Spain

With the “late” eating into the Christmas holidays, a new phenomenon gains weight in Spain: the Australian New Year’s Eve

by

The year changes with the twelve bells midnight on December 31st. That has no discussion. What is questionable is that the New Year has to be celebrated at night. If you are more of a daytime person than a night person, if you don’t want to go to bed in the wee hours of the morning, hungover and resigned to spending the first morning of 2026 tossing and turning in bed… Why not bring the party forward a few hours? What if instead of gathering our family and friends for dinner we meet at noon? What if we ring in 2026 (or any other New Year) when they do it in Sydney, where the 12 bells ring when we are having lunch? What has happened? Bells, grapes, firecrackers, the first advertisement of the year, the trappings of the star presenter on duty, whether the layer of Ramonchu either the dress of the Pedroche… In Spain, New Year’s Eve has its traditions (apparently immutable), but that does not mean that more and more people choose to rethink how and especially when they celebrate the change of year. In fact, for a long time there has been a way to celebrate it that has gained followers: “Australian New Year’s Eve”. And what does it mean? It sounds exotic, but it’s actually very simple. The “Australian New Year’s Eve” consists of nothing more nor less than bringing forward the celebration of the New Year by a few hours. There is a 10-hour lag between Madrid and Sydney, which means that while in mainland Spain we sit at the table to eat in the most populated city in Oceania, there are in full transition of year. It is a simple geographical curiosity, but there are those who have seen in it a perfect hook to rethink when we celebrate the New Year in this corner of the planet. Instead of doing it at midnight, after an extensive dinner, they join the “Australian New Year’s Eve” and uncork the cava when the residents of Sydney or other regions of Australia, where they govern, do so. multiple time zones. One celebration does not have to exclude the other (a Spaniard can celebrate the New Year at 2:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.), but it does help to shift the focus away from the night. It is similar to the “pre-grapes” that have been celebrated for years, but in a somewhat different way: with food, parties and using Australian time as a pretext. But… Is it successful? Yes. At least in certain regions of Spain, where the concept of “Australian New Year’s Eve” seems to have caught on. A quick search shows chronicles about early celebrations in Teruel, Castellon, Valencia, The Palm…but if there is a place where the ‘Australian-style’ party has found fertile ground, it is Alicante. It has been organized there for a long time a few years and has expanded to several municipalities. The celebration has become so profound, in fact, that it moves so many people in restaurants and at night parties. So many people? The newspaper recently Information asked that same question to hoteliers and found a surprising response. According to the president of the Alicante Restaurant Association (ARA) reservations for lunch and dinner on December 31 are already practically equal in number, which shows that more and more people are bringing forward the celebration of the New Year. What’s more, part of the nighttime demand appears to be shifting to midday, when customers find more diversity in exchange for cheaper rates. “In the evening pack, the normal thing is set menus, which are somewhat more expensive,” says the hotelier. Prices are around 100 or 110 euros, practically double that of lunch, which is also usually served without a set menu and includes a drink. At first glance it may seem that restaurants are losing, but the reality is that if the daily clientele and the dinner clientele are added, businesses gain demand. Furthermore, New Year’s Eve menus may be more expensive, but they also entail more expenses for the establishments, which reduces their final profitability. From another association of hoteliers in the province of Alicante, Apeha, confirm There are starting to be more reservations at midday than at night. Is it just business? No. The phenomenon is not only seen in bars and restaurants. Daytime celebrations, including symbolic grapes, music and “chimes” are also celebrated with institutional support of the town councils. In Senija they present them for example as “Bells in the Sun” and in Crevillent the City Council advertises both the “Australian Chimes” as the “New Year’s Eve Party”. They are not unique or isolated cases. In Alicante you can find other towns that have taken their festivals beyond nighttime hours. Why this success? The big question. Costs aside, Apeha provides a key piece of information: the regular customer who books a restaurant on the 31st at noon is usually, clarifypeople of a certain age or with small children. “It’s not so much young people who go to clubs as people who prefer to go out at noon to get home at a productive time.” The truth is that the “Australian New Year’s Eve” is not an isolated phenomenon. It coincides with two others that are going in the same direction. The first is the afternoon boom. As the supply (and demand) of leisure diversifies and is no longer monopolized at night, more and more people choose to visit bars and clubs earlier. Instead of going out at night he does it in the afternoon, which is felt at Christmas itself. “Australian New Year’s Eve” may be expanding, but so is the “Good Afternoon” and “New Year’s Afternoon”advanced versions of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. More partying, less cooking. The other trend has to do with how we organize our Christmases and our habits in the kitchen. We start enjoying before December 24 or 31 because we are less willing to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare … Read more

