Category: Spain

Mummies and Gorillas in Barcelona

Post author By Jon
Post date June 14, 2010
No Comments on Mummies and Gorillas in Barcelona

Translated by Juliana Stifelmann.

The texts chosen here are fairly straightforward, but I chose them because it is interesting to see how news reporting is done in other countries, as far as what they find pertinent to say, to explain, and their reaction to certain occurrences as contrasted to North American newspapers. Therefore, the specific purpose of the translation is to inform North American readers of events in Europe, letting them in to Spanish culture by seeing how things are reported from their point of view.

Source texts: “Dieciocho momias de Tebas muestran por primera vez sus rostros en Barcelona” and “Nace en el Zoo de Barcelona el primer gorila de España criado sin intervención humana”.

Eighteen mummies from Tebas, Egypt, are displayed for the first time in Barcelona.

Anthropological and radiological study was done on 18 mummies from the ancient city of Tebas, in Egypt.

They have been abandoned since the 1940s in a tomb in the city of Luxor.
The mummies are from the Third Intermediate Period (1069-525 BC).
The Catalunya Museum of Arqueology is hosting this exhibition.

05.03.2010

The investigation of an international multidisciplinary team made up of archaeologists, doctors, anthropologists, and radiologists from Spain and Germany, has allowed us to see for the first time, the face as well as unpublished information of the 18 abandoned mummies from Luxor.

A 1940s issue of the New York Times appears with one of them. The results of the investigation are shown in the Barcelona headquarters of the Catalunya Museum of Arqueology. The exhibit will be open from this Friday until September 5th. The Project was co-produced by the Catalunya Museum, the International SEK University, and the Egyptian Eberrnhard Karls Institute of the Tubinga University, who work in the tomb of the Monthemhat governor. (7th Century BC).

The excavations began in the ancient tomb complex by indication of the Egyptian Antique Service, which had been used for storage and was also the location in which the mummies had ended up for an unknown reason. The mummies, which belonged to the funeral complex workers, probably ended up there in the 40s (along with one of them is an old issue of the New York Times), abandoned by the North American Archaeologists.

This investigation has been the first one to count on a radiological study at the tomb. One of the investigators and curators of the exhibit, the Egyptologist Montserrat Rius, has explained that each individual has undergone several studies: “macroscopic, anthropometric with a sex diagnostic, paleontological, photographic, and radiological”. In fact, “this investigation has been the first to use a radiological study done on foot, so they could install a Philips BV bracelet apparatus, which has come specifically from Holland, on the porch of the ancient Luxor American House. The apparatus is also shown at the exhibit.”

In order to complement the study, a Carbon-14 study was also performed, added Rius, to find the levels of lead and arsenic in the hair and the history of some of the mummies’ organs. All these analyses and investigations allowed us to find out the sex, illnesses throughout their lives, lesions after death, and the type of mummification done. This corroborated to the fact that they belonged to the Third Intermediate Period (1069-525 AC) and “were contemporary to Monthemhamt.”

The condition of conservation they were found in varied, as some were in excellent condition, but some were found incomplete. After the exhibit section dedicated to the process of mummification and the beliefs of ancient Egypt, some life-size photographs of the mummies are displayed, with a detailed explanation of their pathologies.

In the case of the “forgotten mummies”, it is surprising that “none of them present the expected frequency of visceral extraction, common in the mummification process of the time. This is odd since they seem to have been noble people, judging from the area of origin, their clothes, the amount of gold and the amulets found”, explained the palaeontologist Joaquim Baxarias.

Only two cases have been able to confirm the extraction of the brain via the nose, and in another, the extraction of abdominal organs thought the right side of the body. This fact, underlines Baxarias, one of the curators of the exhibit, differs from historical sources that find a high level of development in the mummification techniques of the time.

“The first Spanish gorilla raised without human intervention is born at the Barcelona Zoo”

Machinda the gorilla with her baby in the Barcelona zoo.

The baby, granddaughter of Snowflake the gorilla, was born on February 28th
There will be a voting process on Saturday to choose the baby’s name
Choices are: Babul (tender), Gum (March), Kikile (soon) and Nvom (hopefully).

05.03.2010

The gorilla has no name yet, but it is an attraction at the Barcelona Zoo. Last February 28th, one of the babies was born, the grandson of the legendary Snowflake. The work of caregivers and the conservation team have made it so that this baby gorilla is the first in Spain, and one of the few in Europe, to not have human intervention to ensure their survival, either at birth or during its lactation period.

Machinda has been able to bear her young among the other gorillas, without being separated or receiving training. The new baby, which was presented to society on Friday, was born “as if it were free”, the zoo assures us. His first appearance was in the rain, in the arms of her protective mother and under the watchful eye of his father. There haven’t been many opportunities to see them, due to the small size of this new gorilla and her mother’s protective instinct. Still, the baby gorilla sits in his mother’s arms, surrounded by brothers, cousins, uncles and its father.

