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In the face of the fires that devastate Madrid, Ávila and Toledo, Starlink supports free with its satellite internet service

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The fires that They devastate the Community of Madrid, Ávila and Toledo They have become hell for thousands of families. The list of evacuees and confined almost reaches 100,000 peoplebut it has not been the only aggravating factor, since many of them have also lost the possibility of communicating with other people. Given this blackout, starlink communicated to users who will be able to connect directly with the mobile phones of those affected through their satellites, without the need for antennas or additional applications. What has happened? The fire has destroyed antennas and fiber cables, in addition to generating interference that has further complicated communications in the area. While Movistar, Orange and Vodafone worked on the ground to restore their networks, from BandaAncha confirmed that many users were beginning to witness a change in their networks. And several people claimed to see the “Orange Space X” network on the interface of their mobile phones. Satellite connectivity. Starlink itself confirmed through its official account on X, ensuring that “Starlink Mobile is providing free connectivity to MasOrange and Movistar customers in the regions affected by the forest fires near Madrid.” The same goes for Movistar, Orange and Vodafoneteleoperated companies that have confirmed the activation of this emergency satellite service in their networks. The company explains that families, communities and companies with compatible LTE phones can continue to communicate by SMS even if terrestrial networks do not work, since mobile phones automatically connect to this satellite network. Of course, they warn that the service “will work better with a clear view of the sky”, since it requires a direct connection with satellites in low orbit. Months in testing. According to they count From Broadband, Orange had been testing for months in Valladolid to offer mobile satellite coverage directly to conventional terminals, thanks to a special permit from the Ministry to use its terrestrial frequencies from space. Everything indicates that this technology being tested has been advanced and urgently activated through an agreement between the Ministry, Orange, Movistar and Starlink, also opening the signal to other operators in roaming mode to provide coverage in the fire area. Without European alternatives would you be. The service is not suitable for browsing the internet or making calls. Its capacity is limited to sending SMS and very low data usage. But in an emergency situation, that connection thread can make the difference, allowing you to notify that you are safe, coordinate an evacuation or for rescue teams to locate someone, just when traditional telephone towers have been disabled by the fire. In the absence of European alternativesStarlink is positioned as one of the most effective solutions to obtain satellite connection in domestic environments. Today there are several European agencies that are sending satellites to low Earth orbit, although most projects are not aimed at offering Internet connection on a commercial level, but rather are specialized constellations for companies, governments, teleoperators, defense or aviation. Some well-known proper names are OneWeb, the Luxembourg SES either Hispasatthe latter being a relevant actor in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. All of them are beginning to move, but at a pace and efficiency that is still much lower than SpaceX. This means that in emergency situations, such as the one thousands of families in Spain are experiencing with the fires, communication depends on a completely private company. Hence, the fact that there is a European alternative, detached from the control of a private company of the stature of SpaceX, is important and makes sense as part of the technological sovereignty strategy of the continent. And now what. Starlink had already resorted to this same free connectivity formula in other disasters, such as the earthquake that shook Venezuela just a few weeks ago. In Spain, for now, the service remains as an emergency measure and not as a commercial launch. Orange had already planned to market this technology in the future, but its actual deployment as a public network has arrived earlier than expected, driven by the magnitude of the fire. It will be necessary to see if, once the flames are controlled, the service is withdrawn or if this crisis accelerates its definitive release to the market. Cover image | The reason and Starlink In Xataka | The Ministry of Labor reminds that no one has to “choose between their security and their job”: four days of paid leave

AI companies are buying tons of old books because they are free of AI Slop. Then they destroy them