In Spain, couples no longer have children, they have pets. So they are spending millions of euros on gifts for them

by

Recently the Royal Canine Society of Spain made an experiment curious. He asked pet owners about their Christmas plans and found that the vast majority, 85% of the dog owners surveyed, planned to buy some “detail” for their furry companions, gifts on which they planned to spend an average of 35 euros. Not only that. Good part of the people with whom the institution spoke (56%) recognizes that on occasion he has spent more money on details for his dogs and cats than for family and friends. It may seem anecdotal, but these figures tell us a lot about an expanding business that is already moving billions of euros: that of pets. Pets and Christmas gifts. Studies are just that, studies, with their strengths and weaknesses, but they help us better understand some trends. Hence the survey posted last week by the Canine Society is so interesting: 85% of those interviewed plan to buy “some detail” for their pets this Christmas, spending on average about 35 euros per head. “More and more people understand Christmas as a time to share with family… also with them,” slide the organization, which estimates that above all, toys, special snacks, beds and blankets will be purchased. Is this something so strange? No. And for two reasonsmostly. The first is that in Spanish homes it is increasingly easier to find pets than children. The second is that we think less and less about spending hundreds or even thousands of euros on our four-legged companions. It comes with taking a look at the data from the sector or even from the INE to verify it. Right now the statistical institute has 1.8 million children under four years of age registered in Spain. If we talk about pets, however, the REIAC, the Spanish Network for the Identification of Companion Animals, had around 10.2 million dogs and 967,000 cats registered in 2023. There are many, but the data falls short when compared to those managed by other institutions, such as the Statista portalor ANFAC, the Spanish association of feed manufacturers. The latest report from the employers’ association concludes that in Spain there are around 20 million petsamong which dogs (6.96 million), fish (five million), cats (4.93 million) and birds (3.23 million) stand out. A growing business. These data are interesting because they do not only tell us about the love of Spaniards to surround themselves with pets. Together they form the basis of a business that is rapidly expanding: the care of pets. He latest report of Anfaac in fact shows a growing industry, which in 2024 had a turnover 2,053 million5% more than in 2023. Spending on cat food alone skyrocketed in one year about 12%which raised the total turnover of that business niche to more than 900 million. One figure: 175,000 million. “A household with a dog or cat spends, on average, between 160 and 220 euros per year on their food, to which we must add everything related to their care and health,” they clarify to elDiario from the NIQ consulting firm. Their estimates suggest that in Spain pet food already represents a business worth more than 2.2 billion euros, a figure that rises to around 175 billion euros if we value the market internationally. Is there more data? Yes. Another clue is given to us the last barometer of petparent published by Aedpac, the Spanish Association of industry and commerce in the pet sector. Their report shows that if all the money we invest in pets is taken into account, including food, veterinarians, insurance, hairdressers, hygiene items or toys, on average a dog owner spends 1,908 euros per year. In the case of cats it is around 1,728. “It is a growing market. We have not yet reached a bubble or saturation point because it is a solid reality, not a two-day whim,” explained recently to the newspaper Five Days Ignasi Solana, general secretary of Aedpac. The sector saw “an uptick” during the pandemic, but the growth of the pet care business appears to go beyond COVID. Redirecting the business. So much so that there are already toy stores and hair salons that have redirected their businesses to focus on pet care. Even some traditional manufacturer of traditional nougat has been launched this year for the first time to the lucrative (and above all growing) pet food sector. and the experience not seem to be doing badly altogether. “In our vision of petfood “We are talking about a business that represents more than 1,600 million and has been growing by close to 30% in recent years,” comments to elDiario Pauline Worbe, from the firm Worldpanel by Numerator, who remembers that in Spanish homes there are now more pets than children. “We are talking about a sector with promising prospects.” Beyond Spain. The phenomenon is not (far from it) exclusive to Spain. In fact, it is already being felt in such powerful markets. like chinesesupporting a billion-dollar market that expects to grow strongly over the coming years. In 2023 Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that the pet industry was already around 320 billion dollars globally and would reach around 500 billion by 2030. An understandable figure if you take into account that its analysts estimate that in a few years the pet food business will grow by 52%. Images | Xan Griffin (Unsplash) and Matt Nelson (Unsplash) In Xataka | Spain is filling up with buildings with pets. The Horizontal Property Law clarifies what to do when they cause nuisance

In Spain there are many graduates. The problem is that they are not the ones that companies need.