Until now, a birth like this would have required the intervention of caregivers and even needed training of the mother to learn to care for and nurse the baby, an instinct that is lost after many years in captivity.

The mother, baby, sibling and father’s behaviour is absolutely normal, as it would if they were free. Thanks to the work of zoo keepers, Machinda could give birth to her young among the other gorillas, without being separated or receiving training. She is now breastfeeding and raising the child with the help of family members, without requiring human help.

Lluís Colom, leader of the keepers of the Barcelona Zoo, has rated the outcome as “very positive” and recalled that the previous captive breeding conditions caused the mothers’ milk to be lost because the animals were very easily stressed” and the offspring might have had to breastfeed with bottles. Now, “the behaviour of the mother, baby, siblings and of the father is absolutely normal, as they would if they were free”, Colom explained.

This Saturday, there will be a voting process to choose the name of the baby gorilla. For now, four options have been selected, all in the original Fang language from Snowflake’s native region: Babul (meaning soft), gum (March), Kikile (soon), and Nvom (hopefully).

literature Spain

The Little Ant

Translated by Ana Robles.

This story was written by Fernán Caballero, the pseudonym adopted by Spanish novelist Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl de Faber. She was born at in Switzerland, and was the daughter of Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber, who lived for a long time in Spain. His daughter visited Spain in 1815, got married, and stayed. “La hormiguita” was a story written in the nineteenth century and this is transmitted in the text by the different language that is used. Hence the purpose of my translation was not only to change the languages from Spanish to English but also to modernize the language so that the story could be more easily understood. This is especially important because my target audience would be North American children.

Source text: “La hormiguita”.

The Little Ant
By Fernán Caballero

Once upon a time there was a wonderful little ant. So lovely and so hard working that everyone loved her! One day while she was raking leafs in her front yard; she found a shiny new penny. She said “what should I do with this new penny?” Maybe I should buy some nuts? No I can’t open them. Maybe I should buy a caramel apple? No is just candy. She thought about it and decided to go to the store; there she brought some blush to put on her cheeks and took it home. When she got home she, styled her hair, washed her face, and put some blush on her cheeks Then she went outside and sat on her front porch. She was so stylish and beautiful that everyone that passed by was mesmerized by her.

A bull passed by and asked her: Little ant do you want to marry me? How will you inspire my love? Answered the little ant. The bull started to Mooooo, The little ant covered her ears, and told the bull

“Go on your way bull: because you surprise me, scare me and startle me”.

The same thing happened with a dog who barked a cat who meowed, a pig who oinked, and a rooster who sang cock-a-doodle-doo.

None of them were able to win the heart of the little ant, instead they all frightened her. Until Peter the mouse came. He treated her kindly and very delicately. He was so nice that little ant married him and they both lived, very happy and very much in love, it was a love so big that it hasn’t been seen since the beginning of time.

But due to bad luck one day the little ant went to the store by herself, after putting a pot of soup in the fire; which she left in the care of peter the mouse. The little ant who was very cautions warned peter the mouse not to stir the soup with the small spoon instead she told him to use the big spoon. Unfortunately peter the mouse did not listen to what his wife had said; he used the small spoon to stir the soup. And what the little ant had tried to prevent happened, with his clumsiness peter the mouse, fell into the pot, like a rock that falls into a well and there he drowned.

When the little ant returned home, she knocked the door but no one answered. So she went to the neighbour’s house to see if she could jump from one roof to the other, but the neighbour didn’t let her. So she had to call a locksmith, to unlock the door. When the door opened the little ant ran to the kitchen, Oh NO!!!! She cried with so much pain when she saw peter the mouse floating in the soup.

The little ant was crying bitterly when a birdie flew by and asked her. Why are you crying little ant?

She answered “because my husband died”

Well then, I birdie shall keep my beak dirty

Then came a dove and she asked the birdie why is your beak so dirty?

Well because Peter the mouse drowned inside his house and the little ant is crying because of him dying.

Then I dove shall stay in the cove.

Then the pigeon loft asked the dove why do you stay in the cove?

Well because Peter the mouse drowned inside his house and the little ant is crying because of him dying, and the birdie kept his beak dirty, and I dove shall stay in the cove.

Well then I pigeon loft will break off

Then the water spring said.

Why are you going to break off pigeon loft?

Well because Peter the mouse drowned inside his house and the little ant is crying because of him dying, and the birdie kept his beak dirty, and the dove stay in the cove and, I pigeon loft will break off

Then I water fountain will cry here in this mountain

Then the princess climbed up the mountain to fill her glass with water, and asked why you are crying here in the mountain water fountain?

