Spanish cava advert directed by Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese directs Freixenet Cava's Christmas Advertisement: Key to Grand Reserve

The American film director, Martin Scorsese, recreates the atmosphere of an Alfred Hitchcock film in this year’s Christmas advertising campaign for the Catalan company Freixenet.

All of Hitchcoks films were shot between 1951 and 1958 and the advert recreates the atmosphere of the 1950s. Scorsese told Spanish press yesterday that he was inspired by the idea of being able to achieve the sophisticated look that Freixenet want. Scorsese’s previous films include classics such as ‘Taxi Driver’, ’Wild Bull’ and Infiltrated which was awarded 4 Oscars this year.

Scorsese has been responsible for making adverts on two previous occasions for American Express. A great admirer of Hitchcock’s work he has attempted to film an incomplete script in English that was never actually used. The short film which will be the advert for Freixenet is fictional - the only conditions placed on the film director by Freixenet were that a bottle of Carta Nevada, a toast and the word ‘reserva’ must appear in the short film.

The short film lasts 7 minutes and will be used for the 2 Christmas advertising slots for Freixenet. It tells the story of the search for the key to open a box of Carta Nevada during a performance at the Carnegie Hall in New York. This advert marks a change in direction for the Catalan company’s Christmas advertising campaign which has in the past always opted for well known celebrities to appear in traditional adverts.

The two leading actors in Scorsese's spot are Simon Baker and Kelli O''Hara.

Video of the Freixnet cava advert directed by Scorsese

Martin Scorsese's cava advert has already be published on Youtube and can be seen by clicking twice on the screen below:

Spanish restaurants with Michelin stars

New Michelin Gastronomic Guide to Spain Lowers Expectations

The Michelin Gastronomic guide to Spain and Portugal 2008 which was launched yesterday has disappointed fans of Spanish cuisine. Out of a total of 2090 establishments, only 134 Spanish restaurants have been awarded stars by the Michelin Guide.

Only 6 restaurants have been awarded the maximum 3 michelin stars - Akelarre, Arzak, Martin Berasategui, El Bulli, Can Fabes and Sant Pau - compared to 26 French ones. And to rub a little more salt into the wound, in the first edition of the Michelin Gastronomic Guide to Tokyo out this year, no less than 150 restaurants have been awarded stars which is more than the whole of Spain. France has 527 restaurants with stars and Germany has at least twice as many as Spain.

According to the Michelin Guide which is highly regarded by critics all over the world it is worth planning a journey just to be able to visit a 3 star restaurant, and it is worth making a detour during a journey to visit a 2 star restaurant. A 1 star restaurant is simply considered to be excellent within its category.

There were rumours that a new Spanish restaurant - El Celler de Can Roca - in Gerona was going to be awarded 3 stars but it appears that it will have to wait another 12 months. Abac in Barcelona was the only other restaurant to be awarded another star this year. Some Spanish culinary experts think there should have been more such as Ca Sento, in Valencia; El Bohío, in Illescas; Casa Gerardo, in Prendes... to name just a few.

In this new edition 14 Spanish restaurants have been awarded 1 star for the first time: Comerç 24 (Barcelona), Yayo Daporta (Cambados), Kokotxa (San Sebastián), Kursaal (San Sebastián), Arrop (Gandía), Massana (Gerona), Azurmendi (Larrabetzu), Club Allard (Madrid), Calima (Marbella), Els Casals (Sagàs), Retiro da Costiña (Santa Comba), Villena (Segovia), El Molino de Urdániz (Urdániz) and Ramiro's (Valladolid).

Related: Restaurants in Spain

Spanish economy slows down

INE announces a slow down in the Spanish Economy

The Spanish National Institute for Statistics has confirmed that GNP went down by 2 decimal points to 3.8% between July and September this year. However, it still comes within the boundaries set by the government for 2007.

According to the institute although the Spanish economy continued growing above the average for the rest of the 27 EU countries and the Euro zone its profile is contrary to other European countries which saw their economies pick up slightly while in Spain it has continued to slow down for 2 consecutive quarters. In the first quarter for 2007 it reached its peak growth for this year so far at 4.1%.

The reasons for this slow down in the economy appear to be less consumer spending which only rose 2.9% - 4 decimal points lower than the previous quarter and investment in the construction industry which only grew by 3.8% - 8 decimal points lower. Within this sector the biggest drop has been the reduction in the construction of housing – 2.9% compared to 3.7% for the previous quarter.

