Coral Castillejo's Piece of News

Article: Gwyneth Paltrow makes gastronomic tour of Spain

American Actress Gwyneth Paltrow made a tour of Spain with four friends to become acquainted with the country's culture and best food, a trip that will become a television series entitled "Spain ... on the Road Again." The series, which currently airs on PBS in the United States, will begin to be shown next week in Spain on the Viajar (Travel) channel. The network's chief, Gema Alcaide, promoted the series on Wednesday at a press conference in Toledo, where Paltrow started her tour. Appearing with Alcaide was the head of publisher Temas de Hoy, Ana Lafuente, who announced the production of the Spanish edition of "Spain...A Culinary Road Trip" by Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow, which was published to coincide with the premiere in Spain of the TV program. On her trip, the Hollywood star was accompanied by Batali, one of the best-known U.S. chefs, Spanish actress Claudia Bassols and gastronomy critic Mark Bittman. Ángel Díaz, one of the promoters of the series, who was also at the press conference, said that Paltrow enthusiastically offered to participate in the project, and he emphasized that she was the "ideal" person to carry it out because she loves Spain and wants to increase knowledge of the country in the United States. The actress always has said that she loves Spain, since when she was a teenager she lived for a part of a year with a family in Talavera de la Reina, near Toledo, and - of course - learned some Spanish at that time. With the country rhythms of Willie Nelson and Spanish guitarist Antonio Carmona playing in the car, the four friends travelled through 10 Spanish regions at the direction of well-known restauranteurs like Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda and Juan Mari Arzak. The four also learned about the country's rich history and cultural heritage and experienced some of the popular culture, as well as making some interesting stops, like the time they visited the leader of the musical group REM, Michael Stipe, a friend of the actress, in Barcelona.

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Article: State Budget Slashes Spending Across the Board

The budget approved last Friday can be summed up in one word: cuts. In fact this year Spain has seen its biggest ever budget reduction since the end of the Franco regime. None of the Government departments has been spared, with an average reduction in funding of 16.9 per cent, aimed at saving some 27.3 billion euros in 2012. The Spanish Government’s goal is to reduced the current deficit from 8.51 per cent of the GDP at the end of 2011 to 5.3 per cent by the end of this year. Announcing the budget plan to raise this 27.2 billion euros, Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro promised that “priority” funds would not be touched such as pensions and unemployment benefits. Otherwise funds are being slashed across the board. Even the budget set aside for the Ministry of Health will be reduced by 13.7 per cent (and the 283 million euros earmarked for aid for those dependent on others disappears altogether). The budget for Education, meanwhile is going down by 21.2 per cent, that is, a reduction of 830 million euros. The Foreign Ministry will the suffer the most with a 54.4 per cent cut in government spending. The brunt of this will be borne by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development which loses out on 594 million euros, along with the Water Fund 125 million less) and the Development Promotion Fund (670 million less). The 7.4 per budget cuts in the Employment Ministry will affect active employment policies (1.5 billion), that is, projects to retrain unemployed workers. The 67 million euros for the Immigrants Integration Programme has also been wiped out. Malaga The funds reserved for the province of Malaga are around 50 per cent less than the previous year’s, with some 376 million euros. The breakdown includes a sum of 12.5 million euros for the rail test circuit in the Vega de Antequera, expected to cost a total of 400 million. A surprise in the figures has come in the form of 682,000 euros for a viability study to extend the Cercanías railway line as far as Marbella. The scheme has already been considered by the Junta de Andalucía and the regional authority has offered the central Government the studies and surveys it has already carried out at a cost of 13 million euros.

Easter Interaction

Interaction

Student A: You are a foreigner in Spain for Easter.  Ask a local what you should do, see, and eat while you are here.

Student B: You are a Spaniard.  Suggest things that the foreigner can do, see, and eat while he/she is in Spain for Easter.  If you’re not from the Marbella/Málaga area, try to convince him/her to go to your hometown instead.

Easter Interaction

• Promenade/Boardwalk
• What’s going on in the streets?
• Christian country / Catholic country
• Why are they wearing pointy hoods?
• Penitents
• They want to ask for something.
• Where can I go to eat traditional food?
• I recommend going to Ronda.
• Climbing a hill
• It seems like the image of Christ is walking.
• You should eat torrijas, a traditional dessert made during Easter.
• Can I buy them in cafés?
• Yes, but the homemade ones are better.  If you want, I can make some for you.
• My mother’s are the best.
• Te invito = (it’s) my treat, I’ll buy this round, I’m buying
• This is my first trip to Spain. / This is my first time in Spain.
• Can you tell me when the most important events happen during Easter week?
• The three most important days are the first Sunday, Friday, and the next Sunday.
• Are there any traditional foods eaten during Easter.
• We usually eat tortilla de bacalao, an omelette made with cod/fish.
• How do you make it?
• You use cod/fish, eggs, onions, and parsley/herbs.  You have to mix everything together and fry it.
• Are there any rules I should follow?
• You can’t eat meat on Fridays.

Article: Easter Week in Andalucía

This coming week is Semana Santa, the week that vies only with the annual summer fairs for the position of the most important event on the Andalusian calendar.

From this Sunday streets in cities, towns and villages will be filled with the sound of marching bands, the smell of incense and the sight of penitents in their famous pointed hoods escorting their images of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

The larger the place the greater the spectacle and cities such as Seville and Malaga boast as many as seven or eight processions every night, with hundreds of participants in each.

Residents and visitors prepared to battle with the crowds can view more than 50 processions in the city of Malaga, from the more cheerful Palm Sunday expedition of Jesus on the donkey to the solemn events of Good Friday. As many as 300 bearers can be seen carrying the heavy images on their intricately decorated ‘tronos’ bathed in gold and silver and covered in flowers.

Highlights in Malaga include the presence of Antonio Banderas (his own procession takes place on the evening of Palm Sunday), the popular Cautivo with its thousands of followers and the lively Gitanos processions on Monday, and the Virgen de las Penas with her flower-covered mantle on Tuesday, among many others.

In other parts of the province the atmosphere is no less dramatic, although on a smaller, often more comfortable, scale. Larger towns such as Marbella, Ronda and Antequera have processions every day while celebrations in other municipalities are limited to Palm Sunday Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.