English Language Broadcast

An era comes to an end in the city of Madrid as the last surviving video rental store will be closing its doors for the last time. 'Ficciones de cine' was once a place cherished by locals, but now only a few nostalgic or movie enthusiasts have been keeping the business barely alive. Before it's final goodbye on July 31st, we visited the store to learn more about its history and impact in the community, accompanied by its current owner, Marcia Ceburo. During our visit we also had the chance to speak with Dani Gascó, owner of the last video rental store in Valencia: Estromboli. Escuchar audio

Only twenty years ago, there were less than 100 Iberian Lynxes in Spain... Now the latest census shows that there are more than 2000 specimens of Iberian Lynx in the Peninsula. This extraordinary improvement means that the species is no longer considered "endangered" and is now categorized as "vulnerable". This was made possible thanks to the efforts of several organizations and projects that promote its recovery and conservation, one of which is LIFE Lynxconnect. To tell us more about what they have done throughout these past two decades and what is left to be done, we spoke with Guillermo Lopez. Also in this broadcast, we hear a report abuot the review of the Moroccan family code by Laura Valentina Cortés Sierra, from Radio 5. Escuchar audio

In the 20th century, emmigration became a big part of Spanish culture, partly due to the difficulties of living under a dictatorship dictatorship. In the 70s, Spanish professionals who had emigrated to the United States decided to create a network between. A network that celebrated its 43rd annual congress this month in Madrid. In today's broadcast, we speak with Helena Talaya Manso, current president of La Asociación de Doctores Españoles en Estados Unidos (ALDEEU), which hopes to soon expand to profesionals not only from Spain, but also the Americas. After that, an external collaboration from Elsa Yasbek, who reports on the participation of Middle Eastern athletes in these upcoming Olympic Games. Escuchar audio

The international clasical theater festival of Almagro is held every year during the month of July in the Castillian town of Almagro. Although it originally focused on the Spanish Golden Age, as it grew internationally it started to include western and eastern theater plays. At the beginnig of this year it was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the fine arts by the Ministry of Culture, as it is considered to be one of the most, if not the most, important classical theater festivals in the world. This year it opened on the 4th of July and will run until the 28th. To tell more abuout tin this broadcast, we are joined by Tania Swayne, manager of the festival. Escuchar audio

Back on the 26th of June the provincial government of Leon took the first step towards what has been dubbed "Lexit", that is, the regional independence of the provinces of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca and their constitution as the 18th autonomous region in Spain. The motion approved is not binding yet... But it is a reflection of the disappointment of the Leones society with their regional Castilian government. To tell us about the historical, social and political background behind "leonesismo", the movement that demands the regional autonomy of the "País Leonés", on this broadcast, we spoke with Vera Colwell, from the association "Conceyu País Llyones" and with Eduardo Lopez, from "leonesista" party ALANTRE. Escuchar audio

Bad Gyal, Rosalia, C. Tangana, Quevedo, La Zowi... These are some of the biggest namesin the Spanish music indutry right now and they are also some of the main names in urban music. In the las decade, this style has blown up nationally and internationally and that is the reason why the Spanish Society of Authors and Editors, SGAE, decided to organize and exhibition to celebrate their music. With more than 100 objects, the exhibition showcases some of the most iconic pieces from more than 30 artists, including the dress and helmets worn by Rosalía in her "Motomami World Tour", the jackets worn by Quevedo in his DQE tour or the pink trenchcoat worn by Bad Gyal in the music video for her song "Blin Blin". To learn more about this exhibition and the indutry of urban music in Spain, we spoke with Aïda Camprubí, one of the curators of "Urban music, pop and high culture". Escuchar audio

Comunitats Rurals Queer is a project that seeks to combat depopulation in small towns and offer help to LGBT asylum seekers in one fell swoop. Sergi Salva from the project explains how they help both refugees and the small town of Campdevànol through this initiative. We also speak to Verónica Laorden of Spain's Refugee Assistance Commision(CEAR) to learn about what assistance LGBT asylum seekers are entitled to in Spain, and the struggles of obtaining refugee status. Escuchar audio