Investment in companies is also growing less although it remains strong at 11.2%. Industry grew by just 2%. However, this is partly compensated by the fact that exports grew well. Productivity grew 0.8% which places it at the same level as the last quarter.

As far as employment is concerned this continued to grow well - 560,000 full time jobs have been created over the last 12 months.

Bill Clinton visits Spain

Rodriguez Zapatero and Clinton make joint statement against Climate Change and Poverty

The Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, agreed a new phase of collaboration with the Global Clinton Foundation initiative in a meeting with Bill Clinton which took place in the Moncloa Palace on Monday.

In a joint declaration to the press following their meeting which lasted an hour and a half Zapatero said that this cooperation would be ‘extraordinarily important’ although he didn’t give any figures and added that he had asked Bill Clinton for ‘help’ in mobilizing financial resources and citizens to work against the challenges of climate change and the struggle against poverty, especially in the area of education.

Zapatero described Clinton as one of the best presidents that the US had ever had and a great ex-president for his commitment on the most essential issues that confront humanity.

Clinton whose foundation has the capacity to manage a budget of around 30,000 million dollars thanked the Spanish government’s collaboration saying that ‘Spain could serve as an example’ in convincing other nations that the struggle against climate change makes economic sense.

He went on to explain that he was pleased to be working with the Spanish government which was responsible for creating 3 million jobs over the last few years and whose economy had grown by 3.8% and which had become the second largest producer of wind power and had managed to reduce its green house emissions by 4%.

Clinton said that ‘investing in development politics was worth it’ and praised Zapatero’s government for its promise to introduce a law on donating 0.7% of GDP. He also considered that Spain didn’t make empty promises when it came to UN objectives on reducing poverty and hunger by 2015.

After the meeting, Bill Clinton had lunch with King Juan Carlos in the popular Casa Lucio restaurant in Madrid

Bike hire in Spain

Madrid and other Spanish towns are considering introducing 'bicing', based on Barcelona's model of public hire of bicycles

Madrid town hall is analysing how to introduce the use of publicly owned bicycles in the city a system already used in Barcelona known as ‘bicing’. Last summer a consultant from Madrid town hall went to Barcelona to study how their model of ‘bicing’ works.

The consultant sent by Madrid town hall met those responsible for ‘bicing’ in Barcelona and found out at first hand all the details about how the system functions and how it was introduced in the Catalan capital. In fact, Barcelona is one of the pioneering cities in the automated service of lending bicycles to get around an urban centre and has become one of the reference points along with Paris and Lyon which have also implemented this type of service.

Although the conclusions of the study have not yet been made public Ana Botella, the municipal representative for the environment in Madrid has confirmed that the 64 kilometres of cycle tracks, known as the ’green ring’, that will be created around the Spanish capital will have a public bicycle lending service.

This proposal principally aimed at leisure falls short of a real transport service which could be used to get around the city like the service already in place in Barcelona and Sevilla or other European cities such as Paris or Brussels where the number of bicycles available for use run into thousands and can be picked up or dropped off at any of the automatic stations found throughout the whole city.

However, sources from Madrid town hall have said that they are looking at the possibility of creating a infrastructure for a public bicycle lending service although nothing has been decided yet. In order to be able to do something similar to Barcelona the city would need around 274 kilometres of cycle tracks, something which the regional government has committed to create.

Other Spanish cities such el Cabildo in Tenerife or Sabadell have also expressed an interest in a public bicycle lending service as well as foreign interest from Milan or Oslo and even San Fransciso which has been in contact with Barcelona to obtain further information on their system of ‘bicing’ which according to Francesc Narváez the councillor in for mobility in Barcelona, could become an urban transport system for the 21st century.

The main difference between the system of public bicycle lending in Barcelona and the rest of the world is that this system belongs to the town hall itself and not to the company that manages it and is financed by money obtained from parking costs in the city centre. Furthermore people who use this service only pay around 24 euros a year.

Arrests in Madrid Town Hall on Charges of Corruption

Yesterday the Spanish Civil Guard carried out 9 simultaneous searches of public buildings which form part of Madrid town hall. The Environment agency and Urban planning departments are being investigated together with 3 town councils -Centro, Chamberí and San Blas.