by

a study on educational quality in Europe has put in black and white one of the keys to what is happening in the labor market in Spain: Graduate rates in Spain have exceeded the European average. However, the data suggests that these graduates have studied the wrong races. The result is a mismatch in the labor market and a inefficient use of talent because an important part of those who have spent years training end up in positions that either do not require that level of education or have nothing to do with the studies they completed. ​Many university students, many vacancies. According to the report ‘Education and Training Monitor‘ Prepared by the European Commission, in the age group of 25 to 34 years, 52.6% of people in Spain have higher education. This places Spain above the EU average, with 44.1%, and the European goal of 45% set for 2030. This is great news since Spain has already exceeded the European goal for graduates, and even so it continues to expand that advantage year after year. The problem is that all these graduates do not respond to what the labor market is demanding. According to Eurostat data By 2024, 35% of higher education graduates aged 20 to 64 are working in jobs for which their level of qualification is not required, compared to an EU average of 21.9%. Spain is at the rate of highest overqualification in all of Europe. What is studied and what is needed. The European Commission emphasizes that this mismatch between the higher education courses being taken in Spain and the demand from companies is structural and that the Spanish economic system is not being able to absorb the volume of graduates it generates. ​The European report describes a low employability of graduates in humanities, social studies and arts, who are more likely to end up in jobs below their educational level or far from the field they studied. In parallel, it is noted that overqualification affects women to a greater extent than men, which aggravates the gender inequalities in qualified employment. On the other hand, the demand for specialists in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), grows much faster than the supply of graduates. In 2024, the number of vacancies per worker in the green and digital sectors will exceed the average by 52% and 212% respectively, showing a growing gap between the skills coming out of the education system and those requested by companies. ​FP is taking off, but it’s not enough. The Vocational Training figures in Spain progress positivelybut they have not yet reached the point of balance between the supply of training and the demand for professionals. According to the study, only 10.1% of adults aged 25 to 64 have a mid-level VET qualification, well below the 34.6% average in the EU. This lower presence of intermediate qualifications translates into worse employment results. The data suggests that the average employment rate in 2024 of recent VET graduates is 68.6%, compared to the 80.0% European average and far from the target of 82%. Connecting education and business improves job placement. The dual vocational training reform It does seem to show signs of a positive impact on job placement. According to data From the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, 73.8% of mid-level vocational training graduates in dual modality from the 2019-2020 academic year were working four years after finishing, compared to 66.5% of those who completed non-dual vocational training programs. Furthermore, 33.8% of dual vocational training students got a job in the first year after graduating, which confirms that direct contact with the company facilitates the transition to the labor market. In Xataka | Spain has a big problem with the generational change in the labor market: there is a lack of 3.5 million young workers Image | Unsplash (Christian Lendl)

Spain produces more electricity than it can manage

by

Spain has gone from being the renewable envy of Europe to becoming a case study in the dangers of saturation. This summer, the country reached a historic milestone where the combined generation of sun and wind exceeded 10,500 GWh per month. This disconnection has caused an unexpected effect: there is so much electricity that its value has plummeted. For companies that invested millions in solar panels, the business has ceased to be profitable, transforming what was a success story into a “saturation crisis” that puts the Spanish market in check. The “discount” market and its collapse. The current outlook for solar park owners is bleak. “It’s discount season,” says Carmen Izquierdo, co-founder of nTeaser, speaking to the Financial Times. The saturation is such that operational solar plants have seen their valuation fall from €916,000/MW at the beginning of 2024 to just €648,000/MW today. The situation is more dramatic in “ready to build” projects (with land and permits but without work). As detailed by the Financial Timesthe market is so flooded that some developers, desperate to avoid government sanctions for not being able to execute agreed construction plans, have gone so far as to offer projects for the symbolic value of 1 euro. This situation has led to a wave of fire sales or liquidation sales, where companies sacrifice part of their portfolios to try to save the rest of their capital. Anatomy of a bottleneck. Why does the bill continue to rise if there is too much energy? The answer lies in outdated infrastructure. According to an analysis by EmberSpain only invests 30 cents in electrical networks for every euro allocated to renewables, a figure that is less than half of the European average. Added to this lack of investment is the impact of the “Great Blackout” of April 28. After that incident, Red Eléctrica began to operate in “reinforced mode”activating (more expensive) gas plants constantly to stabilize the network tension. This emergency strategy has cost consumers an additional billion euros. Furthermore, given the inability of the grid to absorb all the energy generated at noon, the curtailment (clean energy that is wasted) has tripled, going from 1.8% to 7.2% in just a few months. The race for flexibility. The industry is no longer looking to install more panels, but rather to survive the ones it already has. According to the Financial Timesthe great hope is the batteries. Installing storage allows producers to “save” unprofitable projects by storing energy when the price is zero—or negative—during the day and selling it at night. Other solutions in progress: PPA Contracts: Companies like Zelestra sign long-term agreements with giants like Microsoft or Amazon to power data centers, although the prices requested by buyers are falling dangerously below the profitability threshold of €30/MWh. Export: Spain seeks to break its “energy isolation” with projects such as the submarine cable with Irelandscheduled for 2030, which will allow the solar surplus to be sent to northern Europe. Regulatory reforms: After the rejection of Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 in Congress, the Government is looking for alternative ways to encourage microgrids and grid forming (technology so that batteries stabilize the network as if they were traditional power plants). A structural “January Cost”. Despite technological advances, the citizen’s pocketbook faces a contradictory scenario. According to the latest resolution of the CNMCthe total remuneration that companies will receive for maintaining the transport and distribution networks will rise by 4.1%, reaching 6,608 million euros. However, the final impact is a puzzle of forecasts. The CNMC estimates that for homes (2.0 TD rate) tolls could drop by 1.3%, as long as their forecast that energy demand rises by 3.6% is met. but here conflict appears: while the Ministry for the Ecological Transition is very optimistic and proposes an increase in charges of 10.5% based on a consumption growth of 4.5%, the regulator (the CNMC) is more cautious. This imbalance of figures is dangerous. If demand does not grow as much as the Government expects, the system will not collect what is expected to cover the costs of renewables and networks. This would once again open the door to the feared tariff deficit, a historic debt that took Spain more than a decade to absorb. Furthermore, for those who sought refuge in self-consumption, the lesson of the April blackout was bitter: only the 33% of domestic installations In Spain they have batteries. Without that extra outlay, the solar panels automatically disconnect during a general outage due to safety regulations, leaving the user in the dark despite having the sun on their side. Europe’s energy laboratory. Spain has become the world showcase of the energy transition. It has shown that coal can be expelled from the system — taking place since July without generating it for the first time in 140 years—, but it has also shown that abundance without management is inefficient. How Ember’s analysis concludesthe challenge for 2026 is not to install more panels, but to modernize the network and focus on flexibility. As an executive cited by the Financial Times summarizes:the mistake was not putting up panels, but forgetting about the networks. The bill we pay at the end of the month is not going to improve by breaking production records, but by being able to take advantage of every ray of sunshine. Today, the future of our energy does not depend on it getting warmer, but on cables and batteries finally arriving on time. Image | Unsplash Xataka | 2026 has not yet started but it has already managed to produce the first bad news: the light goes up

