town

The Norwegian colony that has taken over a town in Alicante and even has its own constitution: L’Alfas del Pi

by

Avenida del Albir smells of saltpeter and marinated herring. There is brunost in the supermarket, that curious brown Norwegian cheese. There are also bags of salmiakki, the Finnish salty liquorice. A blond man walks with a bunad accompanied by two others in T-shirts. The three of them are sweating buckets. Even a dental clinic has its sign in Swedish, but it is not a residential neighborhood in Oslo or Stockholm, it is L’Alfàs del Pi. It is an Alicante enclave of 20,000 inhabitants that operates as a Viking base, the twelfth Norwegian county, under the harsh sun of the Mediterranean. A demographic delirium. The National Statistics Institute marks little more than 21,000 inhabitantsbut almost 30% of the census comes from Norway. Let’s add another 20% between Finns, Swedes and Danes. Official figures fluctuate depending on the season: many residents do not register their municipal register for tax reasons (there are only about 2,5000 registered Norwegians). However, visual reality does not lie. There are runes and several shop windows of local real estate agencies that ignore the euro and value villas directly in crowns. On the Costa Blanca. And here May 17 is celebrated with devotion. Because this day is celebrated as Norwegian Constitution Day. The party paralyzes the town and thousands of people parade through the central streets. Blonde children wave their flags and marching bands play the national anthem. The Spanish mayor, Vicente Arques Cortés, politician and educational psychologist, delivers institutional speeches in perfect Norwegian. Without them, “there would only be olive trees, almond trees and goats,” resume in which is, along with London, the largest colony of Nordic subjects on the planet. A diplomatic link of eight centuries. Already in the 13th century, King Haakon Haakonsson ‘the Elder’ traveled to Spain to marry his daughter to Philip, infant of Castile, fifth son of Ferdinand III and brother of King Alfonso X the Wise. According to the story, in the end the princess fell prey to melancholy for living so far from her birth home. His remains lie in the Collegiate Church of San Cosme and San Damián de Covarrubias, which gives rise to the pilgrimage route of San Olav. That marriage sealed one of the first great diplomatic ties between the Scandinavian kingdoms and the Iberian Peninsula. Princess Christina of Norway never adapted to the climate, the language or a Castilian court radically different from the fjords where she had grown up. He died just four years after arriving in Castilla, at only 28 years old. Their pain sealed a relationship that there will be those who consider began with the retirees of the Costa Blanca. Mafias and violence. In return, the event pages of L’Alfàs del Pi have a separate space. Because, apparently, they don’t just import peaceful retirees, they also attract outright terror. In this small Scandinavia, the Swedish and Norwegian mafia clans control a good part of the European drug trafficking from here. It has been known for a decade that clubs like Den Norske Klubb They are “problematic”. The bikers of Hells Angels They established operational bases in Alicante years ago and control a good part of the nightlife. Million-dollar money laundering schemes are still being investigated. To the recent news of sale of vapers for minors or the 17 people arrested by a criminal gang that stole jewelry at gunpoint is added to all that hashish that arrives in speedboats from Morocco, or the cocaine that enters through the ports of Valencia and Algeciras. Scandinavian organizations buy merchandise on Alicante soil. They then send it to northern Europe through complex logistics networks. Live and die without speaking Spanish. He Europol Report (SOCTA – Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment analyzes the expansion of Scandinavian criminal networks in southern Europe and concludes that “drastic measures” are required. Organized crime brings fresh blood and settling of scores. And the Home Office has published several crime balances of the UDYCO (Drugs and Organized Crime Unit) on this social problem. The Norwegian Costa Blanca Club, the Norwegian school, the monumental Protestant church and other services have been established so that the Norwegian resident can live comfortably without needing to pronounce a single word of Spanish, as happens in Fuengirola with the FinnsTorrevieja with its concentration of Russians and Ukrainians u Orihuela with the thousands of british that houses An oasis for good and bad. The vast majority of Norwegian residents are part of a community that has been settled for decades. Movies like ‘Luger‘ (2025) flirt with an idea that too often is just pure xenophobia. They have cultural associations such as the Volunteer Center-Frivilling, schools funded by Norway, sports clubs, press in their language, specialized shops and social life that has disrupted the local economy. The heat, and not only that of the sun but that of coexistence, explains why the municipality continues to be a reference for Scandinavian emigration in the Mediterranean. However, the municipality is also a victim of that other side. Local agents, for example, collaborate daily with Kripos, the Norwegian national police, which has already uncovered cases such as the network that operated paying with monero tokens. The Nordic noir, not as cold, but just as calculated in the palm-lined streets of L’Alfàs del Pi. Over the past few years, police helicopters have mapped the thermal signatures of the crypto mining farmsused to finance crime. How are you happening now to Belgiumthe Alicante networks served for the heyday of EncroChat (2020) and Sky ECC (2021), two networks from which European mafias moved with more than 800 criminals involved. Images | EFE/Pablo Miranzo In Xataka | “I won’t take the car that day.” Mallorca fears that there is something worse than mass tourism: mass eclipse tourism

