It’s been quite a summer.
And the news from Spain is looking grimmer than ever.
Everyone’s favorite surrealist Salvador Dalí quite literally got rolled over in his grave, Catalonia might become independent, and we’ve had our first major terrorist attack in years.
I don’t know about you…
But I can’t wait for autumn.
Last things first, here’s old uncle Salvador.
Salvador Dalí exhumed in paternity suit
Recently, Salvador Dalí’s body was dug up as part of a paternity suit brought against his estate by fortune-teller and mystic Pilar Abel.
According to Abel’s version, it was known all over Figueres that Dalí was sleeping with her mom.
Dalí died without leaving heirs, so Abel would stand to inherit a quarter of Dalí’s massive fortune if DNA tests were positive…
But unfortunately (for her) they weren’t.
Guess it’s back to reading tarot, Pili.
My favorite aspect of the story is that apparently, Dalí’s moustache is still in perfect shape, 3 decades after his death.
Of course, Dalí was also a fascist and an all-around d-bag. But it would seem that the plans to change the name of his plaza in Madrid (as well as the names of many other streets and squares named after old-time fachas) is going nowhere.
I mean, Google Maps changed a few of them.
But as far as I can tell, none of the signs have been changed as of today.
Looks like it’s in the courts until further notice.
More news from Spain: the Catalonian Referendum
In other news, it looks like there may or may not be a referendum on Catalonian independence on October 1.
Rajoy says no.
Catalonia says yes.
And apparently the constitutional courts are going to decide whether it actually goes down or not in the next few days.
My personal opinion: it’s not quite clear who would really benefit from Catalonian independence. Maybe some of the local politicians would be able to more effectively line their pockets and fill their Swiss bank accounts.
But other than that, it looks to me like another Brexit-style clusterfuck that’s being rammed down the throats of the uninformed.
(Update, 3 October – shit just got worse up there.)
Anyway, time will tell.
I’m no expert on Spanish politics.
I’m just waiting for the big meeting between Rajoy and Trump at the white house. It’s hard to imagine two less-loved world leaders in a room together.
(Even Kim Jong Un’s got groupies, I bet.)
And finally…
Terror on Las Ramblas, Barcelona
Is all the news this summer coming from Catalonia?
Apparently it is…
A couple weeks ago I wrote about whether or not tourism tourism is ruining Spain.
The article was very popular for about a day and a half – until some truly awful shit went down on Las Ramblas in Barcelona.
In about 2 minutes, the anti-tourism protests became yesterday’s news, as 13 people were killed (and more than 130 injured) by a van driven by some brainwashed 22-year-old loser.
Anyway, the Spanish police (or I guess more accurately los Mossos d’Esquadra – a special Catalonian police force) showed those guys what’s what.
While I slept that night, the Mossos shot 5 of them in a nearby town. Apparently, they had been planning to blow up the Sagrada Familia cathedral.
A few days later, the original driver of the van was shot as well.
Live by the sword and die by the sword.
Interesting times…
So how was your summer?
I guess the weather will be cooling down soon.
About time.
So… no more beating the heat. Time for some buñuelos, prawns and Christmas lottery fever.
Soon, I’ll have an article I know you’ll just hate… Unless you’ve actually been around for a while.
In the meantime, I’m about to celebrate 13 years living in Madrid.
Damn…
Seems like I’ve lived here half my life, but actually it’s only a bit over a third. What have I been doing all this time?
Well, sort of a lot, as it turns out. Check out my new book The Zen of Blogging for more about that.
Till next time,
Mr Chorizo.
P.S. I hope you enjoyed this news from Spain. How was your summer? Let me know, right here in the comments… Thanks!
First of all, I have to say what is in my heart to say to you and please believe me, it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I absolutely love what you write and also, I love you as a person and because of what you have done and do.I love this post as well as all the posts from you I have read, in other words, in my opinion you are absolutely fantastic and here co9mes what I need to say and which I am slightly afraid od saying…..Politically, I think, from reading this post, we are in some respects, on oposite ends. I am an independent voter, I vote for those that I think will be best for the nation or State based on the information I have, but basically I am conservative in most of my beliefs, I voted for Obama the first time he presented himself because I wanted the world to see that even though there are racists in the USA (I know with absolute certainty and would put my life on the line, that there are actual racist in the entire world and of all races), the nation as a whole is not racist and I was proven right. When he presented himself for the second term, I voted for Ron Paul and last time I would have voted for his son Rand Paul had I not thought it would have been a waste of my vote because I knew with absolute certainty he would lose and what I wanted this time was to defeat Hillary and Burney (Funny, I found out recently that he and I went to the same High School, James Madison in Brooklyn, NY) because I think that the new Liberals (Democratic Party) are really socialists and even though I am 100% for Universal Healthcare and a few other Socialistic plans, I am more a Conservative than new liberal. I was a total liberal in the 60s and voted Democrat always, but now, as I said, I am an independent old liberal/conservative. About Politics in Spain, if there is something that would keep me from going back to live in Spain, it would be its politics and about Catalonia, as a true old style Spaniards, I would hate it if it secedes from Spain, but as a person who truly believes in true freedom, I would gladly grant them their desire to be a separate country if the majority of its people want to be truly independent. I honestly believe that they are different from the rest of Spain, they have a different language, different culture, different worldviews and different ways and so I would allow them their wish to be an independent nation rather than a region of a country they have no wish to be a part of. Weather wise, today it is cold here and I had to turn the heat on for the first time siince it turned warm this year and I wish I were there, but in Aguadulce, Almeria
Well, I live in Quebec, a province of Canada that is very similar to Catalonia in terms of “the politic of independence”. What it means is that for everybody not involved in politics (workers, students, families) and the rest of the normal people, what really matters is how the whole country goes, not how the province goes. Canada is a country of immigrants and people come to live in Canada even if they are accepted in Quebec or other place.
I feel canadian not quebecois, not matter what politicians and old politicians want to make me feel.
Even so, I don’t think that the media and the independent groups here are not as radicals and extremists as the ones in Catalonia.
“Local politicians would be able to more effectively line their pockets and fill their bank accounts.” They don’t care about Canada or Quebec. They only care about their pockets. It is the same thing for Catalonia. They are trying to influence young people, immigrants, students so the get their support.