Madrid

With the bird between Galicia and Madrid cut by the fires, someone has taken advantage of it to earn money: the airlines

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Spain burns. And Zamora, León and Ourense are taking the worst part. The number of spotlights and their virulence is such that it has forced to cut the circulation of high speed between Zamora and Galicia. Some roads are cut. Renfe does not offer a solution. And, in the background, the airlines win. Cut. Rail traffic between Zamora and Galicia is cut. Renfe has confirmed today that trains will not circulate again in what remains during the day and there is not a single glimpse of hope that The situation can be reversed in the short term. In the Last DGT updatethere are six lonely cut roads and two in Zamora. None of them correspond to the great highways such as A-6, A-66 or A-52 that structure the northwest of the country. Despite this, Renfe does not offer a bus alternative to those who cover Madrid-Zamora or Zamora-Madrid by train, only open section in the high-speed Galician corridor. What can the traveler do? Those who had a high speed ticket in the Galician corridor have three options. The first is evident, do only the section between Madrid and Zamora and then take a bus or a car to Galicia. The second is to perform the entire road tour. The fastest road is obviously the plane. Prohibitive prices. But those who are obliged to travel will find exorbitant prices to cover the distance that Madrid separates from Galicia. Especially if the traveler travels from Galician lands to Madrid. In that case, if you are in a hurry, you will have to assume the expense of more than 300 euros per ticket. Using the Skyscanner search engine, which offers all available flights and allows you to filter for price, schedule and time spent, we have sought what options are available in the short term, simulating the situation in which those who have to travel irremediably and have already hired a train will be found, trying to endure until the last moment. The results are as follows. Options with direct flight between Vigo and Madrid for Tuesday, August 19 Vigo-Madrid. Travel the August 19 between Vigo and Madrid It already costs at least 350 euros. At the moment, there are 14 alternatives available but only two of them offer a direct flight. In the week, the options relax their prices but it is still necessary to spend 237 euros if we want to travel on August 20 and between 130 and 114 euros if we want to fly between Wednesday and Friday. The cheapest ticket between Santiago de Compostela and Madrid is to make a 18 -hour scale in Seville Santiago de Compostela-Madrid. Perspectives are not much better Between Santiago de Compostela and Madrid. Making the trip tomorrow costs 331 euros. On Wednesday the price of the cheapest ticket is 299 euros and Wednesday is 231 euros. On Friday they fall below the border of 200 euros but only momentarily. The weekend is firing again above 200 euros. There is another cheaper option but, obviously, totally advisable. The cheapest flight between Santiago de Compostela and Madrid costs 249 euros and a scale of more than 15 hours in Seville. Same situation for Wednesday (with almost 22 -hour scale in Malaga) or for Thursday (this time with a stop in Barcelona). Cheaper options to fly between A Coruña and Madrid tomorrow, August 19 A Coruña-Madrid. On direct flights, The cheapest flying alternative Between Galicia and Madrid he is in A Coruña. Leaving from this airport, the ticket for tomorrow, August 19 costs 272 euros late at night. If we wanted to leave early in the morning, the border of the 300 euros is exceeded. Of course, unlike the previous cases, the rest of the week can be traveling for less than 150 euros. Almost an oasis watching the rest of Galician alternatives. Among the Madrid-Galicia flights, Vigo is the most expensive journey And from Madrid? The options from the capital are not so bleeding for the traveler’s pocket. Facing tomorrow, August 19, the tickets between Madrid and A Coruña They are below 100 euros and the rest of the week in half of this price. Similar situation will be those who travel To Santiago de Compostela. Vigo, again, is the most expensive option. In this case, the cheapest price from one day to another is 142 euros. If you want to travel in the morning, you have to pay more than 200 euros. Of course, prices the rest of the week move between 50 and 40 euros. Although there are no clear data that confirms it, everything indicates that prices from Madrid are not so high because the march of travelers from the capital is motivated by a holiday getaway that can be postponed and, nevertheless, the flow between Galicia and Madrid may be motivated by a return to the office, which entails less flexible plans. Not only Renfe. The pressure on short -term flights and the fall in later days shows that travelers are waiting until the last moment to confirm an alternative to the reserves of their trains but is also motivated by an offer that has been reduced. The voice of Galicia He pointed out a few weeks ago that Iberia had reduced her daily offer in the Galician corridor in 80 seats. To this movement we must add the Partial output of Ryanair This same year of Galician airports, offering 61% less trips in Vigo and 28% less in Santiago de Compostela. This reduction in the offer and the most expensive prices have led to a reduction in the number of passengers. In A Coruña, the number of passengers flewing at the Galician airport until last July was 0.3% higher than 2024, According to AENA data. However, the figure fell 6.5% in Vigo and 12.4% in Santiago de Compostela. Photo | Ume In Xataka | The megaindios of Ourense, Zamora and León have paralyzed the Galician bird. It is the nth setback in a horrible year for Renfe

Madrid needs to build a lot to relieve its serious housing crisis. You already have a (mini) plan to achieve it