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The impact of AI is no longer only in digital terms, but it affects frameworks as seemingly little linked to the virtual environment as second-hand books. Booksellers around the world are detecting the purchase of batches of books focused on very specific points. By crossing the data, the intentions are guessed, and again the AI ​​and its voracious need to be fed with data in an almost gargantuan way is behind it. Buyer robots. Marçal Font runs the Fènix bookstore, in Badalona, ​​and has been receiving purchases for weeks from a Canadian company that suspects it is automated: consecutive orders from the same buyer separated by just a minute. About twenty Spanish second-hand bookstores have sold to the same company since the end of April, some with orders of more than a thousand copies, almost always out-of-print non-fiction: they talk about a monograph on the castellers of Granollers from the seventies, a technical winemaking manual, conference minutes from half a century ago, diaries from the Civil War… All over the world. The same pattern is repeated in Germany, the United States, New Zealand and Australia: a Silicon Valley company has placed an order for more than 3,000 books with a Spanish bookstore. What distinguishes this type of buyers from ordinary customers is the indifference about price and the absence of thematic coherence. another example: An American bookseller went from selling twenty books in a good week to hundreds, with purchases that ignored the market value of the copy and an eye for subtlety, jumping from one topic to another with no apparent relationship. On the forums of Alibris, another book-selling marketplace, a platform official attributed the uptick to the arrival of new wholesale buyers who are hoarding commercial books. Two companies, one destination. The buyer identified in Spain is ZoomBooks, a Canadian second-hand book buying and selling company that sends orders to an Illinois logistics operator, PrepFort, in charge of scanning and cataloging the shipments. When asked, ZoomBooks denies collaborating directly with Anthropic, the company behind AI assistant Claude, and defines itself as a second-hand bookstore dedicated to recycling. Regarding the final destination of the books, and about the publications that its own website published about how to feed algorithms with used copies and destroy them later, the company responds that it does not comment on its commercial agreements because they are subject to confidentiality. Photo by Ugur Akdemir on Unsplash In parallel, another type of intermediary operates, more explicit about its function: ISBNdb, a bibliographic metadata database that now offers AI laboratories the purchase of between a thousand and a million books on request. Your own website puts it crudely: printed books before 2022 are the reserve of human text that no internet tracking can any longer guarantee, protected against contamination by texts generated by AI itself that now flood the network. Forced destruction. This commercial offer is supported by a specific ruling. Federal Judge William Alsup ruled in June 2025, in the case Bartz v. Anthropicthat training language models with legally purchased books constitutes a transformative use protected by the doctrine of fair use. He also considered it legal to digitize those copiesbut only because the printed copy disappeared in the process. That is, the digital copy takes the place of the paper book. Put another way: if the physical book survived the scan, the company that bought it would keep two copies having paid for one, and the argument of fair use would weaken. The shredder is a mandatory step in the legal process. Jason Leung on Unsplash Secret project. Months before that ruling, Anthropic was already carrying out a large-scale purchasing operation known internally as Project Panama. An internal company document, uncovered by The Washington Post based on declassified judicial documents, thus defined the action: “Scan Destructively all the books in the world.” The same document asked that the project remain hidden. ISBNdb has turned that same caution into a sales argument: it offers its clients, AI companies, a confidentiality agreement with each order and bluntly admits the image problem caused by the mass destruction of books. No headline about destroyed books generates sympathy, or as they themselves say, “destroying books gives a bad image“. What worries booksellers. Spanish second-hand booksellers have alerted the Ministry of Culture of what is happening. Miguel Ángel Ortega, president of the UNILIBER antiquarian booksellers association, recalls that his union fulfills functions of preservation and conservation of bibliographic heritage in addition to buying and selling, and it is contradictory for him to sell copies only for them to end up destroyed. Font puts it without half measures: “we are facing a form of literary plunder.” What is already protected by legal deposit and well cataloged runs less risk. But there are also “fanzines, neighborhood newsletters, local publications, documentation of social movements…” according to Font. Xavier Vinaixa, a researcher who helped uncover the case, and analyst Antonio Ortiz agree that the industry increasingly needs human text not contaminated by AI to avoid the collapse of the model, although Ortiz clarifies that the scarcity of data weighs less today than it did two years ago because training relies increasingly on reinforcement learning on already qualified data. Researcher Patrícia Ventura talks about how knowledge has to remain a public good, not a private reserve of a handful of companies. Image | Prateek Katyal in Unsplash

dates, times, fights, performances and how to watch the boxing event of youtubers and influencers online for free