Parking lots were the goose that laid the golden eggs for bricks in Spain. Until someone created the tomb of Las Teresitas

by

The history of the mamotreto The Theresies in Tenerife is not an exception, but one more chapter of a long tradition of shot attempts on the Spanish coastwhere for decades the brick advanced on beaches, marshes and cliffs in the heat of express reclassifications, opaque agreements and the promise of a tourist development that almost never arrived as had been announced. This was his story. Great balls with sea views. From Marbella to The Algarrobicopassing through ghost housing estates, illegal hotels and maritime fronts converted into political currency, the coast has been one of the great scenes of speculation, and each new case reminds us of the extent to which the conflict between public interest and private ambition has marked the transformation (and often the degradation) of the coastal landscape in Spain. A symbol that was born crooked. He mamotreto of Las Teresitas It began to raise suspicions long before it became a court case on the island of Tenerife because it appeared where it shouldn’t and how it shouldn’t, emerging without explanation in full maritime-terrestrial public domain, without visible signs and without anyone clearly knowing what was being built in front of the beach or under what legal protection. It was the persistent gaze of neighbors as Lola Schneider the one that set off the first alarms and turned that concrete skeleton into something more than an ugly work: into physical proof that a project was being carried out on the beach front that seemed to be ahead of the law and urban planning logic. Change the beach. Behind the mamotreto was the ambition to transform Las Teresitas into a large urban beach of European reference, with a plan signed by Dominique Perrault which promised to bury parking lots, create open squares and reorganize access to the sea. On paper, the visible mass was supposed to be buried and become an invisible infrastructure at the service of public space, but the partial execution and the breakdown of the balance between administrations turned that promise into an abandoned, gray and dominant structure that ended up being just the opposite of what the project claimed to pursue. The ball The construction of the parking lot was inserted in the heart of the so-called great ball from Las Teresitasoccupying easements and land in the public domain without the mandatory authorizations from Costas and with substantial modifications to the original project. Subsequent rulings made it clear that this was not a minor defect or a forgotten procedure, but rather a a global breach of the urban planning regulations, with works started without legal support while, in parallel, the City Council had purchased the beach front land for more than 52 million of euros in an operation that was already under judicial scrutiny. Justice arrives. The stoppage of works in 2007 marked the point of no return and paved the way to the investigation of the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, prompted by environmental and neighborhood complaints. The judicial process ended with sentences for urban prevarication and crimes against territorial planning, confirmed by the Court, which established unambiguously that the mamotreto was built without valid authorization and on protected land, dismantling any subsequent attempt to reduce the problem to a simple question of partial legalization. The political and criminal cost. Not only that. The sentences reached to former councilors, technicians and senior officials, some of whom have already fully served their prison and disqualification sentences, while others remain banned from holding public office until the end of the decade. The case was thus established as another branch of the great Las Teresitas scandal, with clear criminal responsibilities and an express obligation to restitute the damage caused, which included the demolition of the building at the expense of the convicted. The demolition In 2017, a horrible mass that had remained in front of the beach for years was physically put to an end. The arrival of heavy machinery to the beach and the visible start of the demolition They marked the material end of a story that had continued for more than a decade. The destruction of concrete, carried out in compliance with a final sentence and after years of delays, it symbolized the closing of a cycle in which the mamotreto went from urban promise to abandoned ruin and, finally, to rubble, returning to the landscape a beach that had been kidnapped by the failure of a “plotazo.” One more. If you like, even though the mamotreto physically disappeared and the sentences were fulfilled, its history remains as permanent warning (one more) about the limits of uncontrolled urbanism, the fragility of the public domain in the face of political and economic interests and the price that a city can pay when projects are imposed on legality. The Theresies of Tenerife recovered space and horizon, but the mamotreto was placed in that monstrous row that is part of the collective memory of the Canary Islands and Spain: that of the emblems of how one should not build a city or, of course, manage its natural heritage. Image | CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS In Xataka | Añaza’s mamotreto: the megahotel abandoned on the coast of Tenerife for 40 years that was never finished In Xataka | The Canary Islands face the irremediable dilemma of limiting tourism. Starting by charging to climb Teide