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Madrid You need housing. A lot of housing. If the city wants to solve its mismatch between supply and demand and thus stop The climbing Price that he has long suffered needs to strengthen his market. It is not a simple task. Over the last years the capital has Moved file for example to avoid the escape of floors towards the holiday rental or clear land in which Raise new houses. With that backdrop, his City Council has just taken an important step with which he hopes to create hundreds of households in a new urban widening. Objective: to stop one of the Great challenges of the capital. What happened? That Madrid has taken an important step that will allow (partly) to relieve one of its most pressing problems: The lack of housing. A few days ago the City Council advanced in the procedures to clear the situation of an area of 218,000 m2 located east of the capital, together with San Fernando de Henares and Coslada, and in which 700 houses will be built, 50% official protection. What exactly? Advance in the long bureaucratic journey that the project has to complete before the first stone is placed. Last week the Government Board of Madrid approved Submit to the public information process the Sector Plan for the ‘Development of the East-Esanche of San Fernando’. The objective: ultimately, order the land located next to San Fernando de Henares and Coslada to “transform” with green areas, services … and houses. The Governing Board also approved to send the document to the Community of Madrid to activate two other essential bureaucratic gears: the strategic environmental assessment and the territorial impact report. For now, the project already has a favorable report from the General Planning Directorate. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Where will it be built? East of Madrid. To be more precise, near the roads M-45 and M-50 and the Regional M-206, between the towns of San Fernando de Henares and Coslada. Towards the East limits with the Parque Roma-Coronas neighborhood (S. Fernando de Henares), to the Oste with Jarama (Coslada) and to the south beautiful with the hills (Madrid). The Consistory recalls that under the ground the Metro line 7 runs, not far away are the Central Coslada and S. Fernando. The idea is not to build only 700 homes, green areas and other equipment, but “integrate” the new neighborhood into the surroundings, especially with Romoronas Park and Jarama, “giving continuity and harmony to the whole set, also with the metropolitan forest,” Clarify José Luis Martínez-Almeida’s team. The Consistory wants to integrate the improved road into the urban framework, preventing it from acting as a kind of “barrier”. Why is it important? Because among other things the Ensanche of San Fernando plans to create about 700 new homes, half with some degree of public protection and the rest available for the free market. And that is an important news in a city that suffers a deep mismatch between demand and the supply of residences, which translates into a deficit that some voices of the sector They relate precisely with the lack of soil available for construction. The Association of Real Estate Promoters of Madrid (Asprima) Calculate that every year they are necessary 40,000 New households in the community, well above the production of new construction. According to their estimates, over the last years housing deliveries have remained between 7,200 of 2014 and the “peak” of 23,500 last year. In 2023 and 2024 he estimates that 16,000 and 18,600 began respectively, which gives an idea of the stage for the next few years. And what does that suppose? “There is much more demand than supply and that translates into a price increase. In addition, there is an embolized demand for more than 175,000 homes,” warned Real Estate Consultores Forum in a 2024 analysis. In its last year’s report, Asprime already remembered that the INE forecasts pass through that in the coming years (between 2022 and 2037) the population of the Community of Madrid grows almost 13% to exceed the 7.8 million inhabitantswhich will fully affect its real estate market, tensioning it even more. “This growth will cause the community to build housing in the next 14 years for 573,738 new homes, passing the housing park of the 2,636,988 existing in December 2022 until 3,210,726 of December 2037. It means building more than 40,000 homes a year, compared to the 17,000 that are currently built,” collect The promoters report. The collective is part involved, but it is not the only one who has warned of the hole, a problem that extends to other regions of the country and also has pointed out The Bank of Spain. Does it affect something else? Yes. The mismatch between supply and demand, added to other factors such as The pressure that holiday rentals exercise, it is felt on several fronts. For example, in The speed with which the floors find tenant or buyer or The hard conditions who are forced to assume those interested so as not to be expelled from the market. If there is a clear indicator of the imbalance it is nevertheless the price. Idealista calculates that M2 costs € 5,718 In the capital, 23.7% more than a year ago. In the case of rentals the rise was from 11.3%. Images | Quique Olivar (UNSPLASH) and Borja Carabante (X) In Xataka | In Madrid the number of Latinos has shot. And with them a new phenomenon: 15 -year -old parties for Madrid