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We are going to give you all the information about the imminent Year VI Eveningwhich will take place this weekend. The tickets already flew out months ago, but in addition to giving you all the information we will also tell you how to watch it for free online in their official broadcasts. Let’s start the article by reviewing the dates and times of the event. Then, we will tell you the list of ten fights that will take place during The Year VI Evening, as well as the performances that will take place between them. To finish, we will tell you where you will be able to see everything for free and online. Event dates and times The event will take place this Saturday, July 25, but the day before there will be a preview with the weigh-in. Here you have the dates, times and everything that is going to happen in each of the two appointments that make up The Evening of the Year VI. July 24 at 7:30 p.m. – Weigh-in: The event will begin tomorrow, Friday, July 24, 2026 with the weighing of the participants in The Evening of the Year. It is a kind of preview in which each combatant will weigh in, face-to-face with his opponent and make his last public statements before the event. The weighing will begin to be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. Spanish peninsular time. Saturday, July 25 at 7:00 p.m. – Year VI Evening: And this Saturday, July 25, The Evening of the Year will take place. This is the main event, with all the fights announced, and special performances. The Year VI Evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. Spanish peninsular time, when a preview will be held with some interviews. This event will last around seven hours, until 2 AM Spanish peninsular time, and the first fight will be at 7:45 p.m., and the last one will begin at 1:30 AM. Fights of The Evening of the Year VI Now we are going to tell you the list of all fights that will take place during the Year VI Evening. It is a very balanced evening between men’s and women’s fights, and these are the names and the confrontations that we will be able to see in the ring. First Combat: Fabiana Sevillano vs la Parce. Second Combat: Clers vs Natalia. Third Combat: Edu Aguirre vs Gastón Edul. Fourth Combat: Marta Díaz vs Tati. Fifth Combat: Viruzz vs Gero Arias. Sixth Combat: Alondrissa vs Angie Velasco. Seventh Combat: Kidd Keo vs Lit Killah. Eighth Combat: Rivers vs RoRo. Ninth Combat: Plex vs Fernanfloo. Tenth Combat: TheGrefg vs Illojuan. Performances from The Year VI Evening Between the combats we will have various musical performanceswhich are the following. They will be musical shows that will take place periodically to liven up the evening. Yandel Anuel Bad Gyal Juanes La Pantera and Lucho RK In addition to this, you should know that both artists and fighters will bring guests. Not all, but some, both to make the musical performances more special and so that the fights have a little more entertainment. Where can you watch events for free? Both the weighing and The Year VI Evening can be seen for free and online on the official channels of Ibai Llanosthe famous content creator who is also the organizer of the event. These are the three channels where it will be broadcast in full and open: In Xataka Basics | Twitch Parent’s Guide: What it is, how it works, and how to protect young people’s privacy

Living for free in your parents’ house does not imply a housing donation

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He house price It is one of the main obstacles to the emancipation of young people in Spain. According to data According to the Spanish Youth Council, only 15.2% of young people can afford to live outside the family home. Of them, 57.9% do so in rented apartments and a third of these young people share a flat with other young people to be able to bear the expenses. In this context, it is not strange to find people over 30 years old living with their parents. However, according to have confirmed the Ministry of Finance to VerifyRTVEit is false that living for free in your parents’ home, or in “any property of your parents”, can be considered “as a donation”. The Treasury makes it clear: there is no donation. Both from the Ministry of Finance like from the union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA) point out that there is no tax or legal change that penalizes children for residing in the family home. Sources from the Ministry of Finance confirmed to damn.es that “there have been no legal changes or changes in the orientation of administrative actions since the IRPF existed, nor has it ever been considered a fiscal risk.” Carlos Cruzado, president of the GESTHA union, explained to RTVE that no taxes or duties apply additional taxes for the simple fact that an adult shares a home with his or her parents. Donation is a change of ownership, not use. The reason why no charge is made is because, simply, when a child lives with his or her parents, no transfer of assets occurs. The consensual use that is made of it changes, not the ownership. This change of use between family members without financial compensation does not fit into any of the assumptions of the Inheritance and Donation Taxso neither parents nor children they must pay that tax. The professor of Financial Law Rosa María Galán pointed to damn.es that, in the case of children without economic resources to survive on their own, the article 142 of the Civil Code obliges parents to cover the support, housing, clothing and medical care of their children. There is no need to argue for free coexistence since providing it is a legal obligation. It even applies to second homes. This same logic applies even when parents and children do not live in the same property, but, for example, the parents live in the primary home, and the children in a second residence owned by the parents. According to Cruzado, the Treasury “understands that there may be a free transfer and does not allocate a return at market value.” In this case, the parents pay taxes the same as if the home were empty due to the imputation of real estate income in personal income tax, the same obligations that already exist. for having a second residence without regular use. In this case, the owner of the home must pay a tax of 2% of the cadastral value of the property, and in some cases is reduced to 1.1%. That is, what is taxed is the condition of second home ownership, not the fact that children live in the home or not. The transfer of use is not a donation: the distinction that changes everything. As and as explained José María Salcedo, managing partner of the tax firm Salcedo Tax Litigation to Idealistiche article 6.5 of the Personal Income Tax Law establishes a presumption of onerousness. This means that the Treasury tends to assume that any transfer has a price. However, this presumption admits evidence to the contrary, and the most common instrument to prove it is the bailment contracta document that formalizes the loan of the property without financial consideration and that, according to Cruzado, the Treasury “does not usually carry out these checks”, although it serves as a guarantee to justify “free of charge the right to use someone else’s property for a certain period of time.” A version of this article was published in February 2026 In Xataka | If the question is how much money can be donated to a child without declaring it to the Treasury, the law makes it clear: none Image | Pexels (Jakub Zerdzicki) In Trends | Confirmed: the Government determines that those who live in their parents’ home must pay taxes under certain conditions

