
Inside Spain: Kicking Franco's head and a ban on splitting the bill
The "La Copa del Generalísimo" performance, subversively taking the name of a tournament played during Franco's iron grip on the country from 1939 to 1975, comes as Spain marks the 50th anniversary of his death.
The experimental "Ex Abrupto" art festival pitted two teams against each other for a self-styled "anti-fascist fixture" in Moia, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Barcelona.
The choice of pitch was also highly symbolic, close to former trenches used by the defeated republican side in the 1936-1939 civil war that brought Franco to power after his coup.
The recreated hyper-realistic head was fashioned by the Indecline group and Eugenio Merino, an artist whose work has tackled Franco and the right-wing dictatorship on several occasions.
He attracted attention more than a decade ago with "Always Franco", a life-sized representation of the general in a refrigerator that sparked an uproar at Madrid's ARCO art festival in 2012.
Merino courted controversy again with "Punching Franco", a work that used the dictator's head as a punching ball.
The Francisco Franco Foundation, which works to promote the late dictator's legacy, lodged complaints against both works that were rejected by the courts.
Merino used the same mould for the resin and silicone-covered head which was the protagonist of Thursday's match.
"It's the 50th anniversary of Franco's death and I thought it was necessary to commemorate it," Merino told local radio RAC 1.
"We recover that idea of the people that play and enjoy, and we also recover the idea of anti-fascism."
The game, which only allowed limited spectator numbers, was recorded for broadcast on Friday and Saturday in a bar in Moia, while the head can be visited in a local museum.
Merino and Indecline had already teamed up to send political messages, using the recreated head of Donald Trump to play football at the wall on the US-Mexico border and one of Brazil's rightist former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Getting the waiter to split the bill for you is a no-no in more and more restaurants and bars in Spain. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
In other news, a growing number of cafes, bars and restaurants in Spain are refusing to split the bills for customers.
In other words, when it comes to asking for la cuenta when you've just had drinks or a meal with friends or family, more and more waiters are saying it's not up to them to do the maths but rather for one customer to pay and for the others to pay him or her back.
Spanish TV channel La Sexta revealed that the stand against splitting the bill is spreading throughout Málaga's hospitality industry, as waiters say it takes too long for them to divide the bill for each customer and carry out all the payments, delaying their daily tasks in the process.
There's also evidence of eateries in Barcelona and Zaragoza standing against this practice.
The bigger the group, the bigger the headache, especially if there are customers who are penny pinchers and only want to pay for what they had, meaning that it's not just a case of dividing the bill by the number of customers. Furthermore, it's then up to the waiter to make sure that all the payments add up to what's owed in total.
Spanish consumer watchdog Facua says that it's not yet a widespread practice yet but that bar and restaurant owners are within their rights to refuse to accept split payments as long as they forewarn customers or have a sign up pointing this out.
Nevertheless, none of this is specifically spelled out in Spanish law, which makes it a bit of a grey area.
According to Spanish lawyer Xabi Abat, bar and restaurant owners are even within their rights to charge an extra fee for split bills as long as this is previously signposted, and some are already charging €1 or €2 per customer for this.
So there you have it, eating out with friends and family is extremely common in Spain, and this matter is likely to come up sooner or later for you.
With additional reporting by AFP.
