Exhumed and Expelled from the Valley of the Fallen

By XL3aMS1x, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

Today the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco were evicted from a monumental complex known as the Valley of the Fallen and reentered in the family plot in the unincorporated village of Mingorrubio. Well, like Franco, I, too, was once kicked out of there—albeit living and breathing.

First a little background: the Valley of the Fallen is a national park about 50 kilometers outside Madrid, in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. The valley itself is a lovely place of woods and greenery. However, rising out of this natural beauty is the cold, gray Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen (Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos), which was carved out of a giant granite ridge as an ominous looking monument to the Fascists who won the Spanish Civil War. Construction began in 1941 and ended in 1959. Thousands of prisoners, including political prisoners, were forced to work on the site. At least fourteen of these were killed during construction and many others suffered injuries.

I visited the Valley of the Fallen with friends some years ago, on a sunny, spring-like February afternoon. There were hardly any other visitors that day, so we parked in the near-empty lot just beneath the basilica. One of the first sites to greet us as we got out of the car was an abandoned and tattered looking series of shops -- a souvenir shop, a post office and a cafeteria -- shuttered up with rotted wood, rusted metal and water-stained paper.

Undaunted by this dreary sight, we walked up the stairs to the giant esplanade lying in front of the basilica. As we did this, we received a brief respite from the gloom, as the views of the valley and towns in the distance were fantastic. But then we entered the basilica itself, first going through security checkpoints that just about rivaled anything in international airports.

Once inside the hall of the basilica, I felt a little overwhelmed by the literal and atmospheric darkness of the place. We walked down a lengthy corridor, which in reality is a tunnel, past foreboding sculptures and grandiloquent tapestries. At the end of it all, was an altar, and as we approached it, I separated from the others to walk on my own.

Unlike most churches, in this one visitors are allowed to walk up to and around the altar. As I circled it, towards the back I noticed flowers and candles sitting on top of a marker embedded in the ground. I leaned in closer to read the words written on it, and was surprised to see "Francisco Franco," and to realize that this was in fact the dictator's tomb. Indeed, so shocked was I by the location of respect that the grave had that without thinking I grimaced, let out a "Yuk!" and stomped one of my feet on it, as one would do to chase off a rodent.

Next thing I knew, two furiously gesticulating guards were running up to me, exclaiming, "¡Fuera! ¡Fuera! ¡Si no te gusta Franco, fuera!" ("Get out! Get out! If you don't like Franco, get out!") Two of my friends (including a Spaniard whose grandfather had been forced to work on the monument's construction) started arguing with the guards, but I had had enough and just wanted to get out of that dark hole. I agreed to leave, and my friends gladly joined me. It was with more than a little relief that I headed away from the dinginess surrounding the despot's tomb towards the bright sunshine and fresh air outside.

Although I have never had a desire to go there again, perhaps I will return once it is converted from an ostentatious tribute to one of Mussolini's and Hitler's cohorts into a true memorial to the Spanish Civil War.

The only church in the Western world open 24 hours a day

Open 24/7; free Wi-Fi, charging of telephone, use of restroom, personal hygiene supplies, a sandwich and drink during meal time, and probably even soccer on TV.  Pets are welcome. No membership required. Welcome to what is described the coolest/hipster church, Iglesia de San Anton at Calle de Hortaleza, in the LGBT neighborhood of Chueca, Madrid.

Father Angel says it is the only church open 24 hours a day in the Western world. On some evenings, the church shows soccer games on the television screens that are normally used to broadcast Mass at the Vatican, Papal appearances and other religious shows. Food is served in the back pews. Visitors can consult with medical volunteers. At San Anton, confession can be made via iPad for the poor of hearing.