Well because Peter the mouse drowned inside his house and the little ant is crying because of him dying, and the birdie kept his beak dirty, and the dove stay in the cove and the pigeon loft broke off and I water fountain am crying here in the mountain

Well then I princess shall smash my glass in a flash

And I who read this story, feel very sorry because Peter the mouse drowned inside his house and the little ant is crying because of him dying.

culture food Spain

Cocina de Mercado

Translated by Kimberly Roberts.

The following translations are part of a collection of recipes, reviews and blogs written by an avid Spanish cook, Sol Filman Delano on her blog titled Cocina de Mercado. As there are several recipes and reviews on the blog, I have only chosen a handful to translate for the purpose of this project, in an attempt to give the English reader a taste of this Spanish cook’s repertoire.

Source texts: “Calçotada”, “Risotto de Alcachofas”, “Tiramisú”, and “Casa Portuguesa”.

Calçots

Last Saturday we attended a calçotada in Corbera de Llobregat that a group of friends invited us to. (Calçotada is a typical gastronomical event in the Catalunya region of Spain, where sweet Spanish green onions known as calçots are consumed in large quantities). After the lamb chops, pork sausage, typical Basque chistorra sausage accompanied with red wine, we had 550 calçots for just the 30 of us. It was a huge feast!

Calçots are a variety of fresh white, sweet onions, native to the region of Catalunya. (They are originally from the province of Tarragona). They are in season at the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring (January-February-March).

The traditional way to cook them is directly over the fire (barbeque). When the tips are tender and the outside layer is completely black, you wrap them in newspaper so that they stay warm until you are ready to eat them. Traditionally, they are brought to the table on a piece of clay tile; you eat them with your hands by pulling away the burnt exterior, to reach the tender center.

Calçots are usually accompanied with a romesco sauce. Yesterday, the sauces used were both homemade and store-bought. Romesco sauce is a sauce prepared with almonds, hazelnuts, tomatoes, peppers, bread, olive oil, salt and vinegar. In Mai’s blog you can find an excellent recipe, click here.

¡Bon Profit!

Recipes: Artichoke Risotto

Risotto is my favourite Italian dish. The last time I prepared it was with a variety of ingredients. I always use arbario rice, which contains a fair amount of starch. You can, however use carnoroli rice, a northern Italian rice. This time I’m making an artichoke risotto…in this blog, you can also find the recipe of my version of shrimp risotto.

Ingredients (serves four)

1 cup arborio rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion
6 artichokes
200 ml white wine
750 ml vegetable stock
grated parmesan cheese
black pepper
2 tablespoons truffle oil
Salt

Directions:

1. Prepare artichokes:
a. Rinse under cold water to remove dirt and pat dry. Chop top and tail off.
b. Remove outer layers and snip the top of the remaining leaves with kitchen scissors.
c. Place prepared artichokes in a large bowl of cold water and add a generous squeezing of 2 lemons.
2. Cook the artichokes. (Separate the hearts, cut and reserve. Remove the ‘meat’ of the leaves).
3. Lightly fry in butter, olive oil, and the finely chopped onions.
4. Add the rice. Cook until the rice is translucent.
5. Add the meat of the artichoke leafs.
6. Add a cup of white wine. Stir and let the alcohol evaporate.
7. Add a splash of the hot stock, stirring constantly until the rice absorbs it all. Add more stock and continue stirring. Continue this procedure, a little bit at a time, until the rice is creamy and has a sticky texture.
8. Add the chopped artichoke hearts, more stock and continue to stir.
9. Before serving, add two tablespoons of truffle oil and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Recipes: Tiramisu

This delicious Italian dessert always wins me over…there are many different versions to prepare Tiramisu out there, but this is my favourite.

Ingredients (four servings)

1 cup mascarpone cheese
20 lady fingers (or similar cookies)
2 egg yolks
200 ml whipping cream (chilled)
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups freshly brewed coffee
Dark chocolate powder
Dark Chocolate (70%)
4 teaspoons of Marsala wine

Directions:

1. Whip the chilled whipping cream with a teaspoon of sugar until you get firm whipped cream.
2. Over a double boiler, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and the wine until you get a sabayón*; the mix should now be double its volume. Leave to chill.
3. Gently incorporate the mascarpone cheese into the sabayón. Add the whipped cream to the mix.
4. Make the coffee and leave to chill. Soak the cookies in the coffee.
5. Make a base layer of the cookies then grate the chocolate on top. Add a layer of the mascarpone cream and repeat. Finish with a layer of mascarpone cream. Wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours before serving.
6. For presentation, dust with chocolate powder.

Buon appetito!

