezos gave him €85 million for World Central Kitchen last autumn, Andrés went on to win the 2021 Concordance Prize in the Princess of Asturias Awards, which he said he intended to spend on helping victims of the La Palma volcanic eruption.

Working around the clock in sub-zero temperatures as Ukrainians – including small children, the elderly and people who are sick, pregnant or disabled – stand in line in a bid to get through the border into Poland and the European Union, José Andrés said, in a video he uploaded to his Twitter page: “People just keep on coming.”

“It is below freezing tonight and I am meeting so many refugees, families who are escaping and don't know what's next...we will do our best not to let them down,” he wrote.

In his video, he says: “These families are cold. They've brought with them whatever they can carry, which is normally just a suitcase. There are children coming. All I see is people trying to escape the war.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

COLLECTIVE lamentations resounded all the way from Andalucía's largest city the day before Christmas Eve 2020 – Sevilla's Feria de Abril, or 'April Fair', was to be called off for a second year on the trot.

As well as missing out on a week's worth of partying, residents in the southern metropolis would also forfeit millions of euros pouring into their public coffers, and enough in hundreds or thousands to keep their own families fed for most of the year – the Feria de Abril is one of Sevilla's most lucrative fiestas, attracts weeks' worth of international visitors every day, and stallholders make a sizeable chunk of their annual income during this bustling, colourful festival.

After the pandemic put paid to the 2020 edition – along with every other fiesta and public event nationwide – hopes were pinned on 2021 as being the year that Sevilla could put it all behind them and get back on the streets for its favourite mega-fête.

But Covid contagion remained rife, and the city council announced two days before Christmas that the eagerly-awaited comeback would not be happening after all.

Finally, three years after the last Feria de Abril, the cheery psychedelic celebrations will be going ahead again – although not, as the name suggests, in April.

Instead of a 'April Fair', the 2022 version will be a 'May Fair' – and it works out well for those who want to enjoy it to the maximum, since it coincides with a national public holiday.

Mayday, or May 1 – 'Labour Day' – falls on a Sunday this year, but as it is a 'transferable' bank holiday, those regions which will not have used up their maximum number of eight are allowed to move it to the nearest Monday.

Andalucía is one of these regions, meaning Monday, May 2 is a public holiday and, as Sevilla always has another one for the entire province for its Feria de Abril – whenever it takes place – Wednesday, May 4 will also be a non-working day.

And other towns in the province have specific, local bank holidays during that same week, in honour of their patron saints, meaning their residents will be off work and able to travel to their capital to join in the fun.

These include the town of Gelves, where Friday, May 6 is a public holiday, and La Luisiana, which will get three solid days of freedom as it has a bank holiday on Tuesday, May 3.

The 2022 Feria de Abril, or Feria de Mayo in reality, takes place from Sunday, May 1 to Saturday, May 7 inclusive, meaning those from other regions without any public holidays can still cram in a weekend day at the fair.

This is a festival where every stereotype about Spain that remains in circulation outside its borders is very much alive and well, and milked to the limits: Swirly, polka-dot skirts, flamenco and sevillanas music and dance with castañets, foot-tapping and hand-clapping, gypsy guitars, and beautiful Pura Raza Española horses decked out with floral wreaths.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com