The residents of this Soria town are going to host tourists in their own homes for the August eclipse

by

The entire strip of solar eclipse what will be seen in Spain this August 12, 2026 has fallen into a curious area. Many of the best-positioned towns belong to emptied Spain, a region to which, possibly, people who would never have considered including them in their vacations will travel. These people will be lucky enough to discover very charming places and, why not? a different way of tourism. Eclipses are spectacular phenomena, with very good press, that attract people from all over the world; but, in reality, astronomical tourism is a reality that more and more travelers joinregardless of whether there are extreme events on the calendar. And the truth is that within the totality strip there are towns that have been exploiting this form of tourism for a long time. This is, for example, the case of Borobia. This Soria town of 218 inhabitants It has an astronomical observatory in which informative activities have been carried out for 24 years. I have been able to speak with Azahara Rojas Ronceroastrophysicist and astronomer at said observatory, to tell me what plans they have for the solar eclipse. The reality is that, despite the small size of the town, they tend to always have a lot of people in their astronomical tourism activities. However, like many other towns, this phenomenon will allow them to have their fill. Never better said. Borobia, an ideal place to see the solar eclipse Borobia, like most of the province of Soria, has the Starlight seal. That means that They have skies with very little light pollution, ideal for observing the firmament. Many of the points that are within the band of totality of the solar eclipse this August have this certificate. However, Borobia has added advantages. On this occasion, the eclipse will occur at a time very close to sunset, so we will have to look to the west to see it. There, according to Rojas Roncero, lies Borobia’s great advantage. “In Borobia we have the hills right on the other side, on the east side, and the flatter area faces us to the west area,” he explains. “Therefore, the observation point is perfect, because we have a very open horizon and right on the other side we have a high area where we can see it.” For her, it has been a kind of gift from heaven for having been looking at it for 24 years. The ideal date This solar eclipse will be located in a perfect area, with wonderful skies to see it. But it will also take place at a unique moment, coinciding with the peak of the perseids. During the two minutes of totality you will be able to see some of the brightest stars in the sky, but hardly a Perseid. For that we need more time in the dark, eyes well adapted to it and a little luck. However, those who have taken advantage of the solar eclipse to start astrotourism have an appointment with the sky once the Sun has completely left. Borobia Observatory In fact, Borobia is an ideal site for these observations. Not just because of everything we have already seen. Also because in their Observatory they carry out activities such as March of the Perseidsin which visitors will take a night walk, while listening to legends of mythology and looking at the sky in search of a Perseid. In addition, at the end of the route there are telescopes ready for observation. Other activities Both on the day of the solar eclipse and the days before and after it, a multitude of activities will be carried out in Borobia, including night and day observations of the sky, walks through the Perseids, workshops and presentations by experts from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and the Astronomy Classroom of Armilla (Granada). There will even be concerts and food trucks. a whole festival to enjoy the sky of Soria in such a special event. What about accommodations? Borobia is a very small municipality, with very few accommodations; that, the same as in Puertomingalvo and many other towns in the totality strip, have been full for more than a year. For this reason, the town has used its imagination to be able to serve all the tourists who will travel there for the solar eclipse. To begin, Rojas Roncero says that camping areas have been set upwith access to bathrooms and showers. But this is not enough if the thousands of people who are believed to be able to travel there arrive. That’s why, An appeal has been made to the residents of Borobia themselveslooking for some who are willing to rent rooms in their houses. The request has been well received and several have agreed to accommodate tourists who come there on the occasion of the solar eclipse. What else can you see in Borobia? We have seen that Borobia is an ideal place for astronomical tourism. But the good thing about this tourism is that it goes very well with other ways of visiting new places. It is often a magnificent occasion to enjoy a perfect blend of heritage and nature. In the case of this town in Soria, those who travel there you will be able to enjoy of monuments such as the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Medieval Castle. In addition, they will enjoy natural sites such as the Gandalia lagoon, the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Santos and the Sabinar de Ciria y Borobia. All of these enclaves are perfect for hiking, with routes such as the Vuelta al Moncayo and the Yeseras. Hermitage of Our Lady of Saints In short, Borobia is an ideal place to enjoy the solar eclipse while discovering those hidden treasures of emptied Spain. For those responsible for the observatory, this eclipse will be a gift from heaven, but surely its visitors will not be left indifferent either. Image | Diego Delso | Borobia Observatory In Xataka | Leo … Read more