*Sabayón, also known as Zabaglione or Zabaione, is a traditional Italian dessert. The basic ingredients are: egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. To prepare, you beat them together over a warm water bath, until it becomes a light and creamy consistency.

Restaurant Review: Casa Portuguesa

In the heart of the neighborhood of Gracia (north of the center of Barcelona) you’ll find a café that is devoted to Portuguese gastronomy and culture.

My first few visits to this place were dedicated to the pastries known as pastéis de Belem, which are to die for! Every time I would walk by, I couldn’t resist eating a freshly baked one, sprinkled with cinnamon.

There are also queijadas (little cheese pastries), homemade cakes and cookies, almond pastries, little chicken empanadas, puffed pastry tarts with cheese, vegetarian tarts and more.

They also feature a wine cellar at the back of the café in which they sell a variety of ports, white wines, red wines and vinho verde, the fresh and light ‘green wine’ originating in the northern regions of Portugal.

This place is ideal to enjoy a bottle of wine, accompanied with a selection of fine cheeses. They play eclectic Portuguese and Latin music and no smoking is permitted inside, which is a lot harder to find than you’d think in Barcelona!

At Casa Portuguesa you can also find a large variety of artesian delicatessen products, such as marmalades, oils, preserves, sauces, patés, chutneys, honey, etc.

58 Verdi Street, Barcelona
t: 933683528

Hours of Operation:

Monday– closed
Tuesday – Wednesday: 5:00pm-11:00pm
Thursday – Friday: 5:00pm-11:30pm
Saturday and holidays: 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00-11:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am – 3:00pm, 5:00pm – 9:00pm

analysis politics Spain

The Quality of our Democracy

Post author By Jon
Post date June 14, 2010
No Comments on The Quality of our Democracy

Translated by Tristán Niamath.

The source text is taken from an editorial in the Spanish newspaper El País. The skopos is to give brief summary of Spanish politics after Franco’s death. The article is obviously aimed at Spanish readers in general but should be translated for the rest of the world. Most people are unaware of the specifics of how Spanish government works and the political history of Spain in general.

Source text: “La calidad de nuestra democracia”.

The Quality of our Democracy
By Julián Casanova

Some of the powers that be intend to prevent political, legal and moral reparations to the victims of the civil war and the dictatorship. The pursuit and persecution of judge Baltasar Garzón proves this.

At 2:15 in the afternoon on Sunday the 23rd of November 1975, a granite tombstone weighing 3306 lbs was placed over the tomb that had been dug for Francisco Franco in the basílica de la Santa Cruz in the Valley of the Fallen near Madrid. The tombstone that sealed the grave was as heavy as the legacy that Franco left: four decades of genocide and civil unrest. Almost 35 years afterwards, we Spaniards are still debating (which is mostly just shouting with little discussion, and on very little grounds) over the virtues and defects of the democracy that we have constructed without feeling the need to demolish the framework of the dictatorship.

Political corruption, along with politicians that ignore it, along with the prosecution of judge Baltasar Garzón upon the ideological heirs of Franco’s regime, places us in the argument again. Let’s remember how it all started and where we are today.

Right after the death of Franco, many of his faithful supporters threw away their blue uniforms and put on the jacket of democracy. The scattering of the so called reformers or “progressives” in search of a new political identity was at this moment, slowly but surely, general. Many francoists as always, whether powerful or not, converted overnight into democrats for good. It must be said clearly, for this reason, against the biased opinion of a few illustrious ex-francoists that have taken to the transition to democracy, that the framework of the dictatorship that had power when Franco died did not contain the seed of democracy and neither the king, nor the new chief of state, offered the best guarantees in that moment.

The politicians and bureaucrats formed in the administration of the francoist state had in their hands the repressive machine and the consent of an important part of the educated population during the years of distrust towards political change, identified with the values of authority, security and order. Without Franco there wouldn’t have been francoism, but the francoists that led the democracy at the time, benefited from the fears of the public and their beloved dictatorship had disseminated throughout the decades: the fear of disorder and protest, the tiresome negative propaganda circulated about the “red” political parties and about the opposition, and the traumatic memory of the civil war, with the well-worn theory that it could happen again.

It’s true that from underneath there was a powerful social pressure that, exerted by associations of neighbours, students, unions, Christian communities, intellectuals and professionals, tried to break the ultra-conservative positions, of the deep rooted government, that prevented the transition towards a system of liberties. But the project of the Political Reform Law conceived by Adolfo Suárez and Torcuato Fernández Miranda passed through the francoist courts, behind offering important concessions to the group of dignitaries that, around Manuel Fraga, ended up founding the Popular Alliance (Alianza Popular), and was approved in a referendum on December 15, 1976 with an elevated participation, 77% of the registered voters, even though in the Basque Country it remained at 54%, and 94% were affirmative votes, even though the democratic opposition had requested abstention. The promise of peace, order and stability was Suárez’s great trick to set the rhythm and the rules of the game and to mobilize a great number of people. With this help to the political reform, they ruled out the “democratic rupture” and a popular inquest to decide on the continuity of the Monarchy.