Madrid is an invivable city

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Do you like the autonomous community in which you live? Would you change it? And if so, where would you leave? To another tip of Spain or would you look further, abroad? Recently the Mutual Group technicians did A curious experiment: They dedicated themselves to interviewing more than 2,300 people distributed by Spain to raise those same issues and find out to what extent they are satisfied with the region in which they live or, if possible, where they would like to move. The result is striking. A percentage: 67%. Notice the cis It reminds us That Spaniards are concerned about such elementary issues as access to housing, unemployment or economy, but still the vast majority do not consider looking for fortune in other countries. That is at least the main reading that leaves the II Housing Barometer ‘Owner planet’, prepared by Mutual Group owners. After conducting thousands of interviews their technicians found that almost seven out of ten Spaniards (67%) want to continue residing in the country, which represents a slight two -point rebound with respect to 2024. For its authors it is “a discreet but significant rise” that suggests “greater satisfaction with the place where we live.” Of course, when taking out the magnifying glass and analyzing the data we observe some nuances that reveal that not all Spaniards are equally satisfied. Age of age? The most important difference is related to age. The oldest Spaniards are the least inclined to make their bags to leave the country, a reality that contrasts with the younger population cohort. The study It shows that while 77% of those over 65 ensure that they want to maintain their residence in Spain, that percentage drops to 54% when we talk about young people aged 18 to 24. It is not a surprising fact if the difficulties with those found to access housing and that The unemployment rate Between 16 and 24 years it exceeds the rest of the stripes. Another fact: 51%. The barometer It shows another curious fact that gives even more game. Perhaps the perspective of packing and moving to another point in Europe or even America, Asia or Africa does not excite the vast majority of the population, but the study reveals that the Spaniards are more willing to move to another autonomous community. Moreover, it is a “feasible” perspective for 51%. Last year that percentage reached 54%. What regions do we look mostly? Andalusia, the one desired by 9%, followed by Asturias (6%), Basque Country (5%) and the Canary Islands (5%). Preferences oscillate however from one community to another, just as the percentage of people satisfied with the place where they reside and that of those who recognize that they would not mind liking the blanket at the head and move to another community. Two cases: Andalusia and Madrid. When he reviewed Your data And he calculated the local population percentages satisfied with his community, Mutual Group of owners took another surprise. The reason? There are differences. And deep. In Andalusia, 59% of the interviewees ensure that it would not change region, which makes it the community with the greatest roots in the entire country. 6% recognize not being clear and 35% would move to other latitudes, especially to Asturias and the Canary Islands, places to which 12% of respondents would go. In the opposite pole is Madrid, the community with the most detached population. At least according to the Mutual Group study. Only 25% say they would not change community. Another 8% confess that they do not know if it would leave. Conclusion? 67% of Madrid They would transfer their lives to another territory. Which one exactly? If we talk about Spain the most desired places by the inhabitants of the capital are Andalusia (12%), Asturias (9%) and Community Valencian (8%), followed by Cantabria, Castilla y León and Galicia, regions tied with 6%. The big question: why? The study has its limitations, but leaves an interesting question: why do so many Madrid people recognize themselves willing to leave? For the company they come into play various factors: “The accelerated rhythm of life, the cost of housing and urban congestion lead to the population to look for quieter or affordable environments.” The authors of the study remember that the percentages also tell us about issues such as the “degree of stability” of the population, attachment, climate, quality of life and “cultural identity.” The cost of housing can be another crucial element, as are job opportunities. The report reveals that another community with a high percentage of open population to leave is Balearic Islands. Only 29% guarantees that they would not change region and 12% say they have no clear opinion about it, which translates into the remaining 59% is not a crazy idea. The Balearic Islands and Madrid share a peculiarity: they are the communities in which It is more expensive Buy house. The third is a Basque Country, where 43% would be clearly moved. Images | Josefina Di Battista (Unsplash) and Joshua Aguilar (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | “Chulos, arrogant and know -all”: if the question is whether there is ‘Madridophobia’ in Spain we already have the answer

We have been talking about high speed between Lisbon and Madrid for years. Portugal is looking elsewhere: Galicia

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Galicia and Portugal share cultural, economic ties and a intense very intense cars flow forced to circulate on one of the highways more dangerous from Spain. That last could change in a few years. Portugal has activated His administrative machinery to build the first high speed between Aveiro and Porto, a key piece of the Lisboa-Oporto railway corridor that looks beyond Portugal and aspires to link with Galicia. With the echoes of the debate of whether Lisbon, high speed must be prioritized with Madrid or Galicia, the public body infrastructure of Portugal (IP) is very light: Aspires to link Lisbon with Vigo and A Coruña to leave a population bag of 11 million people only three hours from the Portuguese capital. What happened? That Portugal has just given A key step For the implementation of the Lisbon-Porto high speed line, a railway corridor that will link the two main cities of the country and will continue north to the border with Galicia. A few days ago IP and Advance Norte- Gestão Da Ferrovia de High Speede signed A concession contract of the first high speed between Lisbon and Porto: 71 km between Porto and Oiãin the Aveiro district. What exactly agreed? What they signed is a concession and financing contract, which in turn clears the design, construction and maintenance of the Porto section to Oiã for 30 years. “When it is finished, it will allow the connection between Lisbon and Porto in an hour and 15 minutes, with an expected use of almost ten million passengers a year,” Clarify Carlo Fernandes, from IP. In addition to the 71 kilometers of line, the project will incorporate a station in Vila Nova de Gaia, a bridge over the Duero and an electrical substation in Strare. And what about investment? The signing of the agreement also served to present the financing agreement between Advo Norte and the European Investment Bank (BEI) for 875 million euros, part of the global loan of 3,000 million euros approved in 2024 by the BEI to support the new line. Vigo lighthouse It states that in the first phase the Next Generation funds will also contribute 447 million. “This is a true turning point,” Celebrate Nadia Calviñoformer Minister of Economy and current president of the BEI. And why is it important? Because those 71 km are the first step of a much more ambitious race, the first phase of the new Lisbon-Support line. In total that initial corridor will be extended 143 km Between the Porto-Campanhã and Soubo station, in Coimbra. The high -speed corridor between the two major cities of Portugal, Lisbon and Porto, is divided into several phases that extend to Oiã, from that town to the district of Coimbra and the latter to the Lisbon area. A few months ago, In MayInfrastructure of Portugal also guaranteed that its objective is that the works for the new line between Braga and Valença do Minho, already at the northern end of the country, touching the border with the south of Galicia, start in 2028 and that the infrastructure is completed shortly after, in 2032. But … how does Spain affect? How important is the future high -speed future line between Lisbon and Porto or plans to extend the infrastructure even further north of the country? Simple. Procedures such as that of a few days ago, which seems to have cleared the future of the Porto-Oiã section, gradually shaping the new railway axis that will link the Portuguese capital with the north of the country and, ultimately, will link with the Galician rail service. It is not theory. Although the project takes time on the table and over the last years has taken both steps forward and backwards, the high speed connection with Galicia is linked to the development of the Lisbon-Oporto corridor. It He has made clear Fernandes himself, vice president of IP: “We will get with the Lisbon-Porto-Vigo axis to place A Coruña and about 11 million inhabitants at a distance of three hours from Lisbon.” The objective is not only to connect the lusas (large and intermediate) cities but to extend through the Atlantic strip. Is it the only project? No. The Lisbon-Porto High Speed Line and its connection with Galicia has been on the table, but in the neighboring country they handle another key project: the corridor Between Lisbon and Madrid. What is a priority? Which one is most interested in Spain? And to Portugal? In the past both countries have signs that their answers to those questions do not always coincide. During the summit Hispanic-2004 The Spanish government promised to “boost high speed between Madrid and Lisbon by 2030”. On the section of Porto to Vigo, assured “Share with the Portuguese Executive the commitment of 2032”. For the Portuguese president, Luis Montenegro, things seem to be somewhat different. After the bilateral assembly, he wanted to “make clear” that his “priority” is the Galician connection and that Madrid is actually a “second priority.” Is it the first time that happens? At all. It is not the first time that dissonance is revealed. In 2020, with António Costa in the Portuguese Government, it was even clearer when after the XXXI Hispanic Summit the Minister of Cohesion Territory, Ana Abrunhosa, left black on white Your posture. “Our priority is not the connection between Madrid and Lisbon because from Madrid to Lisbon we go by plane. We already have connection. Our priority is the Lisbon Atlantic Axis, Porto and Vigo”, He stressed Abrunhosablunt. Galicia and Portugal share economic ties and an intense flow of vehicles, which converts the A-55 highway, into Vigo, into The great door for filmed traffic between both countries. The Lisbon-Madrid connection that would limit the three-hour trip is expected a priori by 2034. Images | John Worth (Flickr), Nuno Morão (Flickr) and Infrastruturas of Portugal In Xataka | Renfe has just published his first punctuality report. Result: the bird is not punctual