Police sources confirmed that the operation nicknamed Guateque is the result of an investigation into presumed corrupt behaviour of some of Madrid town hall’s officials. The Vice Mayor of Madrid, Manuel Cobo, said that there were around 16 town hall workers involved in the case and so far at least 3 had been arrested this morning. The charges range from bribery, neglect of duty and the abuse of power.

In a press conference Cobo went on to emphasise that the majority of those under investigation have been working for many years in Madrid’s town hall and there were no elected councillors or high ranking officials under investigation. He said that the investigation was looking into the charging of illegal commissions paid in exchange for licenses for the opening of small businesses such as shops, restaurants and discos.

Cobo had not been able to put a figure on the amount of the commission paid to town hall officials involved in the case. He emphasised again that the operation was against civil servants within Madrid’s town hall and that it wasn’t the town hall itself that was being investigated. He couldn’t rule out whether there would be any further arrests.

The investigation which has been underway since this summer has involved 10 telephone lines being tapped as well as houses and businesses being searched. Police carrying out the investigation have seized documents and computers.

Madrid’s Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón said that ‘no type of irregular behaviour by Madrid town hall employees would be tolerated’. Moreover he said that he didn’t want this case to tarnish the reputation of the rest of the town hall’s workforce.

Related: Guide to Madrid

Spanish royals announce separation

Duke and Duchess of Lugo have separated.

The Spanish royal family continues to dominate headline news in Spain for one reason or another and yesterday the Palace confirmed what has infact been a rumour for years, that their eldest daughter, Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and her husband Jaime de Marichalar had decided to separate or, in the words of the announcement "have agreed to temporarily end their matrimonial life". The Zarzuela said there would be no further official announcement.

The couple have been married for 12 years and have two children. After months of speculation, the Duchess of Lugo and her children finally moved out of the home in the exclusive Salamanca area of Madrid yesterday to a nearby address. The Duke of Lugo is expected to retain his title and there appear to be no immediate plans to formalise the separation.

Elena is fourth in the line to the Spanish throne, after her younger brother, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, and his two daughters, Leonor and Sofia.

Guggenheim celebrates 10th million visitor

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Receives its 10th Million Visitor
A couple of work colleagues from Zaragoza who were in Bilbao for a professional conference have become the 10th million visitors to the Guggenheim museum in the capital of the province of Vizcaya.

When Carolina Pamplona and Juan Carlos Pérez bought their tickets to see the museum’s exhibitions on American and Basque art at the ticket booth for individual visits they were told by museum officials that they had just become the 10th million visitors to the museum. Furthermore they were also told that they had won a prize consisting in a 5 day visit to New York for 2 people.

The 10th million visit to the Guggenheim, Bilbao has taken place in the same year that this museum of modern and contemporary arts is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Last month there were a series of events to celebrate its 10th birthday.

In August 2002, a couple from Cantabria, José Javier García López and María Teresa Macho Tagle were the 5th million visitors to the museum. Since its opening to the public 10 years ago the Guggenheim Bilbao has converted the Vizcayan capital into a tourist destination for visitors to the peninsula and had helped contribute to the regeneration of this old industrial city.

See Guide to Vizcaya, Hotels in Bilbao and Restaurants in Bilbao

Spanish King asks Hugo Chavez to shut up

During the closing session of the 12th Summit of Iberoamerican Leaders and Heads of State held in Chile King Juan Carlos caused a diplomatic incident when he lent over and said to Hugo Chavez "Por qué no te callas" (Why don't you shut up?) when the Venezuelan president kept trying to interrupt Spanish president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (see below - click twice to see video):

The incident occured when Zapatero responded to Chavez's description of former Spanish PM José Maria Aznar. The Venezuelan president called Aznar a "fascist" and said he was "less human than a tiger or a snake". Zapatero was given the chance to reply and he reminded Chavez that when democratic governments meet to discuss their interests and differences, the underlying principle was always respect. "It is possible to be on opposite sides as far as ideology is concerned, and I am certainly nowhere near the ideas of Aznar, but he was elected by the Spanish voters, and I demand respect" he said.

While Zapatero was talking, Chavez kept interrupting him, even though his microphone was switched off. King Juan Carlos finally lost his temper and invited the Venezuelan leader to shut up. He then left the session in protest while Rodriguez Zapatero stayed in his seat to address any possible further comments. Juan Carlos returned, at the Chilean president's request, for the final part of the closing session.