Fr. Angel Rodriguez, the head of Messengers of Peace, is considered an unconventional priest and known for his work for the poor. He blesses pets, cars, and while he cannot marry people of the same sex, he blesses them. He took over the Iglesia de San Anton two years ago and turned it into a community center where believers and non-believers are welcome. Described as an innovator and a non-profit entrepreneur, he is the man behind Robin Hood.
Robin Hood is a mini-chain of four restaurants that are open to the public for breakfast and lunch, but closed for dinner. Its novel business model is not to steal from the rich, but rather to use revenues made by serving breakfast and lunch to paying customers to fund the cost of free dinner for the destitute. They feed up to 100 people chosen by the Social Services every night.

Read more of this article by Mary Margret Que about this fantastic place.


Click here to visit the church's website. (In Spanish.)

No Communion, No Money, No Catholic; Innit in Spanish; Anti-Drunk-Walking

My latest Spain related things on Newsvine:

I'm simply Christian now: Divorced Catholic leaves Church after being refused communion, but asked for money

Last Sunday was an important day for Angela Conesa: her son had his First Communion. However, Angela was not able to take communion herself that day. Why? Because, as local Church officials reminded her in a letter a few days before the event, divorced Catholics who remarry civi …

Handy Spanish phrases for British tourists (Video)

To help prepare British holidaymakers travelling to Spain this summer, former professional soccer player and now Hollywood actor, Vinnie Jones, delivers a performance like never before as he launches his own Spanish lessons. Check it out for all those essential Spanish phrases li …

Spain wants to ban drunk walking and set speed-limit for joggers

Spain's Acadamy Awards; Cervantes' grave; King Cake = Rosca de Reyes; Mosque or Cathedral; Top 20 TV programs in one word

Spain-related Newsvine posts:

Marshland (La Isla Minima) big winner at Spain's Academy Awards; Antonio Banderas honored for career

In the photo above: Raúl Arévalo and Javier Gutiérrez in a scene from Marshland (original Spanish title: La Isla Mínima)

The moment archaeologists uncovered what may be the grave of Cervantes in Madrid (Video)

Archaeologists believe they may have found the remains of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, the world's first modern novel.  

About King Cakes, Twelfth Night and the beginning of Carnival season

In Louisiana, Mardi Gras, or Carnival, season officially begins on 5 January with parties where King Cakes are served—a very special holiday food with roots going back to medieval Spain, France and beyond. Today these delicacies are served up all over the sta …

Should it be called a cathedral, a mosque, or both? And who has the right to decide?

A cultural-religious-political battle is being waged over the name of the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Take a walk around the city of Cordoba, Spain and pretty soon you are bound to come across the word mosque, or rather its Spanish eq …

Spain's top 20 TV broadcasts in 2014 can be summed up in one word: Soccer

It's not too often that a national network brags that an episode of one of its series hit the number 21 spot, but that is just what happened in Spain recently. Late last week Telecinco proudly announced that the May 6th episode of 'El Principe' was NOT the most watched TV broadcast of 2014 ...

In Spain today the number of young non-believers is almost double that of practicing Catholics

'Gathering at the church' by Keith Williamson.

El Mundo reports that according to a survey conducted for the Ministry of Health's Youth Institute, the number of young practicing Catholic has plummeted, having gone from 29.2% in 2002 to 10.3% in 2010. At the same time, non-believers (19.1%) and atheists (9.6%) have increased nine and three points, respectively.

The survey, which was conducted in November 2010 by the Ferrer i Guardia Foundation, found that practicing Catholics in this age group declined from 29.5% in 2002 to 10.3%. At 45%, non-practicing Catholics are in the majority.

The general director of the Institute, Alconchel Gabriel, told the paper that for young people in Spain today, "religion is a private matter with little impact on the way they conduct their lives."

100,000 protest against English classes in Valencia!

The largest street protest in Valencia since 2003's march against the War in Iraq occurred yesterday in response to the regional government's plan have the school system's new Civics classes taught only in English. A crowd that organizers estimated at 100,000 converged on regional government headquarters. Many carried signs with slogans in English, such as, "No, we can't," and "[Education Minister Alejandro] Font de Mora go home!"

However, Valencians are not up in arms about English, but rather about what many see as an effort by the regional Valencian government, which is controlled by the conservative Popular Party, to undermine the Civics curriculum. The national government, which is led by the Socialist Party, developed the Civics course for students who want to opt out of the Roman Catholic Religion course that is taught in schools across Spain.