The arcade boom in Madrid and other Spanish cities

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The recreational have come back to stay. The neuralgic center of meeting so many young people from the eighties and the nineties seem to ride the wave of nostalgia, and they are more than a curiosity, or temporary exhibitions to rediscover the classic games. Throughout Spain, and especially in Madrid, they are emerging from arcade theme bars to associations that make their background available to visitors, and that guarantee a nostalgic zambombazo … and discovery. Madrid, Mecca del Arcade. Although they begin to abound throughout Spain, without a doubt the main core of recovery of recreational is in Madrid. The relocation in Vallecas of The Arcade temple (which is also an association in the southern Madrid area dedicated to the dissemination, preservation and restoration of Arcades and Pinballs) has caused this type of premises to speak again, which in most cases are arms of associations of friends of the retroinformatics (for example, NEXTAGEconsecrated to the recovery of dance machines). It also happens in Retro Factory From Alcorcón and Parla, which, like the Arcade Temple, includes in its facilities a video game memorabilia museum. But there are more variants in the capital: in Zoo arcade They are also dedicated to the repair and conservation of old machines, in a business parallel to the premises that allow players to test the recreational. And finally it is Next Levelthe most accessible of all these projects: bars with machines of all kinds that already have two very central stores in Madrid and have just opened an additional one in Barcelona. Retro Spain. Although they abound in Madrid, of course they are not the only places where retro recreational machines can be accessed. Some examples, apart from the new Next Level store: Arcade Planet and Check Point Arcade Bar In Seville, Arcade Levels in Zaragoza or Pixelandgames In Logroño. To all of them are added video game museums that usually include machines to try, such as the Muvi of Cangas, the Vintage Arcade Museum from IBI (Alicante) and the recent Video game museum from Madrid. Do you have change? As for the way of accessing the games, all these proposals work very similarly: in no machine you have to take coins, but the games are open to infinite credits. In some of these stores you have to pay a rate for spending all day (as in the specialized in Japanese machines Arcade Rebirth) or for a limited time (usually one hour, in most cases). And on the other hand there are bars like Next Level, where a consumption is required to play. Disseminating spirit The interesting thing about some of these proposals is the disseminating spirit that leads to riding something that works economically, but also disseminates the culture of arcade. Manuel Vargas, from The Arcade Museum, tells us that “I had been thinking about making an association with several colleagues”, and apart from the aforementioned exhibition, between their walls they have “105 arcades and several old consoles that can also be played. The space is about 600 meters, and we have a conference room for magazine presentations, books and games.” On the other hand, Curro Quevedo, from Zoo Arcade, tells us that they also related to that spirit, made “a chronology of the arcade world from the former like ‘Space Invaders’ to the last dance or augmented reality machines.” He also tells us that in his 42 machines “we have sought that each machine is unique and has different types of hardware and different controls to be able to see their evolution a bit.” Referring to the competition that has emerged in recent times between similar premises, he affirms that, related to that spirit of wanting to spread historical games, “nobody thinks of competitors, since they are not very profitable businesses, it is more about being able to share a passion” How does nostalgia work? By cycles: We return again and again to claim fashions, successes and trends from past decades (or decades as a whole, in fact), and then tired, declare them “burned” and let some time pass before The next generation decides to rescue that point from the past again. The eighties, after the absolute saturation we have lived with products such as ‘Stranger Things’, now go through that Phase of tiredalthough recreational rooms, for what is seen, seem to have dodged that trend. They are more active than ever. Fever for recreational. The recreational machine rooms were in the eighties A unique meeting point for the youngest: Not only the video games that were in them had a visual quality and a spectacularity far superior to the eight -bit consolers and microorder in the houses. They were also sites where relationships were developed and generated their own fauna that then did not translate with any subsequent environment: hence the powerful nostalgia effect they arouse. Games can be recovered through emulation (or even with Own Machines at home), But the atmosphere is not. That is why they sprout as mushrooms, a multitude of bars and recreational premises (removing the neighborhood danger plus that the rooms had a few decades ago, of course). Header | The Arcade temple In Xataka | How one of the most famous Windows saves emerged: the hypnotic 3D pipe network in motion