After the incident Hugo Chavez said he stood by what he had said about Aznar, and he questioned Juan Carlos's attitude. "He may be a king, but he can't shut me up", he said. "We are both heads of state, the only difference is that I have been democratically elected three times" he said.

Aznar reportedly telephoned both Zapatero and the King after the Summit, to express his gratitude.

Spanish air crew in Chad released today

Remaining members of Spanish air crew arrested in Chad to be released

The three remaining member of the Spanish air crew who have been in custody in Chad since 25th October are expected to be freed shortly. The pilot, co-pilot and their assistant were arrested along with 4 air stewards when they were involved in attempting to fly 103 Chadian children from Chad to Paris. The flight never took off and all members of the air crew who worked for Girjet, a Catalan company, were arrested as well as 6 members of the French charity ‘Zoe’s Ark’ which had contracted Girjet to take the children to Paris where they were to be adopted.

The Spanish Foreign Secretary Bernardino León, arrived in Niger this morning where he is awaiting confirmation of the decision by the Chadian judiciary to free the remaining 3 Spaniards. Their imminent release comes after the president of the French charity, Eric Breteau, excused all members of the air crew from any responsibility in the operation in which 103 Chadian children were to be taken to Paris.

Jean Bernard Padaré the French lawyer, representing the Spanish members of the air crew had presented their request to be released to a judge on Tuesday and the decision to free them is expected to be announced in court today. He said that the pilot Agustín Rey, the co-pilot Sergio Muñoz and their assistant Daniel González, will be taken from prison to court and then they will travel to Spain in the same plane as the Foreign Secretary.

Recent investigations into the case suggest that the children were not orphans and were removed from their families without their parents’ consent. The main suspects in the case are the 6 members of ‘Zoe’s Ark’.

Spanish scientists show memory can be recovered

A new study reveals how to recover memory

Researchers directed by José María Delgado at the Pablo de Olavide University in Sevilla have discovered new aspects relating to how our memories work. Experiments using living animals have shown how memory can be recovered.

In 2006 the research team together with María Dolores Muñoz, a researcher from the the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, demonstrated for the first time how neurons in our memories connect with others and how stored memories increase the potential or intensity of these connections. This is the process called strengthening in the long term which has been known for many years.

The research team showed that this strengthening process was produced whilst learning. However, they also demonstrated that if the strengthening process is induced in an experimental way it affects the natural or physiological processes which means it is impossible to learn. The study explained the effect of epileptic attacks and electric shock therapy. These discoveries were chosen by the magazine Science to be among the 10 most important advances in 2006.

In the new study which has been published in the magazine Journal of Neuroscience, the same research team have gone one step further and have demonstrated that once the inducement of the process of strengthening is stopped the animals in the study were able to learn once again and also remember what they had learnt previously.

Spanish King and Queen visit Ceuta and Melilla

The King and Queen of Spain visited Ceuta and Melilla on Monday and Tuesday of this week in the first visit by ruling Spanish monarchs to the colonies in northern Africa since before Franco. Morocco disputes the right of Spain to govern both Ceuta and Melilla, in much the same way as Spain disputes British sovereignty of Gibraltar. The Spanish royals were acclaimed in a flurry of flags and patriotism by over half of both provinces' populations while protests organized by Moroccans (who regarded the visit as highly provocative) forced gates on the road at the border between Morocco and Melilla to be closed.

King of Morocco calls Spanish Royal Visit to Ceuta and Melilla regrettable

In his speech to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the ‘Green March’ the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, spoke mainly about the negotiations over Western Sahara which was annexed by Morocco in 1975. He said that Morocco wouldn’t accept anything other than complete autonomy for this area.

However, in a communication to the press made earlier Mohamed VI criticised the Spanish royal visit to Ceuta and Melilla calling it a ‘step backwards’ and an ‘attack on the patriotic feelings of the citizens of Morocco’. He said that the Spanish authorities needed to take responsibility for the consequences of the visit which could endanger the future evolution of relations between Spain and Morocco.

Mohamed VI also said that the visit constituted ‘a flagrant lack of respect by the Spanish government’ and went against the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed by both countries in 1991. The Moroccan king pointed out that the best way to resolve the ‘territorial conflict’ over Ceuta and Melilla was to establish ‘an honest, frank and open dialogue on the future’. The king added that a ‘responsible dialogue would guarantee our rights of sovereignty and would also take into account Spanish interests’.