Junior salaries have been in free fall for years. New study suggests the impact of AI is not so obvious

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We have been seeing headlines for a couple of years about the destruction that AI is doing to employment junior. And the usual reply: no, it’s an excuse, that companies cut when rates rise and AI is only a convenient justification. Both readings are partly right. That’s just the problem. The study. The Stanford Digital Economy Lab has been analyzing actual payrolls. Not surveys or estimates: payrolls. Published a study at the end of 2025 but keeps updated dashboard with much more recent data. The result. Employment of those aged 22 to 25 in professions highly exposed to AI has fallen since the end of 2022, just when ChatGPT arrived, and lately at a rate of 4% annually. In those over 30, in those same professions, it increases. Coinbase charged 14% of its workforce citing AI as the cause. Salesforce stopped hiring juniors last year. The nuance. The same study adds a very interesting nuance: the effect does not appear when the AI ​​helps someone do their job, but when it does it for them. Write code, answer ticketswrite a first draft: that’s where hiring goes down. Review, verify, support a decision: it remains there. It does not replace human work in general. It replaces the boring job you start with when you are a youngster. It’s time to stop and agree with those who disagree.. In 2001, relocation to India was blamed for a slowdown that actually came from interest rates: when rates fell, hiring returned, and the debate about India remained unresolved. The OECD points in the same direction in your report this month: Unemployment among young graduates was already rising before ChatGPT existed. Coexistence? The two things may coexist. But even if only part of the fall is done by the AI, that part attacks the step that no one else can replace. The intern who answers wrong tickets for six months or do well needing help you’re not wasting your time: you’re learning to fail cheaply in a controlled environment. Removing that step doesn’t fire anyone today. In ten years there will be a lack of people senior and no one will be able to explain why, because by then they will have forgotten that the bottom step disappeared long ago. Featured image | Xataka In Xataka | Spanish companies systematically hide their salary in job offers: there are notable exceptions

