HISPANISMS

To build castles in Spain: to daydream or make plans that will never come true (Oxford dictionaries)

In the same way we are interested in the language and culture of English speaking countries, there is a longtime tradition of Hispanic studies in the USA and in the UK.
We can remember the cooperation of the International Brigades with the Republican cause during the Spanish Civl War and bear in mind that numerous intellectuals went to the USA in exile after the civil war to teach at American universities.

Upon the death of former Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, historian Paul Preston has been asked to write his obituary for The Guardian. This is a good excuse to devote some lines to the cultural contact between Spain and Anglo-Saxon countries.

Read Preston's article here

Paul Preston (Liverpool 1946) is a specialist in the Spanish Civil War and is the author of the biographies of General Franco and King Juan Carlos. 

Other famous Anglo-Saxon historians are Ian Gibson (Dublin,1939), famous for his biographies of Lorca, Dalí, Buñuel and Machado; Gabriel Jackson (New York, 1921), who lived in Barcelona for 26 years and is an authority on the Second Republic and the Civil War; Hugh Thomas (Windsor, 1931), famous for his studies on Spain's Golden Age, the discovery of America, the conquest of Mexico, and the slave trade; and Raymond Carr (Bath,1919), a specialist in Franco's dictatorship and the following period.

The fascination with Spain has a long tradition, dating back to the 19th century or during the Spanish Civil War. We can mention here the travel book The Bible in Spain, subtitled "or the Journey, Adventures, and Imprisonment of an Englishman in an Attempt to Circulate the Scriptures in the Peninsula" written in England by George Borrow (1843). Or Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) and Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell.(1938).

I would like to finish this entry with a special mention to the American author, essayist and journalist Barbara Probst Solomon (New York, 1928). She was one of the protagonists of a strange story which was the origin of Fernando Colomo's movie Los años bárbaros (1989): in 1948, Solomon and Barbara Mailer (the sister of the writer Norman Mailer) aided Paco Benet in the rescue of two Spanish students being held in the Franco gulag near Madrid, where they were used as slave labour to build Francisco Franco's future tomb, The Valley of the Fallen/Valle de los Caídos. One of the students, Nicolas Sanchez Albornoz was the son of the historian Claudio Sanchez Albornoz, the president of the Spanish Republic in Exile. Solomon and Paco Benet, brother of the Madrid novelist Juan Benet, spent five years together, mainly in Paris, where Benet and Solomon edited the resistance magazine Peninsula together. She was a correspondent for El País and has been awarded the 25th Francisco Cerecedo Prize by the Association of European Journalists in Spain.

8th MARCH - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Women hold up half the sky (Chinese proverb)

Every year on March 8, millions of women and men around the world celebrate International Women's Day. This day is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the progress made to advance women's equality, to assess the challenges facing women in contemporary society, to consider future steps to enhance the status of women and, of course, to celebrate the gains made in these areas.

Women on all continents, often divided by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate International Women's Day. Rallies, marches, fairs, receptions, shows, films and debates are held around the world to celebrate the achievements in gender equality.

Some historical facts about this celebration:

•  Women from clothing and textile factories staged a protest against abusive working conditions on 8 March 1857 in New York City.
• The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.
• Among other relevant historic events, IWD commemorates the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (New York, 1911): over 140 women, most of them young immigrants, lost their lives when a  fire took place in this textile factory in the heart of Manhattan because of the lack of safety measures.
•  The colour purple of the garnments made in this factory has become the symbol of women’s fight for freedom.
• The demand for shorter hours and higher wages soon became one with the demand for the right to vote.
• New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote (1893).
• The first country in Europe to introduce women's suffrage was Finland (1907) and the last one Lietchenstein (1984).
• In Spain, this right was first recognised in the 1931 Constitution, issued during the Second Republic. 

                                                       

You can watch the following one-minute video issued by the UN; it will give you a quick overview of the history of women's suffrage.

         Why is this celebration necessary?