The heat changes your mood. An Egyptian understood this 40 years ago and designed a town that “sweated” to cool down

by

The heat doesn’t just make you sweat: it also changes the way you behave. think, sleep and even relate. For decades we have responded to that problem by filling houses air conditioning. However, long before that was the solution, an Egyptian architect came to a very different conclusion: if heat alters our well-being, perhaps the first thing to change is not the machine, but the building. Thus was born an architecture that seemed to “sweat” to stay cool. The “great” discovery. The life of Hassan Fathy changed in 1941 during a visit to a small Nubian village in the Upper Nile. There he found something that modern architecture had forgotten: houses built with mud that seemed to emerge from the landscape itself and maintained a pleasant temperature even under the scorching Egyptian sun. While the rest of the world associated progress with concrete, steel and glass, Fathy began to wonder why those humble buildings managed to coexist with the climate. far better than modern buildings. Heat is a psychological problem. Fathy understood something that today science relates to heat waves: an uncomfortable home not only consumes more energy, it also affects to rest, to humor and the quality of life. His obsession was never to build spectacular buildings, but rather spaces where the air itself will work in favor of those who lived inside. To achieve recovered centuries of forgotten knowledge: interior patios, narrow streets, lattices, thick adobe walls and systems capable of moving air naturally without the need for engines. Hassan Fathy Buildings that seem to sweat. One of the most striking elements of his designs were wind catchers and evaporative cooling systems. In some buildings he carefully oriented the homes with respect to the sun and the prevailing winds to guide the air inside. In others it made that current pass on wet coal or wet surfaces, causing cooling by evaporation very similar to human sweat. Just as our body uses water to dissipate heat, Fathy’s architecture used mud, humidity and circulation of air to reduce the interior temperature without wasting electricity. Roof and dome of the Kourna Mosque seen from the minaret The modern takes another path. While Fathy advocated mud, adobe and local solutions, much of the Middle East began to copy western models designed for very different climates. From Baghdad to Benghazi, large concrete blocks, wide avenues and glass facades appeared that eliminated shadow and trapped heat. For Fathy that was a misconception: It made no sense to build buildings that first generated a thermal problem and then solved it by installing air conditioning. New Gourna City The best example: an entire city. This is how we arrive at what was his great laboratory: New Gournaa town built near Luxor during the 1940s to relocate hundreds of families. There he applied all your ideas: adobe houses, private patios, winding streets, Nubian vaults, wind collectors and spaces designed according to the path of the sun during the year. Its objective was not only to make housing cheaper for the poorest, but to demonstrate that it was possible to build entire communities. adapted to the climate and not the other way around. New Gourna The problem was never the architecture. Nueva Gourna ended up becoming one of the great paradoxes of the 20th century. Many neighbors covered the wind collectors, closed the patios and replaced the adobe vaults with reinforced concrete because that seemed “more modern” to them. The result was exactly the opposite what they were looking for: homes that are hotter in summer, colder in winter and much more dependent on mechanical systems. Fathy had anticipated it years before: when prosperity comes, the poor tend to imitate the houses of the rich, even if those houses perform worse in their own climate. The New Gourna Mosque The man who was ahead of his time. While his colleagues were building Western-inspired glass skyscrapers, Fathy was seen in Egypt as little less than like an eccentric determined to return the country to the past. However, outside its borders it began to gain recognition as a pioneer of sustainable architecture and received some of the profession’s highest international awards. As time goes by, your ideas they ended up influencing in universities, international organizations and entire generations of architects interested in bioclimatic construction. The answers from 80 years ago. Today, with cities increasingly hit by heat waves, many of the solutions that good Hassan Fathy defended are once again in the spotlight. the center of the debate architectural. Natural materials, passive ventilation, patios, lattices or wind collectors reappear in projects that seek reduce energy consumption without giving up comfort. Even UNESCO works to restore part of New Gourna and preserve its legacy. Not because it represents a historical curiosity, but because it contains a surprisingly current idea: perhaps the most intelligent building is not the one that incorporates the most technology, but the one that makes the heat never comes to become an enemy. Image | Nasrollah koohkanDimitri Papadimos, Marc Ryckaert, Marc Ryckaert In Xataka | In 1970 Japan built homes of the future where each capsule would be replaceable. Half a century later he discovered that no one knew how to repair them In Xataka | The incredible story of the tallest building on the planet that ended up becoming the largest swimming pool in the Soviet Union