Valencia is the only autonomous region that has mandated that the new course be taught in a foreign language, which is what led to the call for protests by the organization Plataforma por la Enseñanza Pública. (Platform for Public Education.) For the past three months parents, teachers and students have been taking to the streets throughout the region. Until yesterday's march the largest had been a gathering of 30,000 people on November 10th. In addition to this local reaction, many school officials and education experts across the country have criticised the Valencian government's action.

It is interesting that at the same time that this is happening there have been increasing demands for religious icons to be removed from schools and other public places. Two national police officers (guardias civiles) recently sued to have images of the Virgin of Pilar removed from their headquarters, while a city of Seville police officer has requested that two religious images be removed from the local police station.

Meanwhile, this month for the first time ever in Spain, a court ruled that crucifixes in a public space must be removed, when a judge in the town of Valladolid ordered a school to remove its religious symbols. The judge found that the presence of religious symbols in the school seemed to convey the idea that the state is closer to Roman Catholicism than to other religions. The school board had rejected the request from a parent in 2005 to remove the icons.

These things are happening 30 years after the end of the Franco dictatorship, which had previously made Roman Catholicism the state religion. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 guarantees a secular state.

A Holy Week Confession / Una Confesión de Semana Santa

What's the confession? Simply that I find Spain's Semana Santa observances really boring.

.
Well, having the week off I find interesting, but the Semana Santa celebrations held throughout Spain are sooooooooooo boring. The first time I saw one of the traditional processions, I initially found the phenomenon rather interesting. After the first hour or so, however, my mind started wandering -- and wondering what the big deal was about. I ended up feeling like I was at a slow motion, humorless Mardi Gras parade on downers.

.

Despite the history, the color, the pageantry, the crowds, and the obvious effort put into the events by the organizing groups (called brotherhoods and fraternities / hermandades y cofradías), these are simply people traipsing about in somewhat frightening looking “penitential robes” (think KKK), carrying enormous religious tableaus (similar to those that can be seen in many Roman Catholic churches) and marching methodically to mind-numbing dirges. You almost expect to see self-flagellating footsloggers somwhere in all the fanfare. What fun!

.

Maybe "ominously boring" would be a good way of describing such depressing extravaganzas. To me it's sort of like a bad dream that keeps repeating -- here comes another group of hooded men laboring under another massive platform that holds another brightly painted Sacred Heart / Virgin Mary / Crucifixion / Martyred Saint sculpture, followed by another group of robed acolytes, followed by another group of candle-carrying women in black, followed by another group of hooded men laboring under another massive platform that holds another brightly painted Sacred Heart / Virgin Mary / Crucifixion / Martyred Saint sculpture, followed by another group of robed acolytes, followed by another group of candle-carrying women in black, followed by another group of hooded men... All to the accompaniment of incessant drumming, mournful wailing, and/or brass instruments slowly blaring funereal hymns.

.
I find Barcelona a good place to spend this holiday week because there are not very many Semana Santa spectacles, and, therefore they are easy to avoid. In many other cities, especially in Andalusia, they seem to almost completely take over the streets. I speak from some experience, because despite my negative reaction to that first Semana Santa scene, I have given it a try in various Spanish cities, including Alicante, Granada, Malaga and Palma de Majorca.

.

Being in Palma was similar to being in Barcelona (i.e., no problems skipping the realtively few parades), so I enjoyed every bit of my time there. While I loved the cities of Alicante and Malaga, I did so despite visiting during Semana Santa. Alicante didn't have as many parades as Malaga and in both places I could at least head to the beach for a little respite when there were "festivities" droning on. In landlocked Granada, however, I was more or less trapped. Indeed, I remember feeling almost hounded by the city's seemingly non-stop processions!
.
Instead of the memory of that experience fading, it has actually expanded to include fantastic images of myself being pursued by penitents down Granada's ancient streets, which in my mind seem to wind around in an Escher-like labyrinth. I try to get away from them and turn one corner after another only to keep stumbling upon more giant icons looming above throngs of mesmerized people wearing tunics, hoods and masks. As I am pushed and shoved around I sense that the participants are all trying to absorb me into the crowd so that I will be converted into one of the hordes of zombies condemned to an eternity of watching the monotonous marches go...by...so...very...very...slowly.