Millionaires from the US and Mexico invest their fortunes in Spain

by

In 2025, the luxury real estate market in Spain he has lived a silent movement but constant. Madrid and Barcelona have become the main destinations for investments of the great fortunes from the US and Mexico, which are buying luxury homes in some of the most exclusive urban areas of the main capitals. The data of the General Council of Notaries confirm a clear increase in foreign buyers in high-value transactions, especially in neighborhoods where the price per square meter already moves above 10,000 euros per square meter. The new buyers. The statistics of the General Council of Notaries show that in 2025 the purchase and sale of luxury homes by foreigners maintains considerable weight in Spain. According what was published According to Idealista, in Madrid, operations carried out by foreigners already represent around a fifth (21%) of sales in prime areas. In Barcelona, ​​this percentage is somewhat higher, especially in districts where luxury housing concentrates a large part of the available supply. Within this group, buyers of American and Mexican nationality stand out for the average amount of the operations, well above the market average. Specific neighborhoods and heart-stopping prices. He interest of these buyers concentrates on very specific enclaves. In the center of Madrid, neighborhoods such as Salamanca, Recoletos, El Viso or certain areas of Chamberí accumulate a good part of the operations carried out by large international fortunes. These are areas where the price per square meter easily exceeds 10,000 euros and where it is common for the price of housing to be above one million euros. In Barcelona, ​​the pattern is similar. Districts such as Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Pedralbes or Ciutat Vella attract foreign buyers looking for unique, rehabilitated or properties with high heritage value. Why the US and Mexico are looking at Spain. Behind this movement there are several factors that reinforce each other. On the one hand, Spain offers legal stability, property security and a relatively predictable tax framework for large assets. On the other hand, Madrid and Barcelona function as international business hubs well connected to America, with frequent direct flights that keep them connected to Miami, Mexico or New York. In the case of Mexico, the cultural and linguistic link also plays a relevant role, while American buyers especially value the relationship between price, quality of life and services compared to other large European cities. In this way, they use their home in Spain as a way to improve your quality of life or as a gateway to your businesses in Europe. They can pay more, so prices skyrocket. The impact of this international demand can be seen in prices. According to data According to Idealista, the average value of housing in Spain has risen around 7.9% year-on-year in 2025, with Madrid and Barcelona leading the rising prices. In the luxury segment, the pressure is even greater due to the scarcity of properties of this type and its high demand. Although these purchases do not compete directly with affordable housing, they do contribute to reinforcing the dynamic of rising prices in the most sought-after areas. The result is a market in which a crowding out effect occurs in which local rich are displaced to other neighborhoods by wealthier millionaires. In this way, Madrid and Barcelona are consolidated as attractive places for millionaires to have their second residence, especially in a context of international uncertainty. In Xataka | How much money do you need to be among the richest 1% in Spain Image | Unsplash (Eddie Pipocas)