They stay for free in luxury houses and castles throughout France

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Every few months, Claudine and Jean-Louis, a retired couple living in Aveyron, in the south of France, pack their bags to start some somewhat peculiar vacation. Sometimes their destination is a castle in the Saône-et-Loire region. Others, a house with a pool in French Provence. They are not millionairesbut no one charges them to stay in those luxurious properties. In return, the retired couple only has to give to eat a catwater a garden and collect mail from people they barely know. They have been doing it for twelve years and they told it in Le Figaro Emploi like someone describing any routine. Behind these apparent luxury vacations, there is a system with clear rules and an unexpected reason: they have to go spend the summer in palaces and mansions with pool because your retirement pension it wasn’t enough for them to go on vacation. The trick has a name: home-sitting The name sounds very modern, but in reality the idea is as old as asking a family member, neighbor or friend to stop by from time to time to water your plants or feed the cat during your vacation. In the case of home-sitting, that caregiver is not your neighbor, but rather they may have to travel across the country to water your plants, so the incentive is to allow them to stay free in your house while the order lasts. It is an exchange in kind in which there is no money involved. The retired couple has been using DomSittinga French platform specialized in this type of situation, designed only for retirees. Each assignment lasts from a few days to several weeks, and the owner usually explains the tasks to be carried out and shows the house in person before leaving on vacation. “Without DomSitting, we simply would not be able to travel,” Claudine declared to the French digital. They don’t put just anyone in your house Entering this world is not automatic. At the end of the day it is about bring a stranger into your house. As a control measure, they ask for a clean criminal record and insurance to cover possible damage to the home. Nomadorthe most used platform in France outside the exclusive circuit for retirees, requires verification of the DNI or passport and covers the home with insurance of up to 50,000 euros for damages. Once the profile is approved, the retiree can choose between assignments spread throughout France, and sometimes also extend to Switzerland or the Netherlands. Before each stay they sign a contract with specific rules, such as not receiving guests in the “borrowed” house. The assigned tasks are simple: walk the dog, water pots, make sure everything works. Nothing that a seventy-year-old retiree can’t do without effort. Word of mouth of this “trick” to stay in luxury villascastles or mansions during the summer has made it spread like wildfire. A French travel YouTuber posted a video from a villa in Nantes with a jacuzzi that, according to her, she “could never have afforded” on her own. His only tasks were to water a huge garden and feed Melchior, the house cat. He paid about 30 euros for three months of access to Nomador and chained five weeks of free accommodation in different destinations. Vacations within reach of retirees As indicated in their interview with the French media, Claudine and Jean-Louis’ joint pension is around 2,400 euros per month. It is not a low figure, but it does not leave much room for frequent getaways, taking into account the prices in France. According to the latest data As of 2025 from the French Government’s statistical agency, the average pension of a retiree in France is 1,666 euros gross, about 1,541 euros net. And today the country has 17.2 million retired people. The home-sitting alternative allows them to travel to other cities in the country, they do not pay rent, electricity, gas, or water in the place where they stay. They also hardly spend any money on their own home while they are away. Your vacation expenses only involve day-to-day gas and food. Claudine calculates that They save about 5,000 euros a yearmoney that previously went into hotels or vacation homes that never they could have afforded. In Xataka | Billionaires and celebrities have a new way to make money with their mansions: renting them to their fans Image | Unsplash (Alejandra Cifre González, 冷毛)

11 years after its end, this masterpiece of British suspense comes streaming and completely free

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The day it aired its last episode and thus definitively closed its exciting story, half of the British television audience that night was hooked by the end. Three years have passed since that (and eleven since the broadcast of the first episode), and now the extraordinary ‘Happy Valley‘has landed, without subscription or registration, in the catalog of TV Artcompletely free access. In this BBC series We will meet police sergeant Catherine Cawood in Halifax, West Yorkshire, who combines daily work in an area plagued by drugs and low-level crime with a personal life marked by the suicide of her teenage daughter. Catherine raises her grandson, lives with her sister, a former recovering addict, and carries a deep resentment towards the man she considers indirectly responsible for that tragedy. When he leaves prison and returns to the area, he is involved in a kidnapping that crosses his path again with that of Catherine. Each of the three seasons of the series develops a different criminal case, but maintains the pulse between both characters and the portrait of Catherine’s degraded family environment. And all this without leaving the Calderdale region, which It works almost like another character, with its closed climate and its battered economy. due to deindustrialization. The third and final season closed the story with 7.5 million viewers and an incredible share 41.6%, very rare figures to see today. ‘Happy Valley’ is one of the best pieces of that fascinating subgenre that is the British rural police drama, which series like ‘Broadchurch’ or ‘Line of Duty’ had previously cultivated. This plot is also close to ‘The Hunt’ or ‘Mare of Easttown’: an exhausted researcher who brings her personal life to the center of the plot. In any case, this multi-award-winning and highly praised three-part story has its own personality and is worth recovering. Especially now that you have it just a click away. In Xataka | It’s been 20 years since we saw its last episode but audiences have not fallen, and 5.9 million viewers continue to watch it every month