In the following two years, the story started to accelerate amid agreements, pacts, fundamental decisions and democratic participation. The process of legal reform ended up in the celebration of the general elections in June 1977, 40 years after the last elections when the Second Republic was able to preside. The passing of the constitution at the end of 1978 was accompanied by the Law of Amnesty, passed on October 15, 1977. Because of this law, and amongst other reasons, they renounced both the opening of investigations and the demand for justice regarding “crimes committed by civil servants against the exercising of people’s rights.” There are those who believe that this forgotten political pact of the past, stamped by the elites coming from Franco’s regime and the forces of the opposition, was indicative of Spanish democracy. In reality, the fear of the Armed Forces, the traumatic memory of the war, and the repression conditioned the public voice and political culture (or rather lack thereof) of millions of citizens. At that moment, the stage was dominated by the economic crisis, social conflicts, the terrorism of both the Basque ETA and of the extreme right, and the threat of military involution. This democratic process was based on the deals and negotiations of the political elite with the left and right parties for rigid structures and closed lists that did not encourage the affiliation or participation of civil society. The majority of the people accepted this and the dissident voices could not advance by other means because they did not have the available resources either.

The consolidation of democracy since the socialist triumph in the elections of October 1982 brought enormous benefits to Spanish society. This lead to the development of the autonomous model, the expansion of the welfare state (with fiscal politics of the redistribution of wealth), the integration of Spain in the European institutions and the supremacy of civil power over the military. Militarism occurred throughout history and, in spite of the existence of ETA, violence became a legacy of the dictatorship that democracy has not been able to destroy. This violence is no longer a vehicle of political action between us.

But it would soon be confirmed that Spanish democratization and modernization was accompanied by high doses of corrupt practices, speculation, fraud, and private negotiations at the expense of tax payers by those who didn’t want to put a stop to the governments or the political parties. The parties, on the other hand, were surrounded by friends and loyal people who defended the leader and his own interests. They seldom came up with a plan of coherent decisions destined to last.

The political, social, economic and cultural evolution of the last three decades constitutes the major period of stability and liberty of the contemporary history of Spain. Little or nothing remains of the romantic and adventurous vision of the foreign travellers who, until not many decades ago, saw Spain as a preindustrial territory distanced from Europe. It was a country saddled between the tradition of a few distinct regions and the modernity of others, obstinate in its backwardness and incapable of overcoming its traumatic history. Around the middle of the 20th century Gerald Brenan still described it as an “enigmatic and disconcerting” territory.

Paradoxically, when democracy appeared the most absent, after leaving behind the most disastrous parts of the authoritarian legacy of Franco’s regime, new coercions and threats made us doubt our political model. Some of the powers that be prevent us from searching and freely investigating our violent past. This prevents the political, legal and moral reparations of the victims of the civil war and of the dictatorship. Many politicians, in addition to not doing anything to face this, show a cynical attitude towards the corruption that implicates them, proud of the protection that they exert on their electorate. We citizens are very distant from the places of political decision and the political parties concentrate power excessively within their leaders and closest friends. Nobody seems willing to launch the changes and reforms that better the quality of our democracy, place the democratic institutions above the corporative and biased interests, and strengthen civil society. That’s the way things are.

literature Spain

The Sea Within Me

Translated by Liz Rogers.

This translation is a selection of poems taken from a larger collection. To my knowledge, the poetry of Eduardo Gener Cuadrado has never before been translated. It follows that the process of selecting is of supreme importance; after all, we want this selection to be representative of his whole body of work. The book of poems in question is divided thematically into three parts; the first section deals with the sea, the second with his ‘land’ experience, and the third with his Catholic faith.

Source text: Eduardo Gener Cuadrado, El mar que llevo adentro. [Jerez de la Frontera]: Jerez Industrial, 1964.

“In memoriam”
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado

10 years now and a bitter slime
inside us, over your still remains.
God is smiling, “oh, what a shame”,
facing your soul of honey and lime.

10 years, José Alfonso de Gabriel.
You with Him and us with this pain.
Each day that passes the woe does not wane,
we with you but you with Him, meanwhile.

Winding down the cyclone of leaps and of bounds
when in your youth, svelte and profound
God claimed it to tell you: my fellow,

to give you as much as His essence contains;
the soul of all souls, the plain of all plains;
though you go with Him, we still say “hello”.

“I embody it”
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado

Frosted sea glass
crackles over the wave:
skin of the sea, my body.