• About 800 women die every day in childbirth.
• 39 million -  Number of girls worldwide who are not in school, 54% of the total number of children
• 14m girls — some as young as eight years old — will be married against their will in 2014.
• An estimated 1.2m children are trafficked into slavery each year; 80% are girls.
• Instruments of genocide such as sexual violence and rape are often directed at women and girls.
• Girls are actually less likely to reach adulthood because of gender discrimination. Tens of millions of girls have been aborted, killed, undernourished, or terribly neglected due to their gender
• More than 16.4 million women in the world have HIV/AIDS. In some regions, girls are HIV-positive at a rate 5 times that of boys.

         The following video will confirm the data above:

   Finally, this is The Guardian's proposal of the top 100 women who managed to break the 'glass ceiling', organised in categories according to their jobs or areas of influence.

Read the article and scroll down to have a look at the different categories:

THE OSCARS 2014 EDITION

It is difficult to find something that has not been said about the Oscars yet. But are you familiar with the history of these awards?

The Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars, is an annual ceremony which honours merit in the film industry. It was first held in 1929, and televised for the first time in 1953. Only the 1938 floods in Los Angeles or the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 postponed the ceremony for a few days.

Legend has it that the name "Oscar" comes from a secretary in the studios who made reference to the statuette's reminding her of her "Uncle Oscar".

This is the link to the Oscar's official website

And  here you can watch some strange facts about these awards:

As important as the Awards themselves is the Red Carpet. It was Italian designer Georgio Armani who realised the entrance to the venue was the perfect catwalk to have his designs publicised. In recent years, the red carpet has become the right place to see stars and celebrities wearing the latest fashion in clothes, makeup and jewellery. Watch this edition's red carpet here below!!

And finally, last but not least, here is the list of this edition's winners:


Best picture :"12 Years a Slave" 
Directing: Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity"
Actor in a leading role:  Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"

Actor in a supporting role: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"

Actress in a leading role:  Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"

Actress in a supporting role:  Lupita Nyong'o - "12 Years a Slave"

Foreign language film:  "The Great Beauty" (Italy)

Documentary:  "20 Feet From Stardom"Music (original song):  "Let it Go" - "Frozen"

The highlight of the ceremony, presented by stand-up comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres, took place when she gathered some of the most famous stars at the ceremony and improvised a selfie.

This photograph has beaten a new record, as it has become the most retweeted picture ever.

REMEMBERING PETE SEEGER

American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger died last January aged 95. Born in New York, he was a prolific songwriter; his best-known songs include "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" or "If I Had a Hammer". Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists) that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He became a member of the Communist Party USA, which he left years later, and he was also a fervent supporter of the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. He popularised the song "Jarama Valley", which we know as "La vall del riu vermell". This song is an old folk song that dates back to the late 19th century; its original name was "Red River Valley" but the lyrics were changed by American composer and folk singer Woody Guthrie to fit the purposes of the International Brigades who came to Spain to fight in the Civil War (1936-1919).

Here you can read more about him

BARCELONA AMONG THE 10 SMARTEST CITIES IN EUROPE

Which European cities are doing the most innovative things with infrastructure, technology, and entrepreneurship?

As you already know our city does not appear very often on the international media. However, this time Barcelona has been chosen the fourth smartest city in Europe after Copenhaguen, Amsterdam and Vienna.
Congratulations!

Read more here

NELSON MANDELA DEAD AT 95

 “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”  NELSON MANDELA (1918-2013)

Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on 18 July 1918 and was given the name of Nelson by one of his teachers. His father Henry was a respected advisor to the Thembu royal family.

ANC involvement

Mandela was educated at the University of Fort Hare and later at the University of Witwatersrand, qualifying in law in 1942. He became increasingly involved with the African National Congress (ANC), a multi-racial nationalist movement trying to bring about political change in South Africa.

In 1948, the National Party came to power and began to implement a policy of 'apartheid', or forced segregation on the basis of race. The ANC staged a campaign of passive resistance against apartheid laws.

In 1952, Mandela became one of the ANC's deputy presidents. By the late 1950s, faced with increasing government discrimination, Mandela, his friend Oliver Tambo and others began to move the ANC in a more radical direction. In 1956, Mandela went on trial for treason. The court case lasted five years, and ended with Mandela being acquitted. In the photograph below, Mandela with Oliver Tambo.