How the Latin Party of the 15 years is peering among the young people from Madrid

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In the Community of Madrid they live more than one million From Latin Americans, people born in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela Peru or Uruguay (the complete countries around twenty) who work in businesses in the region, go to the same parks as the native population and have children who study in the same schools. That is why it is not strange that customs and traditions be infected. And that something like ’15 -year party’a celebration that until not so much celebrated only Latinas, start to turn on Madrid’s homes. Nothing that did not happen before with other traditions. Quinceañera To the Spanish. That in Spain parties of the 15 years are celebrated is no novelty. As the Latin population increased in our country, customs, traditions and products that until not so much was difficult to see on this side of the Atlantic were also extended. The quinceañera party It is a good example. The also known as ’15 -year -old party’ or quino is a celebration with which families mark the transit of childhood to maturity. And what are they? The staging can vary from one celebration to another or between regions, but there are some elements that are often repeated: Dresses Princess Styles (even with Cancán and Tiaras), bright colors, friends, chamblanes, cakes, dances … Everything, of course, focused on the great protagonist, the young woman who celebrates her 15 years and, with them, the transition from girl to adult woman. In the quinceañera celebrations it is common for this step to symbolize in different ways. In some countries, parents change the young woman’s footwear, replacing shoes with heel shoes, or the protagonist delivers her last doll to stage that leaves the childhood behind. Although There are those who go back The roots of the celebration of pre -Columbian cultures are not strange that the holidays include Christian action masses and sermons of priests. Expanding phenomenon. You may not know its details or history, but surely the concept sounds like you and you have seen photos of Quinceañeras In networks. Normal. A Fast search In Google shows news of 2017 or even 2014 in which there was already talk of how the holidays were spreading in Spain. At that time the norm was that behind those celebrations there would always be a young woman of Latin American roots. Today it is no longer so. A few days ago The country public A report in which he reveals that they are already organizing ceremonies for Madrid girls, Spanish families and without cultural ties with Latin America. “From 30 events, 10”. The phenomenon is better understood with the help of María Carolina Triviño, director of We will be Latina company based in Madrid that has specialized in this kind of ceremonies. While works above all with families from Honduras and Paraguay, it is no longer uncommon for their door to call Spaniards who want their daughters to celebrate the Quinceañera. “From more than 30 events, 10 have been for Spanish. And they always start the same: they came to a 15 -year party as guests of their Latin friends and encapricated,” Comment Triviño The influence comes through both friends and networks. In Tiktok they can be found A good handful Of videos about 15 -year parties, material in which as triviño acknowledges, girls are inspired to choose costumes and cuts. The country He has also spoken with Ana Rodríguez, a 50 -year -old from Madrid, to whom one day his daughter told him that he wanted to celebrate “his 15”. She had never heard of the party. His daughter yes, through her groups of friends and Tiktok. “It’s like Halloween or Pope Noél”. The ceremonies “of the 15” among young Spaniards may be new. Its context, no. Input because it is not the first celebration or foreign tradition that rootes in Spain. Before other parties have already done it through cinema or by simple imitation. “It’s like Halloween or Santa Claus, they don’t ask where it comes from, they just want to celebrate it because they see it around them,” Rodríguez comments. She herself confirms that in her environment, in Pozuelo, there are more Spanish who want to celebrate their own parties. “They don’t understand”. “Spanish parents don’t understand anything, but their daughters are clear: they want 15 photos, like their Latin friends. The other day a father told me: ‘This is going to be like Halloween. Before no one celebrated it and now everyone does it’”, agrees Sergio Saavedra, founder of a company dedicated to rent dresses for quinceañeras. Photos and costumes are two pillars of the party. “Latin girls do not want to give up their own and the Spanish do not want to stay out,” Point out Another entrepreneur who has seen a business opportunity. Not so strange. Another explanation that quinceañeras ceremonies They are rooting in Spanish homes is that the concept, in reality, is not so alien to us. Decades ago in Madrid, ‘parties of the 15’ were not seen, but they were held long when the young women fulfilled the age of majority. Between each other there are differences, but also similarities: celebrations centered on young people, dresses, social acts and a ceremony that in the end seek to highlight the passage of childhood to maturity. Today they continue to be held, although they are usually associated with certain social extracts. It is culture, and it is demography. If there is something that explains the pull of the Quinceañeras It is nevertheless demography. In Spain, many more Latin Americans reside today than a few decades, so it is normal for society to soak up its traditions. On January 1, 2024, the INE counted in the Madrid region just over one million people born in Latin American countries, which means that one in seven Inhabitants was born in Latin American countries. The data multiplies by which it was recorded at the end of the 20th century, when it did not even reach 100,000. And it is … Read more