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Local Spain
7 days ago
- Local Spain
Inside Spain: Kicking Franco's head and a ban on splitting the bill
Spain's fierce passion for football took an unexpected turn this week as two teams faced off playing with an unusual ball: an artistic reproduction of former dictator Francisco Franco's head. The "La Copa del Generalísimo" performance, subversively taking the name of a tournament played during Franco's iron grip on the country from 1939 to 1975, comes as Spain marks the 50th anniversary of his death. The experimental "Ex Abrupto" art festival pitted two teams against each other for a self-styled "anti-fascist fixture" in Moia, around 50 kilometres (31 miles) north of Barcelona. The choice of pitch was also highly symbolic, close to former trenches used by the defeated republican side in the 1936-1939 civil war that brought Franco to power after his coup. The recreated hyper-realistic head was fashioned by the Indecline group and Eugenio Merino, an artist whose work has tackled Franco and the right-wing dictatorship on several occasions. He attracted attention more than a decade ago with "Always Franco", a life-sized representation of the general in a refrigerator that sparked an uproar at Madrid's ARCO art festival in 2012. Merino courted controversy again with "Punching Franco", a work that used the dictator's head as a punching ball. The Francisco Franco Foundation, which works to promote the late dictator's legacy, lodged complaints against both works that were rejected by the courts. Merino used the same mould for the resin and silicone-covered head which was the protagonist of Thursday's match. "It's the 50th anniversary of Franco's death and I thought it was necessary to commemorate it," Merino told local radio RAC 1. "We recover that idea of the people that play and enjoy, and we also recover the idea of anti-fascism." The game, which only allowed limited spectator numbers, was recorded for broadcast on Friday and Saturday in a bar in Moia, while the head can be visited in a local museum. Merino and Indecline had already teamed up to send political messages, using the recreated head of Donald Trump to play football at the wall on the US-Mexico border and one of Brazil's rightist former president Jair Bolsonaro. Getting the waiter to split the bill for you is a no-no in more and more restaurants and bars in Spain. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) In other news, a growing number of cafes, bars and restaurants in Spain are refusing to split the bills for customers. In other words, when it comes to asking for la cuenta when you've just had drinks or a meal with friends or family, more and more waiters are saying it's not up to them to do the maths but rather for one customer to pay and for the others to pay him or her back. Spanish TV channel La Sexta revealed that the stand against splitting the bill is spreading throughout Málaga's hospitality industry, as waiters say it takes too long for them to divide the bill for each customer and carry out all the payments, delaying their daily tasks in the process. There's also evidence of eateries in Barcelona and Zaragoza standing against this practice. The bigger the group, the bigger the headache, especially if there are customers who are penny pinchers and only want to pay for what they had, meaning that it's not just a case of dividing the bill by the number of customers. Furthermore, it's then up to the waiter to make sure that all the payments add up to what's owed in total. Spanish consumer watchdog Facua says that it's not yet a widespread practice yet but that bar and restaurant owners are within their rights to refuse to accept split payments as long as they forewarn customers or have a sign up pointing this out. Nevertheless, none of this is specifically spelled out in Spanish law, which makes it a bit of a grey area. According to Spanish lawyer Xabi Abat, bar and restaurant owners are even within their rights to charge an extra fee for split bills as long as this is previously signposted, and some are already charging €1 or €2 per customer for this. So there you have it, eating out with friends and family is extremely common in Spain, and this matter is likely to come up sooner or later for you. With additional reporting by AFP.


Local Spain
31-01-2025
- Local Spain
Is this Spain's scariest festival?
The mountain villages of Ituren and Zubieta located in the Navarran Malerreka valley celebrate an ancient Basque carnival involving parades of fantastical wild beasts and grotesque costumes that resemble scenes from movies such as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Mad Max. The celebrations take place every year on the Monday and Tuesday after the last Sunday in January to welcome the coming of spring. The carnival days begin early with the traditional collection of pork "puskas" by a group of young people, accompanied by musicians playing accordions and tambourines. The meat and other ingredients are collected in baskets or on long skewers ready for a communal village meal later on in the day. Children and young people dressed in the mozorro outfit join this procession that goes around the entire town. Locals dressed in eerie outfits take part in the traditional carnival of Zubieta. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA / AFP Around midday, various monstrous characters appear on the streets, including a bear, mythical beasts, gnarled rams, as well as more 'modern' ghouls wearing nothing but their underpants and grotesque masks, setting fire to cars and scaring onlookers with their eerie behaviour. But the stars of the show are the Joaldunak. They are perhaps the least 'scary' characters of this strange carnival as their quirky outfits resemble those of other celebrations of pagan origin seen across Spain. This group of hefty bellringers dress in sheepskins worn over lace petticoats and wear tall pointy hats adorned with colourful ribbons. They stomp through the town swinging horsetails and with giant cowbells strapped to their backs. After lunch the parade of the Joaldunak begins. They begin in Zubieta and Aurtitz visiting nearby neighbourhoods and then parade to Ituren as is customary, in two parallel lines. The origins of these characters have to do with shepherding and are designed to ward off evil spirits and keep the stock safe for the year ahead. Masked locals march to Iturren. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA / AFP The sound when the Joaldunak cross the forest between the two towns is intended to awaken the earth from its long winter slumber so that it can be productive again in spring and begin growing produce for the year ahead. The traditions date back to pagan times when people believed ancestral rites that included the need to wake up Mother Earth every year. Once in Ituren, they head to the main square to join up with the " mozorroak" or masked revellers and fill the square with colourful floats and bonfires. The pagan festival, which dates back hundreds of years was banned during the Franco dictatorship but has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, though no one now can remember how or why it began. Some articles online mentioning the festival only date as far back as the 1960s, but they are much older.


Local Spain
15-01-2025
- Local Spain
Spanish youth ditch dating apps for 'real life' love
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