Life’s hot sweat
in this slimy ruin
of the dead, is now diluted.

The taste, it bites,
of mislaid gold in
rusting treasure chests.

The sea in me
so acutely I feel
that it seems to dissolve away.

“A fog in the Strait!”
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado

The monstrosity, Gibraltar’s giant snout:
it laps the ocean’s salty water up.

In Algeciras, the tariff arabesque
makes its way from Ceuta; all the while,
a fog drifts down, judicious, through the Strait:

She wears a suit of fine-spun silken grey,
her décolletage left out exposed to view;
her skirt extends, the frilling ruffles flounce
(with fingertips she picks it up to keep
from swelling, the hemline against the floor azure);
below, her pretty little silk chopines
reign down, drizzled with silver lining; silent,
her cunning derides the dangers, laughing.

The glossy swordfish and steely urchins tossed
by fierce waves and surf of such a narrows;
and Tarifa to Tangier, the tariff arabesque.

And the monstrous Gibraltar’s giant snout:
still laps the ocean’s salty water up.

“The Four Elements, my lady and I”
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado

Dirt, mud and sand:
your foot sinks
Leaves me marked

Blue deep:
mermaid dives
‘Tis you, my thirst

III

Heavy space:
I lie within
Your skin

Inside you:
an ardent flame
I remain

“Halcyon”
By Eduardo Gener Cuadrado

Facing the Gate of San Isidoro
the Virgin of Loreto alone,
the gilded air is full of Her essence:
that verse from the sonnet has flown.

news politics Spain

The Garzon case

Translated by Alanna Jardine.

The following three articles were found on the El Pais website, they are in regards to three cases open against one of Spain’s most formidable judges, Baltasar Garzón. Garzón has been involved in many high profile cases, notably including the extradition of the Chilean dictator General Pinochet as well as charges of genocide against Argentines for the atrocities committed against Spanish nationals. His more recent work has been to help the victims’ families whose relatives were killed or ‘disappeared’ by the Franco regime. However, this investigation has brought about mixed feelings in Spain: while the victims’ families have expressed their desire for the probe and their support for Garzón, others feel that he has overstepped his boundaries in initiating such an undertaking.

Source texts: “Familiares de víctimas del franquismo deciden concentrarse a diario en apoyo del juez Garzón” (later updated as “Las víctimas acudirán a protestar todos los días a la Audiencia”), “Explicar lo inexplicable”, and “El Supremo rectifica y convoca a la prensa española para explicar las causas contra Garzón”.

Families of Franco’s Victims Decide to Congregate Daily in Support of Judge Garzón: his lawyers have agree at meeting the meet every day at 8pm in front of the Audencia Nacional until the 22 of May
Natalia Junquera, Madrid 14/04/2010

“The people are very, very eager to go out to the streets”. Carlos Agüero, memory repression coordinator for the Industrial Relations department at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense, was found this morning with an abundance of family members of the victims’ of the Franco Regime asking them to assemble displays of their support for Judge Baltasar Garzón. An assembly, after it has busily convened all morning, has decided to congregate in front of the doors of the Audencia Nacional every day from now until May 22 at 8 o’clock, when the General Counsel of the Judiciary will gather to decide on the judges’ suspension. Meanwhile, followers organized a large demonstration of support for the judge, on the 24th, all across Spain. The families of Franco’s victims, many now older than 70, have marched throughout the mornings through the university campus becoming experts in legal issues. They know perfectly well the name of the Supreme Court judge and that he is ordering the case against Garzón by opening an investigation in which the people asked him to pursue. They speak with straightforwardness of the law of amnesty, of the European Human Rights Convention, of the United Nations declaration against the use of force. And yet they are not resigned. “We are sad but we are going to do all that we can for Judge Garzón”, explained a relative during the congregation.

The symbolic confinements, which will also be prolonged every day from 10-20 hours until the 22nd of May, they began today at 6pm with the presence of actress Pilar Bardem, actor Juan Diego Botto, writer Rosa Regás, representative Joan Herrera, and reporter Miriam Lagoa. The symbolic confinement ended today with a new assembly outlining some organizational aspects for support acts for Judge Garzón. Tomorrow a new congregation will begin that will be repeated until May 22nd at 8 o’clock. Tomorrow, also at 8 o’clock, there will be a recital of poems by Civil War authors as well as a concert with Luis García Montero and Luis Pastor. The organizers will also begin to screen an uninterrupted documentary on themes related to historic memories. They have installed a ballot box to collect money and finance the performances all the while gaining firm support for the judge, already they have 100 more supporters.

