by hedgecoe | Feb 12, 2018 | Blog
The brother-in-law, or cuñado, holds a prominent, yet unenviable, position in Spanish society, transcending the realms of the family tree to become something more than just a relative. He’s a symbol, a social phenomenon, a state of mind. The exact characteristics of...
by hedgecoe | Dec 30, 2017 | Blog
5. Irene Montero. It’s been a funny old year for Podemos. The party began 2017 hobbled by infighting as its two most prominent figures, Pablo Iglesias and Íñigo Errejón, battled for its soul. Iglesias emerged as the winner and his deputy was banished to a lesser role,...
by hedgecoe | Nov 10, 2017 | Blog
“Because we are right! And because we are strong!” – Lluís Companys “Let’s not go to sleep dreaming of Scotland only to wake up in Ulster.” – Lluís Rabell In early October I met up with a Catalan friend in a café in Barcelona. It had been a while since I had...
by hedgecoe | Oct 16, 2017 | Blog
BBC Radio 4’s excellent Profile programme turned its witty and incisive gaze on Spain’s prime minister recently. I was among those asked to contribute, along with Miguel-Anxo Murado and Rajoy biographer Antón Losada.
by hedgecoe | Aug 29, 2017 | Blog
Spain has suffered two jihadist terror attacks over the last 13 years. In March 2004, bombs planted on trains in Madrid killed 191 people and in the days that followed, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards turned out onto the streets to express their condemnation of the...