It’s free, open source and Adobe can’t do anything to prevent it

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There are a thousand and one alternatives to photoshop very interesting that allow you to have a powerful photo editor without entering into large payments or subscriptions of any kind. GIMP has established itself as one of the most prominent open source alternatives, although its interface is not entirely friendly if you come from an Adobe environment. PhotoGIMP was born precisely to resolve that clash. This is a free patch that reorganizes its interface, shortcuts, and various settings to make it much more familiar to anyone coming from Adobe software. What exactly is PhotoGIMP PhotoGIMP is a set of configuration files that replace the default GIMP settings. The project is maintained by Dionatan Simioni, known as Diolinuxspecialized mainly in Linux and free software, and is distributed openly under the GPL-3.0 license through GitHub, which means that it can be used, modified and distributed freely. It should be noted that PhotoGIMP does not add new features to GIMP nor does it turn it into Photoshop. As explained in the project’s official repository, it is a free, community-maintained patch that transforms GIMP into an interface with the idea that easy to use for those coming from Photoshop. So the editor behind it is still GIMP, with its pluses and minuses. What exactly does PhotoGIMP change? PhotoGIMP touches several elements of the user experience, but not the program engine: Tool layout. Icons and panels are rearranged to mimic the position that Photoshop users are accustomed to, so you don’t have to learn from scratch where everything is. Keyboard shortcuts. The keybinds follow Adobe’s official documentation for the Windows version, so much of the muscle memory from years of using Photoshop still applies. Use of the canvas. The default settings are modified to leave the maximum possible work space visible on the screen. Own welcome screen and icon. The patch includes a different start screen than standard GIMP and, on Linux, a launcher with its own name and icon in the system menu. Default language. The configuration applied by the patch leaves the program in English as standard, although it can be changed from the settings at any time. How to install PhotoGIMP The process varies slightly depending on the operating system, but always follows the same logic. And first you must have GIMP installed and have opened it at least once, so that it generates its own configuration folders, and then replaces those files with the ones included in PhotoGIMP. On Linuxthe patch is intended primarily for the version of GIMP installed through Flatpak. The process consists of downloading the compressed file for Linux from the official repository and extracting it directly into the user’s personal folder, so that the files are placed in the hidden folders .config and .local. If you have installed GIMP through another manager, such as apt, dnf either Pacmaninstead of Flatpak, the process also works as long as the configuration folder is in the same location and the installed version is 3.0 or higher. On Windowspress Windows key + R, type %APPDATA%\GIMP and copy the contents of the version of PhotoGIMP for Windows, previously downloaded and unzipped, into that folder. On macOSthe destination is the folder ~/Library/Application Support/GIMPaccessible from the Finder with the shortcut Cmd + Shift + G, where the configuration folder that comes with the patch is also copied. In all three cases It is highly recommended to make a backup before from the original settings folder, in case you want to keep your previous custom settings as PhotoGIMP overwrites files such as shortcuts, panel layout, templates, or visual theme. Uninstalling it is just as simple. And all you have to do is delete that same configuration folder and reopen GIMP, which will run automatically with its factory settings. It should be noted that the current version of the patch only works with GIMP 3.0 or higher. So if you are still using the 2.10 branch you will have to update the program before applying PhotoGIMP. It’s GIMP, both for the good and the not so good As we were saying, PhotoGIMP aims to reduce those small initial frictions for those who are more accustomed to Photoshop. If you have never been convinced by GIMP at first because of its capabilities, PhotoGIMP is not going to change your life. But if you were a little nervous about starting in GIMP because ‘it looks different from Photoshop’, This patch aims to take away your fear. So for the rest, it’s still GIMP, both for the good and the not so good. And you have a powerful free and open source editor at your disposal, but it still does not offer more specific and complex tools for professionals that Photoshop does have, such as its advanced color management with native CMYK, more complex editorial design, automation, integration with AI, etc. For the rest, if you don’t miss this more concrete and professional aspect of Photoshop, you are more than enough with GIMP, especially since since version 3.0 you also have the option of non-destructive adjustment layers. The PhotoGIMP repository has more than 13,000 stars on GitHub, is supported by the community, and has hundreds of forks from other developers, as well as translations and alternative installers. Wow, it is one of the most outstanding options to escape the more than 300 euros per year of Photoshop in case you can manage with everything that GIMP gives you. Besides, no account or login of any kind requiredsaves all the work on the computer itself without depending on cloud services, and the installation and uninstallation of the plugin is resolved by copying or deleting a folder. In Xataka | Your name, written with rivers and craters: NASA’s amazing tool based on thousands of satellite images

In 1967, Ebro moved to the Free Zone of Barcelona. 69 years later, we have seen how Ebro once again manufactures cars in it