I have been to the Xiaomi Store in Beijing. It is a glimpse of the future that awaits us in Spain

by

Seven years ago we visited one of the Xiaomi stores in China. It was the My Home in Shanghaiand we found a space full of devices, without much glamor from the outside and full of ‘gadgets’ that we did not yet have in Spain. Things have changed a lot in these years. The Xiaomi store is now surgical, from the outside we see the company’s cars and the space is an ode to good taste. The most interesting thing is not that: it is that almost everything we see is going to reach Spain. Store/experience. In one of the shopping centers on Dongdan Avenue in Beijing, you will find one of the several Xiaomi Stores in the Chinese capital. If you have ever been in a Apple Storethe concept is the same: a neat space, employees who don’t harass you if you don’t ask for assistance, and a sea of ​​devices to fiddle with. Image | Xataka Image | Xataka For a technology lover, having the Xiaomi 17 Exposed there and within my reach, it was a joy. You can try any of the models, but you also have tablets, computers and even speakers. One of the employees told me I could connect my cell phone to see how they sounded. Image | Xataka They also have technology that we have not seen around here yet, such as Xiaomi AI Glasses that they go for the Meta models and that in person they are very discreet. Image | Xataka Home. But despite all the junk, what impressed me most was the catalog of home devices. Televisions, vacuum cleaners and even air conditioning we have already seen them herebut in China the catalog expands greatly. In a time when some They insist that we not cook at homethe range of gadgets The kitchen that Xiaomi has is unfathomable. Image | Xataka Again, we have many of them in the Spanish store, but for every rice cooker sold here, they have three other models there. And the same with devices such as the food processor, warming jugs of all kinds, mixers, thermoses, faucets, water (and air, many) purifiers… Image | Xataka It is a legion of devices for the home. And, sharing the same space, curiously there are two that will soon disembark in our country. If a few lines ago I was talking about air-conditioning that opened the gap, now I mention both the washing machine and the refrigerator. Image | Xataka a few months ago confirmed their arrival in the west with a single objective: that our entire home remains within its ecosystem. Pride. Because entering that store makes you realize that, while my house must be controlled with four or five different applications for different devices, in China you need… one. That of Xiaomi Home, in this case. But Huawei is working towards something similar, a sign that the ecosystem is what the Asian giant’s companies are taking most seriously. Image | Xataka And, within this strategy, is the pride of the store. In plural, better: cars. A couple of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and two or three others Xiaomi YU7. The same thing: you can touch them, ride wherever you want, ask and an expert will appear to tell you the benefits. It’s a dealership experience. Image | Xataka Image | Xataka Image | Xataka Lifestyle. And if all the devices are within the same ecosystem (something that He has even fallen in love with the CEO of Ford), to round out the experience is the ‘Xiaomi Life’ wall. Here you already have “toys”, such as mugs with the colors of the cars, bags, amazing replicas of the cars, caps, t-shirts and a lot of other accessories for the vehicle. Image | Xataka It’s… another bummer, but if seven years ago we couldn’t even dream of the arrival of a quarter of what we saw in Shanghai, today we can say that, sooner or later, everything I saw will be here over the next few months. Xiaomi already has its first official store in Spaina first step for them to disembark cars that already have a launch segment. And once the most ambitious product in the company’s history is here, nothing prevents everything else from also appearing in the store. PS Sony. But hey, although I found the Xiaomi store amazing, I have to say that other stores in the shopping center (one of the shopping centers on the avenue) were just as impressive or more impressive. Sony’s thing is also impressive. Image | Xataka Huawei also had a car parked in its store, for example, and Sony has another megastore with movie theaters to take a look at its most cutting-edge TVs and speakers… and even miniatures so that customers can try out the benefits of their cameras. I can only say one thing: I left that street overwhelmed. And thinking that I should have bought the Xiaomi 17 Ultra because it was at a VERY good price. What I did want to buy is the Pixar-style lamp shown a while ago: the PIPI Lamp. After asking about her, no one knew how to answer me until another girl appeared who – sadly – cleared my doubts: it was an experiment and there is no evidence that it can even be ordered from stores. Images | Xataka In Xataka | I have asked for water from the first humanoid robot working in Beijing. It’s a weird vending machine.