Sarkozy secures the release of the Spanish air hostesses in Chad

Sarkozy succeeds in mission to bring French and Spanish detainees home from Chad and he and Rodriguez Zapatero hold joint press conference to explain their collaboration

Last night both the Spanish president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, spoke about their cooperative efforts in trying to bring back those detained in Chad as a consequence of the actions of a French charity which tried to take 103 children out of the country.

Immediately following the arrival of Sarkozy's private plane from Chad at the aerial base in Torrejón, Spain, both leaders spoke to the press about their collaboration. Sarkovy was carrying 4 of the Spanish air crew and 3 French journalists who had been released yesterday.

Zapatero and Sarkozy both thanked the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, for his understanding, help and positive attitude and spoke about the need to continue in their efforts in order to obtain the release of the rest of those in custody in Chad. The Spanish president also thanked Sarkozy for his work towards getting the first of the Spanish air crew released and for bringing them home to Spain.

Sarkozy spoke about the way both Spain and France had cooperated since the beginning of the crisis saying both had worked ‘hand in hand and had achieved a satisfactory result’. He also said that it wasn’t his place to judge those being detained and that it was important to respect the sovereignty of Chad and the independence of its judicial system. However he said that he didn’t have any further comments to make at this stage because he didn’t want to jeopardize future efforts to free the rest of the French and Spanish nationals still in custody in Chad.

As soon as the French President had finished speaking to the press he boarded his plane, which was also carrying the 3 French journalists, and continued on his journey to France.

Cost of a funeral in Spain

According to a study released this week by Funespaña and Mémora, two of Spain's largest undertakers, the average price of funeral costs in Spain is 2500 euros. The Spanish Consumers’ Union puts the cost a little lower at 2,200 euros. Obviously prices can vary according to the type of burial and coffin and depending on whether the services used are public or private.

For the average price of 2500 you need to add a further 6000 euros if you want a luxury coffin made out of good quality wood, lined with white satin.

The price of a funeral also depends on where you live. In Alicante or Palma a funeral can cost around 3000 euros while in Badajoz it costs just 1000 euros. According to Mémora the average cost of a funeral in Italy or Portugal is 3500 euros while in the US this figure rises to around 6000. Despite these figures Mémora said that 900 euros would pay for a funeral in Spain.

Many retired foreigners from other European countries who have decided to settle in Spain have taken out special policies with the insurance company Mapfre to cover the costs of their funerals. However, the Consumers’ Association in Spain says that these types of polices are often excessively expensive and people are better off paying for funeral costs out of savings or by signing up to a life insurance policy.

There are many different types of funeral services. For example you can now get a coffin in the shape of a boat or made exclusively from biodegradable material without varnish or metal handles. Another curiosity is an urn made from salt so that it dissolves shortly after being thrown into water and one company in Andalusia even claims that it can turn the hair of the deceased in to a diamond – something which costs between 1200 and 1700 euros.

There are even mobile undertakers in mobile homes with a room for wakes incorporated which travel around some rural areas in northern Spain. Although according to Funespaña towns with a population of 50,000 inhabitants are obliged to have a chapel of rest or crematorium.

However cremation still isn’t a popular option in Spain. In 1973 only 44 Spaniards were cremated while in 1983 this figure rose to 500. Now ten years later the number of cremations that take place is 5000 which accounts for 21% of funerals and according to PANASEF in 2010 this percentage will rise to 30%. Nevertheless these figures are far below countries like Sweden or Norway where the percentage of cremations are between 80% and 90%.

Spanish soldier faces sanctions for nude photos

Spanish Army Considering whether to prosecute female solder for posing nude for Interviu magazine

The Military court is considering whether a female soldier who appeared naked in the latest edition of Interviu magazine has done anything which can be disciplined under military law. According to military sources they are analyzing the report which features several nude photos of the soldier "very carefully".

Pilar Pacheco declares in the article that she is a soldier in uniform and without uniform. She goes on to say that she respects the military and that is why she has posed without any badges or military emblems. She says that civil life is worse than military life and that she has always been treated correctly by her military bosses. She says that life in the barracks is disciplined something which she did not experience in jobs outside the army. She declared that in the military everybody knows their place and knows how to behave correctly.

She also said that she had decided to appear in Interviu magazine because ‘this type of opportunity only occurs once in a lifetime’. She said that ‘she wasn’t afraid to take the bull by the horns’.

It has not yet been decided whether a military case will be brought against Pilar Pacheco.