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Entering the 500,000 square meters that the Ebro Factory plant in Barcelona occupies is, in large part, a visit to the origins of the brand and its deep connection with the Catalan capital. The same naves and corridors that In 1967 they saw the last Ebro vehicles leave to become later at Nissan Motor Ibérica. In 2026, the factory that opened its doors in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone almost 70 years ago, manufactures vehicles again (and not just assembly) with the Ebro logo on its grille. Ebro has just opened its facilities to the press for the first time, and we have been able to see first-hand what it is like to manufacture a car. What we have found is a factory full of welding robots, automated parts supply lines and state-of-the-art assembly lines that They look more to the future than to the past. A plant with many stories The old Nissan factory closed on December 31, 2021 after 41 years of activity. The cessation of activity left some 2,500 workers on the streets. Three years later, Ebro confirmed his reindustrialization plan of the plant returning its activity. And he did it, to a large extent, with the same workers he had. Of the almost 2,000 employees that the company currently has, nearly 1,000 employees who work here today They were already with Nissan. Of them, about 400 are product engineers, 200 process engineers and 200 welding and assembly line specialists. These employees know every hallway, every corner and, according to those responsible for the factory, they have played a leading role in the start-up of the plant. The factory occupies 500,000 m2 Our guide throughout the visit was Paco DuranDirector of Production Control and Logistics. According to what he said, he himself started at this same plant in 1998, when the Nissan sign still hung on the door. When the Japanese stopped production he spent some time at Stellantis. When Ebro started his reindustrialization plan, he returned to what he considered his Alma mater. Durán is, in all likelihood, the person who best knows how these facilities work. Nissan veterans like him helped design each booth of the new assembly line based on the years of experience that the assembly of Japanese cars gave them. They knew exactly what had worked before and what had failed. That muscle memory acquired by years of automobile production has weighed more than any manual and has contributed to the Ebro Factory will start walking in record time. First as an assembly center, and now as the only Ebro manufacturing plant in Spain and Europe, in which the Spanish brand already manufactures four models with welding, painting, assembly and quality control processes. Barcelona outside and inside There is a very curious detail in how this factory is designed. It is inspired by Barcelona and the two rivers (the Besós and the Llobregat) that frame it. Being called Ebro, it makes sense. Like these rivers, the entire flow of supplies flows from mountains to sea. It is not the only inspiration that Ebro engineers have borrowed from Barcelona when designing it. The interior of the factory has the same structure as the streets of Barcelona Its interior is arranged in streets perpendicular to each other, well-defined islands, without intersections that block the passage or flows that collide with each other. The reference is the Cerdà Plan of 1859who created the orthogonal grid so characteristic of Barcelona that it ordered the Eixample of Barcelona. An urban model that is still a reference in half the world. A small Barcelona within an icon of Barcelona’s industrial past. Under this spatial arrangement, the materials enter at one end of the factory and advance in line to the other, without setbacks or countercurrents. As Durán explained, this flow “towards the sea” reduces errors, improves response times and, as an added advantage, facilitates the evacuation of the plant in case of emergency. The plant works on two levels. All the assembly of the different components occurs on the ground, while the automatic transports of parts and bodies circulate suspended in a complex logistics system that takes the bodies from one section to another without interrupting the assembly work below. To give us an idea of ​​the magnitude of this aerial infrastructure, the equivalent of three days of production of components and bodies was circulating above our heads at all times. 696 meters of line and 20 cars per hour Since November 2024, the factory operated with the M0 assembly line, in which the cars arrived from China semi-assembled and the rest of the parts were assembled at the Ebro factory. However, the heart of the visit, and the new jewel in Ebro’s crown, is the M1 assembly line. There are 696 meters, 97 work stations and a cycle of 160 seconds per vehicle. That is, each operator has that time to assemble the elements assigned to that station. The body is welded in a 23,000 square meter warehouse with more than 150 robots. Around 95% of this process is fully automated. There the floor, sides and roof are welded until forming what is called the Body-in-Whitethe empty structure of the car before receiving any paint or components. From there it travels by air to the painting area which, for safety reasons due to the chemical agents used there, we were not able to visit (we needed PPE and additional protection). In this section, the car chassis go through degreasing baths, paint is applied through cataphoresis and an anti-corrosion treatment. Afterwards, the already painted bodies fly back to the assembly area, but not before disassembling the doors, which travel in parallel, to improve the workers’ access to the interior. Something that caught my attention was that all the cars I saw on the assembly line were Ebro S700 red in color (the Red Blood Stone, to be more exact). When we asked Paco Durán about the reason, he explained to us that instead of responding to color … Read more

Puertomingalvo, the Teruel town of 130 inhabitants, has been without free beds for the eclipse for more than a year