Felipe II wanted to build an XXL channel from Madrid to Lisbon. Now the city has recovered it inspired by ancient Egypt

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When the workers are excavated in a city with the solera and patrimonial wealth of Madrid the ground can become a box of surprises. The team in charge of the expansion of Metro Line 11, which during its excavations at the future Madrid Rio station recently proved it. He found himself With a wall of the Real Canal del Manzanares, the Gran river path dreamed by Felipe II. The structure has value, that was clear from the beginning, but it was so delicate and was in such a complicated area that a doubt arose: how to rescue it? Simple: ‘Looking’ to Ancient Egypt. Underground Award. If Spanish architects know something, it is that when you hurt a shovel in a city and excavas enough it is not strange that archaeological remains begin to emerge. It has happened in the works of Expansion of line 11 of the Madrid Metro. A few months ago The operators who are responsible for horating the ground for the future underground network and the Madrid Rio station found more than rocks: they located remains of the Real Canal del Manzanares. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Curious yes, surprising no. The finding is interesting and will help us know better The old channeling who aspired to connect Madrid and Lisbon with barges, but did not catch off experts. “It has been no surprise to meet this section of the channel here,” I commented In spring a The country Archaeologist Esther Andreu. It is not the first finding in the environment and experts have been in charge of keeping tables and examining the area with laser scanners. What is the real channel? Maybe The craziest dream From Felipe II, that one day, back in the 16th century, he wondered why he could not have Madrid his own port with the Atlantic. Sounds macarronic, but what the monarch had in mind was to imitate the model of locks and channels he had seen In Flanders and create a river route that connected Madrid with Aranjuez and then continue through the Tagus to Lisbon … and America. The project, huge, required a 600 km navigable route capable of saving 650 m slope, as Pedro Gargantilla requires in ABC. With honey on the lips. The project advanced and In 1584 Felipe II himself came to travel from Madrid to Aranjuez to verify in situ the progress of the company. However, neither its real effort, nor that of the engineer behind the project, Juan Bautista AntonelliNor the implication of the monarchs that followed Felipe II on the throne (especially Carlos III) served to make the structure reach the size with which the Austria dreamed. Stayed in a channel of 22 kilometers of extension (far from the initial objective), 14 meters wide and three of draft, with ten locks, header, jetty and houses for workers. Against the project they played several factors, in addition to their considerable technical complexity. The first varapalo was the death of Antonelli in 1588, which happened complications with financing, the distancing Politician with Portugal and, already advanced time, in the 19th century, the growing competition of the railroad, which caused the infrastructure Stay in disuse. That did not prevent the Royal Channel from remembered as an emblematic project whose remains, as Metro has verified, continue to rest under the feet of Madrid. What to do with the remains? The million dollar question. The wall has a heritage and historical value, that is clear, so it would not be unreasonable to do the same as in other stations and expose the vestiges in Madrid Río itself. But one thing is to remove and handle wood remains, small stones or metal parts and a very different manipulate a structure of several tons. How to move it? How to get it out of its original site without destroying it? The questions are brought because, like Andreu explains in ABCin the unearthed section the Royal Channel was about nine meters wide and 1.5 deep. “It was not very deep, it passed parallel to the Manzanares channel. The water flowed because it was built at the same water table of the river,” he recalls. Before the Brete of having to move that huge structure without deteriorating it, those responsible for the project made a curious decision: ‘look’ to ancient Egypt. “A very complicated order”. The company perhaps scared other archaeologists, but not Miguel Ángel López Marcoswith extensive experience in the recovery of the colossi of Amenophis III in Luxor and that it has already been involved in the ‘rescue’ of other pieces of the Madrid heritage, such as The last vestiges from the San Gil barracks. That callus and previous knowledge have helped him to face the Real Canal project, a task that admits, it was not simple. “The commission was very complicated by the situation of the wall embedded in the tunnel and the characteristics of the fragile and mechanical resistance,” account. Metal cage and steel rollers. How did he solve it? The first conclusion reached by López Marcos is that “the extraction should be in block.” “Disassembly would cause the disintegration of the wall, which does not have the necessary consistency,” Clarify The expert before pointing out that conventional engineering lacks resources to “guarantee” the conservation of that kind of structures. It is nothing new. The same challenge has already been found in Egypt, where he can often resort to heavy machinery that facilitates the task. To solve it López Marcos and his companions had to pull ingenuity. The team designed a protective cage, a shield that allowed it to dig under the structure and dispose of a base with steel bars. Everything firm enough to endure a 14 tons structure. Hydraulic beams and cats allowed them to advance the operation and descend the remains of the wall at a sufficient height to move it to a crane truck. To facilitate the movement of the cage with the stones the team also handled steel rollers. Objective: … Read more

In Madrid there are 24 tons of Canarian volcanic sand giving tumbos. So they will become a “dry garden”