A town in Italy has declared war on tourists who walk around half naked

by

Summer not only warm up the thermometers. The coming and going of tourists also increases, filling hotels, triggering activity in airports and tightening the rope in those destinations unable to balance the routine of their neighbors and the flow of visitors. It is something that they know well in Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Ibiza, or Tenerife and also in many cities in Italy, such as Florence either Venice. Varenna, a small town in Lombardy, is not so crowded, but it receives enough tourists that its mayor has done something: impose rules of decorum. And these include the prohibition of walking around the town bare-chested and in a bathing suit, under penalty of fines of up to 200 euros. In a place in Lombardy… Varenna is neither Florence nor Rome, but it knows well what mass tourism entails. I remembered it recently its mayor, Mauro Mazoni: although they live in the town only 650 peopleeach year it receives “hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world”, people attracted by its idyllic landscapes. and it’s normal. Varenna is located in the province of Lecco, on the shores of Lake Como, and is full of fishermen’s houses with the mountains in the background. “You can’t sacrifice yourself”. This flow of tourists comes accompanied by wealth, but it also strains coexistence between visitors who come to enjoy a relaxed vacation and neighbors who continue with their daily routine. Hence, the City Council has decided to make a move, tightening the regulations that apply to tourists. To be more precise, the June 26 approved two changes to its regulations that aim to “guarantee a more harmonious coexistence.” “We are proud to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. However, the quality of life of our inhabitants cannot be sacrificed for the sake of mass tourism. These new regulations are not born from the desire to curb tourism, which remains a crucial resource for our economy, but from the need to manage it in a more intelligent and respectful way,” argues Manzoni, who recalls that the changes in the regulations have already come into force. Be careful with swimsuits. One of the novelties that has caused the most expectation, inside and outside of Varenna, is the one that affects the dress code. No more walking around the center of town with your torso naked or in a bathing suit. No matter how hot it is or if you’ve just taken a dip in the lake, from now on you can only go that way in very specific areas of Varenna: the beaches, piers and piers. In the rest of the town you have to cover yourself. Breaking the rule involves fines of between 50 and 200 euros. Goodbye groups and speakers. It’s not the only thing visitors to Varenna will have to keep an eye on. To prevent the streets from becoming saturated with large groups, the City Council has decided that these should be limited to a maximum of 25 people. That is the limit that tour operators that organize excursions must respect. During your visits you should also remember another guideline: guides will not be able to use speakers or devices that amplify their voice. The goal: to put an end to the noise, something they have already done in Florence. Precisely to reduce inconvenience, groups will have to proceed along pedestrian paths and will be prohibited from standing still in certain “particularly sensitive and crowded” areas, such as Pizetta Brenta, Pizza San Giovanni or Via IV Novembre. Breaking those rules doesn’t come cheap. Guides risk fines of between 100 and 400 eurosa punishment that can be toughened in case of recidivism. Guidelines on group size and organization are only relaxed for educational and school visits. Is it something new? No. And that is the most significant thing. The diary The Republic public a chronicle a few days ago in which I explained that Varenna is not the only tourist town in Italy that has decided to tighten its rules to combat touristification: in Eraclea, Favignana, Levanzo or Marettimo (to name just a few cases) they have also renewed the rules that prohibit walking in a swimsuit or bikini through the historic centers and commercial towns. It is not a new restriction, but the municipal authorities have wanted to reinforce it, increasing the fines in some cases up to 500 euros. Sandwiches, beers, selfies and bikinis. The Italian newspaper recalls that in the center of Apulia, for example, the prohibition of walking in a swimsuit or with a naked torso is not limited to streets, avenues and squares. It is also applied in parks, gardens and public transport. Skipping this restriction can cost up to 500 euros. In other towns they even go further and have prohibited eating sandwiches or drinking beers in the street, lying on benches or become selfies in viewpoints. Italy is not even the only one that has declared war on visitors who decide to walk around half naked, in a swimsuit or bikini. In France they have done something similar and right here, in Spain, there are cities that punish severely walk through the streets and squares without a shirt. The torso in the air, it is better to reserve it for swimming pools, beaches and areas authorized by the regulations. Images | Ray in Manila (Flickr), Becks (Flickr) and Gerry Labrijn (Flickr) In Xataka | “Vacation rentals are losing their appeal”: real estate agencies face the bursting of the tourist apartment bubble