But the mobilization of support for Garzón will not be a unique one. The students of Universidad Complutense have been called to another rally to express their support for the cleric of the institution, Carlos Berzosa, who has given university facilities over to hold events in support of the Audenica Nacional Judge. Carlos Agüero explains that Berzosa has been denounced by the extreme right-wing pseudosindicato group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands).

Editorial: Explaining the Inexplicable: The Supreme Court calls to the foreign press to justify their Decisions about Garzón

The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court has used a procedure so far unprecedented in their practice and customs to explain its actions against Judge Baltasar Garzón. Through the technical cabinet, the highest body of jurisdiction has convened a meeting to which correspondents of foreign mass media have been invited in order to explain the legal aspects and motivations of the three cases against Garzón.

Aside from the bizarre nature of such a meeting, it was conspicuous that only foreign journalists convened. Why were Spanish journalists, who usually cover legal informational, discriminated against and not called to cover the high profile cases? Perhaps it was considered that the foreign press is not sufficiently informed or do they have poor professional preparation in order to understand the intricacies of the Spanish justice system. If a court decides to disclose certain aspects of its activity, which it considers insufficiently clarified – something questionable in its self, since the court speaks for their orders and judgments – in no case would it make sense to choose who can and cannot lead the coverage of the trial. But the Second Chamber of the Supreme court has to apply such an obscure and strange formula for the issue of jurisdiction, as explained by the informative press briefing, also the orders and decisions of Judge Garzón are unclear and pose compression problems for everyone, foreign and Spanish.

Regarding the proceedings against Garzón for crimes against the Franco regime, it is not only the procedural aspects that generate concern in much of Spanish society and abroad: it is the root of the issue in the case. The procedural legal aspects may be explained to the journalists, but it will remain incomprehensible to the families of victims of Franco who still lie unidentified in mass graves to criminally prosecute a judge who has tried to satisfy their need for the truth.

Instead of calling an absurd press conference to explain something that does not have an explanation, the Supreme Court should respond by taking under its’ wing the demands for identification and exhumation of mass graves where victims of Franco still lie. And the Supreme Court should be at the forefront of this task, instead of persecuting Garzón for taking up this case.

Supreme Court rectified and calls Spanish press to explain the cases against Garzón: the high court had only informed foreign press of the irregularities of the proceedings against the judge
Julio M Lazaro, Madrid, 14/04/2010.

The Supreme Court has corrected the call to an unprecedented informative briefing for correspondents of foreign media in Spain to explain the peculiarities of the three cases open against Audiencia Nacional Judge Baltasar Garzón, which has cause a flood of protests in the international press. The high court has released a public notice today inviting the national press to participate.
In the letter, the Supreme Court says that neither the President nor the judges who make up the Second Chamber of the court are the authors of the announcement, but all responded to the wishes expressed by some of the guest correspondents. The notice says it was the press office of the high court who had established an informal meeting with a lawyer from the Technical Office of the Supreme Court, attached to the Second Chamber. The press release concludes: “Obviously, this informal meeting can be attended by all national media journalists who want to.”

analysis health politics Spain

Grandchildren of the Transition

Post author By Jon
Post date May 1, 2010
No Comments on Grandchildren of the Transition

Translated by Jeanette Anderson

For my final project I wanted to do something related to the medical field because of my interest in becoming a medical translator. So I went onto Spain’s Ministry of Health website to see what kind of materials were available and I came across this research presentation related to youth drug use and abuse in Spain. It talks about cultural issues that are related to the current situation in Spain, as well as historical changes that have taken place over time and have had a direct impact on this situation.

Source text: Salir de marcha y consumo de drogas. Plan nacional sobre drogas. Madrid: Ministerio del Interior.

Grandchildren of the Transition

Young people today have been socialized by a generation who grew up during the democratic transition in Spain. This generation of people, who are now between the ages of 35 and 50, entered into adulthood pursuing certain dreams, such as personal and individual freedom, because they were so repressed by the ruling morality of the time when they were growing up. There was also this idea of taking different substances and indulging in different pleasures that Spain, as a country behind the times, saw in its neighbouring European countries. These ideals that today’s adults share have evidently been passed onto their children, and young people today have taken these ideals and given them a meaning of their own.

The generation of young people from the transitional period has given rise to very tolerant and permissive parents and teachers because they want to make it easier for today’s youth to have a lot of life experiences, which is something they fought for but were somehow denied. The parents of today’s youth have tried to overcome their parents’ moral prejudices which made them repressive and intolerant towards aspects related to sexuality, recreation and having fun. Andrés Sopeña published two books that give us a better picture of the era in which the parents of today’s youth were socialized.