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Every summer has its informative soap opera. That is no novelty. What is less common is that, As is happening In La Palma, a few sacks of sand star. It sounds strange, but after all it is the history of the 24 tons of volcanic sand that in May 1,800 kilometers traveled to value the Canarian culture and then ended up abandoned. From the case we already talk to you A few weeks ago. Now we finally know its conclusion, which is no less surprising. Volcanic sand … and traveling. A few months ago, in May, the Canary Authorities had a peculiar idea: they collected more than 20 tons of sand from Tajogaite volcano (La Palma), prepared it and put it in large bags and then uploaded it aboard a ship that transferred it to Cádiz, from where she traveled again on board trucks to Madrid. It took several days to cover the entire journey. Once in the capital they opened the sacks and scattered those blackish grains in the middle of Callao, drawing a huge, dark and bright circle. And all that, for what? To value the Canarian struggle, a popular sport on the islands, but that many do not know in the Peninsula. Coinciding with the Month of the Canary Islands, on May 17 the outdoor playing field was prepared in the Plaza de Callao and everything arranged so that two of the teams with the most footprint in the islands, the Saladar of Jandía and the Candelaria de Mirca, dispute in Madrid one of the most emblematic days of the DISA Government of the Canary Islands. As was in charge of emphasizing The regional government was the first time in the very extensive history of the island sport in which an official fighting day was held in the center of Madrid. But even so, to give it more epic, they decided that the fighters were measured on authentic volcanic land of La Palma. Hence the whole logistics deployment of sacks, permits, ship, trucks and crane. First stop: Callao Square. The experience was a success. In addition to the Arena, in Callao, stands were installed and the appointment attracted a nourished audience that included some authorities, such as the island president, Fernando Clavijo. “Fighting about the sand with which so many palm trees continue to fight to get ahead was a spectacular moment. We were recorded in memory,” Recognize in The Spanish newspaper (EPE) Lorena Hernández, general director of native sports of the regional government. At first, the sand, he remembers, sounded like “crazy”, but the idea went ahead for his “romanticism.” And what do I do with all this sand? That was the next question. Once the competition is over and the experience is over the next question was what to do with those 24 tons (some versions speak of 20) expelled in their day by the Tajogaipe volcano. They could take the way back to the palm. Or they could stay in Madrid as a gift, which was the idea that ended up. There were those who thought that the grains would be divinely in the Madrid volleyball pigs and for that purpose they reserved, but there was a problem: the sand was heated too much, so it was not a good idea to dedicate it to that end. Second stop: Torrelodones. The history of those volcanic sands ended A report With a suggestive headline: “Without a trace of the 24 tons of sand from the palm volcano that Canary Islands gave to Madrid for beach volleyball fields.” The newspaper said that the Consistory had no evidence that they went to dedicate volleyball sand to its volleyball fields. Apparently the material was lost track. The mystery did not last little. A day later the same medium revealed That the sand of discord was actually in a Torrelodones warehouse, where they accumulated dust waiting for the City Council to ultimately accept the sacks formally and look for a new use. Discarded the Volleyball fields and without short -term plans that the Canarian struggle was to take root in Madrid, then it was pointed out to be given a third use: environmental. Third stop: “Dry Garden”. The story seemed to conclude there, but EPE He has just contributed A new fact that (at least apparently) puts the end to the soap opera of volcanic sand, at least for the moment: instead of allocating sports clues, the sand will be dedicated to gardens. And not any kind. There is talk of “dry gardens.” One of the ideas on the table is to create a garden with low water consumption species and a typology similar to those that exist in the Canary Islands. Another option is to use it in other green spaces to take advantage of the properties of the material, of porous structure, good for drainage and that prevents the land from flooding. “It is a high material in minerals, in the Canary Islands it has worked wonderfully. If the sand can have a second use and create a green space with the sand of the palm, it will be wonderful,” Recognize Hernández. Why does it take so long? Simple: bureaucracy. The Cabildo had already prepared a document with the details of the donation, but now it is time to modify it: instead of allocating the sand to sports uses, it will be dedicated to the parks and gardens of Madrid. “Being a donation between public institutions, it requires a lot of paperwork. With this, we believe that we can put an end to management in one or two weeks,” they explain to EPE after specifying that a few days ago new documentation was requested. While the procedures advance in the offices, in the Torrelodones ship follows the one that is probably the most traveling sand in the history of the palm. Images | The Government of the Canary Islands (X) In Xataka | The Canary Islands have seven islands, but only one has escaped from the … Read more

You cannot climb to the Madrid subway with an electric scooter. In China’s, robots are already a passenger

