MODERN MIRACLES
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RIP Maria SPAIN’s oldest woman in the world has died at 117. The family of Maria Branyas announced her death via social media on Tuesday. In a post on her X account they wrote: “A few days ago Maria told us: ‘One day I will leave here. I will not try coffee again, nor eat yoghurt…, I will also leave my memories, my reflections… and I will cease to exist in this body. One day I don’t know, but it’s very close, this long journey will be over. “‘Death will find me worn out from having lived so long, but I want it to find me smiling, free and satisfied’.” Maria was born to Spanish parents in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, but moved back to northern Spain when she was very young. Scientists last year took samples from Maria in a bid to discover her secrets to a long life – and to develop cures for diseases. She incredibly had no health complications other than hearing and mobility issues. The ‘Super Grandmother’, who regularly updated her followers on X, beat Covid in 2020 and had survived the Spanish Civil War, a deadly earthquake in the US and a major fire. The mantle of oldest person alive has now passed to 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka from Japan. See Viva España page 6
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The minimalist designs of Spain’s new churches See page 9
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AUGUST 2024
MODERN MIRACLES The minimalist theme of new Spanish churches
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NOT SO SWIFT W
10 years on, Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium renovation finally complete
HEN Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium hosted tour, all eyes were on the Taylor Swift’s Eras But for the football club thepop superstar. real star of the show was Swift’s concert marked the first occasion the ground the stadium itself. beit ‘unofficially’ - after was fully a massive revamp some al announced. 10 years after the plans open - alwere first But now it has been ‘officially’ unveiled. It took €1.8 billion - about GMP Architekten, L35, and€1 billion more than initially planned - for architects public attraction, boasting Ribas & Ribas to transform it into a multifaceted a Real Madrid ces, and a skywalk offering Museum, dining and retail spaspa panoramic views. It also boasts a sliding ‘greenhouse’ where the roof and even an underground turf pitch can be retracted optimal growing conditions. for A striking feature of the stadium is its sinuous stainless steel facade. This metallic skin, designed to conceal the original concrete structure, gives the Bernabeu a distinctive, sculptural form. “The curved stainless steel the Bernabeu with a new louvres have imbued identity, solidifying its status as a Madrid landmark,” said a spokesman for GMP Architekten. “From afar, the metal facade shimmers like a jewel, reflecting light in countless ways.” Beyond aesthetics, the metal cladding serves functional purpose. Horizontal a louvres allow natural ventilationgaps between the for the stadium's interior. The renovation also increased seating capacity by 3,000 to 85,000, added VIP and hospitality lounges.
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Vol. 5 Issue 138 www.theolivepress.es August 22nd - September 4th 2024
We love you really! New poll shows majority of Spanish locals ‘value’ tourists despite wave of protests DESPITE a summer of apparently endless anti-tourist discontent in Spain, the latest opinion survey reveals a very different picture. It shows that 69% of the populace across the country have a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ attitude towards tourists. And three quarters give the country’s tourism industry – critical to the economy – a glowing report, with 75% saying it has a positive impact on their town or city. The results might come as a surprise after images of fed-up Barcelona residents shooting holidaymakers with water pistols reverberated around the world. There have also been large ant-tourist demos in Tenerife, Mallorca and Malaga - although Valencia and Alicante seem to take a kinder view, with no major demonstrations. In fact, the discontented few who exhibit the strongest turismofobia seem to be a miniscule segment of society, with only 2% expressing a very negative view of tourists. A
By Walter Finch
further 4% said they viewed tourists just ‘negatively’. Meanwhile, a quarter of the Spanish population (25%) describe themselves as ‘neutral’. However, when you dig into the data some nuance does start to emerge. In the larger cities, such as Sevilla and Barcelona, the negative perception of tourists increases, with about 12% of residents expressing negative feelings. Even among those who don’t, almost half of the population (48%) see tourism as a growing problem in their city. And – perhaps tellingly – only 30% believed that their local governments were taking appropriate measures to tackle the negative effects of tourism. In these large cities, 66% of the populace are fuming about the local town hall’s inability to limit tourist rentals.
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DINNER SHOW: Tourists tuck in as protestors march past in Palma
In medium-sized cities, meanwhile, the negative perception is much lower, at around 4%, while a large majority (60%) of the locals do not see tourism as a growing problem in the city. Overall, 59% of people in Spain do not think tourism is a growing problem, compared to 29% who do. A BANNER opposing mass tourOnly 8% of Spaniards ism appeared for the first time on a think tourism has a negCosta Blanca beach on Sunday. ative impact in their town The 15-metre-long display was or city, although this unfurled at the northern end of grows to 15% in the large Javea’s Cala La Barraca. cities and seems to be It was done at the initiative trending negatively. of the local anti-tourism To support that thesis, group, Garrot. most of the impacts of A group spokesperson said tourism cited in the surthat the beach ‘clearly symvey were negative: 43% bolises’ the ‘perversion and found that rent had gone trivialisation’ of mass tourism. up, 35% believed the cost “Tourism is not a blessing but a of living had risen and curse that devastates everything it 29% blamed tourism for touches,” he added. an increase in noise at The protest follows a string of demos night. around Spain in places like Tenerife, On the other hand, 32% Mallorca, Barcelona and Malaga that noted an increase in emhave attracted tens of thousands of ployment opportunities people. thanks to tourism and So far, Alicante has been largely untouched by the movement.
19% thought it led to improvements in infrastructure. Other negatives were more congestion and crowding (26%), increased dirt and litter (22%) and further gentrification (20%). The results came in a YouGov poll which was part of a report entitled Impact of Tourism on the Resident Population. It surveyed 1,027 people around the country at the start of June. “There is a certain segment of the local population that feels overwhelmed by tourism, confirming what has been appearing in the news in recent months,” the report admits.
Neglect
However, the ‘growth of employment opportunities and infrastructure development in cities’ have been listed as a plus side that offsets this negative sentiment. “But the authorities must also remain vigilant and take measures to ensure that aspects such as public transportation, safety, and especially the proliferation of tourist accommodations do not neglect the needs of the residents,” it warns.
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