Don Benito and Villanueva wanted to show Spain the advantages of merging town councils. They have ended up doing the opposite

by

He February 20, 2022 It promised to be a historic day in Extremadura. In Spain, in general. After months of debate, arguments and growing media interest, that Sunday the residents of Don Benito and Villanueva (Badajoz) cast the ballot to decide something crucial for the future of both municipalities: whether they would merge into one. The ‘yes’ vote won, although with such a narrow margin and, above all, such a low level of participation that the union did not come together. Four years later, just jump into the air. February 20, 2022. To understand what just happened in Extremadura you have to go back at least four years, to February 20, 2022when the residents of Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena held a referendum to decide whether to unite into a single town. Both town halls are located in Badajoz, they are separated by a few kilometers almost completely urbanized and share services like a hospital complex. Furthermore, in 2022 both were governed by PSOE mayors and they were in favor of their respective consistories embracing each other as one. A muted ‘yes’. The referendum backed the merger, which for a time seemed to clear the future of ‘Vegas-Altas’, the name under which he wanted to be baptized the new village. The problem is that that support was not strong enough to close the debate. To begin with, participation in the 2022 vote was modest for a decision of such significance: in Villanueva (25,873 neighbors) 58.94% of the census participated; in Don Benito (37,310) 50.42%. In the first location, 90.49% of the votes supported the alliance; but in Don Benito only 66.27% did so. It may seem like a high percentage, but the town councils had agreed that to move forward the support had to be at least 66%. That is to say, in Don Benito the procedure was passed by a few votes. As if that were not enough, there is another fundamental factor: the referendum was actually a popular consultation with advisory naturenon-binding. The merger was never ratified in a plenary session nor did the Board approve any constitutive decree. Only a protocol was signed in 2023 that remained a dead letter. Buried and buried well. That was almost five years ago. If the failed merger between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena is news again Now it is because, after more than four years without real progress, the first town (the most populated) has decided to definitively bury the union. Although the project has been stalled for some time, the Dombeniense Government, now led by the PP and Always Don Benitohas definitively shelved the idea. On Monday the municipal plenary session unanimously approved a motion declaring its definitive stoppage. What’s more, for “reasons of transparency, legal certainty and political clarity”, the Don Benito City Council has decided Formally communicate your decision to all the parties involved: the Ministry, the Government of Extremadura, the Provincial Council of Badajoz and of course the Villanueva City Council. Their approach is simple: they want to continue “collaborating” with their neighbor, but without ‘going through the altar’, limiting their agreements to the Comprehensive Services Association that already exists. “It’s not the time”. Don Benito’s decision is not important just because of what he says. Equally or even more relevant is who says it. The motion has passed with the unanimity of the plenarywhich means that all groups are in favor of putting it in the box. Including the PSOE, the party that promoted it in 2022. Each party (PP, Siempre Don Benito and PSOE) puts forward its own arguments and places emphasis on one issue or another, but the reading seems clear: the merger has it very complicated even if there is a change of government in 2027. “This is not the time to talk about the merger now,” assume in the PSOE, which advocates “recovering the economy and exciting the neighbors again.” Crossover of arguments. The case of Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena is interesting beyond the province of Badajoz or Extremadura because it shows how difficult it is (on a political and social level) to unite two town councils. And in this case the neighbors had a good handful of arguments in favor. Beyond the economic and service cohesion that already exists, in 2021 the University of Extremadura published a report which concluded that the new urban area would be the second economic center of Badajoz and the first at the regional level in agriculture and livestock. According to their calculations, ‘marriage’ would increase household income by 2.75% and employment by 5%. Together they would add up today to a population of around 64,000 registeredmore than Merida. Opponents of the merger they put the accent at another point. They argue that the project is nothing more than “the result of a political decision driven in haste, without the necessary social consensus and without rigorous technical planning.” In fact, they regret that in February 2022, “the legal complexity” of the link was not clearly explained to the neighbors, nor were its “risks” and “real costs.” Broadening the focus. Except for a very strange surprise, everything indicates that the dream of Vegas Altas It will remain just that: a dream. In Spain, however, there are other examples of local mergers that have gone ahead. Two of the most recent are those of Oza dos Ríos-Cesuras and Cerdedo-Cotobadeboth in Galicia. The first It was forged in 2013setting a milestone that has not been experienced since 1981, and the second in 2016. Although in Galicia the processes advanced more agilely than in Extremadura, they have not been free of challenges. In 2022 The Country still warned of the challenges that Oza Cesuras had ahead of him a decade after his marriage, with unfulfilled investments and timid changes. In Galicia there has continued to be talk about some other unionalthough without landing them. Why does it cost so much? The million dollar question. In Spain there are almost 1,400 municipalities … Read more