.

(George A. Romero could have a field day with this “false memory” of mine – not to mention Freud!)
.
So, having experienced traditional Semana Santa events in the past, when this time of year rolls around I flatly refuse to go to places like Seville and Cadiz, which are supposed to have some of the "best" celebrations. No, I prefer to be on a beach somewhere in Catalonia.
.
Hasta siempre amig@s,
.
Carloz

It's election time!

Not the US election, but the Spanish election. On March 9 Spaniards will go to the polls to vote for Parliament -- 350 seats in the lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies ,and 208 seats in the upper chamber, the Senate. The make-up of the Parliament determines which party (or which coalition of parties) selects the Prime Minister, who is also referred to as the President of the Government.
.
The two major parties are the conservative PP (Partido Popular - Popular Party), led by Mariano Rajoy and the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español - Spanish Socialist Workers Party), led by the current Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Other parties include:the United Left (IU), Convergence and Union (CiU), the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).
.
Compared to the USA, campaigns in Spain are relatively brief -- thank God! While there is plenty of maneuvering and posturing for a few months before the election, advertisements are only allowed during an officially designated campaign period. For example, on January 14 of this year the Spanish government approved the dissolution of Parliament and called for general elections on March 9. The official electoral campaign runs from February 22 until March 7.
.
However, before the advertising begins parties issue statements, candidates make promises, polls are conducted and the media covers it all. So far the PSOE has promised to a 400 euro tax rebate for all citizens, while the PP has said it would require immigrants to sign a "contract" promising to learn Spanish, adapt to the culture and traditions of Spain and obey the nations laws. Both parties promise more nurseries and pre-schools, higher pensions and to plant trees to combat climate change. (The PSOE was the first to come up with the tree offer, and said it would plant 45 million trees nationwide. Last week the PP upped the ante by promising to plant 500 million! So, either way, Spain will be greener by 2012, right? Yeah, right!)
.
As for controversy, well, the Spanish Catholic Church got into the act by issuing a letter telling its members not to vote for parties that support abortion rights and gay marriage -- in other words, don't vote for the PSOE. (The Zapatero government introduced full gay marriage in Spain in 2005. The PP has said it does not intend to overturn it.) The Government was so bothered by the Spanish Bishop's Conference intrusion into the political process that it had its ambassador to the Vatican make a formal complaint. (The Pope has yet to respond -- and if he does, I'll bet it's with a similar letter of his own.)
.
The economy is a major issue and will surely affect the outcome. The Spanish housing market bubble is deflating, if not exactly bursting, with prices beginning to fall; price increases for basic necessities have been sharp; unemployment is rising; and because of world-wide economic instability, Spaniards seem to be a little jittery in general. This has been a rather recent turn around, coming after a few years of steady economic growth.
.
This change in exonomic fortunes probably has done more than anything else to allow the PP to cut into the PSOE's lead in the polls. A month ago, the PSOE was widely seen as having the best chance at victory. Now, according to one major survey reported on in today's El Pais, the PSOE has only a 2.9% lead over the PP.
.
So, who will win? ¿Quien sabe?

Kicked out of the Valley of the Fallen! / ¡Expulsado del Valle de los Caidos!