Sharpeville

In March 1960, 69 black anti-apartheid demonstrators were killed by police at Sharpeville. The government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC. In response, the organisation abandoned its policy of non-violence and Mandela helped establish the ANC's military wing 'Umkhonto we Sizwe' or 'The Spear of the Nation'. He was appointed its commander-in-chief and travelled abroad to receive military training and to find support for the ANC. In the photograph below, Mandela leaving after a  meeting with the ANC.

Life imprisonment

On his return he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963, Mandela and other ANC leaders were tried for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. The following year Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held in Robben Island prison, off the coast of Cape Town, and later in Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland. During his years in prison he became an international symbol of resistance to apartheid. Below, an aerial photograph of Robben Island.

Mandela became one of the most famous political prisoners of all time and appartheid started to be regarded as an infamy internationally. The song 'Free Nelson Mandela', performed by The Specials, was recorded in London and soon became very popular, especially in Africa.  Unlike most protest songs, the track is upbeat and celebratory, drawing on musical influences from South Africa.

In 1990, the South African government responded to internal and international pressure and released Mandela, at the same time lifting the ban against the ANC. In 1991 Mandela became the ANC's leader. You can see a photograph of Mandela with his secon wife Winnie the day he came out of prison.

A respected global statesman

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with FW de Klerk, then president of South Africa, in 1993. The following year South Africa held its first multi-racial election and Mandela was elected its first black president.
The film Invictus is a recreation of the racial tensions lived in South Africa right after Nelson Mandela became President of the nation. In the photograph below Nelson Mandela greets François Pienaar, captain of the South Africa rugby union team, the Springboks, in 1995. In the movie, their parts were respectively played by Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

In 1998, Mandela was married for the third time to Graça Machel, the widow of the president of Mozambique. Mandela's second wife, Winnie, whom he married in 1958 and divorced in 1996, remains a controversial anti-apartheid activist.

In 1997 he stepped down as ANC leader and in 1999 his presidency of South Africa came to an end.

In the photograph below, Mandela vists his cell in Robben Island in 1994, on the 4th anniversary of his excarceration.

In 2004, Mandela announced his retirement from public life, although his charitable work continued. On 29 August 2007, a permanent statue to him was unveiled in Parliament Square, London.

He died on 5 December 2013, aged 95. His funerals have been a celebration of his life by the South African people. In the following article, the pretigious Ugandan journalist Patience Akumu reflects on Mandla's legacy.

Read the article

Finally, watch the obituary video released by CNN 

Mandela’s name will be forever linked with the struggle against the oppression of his people and the overcoming of the apartheid regime. His support to the Truth and Reconciliation Comission, designed to cure the wounds inflicted by appartheid, was an invitation to forget hatred and look for common ground to build up a new society.

Mandela's example and his political legacy of non-violence and the rejection of all forms of racism will long remain an inspiration for people around the world.

SELFIE, BELFIE AND DRELFIE

SELFIE: OXFORD DICTIONARY WORD OF THE YEAR 2013




Last year Oxford University Press split its word of the year honors between the US and the UK, but for 2013 there's one word to rule them all — and it is "selfie." The term beat out contenders like twerk, bitcoin, and binge-watch, due largely to its remarkable uptick in usage. According to research conducted by Oxford Dictionaries editors, the use of selfie has increased an incredible 17,000 percent since the same time last year.

While the term has certainly come into the mainstream over the past 12 months, its origins actually go much further back. The Oxford University Press discovered the term used in an Australian forum posting in 2002, where it was used to describe a photo the poster took of themselves after a drunken fall. Despite earning the year's top honors, however, selfie is oddly not included in the Oxford English Dictionary itself. It is part of the online Oxford Dictionaries website, however, and is being considered for future inclusion in the OED as well.

This isn't the first time that technology's heavy influence on popular culture has resulted in a word of the year selection. In 2005 the US word of the year was "podcast," while last last year's US honors went to none other than the venerable GIF (which stands for 'graphics interchange format').

Click on this link and you will find the origins and meaning of this word, others derived from it, like belfie or drelfie, and the ranking of shortlisted words for this year.

Read more here

The BBC also devoted some lines to this new word. Check about the convenience of selfies at funerals or find out what the Obama girls and the Pope have in common!!
Read this BBC article and don't miss the video