The first day of the annual bull runs in Pamplona left 6 people injured (and one gored) on Sunday, which isn't entirely unprecendented. The San Fermín festival is known, above all, for the famous running of the bulls, which takes place every morning during the week of festivities. In today's broadcast, we speak with Íñigo Gómez, of the Pamplona City Council, about the bull runs and about everything else that makes the festival so unique. Escuchar audio

World Pride Day is celebrated on the 28th of June, but, here in Spain, a lot of the celebrations actually take place during the month of July instead. Within Spain's Pride period (out of sync with the rest of the world) here at the English Language Broadcast we're going to talk about LGBT rights and initiatives here in Spain. Starting by revisiting one of the more recent achievements in LGBT+ rights in Spain, 'la Ley Trans' (the Trans Law). This is a law that came into force in Spain over a year ago, and that caused — and continues to cause — quite the stir, with some political parties within Spain still making attempts to repeal it. We check in with the law over a year later alongside Oscar Rodríguez, of Spain's main LGBT organizations, the FEDLGTBI+ (La Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Trans, Bisexuales, Intersexuales y más). Escuchar audio

During the 80s a transition period was happening in Spain. The end of the dictatorship brought a new freedom to the Spanish people that led to movements like "La movida madrileña", influenced by punk and rock and with colourful and sometimes even carnoonish aesthetics. During these hectic times the capital of the country received the visit of one of the figures that matched the dynamism and vibrancy of the counter-cultural landscape. Andy Warhol arrived in Spain in 1983 on occasion of the exhibition "Pistolas, Cuchillos y Cruces" (pistols, knives and crosses) developed for the Gallery Fernando Vijande. Now, the Collection Suñol Soler in the museum Lázaro Galdiano organized an exhibition to remember the time Warhol visited Spain by the hand of Fernando Vijande. To tell us more about this visit and its impact on post-Francoist Spain, we visited the museum and spoke with Rodrigo Navia-Osorio Vijande, son of Fernando Vijande and president of the Colección Suñol Soler. Escuchar audio

The metro is a means of transport city-folk are now more than accustomed to, and in Madrid there are currently eleven lines and 302 stations! In today's broadcast, we're going to go back to the beginning of Madrid's metro, which opened in 1919. We'll learn about how it came through an exhibition about the architect that designed the first stations: Antonio Palacios. We're accompanied by Javier Garrido, tour guide of the exhibition Antonio Palacios: the architect of Metro. Escuchar audio

After the European elections, in which the rise of the far-right surprised many, and with the upcoming elections in France and in the US, on today's broadcast we analyze current international politics with Alberto Coll, international law professor in the DePaul University. Escuchar audio

Next month the 2024 Olympics will begin in Paris. This year 5250 will participate in the games, the same number as men. A success in terms of parity, especially if we think about 100 years ago... In the 1924 Olympics, also in Paris, only 136 women competed, compared tp more than 2900 men. For our country those games were particularly special. Rosa Torras and Lilí Alvarez were the first Spanish women in the Olympics, paving the way for all female athletes who came after them and in particular for the 173 women who are expected to participate in this year's Olympic games. Now, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first time Spanish women participated in the Olympics and to celebrate the figure of Lilí Alvarez. The photography festival Photoespaña, in collaboration with the Fundación Ortega Marañón, organized an exhibition showcasing the story of Lilí Álvarez, her achievements and influence, not only in sports but in culture. To learn more about the exhibition "La señorita: Lilí Álvarez and the beginnings of women's sports 1915 - 1936" we visited the Foundation Ortega Marañon and Spoke with curator, Lucía Lain. Escuchar audio