Spain enters the “Scandinavian blockade” and that causes a radical change starting December 23

by

Something is happening in Scandinavia and that something is going to affect us directly. It’s already affecting us. Because, as I write, a huge anticyclonic blockade over the Nordic countries is channeling polar (continental) air towards southern Europe. Specifically towards us. What is a lock atmospheric? We speak of blocking when the “normal” flow of west-east winds is interrupted and the jet becomes more wavy (it has variations from north to south). This slows down the typical advance of storms and sends them to areas with little traffic. In Europe, to be specificwe speak of “Scandinavian blocking” when a mass of high pressure in the north of the continent reorganizes the storms and favors cold weather towards mid-latitudes. What translated it turns out: a complicated week. At least in Spain and the Balearic Islands, where low pressures in a context of cold inflows and episodes of stability can end up generating many problems. We talk about yellow warnings for rain in the entire northwest half and snow levels approaching 700 meters in many areas of the country (and 1,200 in the south) Why is this important? I mean, we’re in winter, right? Yes, it’s true: but we are also on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest times of the year. Snow at medium levels and, above all, frost increase exponentially the probability of incidents on roads, ports and mountain passes. That is to say, we do not need a “new Filomena” for the country to turn upside down and accidents to skyrocket. And all this without talking about the associated problems. Indeed. On the one hand, a pattern of low maximums tends to put pressure on electricity and heating demand (with very intense peaks and the possible risks involved). On the other hand, agriculture will suffer damage and the cold will be a terrible factor because it will help the flu epidemic keep wreaking havoc. The debate now is on the impact. That is, the usual debate. For the first time in many years, we are not going to have a warm Christmas and that, we already know, is going to cause problems. The issue is how many problems and to what extent we will be able to get them right. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | Lightning seems like a normal thing: in reality we have been trying to understand it for years and we have achieved it in a laboratory

Spain turns in the opposite direction to the rest of Europe. Form part of a geological plan: closing the Mediterranean

by

Spain and Portugal are dancing to a different rhythm than the rest of Europe. They are moving clockwise and the consequence is clear: a long-term closure of the Mediterranean that connects the Iberian Peninsula directly to North Africa. The convergence between continents is slow, a few millimeters a year (so we will continue needing the tunnel between Spain and Morocco), but one thing is clear: another Pangea is on the way. And the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco will be a unit. In short. Continental plates move. Some separate, others collide, and that continental drift has caused the emergence the Pangea Ultima theory. In 250 million years, there will only be one continent. There is a long way to go for that, but now, some researchers from the University of the Basque Country have analyzed geodetic data that allows them to affirm that the Iberian Peninsula is rotating clockwise. This east-west rotation is driven by the convergence between the Eurasian and African plates, and the conclusion is clear: both are moving between four and six millimeters closer each year. This information is not new, but the researchers’ discovery is to specify the processes that take place at the diffuse boundary of the two western Mediterranean plates. Thanks, Gibraltar. Although the boundaries of other plates are well defined, this does not occur in the Western Mediterranean. There, the processes are much grayer, and there is something called “Gibraltar Arch” which plays an interesting role in this tectonic dynamic. To the east of the strait, the crust absorbs the deformation caused by the collision between the Eurasian and African plates. This ‘Gibraltar Arc’ acts as a buffer, but it has a consequence: in the west of the strait there is a direct collision between the plates, while in the east it is absorbed by the Gibraltar Arc. This lack of buffering from the southwest is what causes the clockwise rotation. Rotational strain rate field. Positive values ​​correspond to clockwise rotation, while negative values ​​refer to counterclockwise rotation. Active and potentially active faults are marked with solid and dashed gray lines, respectively. Double analysis. The researchers combined two types of accuracy analyzes to obtain these results. On the one hand, those of satellite deformation through GNSS system (Global Navigation Satellite System). Analyzing the data, they measured surface displacements with millimeter precision, relying on both permanent and occasional GPS markers. On the other hand, they also analyzed information from recent earthquakes that allowed them to determine the tectonic “stresses” in the area. They are independent data sets, but by crossing them they were able to draw a series of ‘lines’ that have allowed them to better specify the boundary between the plates. So that? Well, to better understand which sectors are in direct collision between plates and which are still more protected by the Gibraltar Arc. And the neighbors? The problem is that, although they claim that it is a rapid tectonic movement, this is true in geological terms. For us it is invaluable, but it also comes into play that we only have satellite data since 1999 and detailed seismic data since the 1980s. Even so, if with such a short range of data we have reached that conclusion in the annual approach, it is because the phenomenon is not in a hurry, but it does not pause either. And the most interesting thing is that this only affects the Iberian Peninsula. It is not that we are going to separate from France, since we ‘drag’ the rest of the continent thanks to the effect of the Gibraltar Arc, but we are not turning in the same direction as other neighbors. Italy, for example, experiences a counterclockwise rotation that exerts pressure in the alpine zoneand in the anatolian plate (where most of Türkiye is), there is also this counterclockwise rotation. Hello, Morocco. While in Turkey the consequence may be more earthquakes or mountain formations, this current speed of between 4 and 6 millimeters will cause, at some point, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco to unite. This continental collision would close the Mediterraneanbut there is a lot left for it. How much? About 100 million years. They estimate that for 20 million years we will continue at the same speed, but within about 50 million years, things will gain momentum, accelerating the process and turning the region into one of the most active volcanic and seismic areas on the planet. It’s… foolish to worry. present utility. Now, beyond curiosity, the most immediate implication that the researchers point out is a better identification of active faults or areas in which previously unidentified tectonic structures could exist. Asier Madarieta-Txurruka, one of those responsible for the investigation, explains This information indicates where to look for these structures and boundaries to determine what type of folds and faults there may be. Thus, we can anticipate the type of earthquake that there will be and its magnitude in areas such as the Western Pyrenees or the region of Cádiz and Seville in which we know that there are numerous places with significant deformationbut we do not have well identified the active tectonic structures that cause them. And, although there is still a long way to go before the Alps and a new mountain range are founded across the peninsula and all of North Africa to Arabia, knowing better what we have right under our feet is much more useful. In Xataka | We knew that Africa was going to split in half. What we didn’t know was that it would happen so quickly.