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In October 2023, An incident with the battery of an electric scooter It caused the closure of a subway line in the capital of Spain for three hours. That led the authorities to prohibit The entrance of these devices to public transport Until 2027. In China, there are other battery devices that are already driving at ease by the subway network: robots. Which until not long ago was science fiction material, Today is a reality. The world is pushing the development of robots and, while until recently the demonstrations by companies such as Boston Dynamics They were limited to bailongos robots focused on professional environmentstoday what come to us are machines created for all types of ends. Boxing robots, football robotshumanoid robots that We can buy for what a car costs and even Robot dogs for blind people. And something that everyone has in common is that they are already being tested, one way or another, In China. The latter is an army of robots that already go from side to side for the Shenzhen subwaytaking trains and rising in elevators. And it has all the meaning of the world. Robots assault the subway A few days ago, 41 company robots VX Logistics They began to circulate through different Shenzhen Metro lines. They have a processor that allows artificial intelligence tasks, have Lidar sensors With “viewing” panoramic and that AI work allows them to make decisions in real time to make the best decision when it comes to their destination. The goal of this robot squad is to bring supplies to stores 7-Eleven located inside the stations and, for this, they not only take the subway: they are also capable of going up and down in a totally autonomous way and without supervision by the elevators of the stations. With considerable size and an aesthetic that resembles that of Robots-Camareros They are appearing in some Spanish restaurants, these machines They can load up to 130 kilos of weight. At the moment, it is a pilot program to see how they manage to distribute among the more than 100 stores 7-eleven distributed by the Shenzhen network, with nine million of daily customers, but the goal is to expand their scope. There are elements to take into account in all this. VX Logistics is part of Vanke, a Chinese real estate giant who is also co -owner of the Shenzhen Metro. But, beyond the marketing that has “free” more than 40 autonomous robots for the subway, as we read in SCMP It is something focused on solving a classic network problem: the refueling of stores. Li Yanyan is a manager of one of these stores and, as he explains to the local medium SZ News, “the distributors had to park on the surface, download the merchandise and take it manually to the inside. Now, with the robots, it will be easier and more comfortable.” They don’t say What will happen to those deliverymenif they will be in charge of providing the goods to the robots or if their function will be reduced more. What is known is that, as the company itself has communicated, the robots will be perfected based on their real -world performance. Now, apparently, These robots only operate in valley hoursin which less people are using the network. And less bad that they only operate in valley hours, because agile, what is said agile, are not. What has caused is that the first days of robots work, travelers are They will look or take pictures. The robots were already prepared for this, with a screen that shows a friendly “face” when it crosses someone. We will see how they develop and how long it will take to see similar robots in other stations, but what is clear is that China is pushing strong in the robotics segment For the “day to day” and Shenzhen is one of the lungs of his industry, with approximately 1,000 robotics companies only in that city, 18 of them Focused to humanoid robotics. Images | VX Logistics In Xataka | A Chinese firm has just presented a quadruped that challenges the limits. Boston Dynamics no longer has a clear path

There is a whole neighborhood battle to try not to reach Madrid. “They are selling my health to earn money”

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A protest earlier this week at the Edinburgh roundabout, marks the start of a new phase in the neighborhood battle against The Madrid Grand Prix. The platform Stop F1 Madrid It is mobilized after the beginning of the elimination of trees to clear the area where, in September 2026, the engines of Formula 1 will roar for the first time in the Ifema enclosure. A new F1 showcase. What began as a “future commitment” by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has become a war of wear between the City Council and the neighbors of neighborhoods such as Canillas, Las Cárcavas, Valdebebas and San Lorenzo. More than 142,000 residents within a radius of four kilometers will be affected by the implementation of the F1 circuit in the city, an event that promises to exceed the law of the 65 decibels as a noise limit. “The event will generate more than 95 decibels that we will suffer directly the neighbors of the neighborhood”, complaint Constantino Blanco, spokesman for the citizen platform. More than noise. In addition to noise pollution, the works foresee The elimination of 729 treesof which 295 will not be able to transplant according to the environmental impact report to which we have been accessible. The cuts in the streets, the modifications of the urban layout and the fact of putting upside down all the mobility of Madrid for a decade are more than enough reasons for the neighbors to consider the arrival of this unsustainable event. “They are selling my health to earn money,” says Stop F1 Madrid representative. The legal trick. To overcome the noise regulations, the City Council Plan suspend temporarily the noise law alleging “exceptionality”. The strategy is based on considering the Grand Prix as an “special public transcendence” event, a legal figure that allows us to exceed the usual limits for “duly justified general interest reasons.” However, the neighbors question if a private event with “at the exorbitant price” really meets these requirements. Battles in court. Two judicial resources They already complicate the path of the circuit. In May, the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid admitted to process the complaint of the environmental platform against the Special Project Plan. Days later, more Madrid managed to study another demand for “serious deficiencies” in the approval process. Ricardo Ayala, a lawyer specialized in noise cases such as Santiago Bernabéu, commented to the environment Eldiario that “it is an absolute aberration and they barely have arguments that support it.” A domino effect. The F1 case is not isolated. Madrid usually becomes a permanent amusement park, from macrofestivals to projects such as The largest noria in the world. Madrid pursues what is happening in cities such as Miami or Baku, where F1 have also used as a global tourist showcase. However, this also leads to a generalized complaint by neighbors who suffer the noise and consequences of this type of event. The most popular case is The Santiago Bernabéuthat since his new work and transformed into the palace of events of all kinds, beyond football, he has caused The complaint of many neighbors that live around the stadium. What comes now. The project advances with A provisional license until 2026fragmenting the process to complicate legal actions. The courts have not yet decreed the precautionary suspension, but the specialized lawyers predict that the judicial consequences could reach when Formula 1 is either a reality. Meanwhile, the neighbors maintain the pressure: “It would not be here if I did not believe that we can get it,” says Blanco. The battle has just begun. Cover image | Madrid City Council In Xataka | When Mercedes manufactured a “F1” street to three million euros each, he forgot something important: that they would not catch fire

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