"Spain is different" was a slogan promoted by the Spanish government to appeal to the masses abroad during the Francoist dictatorship. But how different is Spain, really? In today's broadcast, we'll be talking to historian Nigel Townson, author of The Penguin History of Modern Spain. The book covers Spanish history from the 1898 disaster, in which Spain lost the last of its colonies, up until today. So, today we'll be discussing the book, looking into the roots of some of the issues we see in Spanish politics and society today, and answering the question: Is Spain really different? Escuchar audio

"To infinity and beyond" is the famous phrase from the 1995 movie Toy Story, the first fully computer animated feature length film. Now, we're more than accustomed to seeing films of this medium, but what do we really know about how they're made? What exactly does 'computer animated' mean? What lies beyond infinity? An exhibition titled 'The Science behind Pixar' is currently running in the CaixaForum in Madrid, and in today's broadcast, the director of CaixaForum Madrid Isabel Fuentes tells us about everything that goes into a production made by the studio. On today's broadcast we also learn about the American fellows, the first community of fellows of Spain's Teatro Real outside of Spain. Escuchar audio

The attrocities commited during the Francoist dictatorship are well known in Spain and abroad. On this broadcast we focus on one of those terrible episodes: the stolen children. Since the end of the Civil War in 1939 and well into the democratic period in the 90s, it is estimated that thousand of newborns were taken from their mothers and "adopted" by families loyal to the Francoist regime. Recently a law proposal was admitted in congres. It aims to provide resources and reparations to the families affected. To tell us about this law and the historical context in which this took place, we spoke with Arantxa Borrachero Mendívil, researcher and director of the project "Mujer y memoria" (Women and memory). Escuchar audio

The beaches of Malaga and Granada, the coast of Maresme in Barcelona, the island of La Concha in Guipuzcoa, the port of Valencia or the Bay of Alicante... These are all part of the almost 8 thousand kilometers of shoreline in Spain and they all have one thing in common: they have been given a "black flag" by the environmentalist confederation "Ecologistas en Acción". These flags are awarded every year to raise awareness about pollution and environmental mismanagement of the coasts of Spain. To tell us about the biggest problems they have encountered this year in the Spanish shoreline, on this broadcast we spoke with Ana Aldarias, spokesperson for Ecologistas en Accion. Escuchar audio

The feria del libro in Madrid is sadly coming to an end this weekend, but the literary spirit is not gone. On today's broadcast we tell you about the first free "litmag" (or literary magazine) published in Spain: The Madrid Review. To tell us about it we spoke with its founder and editor James Hartley. And after that, on Sunday the 16th, as the Feria comes to an end, a very special event will take place in three of the most emblematic literary places of the capital. The 3rd edition of "Bloomsday Madrid - Dublin" will bring James Joyce's "Ulysses" to the Cuesta de Moyano, the Retiro book fair and the Juanito bookstore in El Rastro. Susan Bolger, from Tourism Ireland told us about their plans. Escuchar audio

Last Thursday, Jose Manuel Albaresm, Spanish Foreign Affairs minister announced Spain's intention to intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. On this broadcast we analyze what this decision entails with Ana Maria Salinas de Frías, public international law professor in the University of Malaga and president of the Spanish association of international law and international relations professor. Escuchar audio

2023 marked the one hundreth anniversary of the death of Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla, known as the "painter of light" for the extraordinary way in which he reproduced light in his paintings. To celebrate his life and his work, the Sorolla year began back in February of 2023 and, throughout these months, events and exhibitions were organized in different parts on the world to remember the artist. Now, the Sorolla Museum, located in Madrid, in what used to be Sorolla's house, will be closing their Sorolla year with the exhibition "Sorolla en 100 objetos" (Sorolla in 100 objects), which aims to bring people closer to Sorolla not only as a painter, but as a person. To learn more about this exhibition, we visited the exhibition accompanied by Blanca de la Válgoma, curator in the Museo Sorolla. Escuchar audio