In silence, an author is selling more than anyone else in Spain and captivating streaming: Elísabet Benavent

by

Elisabet Benavent has just surpassed five million copies sold in Spain, which places her among the most read fiction writers in the country in the last decade, a success comparable to that of much more established names on the Spanish publishing scene. However, while his books occupy bookstore windows and Amazon’s best-seller lists, his name barely appears in cultural supplements or debates about the state of Spanish fiction. The perfect moment. The story of Benavent It begins on January 3, 2013, when ‘In Valeria’s Shoes’ was uploaded to Amazon for 2.68 euros. There was no plan or strategy: it was the resource of those who did not have a large publishing house behind them. But it was the ideal time for self-publishing: Kindle Direct Publishing It had arrived in Spain just two years earlier, in 2011, and digital self-publishing still carried the stigma of being “the alternative for those who can’t make it.” But at that time the publishing ecosystem was changing. Travel companions. Benavent was not the only one. Javier Castillo, today one of the most read and adapted thriller authors, began by self-publishing. Eva García Sáenz de Urturi, winner of the Planeta Prize in 2020, also went through Amazon before the big publishers signed her. The pattern of “success in digital, subsequent legitimation via traditional publishing” is also repeated with Benavent: Suma de Letras (Penguin Random House label) later opted for the ‘Valeria’ saga, but by then Benavent was no longer a hidden talent, but a product validated by tens of thousands of readers. We said above that Benavent has achieved success without appearing in cultural supplements, but success is already measured in another way: through Amazon reviews and recommendation algorithms, not with what established critics say. However, despite the dizzying sales figures, the target audience of the romance genre (mostly women aged 25 to 45) has historically been ignored by traditional literary criticism, and what millions of female readers read does not count as a cultural phenomenon. Constant writer. But… what is its success due to? TO twenty-three novels in eleven years: We are not talking about an isolated stroke of luck or a unique work that triggers the phenomenon, but rather about a narrative machinery that works with the regularity typical of a franchise. The ‘Valeria’ saga sold 1.2 million copies, but it was the subsequent trilogies (‘My Choice’), the bilogies (‘Silvia’, ‘Songs and Memories’) and the independent titles (‘A Perfect Tale’, ‘Esnob’) that consolidated the empire. The formula. Very recognizable: urban female protagonists, in their thirties, professionals with work or sentimental crises and who suffer from contemporary emotional conflicts. There is no formal innovation or narrative experimentation, because Benavent does not intend to reinvent anything, but rather to use the tools of the romantic genre in accessible and direct novels: agile dialogues, humor, happy endings. It’s formula literature executed effectively, and its audience knows exactly what to expect. And the highlight is Benavent’s own constant and close activity on social networks under the nickname BetaFlirt. There she shares her creative process and generates a community of faithful who tirelessly recommend her on networks like TikTok. Netflix adaptations. They have exponentially accelerated their success: ‘Valeria’, which already has four seasons and was followed by ‘We were songs’; ‘A Perfect Tale’ was number 1 in 2023 for weeks. And book sales accompany: These can be triggered 40% after the premiere of its audiovisual versions. But it is a relationship that goes in two directions: the platforms also benefit, having identified in the romantic novel a mine of content, with audiences already convinced and without having to invest too much (Prime Video did it with Mercedes Ron and her ‘Guilty’ trilogy). The abyss As the lists of the best-selling books in Spainthe gap between commercial success and critical recognition has widened into an abyss. Thrillers, romantic fantasy, youth sagas: everything that really moves the Spanish publishing market takes place in a parallel dimension, different from the one supposedly analyzed by cultural criticism. How many authors sell hundreds of thousands of copies without any cultural supplement mentioning them? How many entire genres function as million-dollar industries, regardless of major promotions? Elisabet Benavent is not an anomaly, and that is the real crux of this matter. Header | Ariaglz on Wikipedia

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.