However, this tolerance for young people’s actions when it comes to sex, recreation and having fun also has its limitations and paradoxes. To be young, according to the adults, is to be ready for fun and excitement, and experimentation . This same concept of youth is in itself a reflection of reality. According to official organizations, this category encompasses anyone between the ages of 15 and 29 years old. It’s likely that this age range seems quite extensive and we have probably never had the definition of ‘youth’ extend quite this far in the history of mankind. We could also go as far as to say that adolescence begins at 13. Despite all of this, if we consider that someone is no longer ‘young’ once they have passed through a serious of stages that Gil Calvo proposes, many young Spaniards would still be considered ‘young’ even though they are already in their 30’s. Calvo proposes that “someone who is physiologically mature and still does not have a steady, productive job, a spouse, their own home or dependants is considered young.” (1984). In fact, the concept of youth has not changed much since the age of feudalism, when the youngest sons of the royal families, who were excluded from the family wealth and any decision-making, were considered young, regardless of their age. Many of them were allowed to live pleasant yet dissolute lives, dedicated to courting and pleasing the romantic desires of many bored ladies . (Turner 1989).

With regards to recreation, some social scientists consider that today’s youth is the result of the adult population’s imagination coming to life. (Comas, 1995, 1996). The adults’ attitudes are not passively tolerant; they encourage the young people to have fun. They tell them to go out at night and to go after this idea of freedom which includes being spontaneous and daring. They even allow them to be disobedient, they excuse them from their responsibilities, they encourage them to drink , and when they start acting like narcissists, which is common for their age, they make excuses for them. The parents and teachers of this generation, as well as the media, have all contributed to developing and giving off this idea of what it means to be young, which is very much like the current phenomenon.

The way in which Gil Calvo expresses the paradox of young people today is very descriptive. He states that the adults insist that they be disobedient, in such a way that when the young people go out at night to overstep the boundaries, they are actually obeying their parents’ wishes. But this kind of obedience is not exactly what the adults had in mind. However, the young people are not passive either. They have taken the adults’ ideals and given them a meaning of their own. It is true that this gives way to a “double bind,” as Gil Calvo proposes, because during the week the young people are obedient at school or at work, and during the weekend they are disobedient, partially because the adults encourage them to be that way. When it comes to obedience and disobedience, young people contribute to and develop their own ideals and strategies for life. In the adults’ idea of fun, recreational drug use and abuse was not what they had in mind. They fear heroine, which wreaked havoc in their generation, but they are not overly alarmed when it comes to recreational drugs, either because they don’t know enough about them or because they value their own experiences from when they were young and used to do drugs. What they don’t realize is that drug use is changing and becoming commonplace in the recreational lives of many young people today; something which is only made possible by the generous financial support of their parents. Recreational drug abuse is the evil consequence of extreme partying , which is also the focus in young people’s minds. What we have here is a paradox of the adults. On the one hand, they have promoted this idea of what it means to be young, and on the other, they are surprised when they find out the consequences. The adults find it hard to understand and conceptualize some of these changes, which is something they need to do in order to take over their role again and recreate the process.

The New Drug Culture

Parties, music and dancing are all key elements that define youth in Europe and in Spain, and something that has taken centre stage in all this is drug use, including both legal and illegal substances. Young people, as part of the social structure, rely on these drugs, use them on various occasions and therefore they take what society has created for them, and it helps them achieve their goals. Drugs are readily available , just as there are a wide range of recreational activities available . Young people have been socialized to believe that fun should be taken to the maximum; an ideal that has been developed through the various generations that overcame limits and repression to achieve this. Therefore, going out partying is not something that the young people invented, but what they do is use this socially acceptable freedom that they have to develop their own language, identity and strategies.

What is happening in Spain is very similar to what is happening in the rest of Europe and in other industrialized countries. Shapiro (1999) analyzes a substantial change in the role of drug use in social life, basing the study on the situation in England. He states that compared to studies carried out in the 70’s, drugs are no longer something that people use to escape from ordinary life; drugs have become a part of daily life. This change is fundamental to the growing importance of nightlife, partying (club culture) and the new trend of raves, where a lot of young people are developing their own new fun culture.

Recreation, which has always been important to young people, is now the focus of social research. In recent years, in England, Germany and Holland, different studies have been carried out on the connection between young people, recreation and drug use (Klee 1998, South 1999, Tossmann 1996, 1997). A longitudinal study carried out in Manchester (Measham et al. 1998) presents the importance of drug use in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood . It concludes that drug use is becoming acceptable as a part of recreational activity, not only by the ones who do drugs, but also by the non-drug-users as well. This situation shows how recreational drug use is becoming more commonplace.

One of the characteristics of these different studies is that they are confined to local and national areas. However, we must also keep in mind that in this day and age, there is a real interconnectivity between the different European countries. Through cyber communication or at recreational facilities across Europe, thousands of young people become cultural ambassadors and diffuse cultural interests.