By Godot13 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

I was in Madrid last weekend. The weather was wonderful! I visited with friends, went to see the newly enlarged Prado, had a great night of dancing at Joy and ate some delicious local food, as well as Asturian and Galician cuisine -- oh, and an excellent lunch at a restaurant called Felipe in the pretty little ski town of  Navacerrada.  However, one of the most memorable things about the weekend was getting kicked out of the Valley of the Fallen. (El Valle de Los Caidos.).
 .
The Valley of the Fallen is a national park about 50 kilometers outside of Madrid in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. The valley itself is a lovely place of woods and greenery. However, rising out of this natural beauty is the cold and gray Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen (Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos), which was carved out of a giant granite ridge as an ominous looking monument to the Fascists who won the Spanish Civil War. Construction began in 1941 and was completed in 1959.
.
Thousands of prisoners, including political prisoners, were forced to work on the site. At least fourteen of these were killed during construction and many others suffered injuries.
.
We visited on Friday the 25th, which was a sunny spring-like day. There were hardly any other visitors, so we parked in the near empty lot just beneath the basilica.
.
One of the first sites to greet us was an abandoned and tattered looking series of shops -- a souvenir shop, a post office and a cafeteria -- shuttered up with rotted wood, rusted metal and water stained paper.
.
Undaunted by this, we walked up the stairs to the giant esplanade that sits in front of the basilica. From here the views of the valley and towns in the distance were fantastic.
.
Next we entered the basilica itself, after going through security checkpoints that rivaled anything in international airports. Once inside the hall of the basilica, I felt a little overwhelmed by the literal and atmospheric darkness of the place.
.
We walked down the lengthy corridor, which in reality is a tunnel, past foreboding sculptures and grandiloquent tapestries, towards the altar. Once at the front, I separated from the others to walk around.
.
In front of the altar I noticed flowers and candles sitting atop a marker that was embedded in the ground. I walked closer and read the name Francisco Franco. So surprised was I by the location of respect that the grave had that without thinking I grimaced, let out a "Yuk!" and stomped one of my feet on the grave.
.
Next thing I knew, two furiously gesticulating guards approached saying, "¡Fuera! ¡Fuera! ¡Si no te gusta Franco, fuera!" ("Get out! Get out! If you don't like Franco, get out!") Two of my friends started arguing with the guards, but I had had enough and just wanted to exit that dark hole. So, I convinced them to leave and we walked away from the dinginess surrounding the dictator's tomb towards the sunshine and fresh air.
.
Although I have no desire to go there again, perhaps I would if it were converted from merely an ostentatious tribute to one of Mussolini's and Hitler's cohorts into a true memorial about the Spanish Civil War.

Interesting difference in Spain and US newspaper coverage of the same story

There has been a story in the news recently that today I saw mentioned for the first time in an American newspaper. The article, in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), revealed something I have not seen mentioned in Spanish coverage of the same story. Before I say what that was, let me give you a little background.
.
Manel Blat Gonzalez has been fighting to have his name removed from the rolls of the Spanish Roman Catholic Church. It started a few years ago when the archbishop of Valencia refused Mr. Gonzalez' request to add a note to his baptismal record stating that he no longer considered himself Roman Catholic. Next Mr. Gonzalez asked the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (the Spanish Data Protection Agency) to intervene. The archbishop twice refused the Agency's order that he comply with the request and the Church eventually appealed to the courts. The case ended up in Spain's Audiencia Nacional (National Court), which this week ruled in favor of Mr. Gonzalez and the Agency. The archbishop is considering appealing to Spain's highest court, the Tribunal Supremo.
.
So, what was different about the IHT report? Well, it mentioned that Mr. Gonzalez was gay. That was news to me because his sexual orientation had not been referred to in any of the Spanish articles I had read, including the most recent one in El Pais.

.

Of course, I don't read all of the Spanish papers and I haven't read every Spanish news story about this, so I imagine it probably has been mentioned somewhere. However, I just did a quick Internet search of various Spanish media outlets and did not see his sexual orientation talked about anywhere. This leads me to believe that perhaps the Spanish media doesn't find it a very relevant fact.
.
While I can see why it would be considered newsworthy by the IHT, what with the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality and the Spanish Church's opposition to gays being allowed to marry in Spain, it is still an interesting difference, don't you think?
.
If you're interested in reading the El Pais article, click here for the on-line version. For the IHT article, click here.
.

Chao amig@s,
.
Carloz