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The solar eclipse on August 12 will be an ideal opportunity to go sightseeing in places where we normally would not do so. There are many people who have chosen to organize their vacations around this great astronomical eventwhose entire strip will not precisely cross the most tourist places in Spain. It will not pass through Benidorm, the Canary Islands or the Costa del Sol. Yes, it will be seen in some fairly touristy spots on the Balearic Islands, but little else. Mostly it will discharge all its splendor in the famous emptied Spain. The Sun rulesso many people who possibly would not have had these destinations among their options for summer vacations have decided to enter these small towns and discover all their charm. Because, logically, there will be a lot to do beyond seeing the eclipse, whose totality will not last two minutes. Castilla León, Navarra and Aragón, for example, are home to many interesting towns to take advantage of the day of the eclipse and the days before and after it. For example, many people will choose to see it in Puertomingalvo, a beautiful Teruel town in which all its accommodations posted the full sign for these dates more than a year ago. Although it is not necessary to stay directly in the town to enjoy everything it has to offer. A changing population preparing for the great solar eclipse As it could not be otherwise, to get to know the town of Puertomingalvo a little better I have contacted Manuel Vázquez, the guide in charge of your Tourist Office. He says that, although there are currently about 130 people registered in this town in the Gúdar Javalambre regionin summer it is usually around 600 people. There are many second homes where some people who moved to Castellón or other more industrialized cities travel in summer in search of work. But there are also 11 accommodations that have been full for more than a year. It is true that in summer it is always full, but reservations for August usually begin to close in June, not a year in advance. Furthermore, Vázquez is a lover of statistics, so he has been studying the searches that have been made on the Puertomingalvo website. Thus, he has observed that, although last year searches in French stood out, this year they have far surpassed them in searches in Spanish. That does not mean that the town did not have national tourism. He had, and a lot. But maybe they were people who didn’t have to search the town. Now, thanks to the eclipse, there are many more Spaniards who have been interested in getting to know it. Hermitage of Saint Barbara of Nicomedia For all this, the Government of Aragon has also been preparing this and other nearby towns for a year for what is to come. “From the Government of Aragon they send us talks and information about how to use approved glasses“, prevent fires, etc.,” says Vázquez. “We are dedicated to informing anyone who needs it about the eclipse.” The town is located at 1,456 meters high and it has a very clear sky. Additionally, according to Vázquez, there has only been one summer storm around that time in recent years. Generally the skies are usually clear, so the weather will most likely behave when the day arrives. Much more than an eclipse The eclipse will be an ideal occasion for many people who did not even know Puertomingalvo to venture inside its medieval walls. In summer, with its population quintupled, the town bustles with a very complete program of festivals. “The schedule for August is crazy,” celebrates the tour guide. “Last year they made more than 100 activities in 30 days and this year many activities are also expected.” In short, people who decide to take advantage of the eclipse to visit Puertomingalvo will have a good program of activities. But, in addition, you will enjoy many places to visit. And, despite its small size, Puertomingalvo has a lot of heritage. It is part of the Association of the most beautiful towns in Spain and in 1982 It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Historical-Artistic Complex. Upon arrival, the visitor can enjoy observing its walls, but inside the art and history do not end. The Castle stands out, where you can arrange a private visit, as well as the Town Hall building and the hermitages. All these buildings are from Civil Gothic and were built between the 14th and 16th centuries. You can also visit the Church of the Purification and San Blas, El Hospicio Poma, the laundries and the Hospital for the Poor, which has currently been converted into a hostel and library. On the other hand, Casa Llorens stands out, a very well preserved palatial house, which was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. Sport and Nature In the surroundings of the town there are numerous hiking trails which can be visited on foot, by bicycle or even on horseback. It is an ideal way to enjoy nature and sports at any time of the year. In summer, without a doubt, one of the most recommended is the Cascada del Arquero route, since you can end it with a swim in the river, ideal for the heat. Outside the town, you can also visit the remains of the Iberian town of Los Castillejos. In short, history, nature and the sky come together in a perfect combo for a different vacation. Puertomingalvo is a great location to observe the solar eclipse, but also to delight in everything it has to offer, both this year and whenever we decide to visit. Image | Pabloandr85, Juan Emilio Prades Bel In Xataka | Between 2026 and 2028 Spain will become an eclipse paradise. And we have new maps to know where they will look best

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