this is how this company operates in a small town in Ciudad Real

by

Among the vineyards and olive groves of Herencia, a municipality of just over seven thousand inhabitants in Ciudad Real, some of the armored vehicles that today circulate through NATO barracks, Spanish police stations and roads in several countries in Africa are manufactured. The company in charge of this type of projects It’s called TSDand the most interesting of all is that it was not always a vehicle manufacturer. In fact, he started selling safes. How it all started. Antonio Ramírez founded the company in 2000 as a family business that had nothing to do with the military industry. “We began by focusing our work on the transportation of funds, on the development of vaults or safes for banking ATMs,” explained Ramírez. in the report from El Español. Over time, the firm expanded its activity into the security and defense sector until it became a manufacturer of tactical and armored vehicles. Today TSD invoice around 130 million euros per year and employs more than 600 people in its rural surroundings. In detail. The firm’s star product is the Íbero, a multipurpose 4×4 tactical vehicle with a modular design that can become an assault vehicle, border surveillance vehicle, riot control vehicle, command post or even a mortar launcher, as detailed by the company. There are three versions depending on weight and capacity: the lightest (LTV) is around 5 tons and carries up to 6 occupants, while the heaviest (HTV) reaches 15 tons and can carry up to 12 people. The vehicle was officially presented in 2020 after a decade of development, and there are already around 70 examples manufactured. Between the lines. TSD does not build chassis from scratch. The company works as a “second phase” manufacturer. And it is that part from brand platforms such as Mercedes-BenzRenault or Iveco and on them it mounts the armor, communication systems and the specific configurations of each mission. It is a model that allows you to adapt practically any commercial chassis to military or police use. The NATO seal. As an official supplier of the Atlantic Alliance, TSD vehicles have the organization’s own certifications and approvals. According to what they saythe entire process is governed by STANAG regulations, the international standard that sets the armor levels required by NATO. Vehicles destined for the Alliance are painted dark green, the official color of NATO, while those sent to desert areas, such as the Middle East, wear a cream tone. Beyond Europe. The Íbero has crossed borders, since nearly a hundred units have already been sold, most outside of Spainwith presence in African countries such as Senegal or Ivory Coast, where the vehicles operate in real scenarios and have been tested in combat. The company is now studying making the leap to South America, with Chile and Argentina as markets in its sights. Not just military vehicles. Along with the tactical range, TSD maintains a less visible but equally important line of business, with armored vans for transporting funds, destined for central banks and security companies. They incorporate remote locking systems and patented technologies, such as foam that solidifies in seconds to protect cargo from an attempted assault. Added to this is the manufacturing of police vehicles, with a production volume that exceeds the 5,000 units per yearof which about 1,500 are personalized to order. In Spain, bodies such as the Civil Guard already use their vehicles. And now what. The context in which we live is helping the company, since Europe is increasing its defense spending and seeks to reinforce its strategic autonomy against dependence on external suppliers. In this scenario, family businesses like TSD gain weight as an agile and flexible alternative. Cover image | TSD In Xataka | One of the most advanced yachts in the world keeps its biggest secret below deck: cryogenic tanks at -253 ºC

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

by

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

Centuries ago, the merchants of a town in Segovia decided that no one would understand them. They ended up creating a unique language

by

It does not reach 3,700 inhabitants and it is almost an hour from Segovia capital and 90 minutes from the center of Madrid, but Cantalejo (Castilla y León) hides a fascinating treasure, one of those that cannot be valued in euros or any other currency. For centuries this small town in the Duratón region has been the epicenter of a unique dialect: the gallerya jargon once used by threshing floor merchants and which, according to some experts, draws on words taken from other languages, such as Basque, Galician, French or Arabic. Now he keeps a pulse so as not to disappear. What is the gagaría? The “jargon of the Cantalejo thrillers.” Or at least this is how he defines it the ‘Dictionary of Current Spanish’ of the BBVA Foundation. However, to fully understand the history and relevance of the gacería (or briquero) more nuances must be taken into account. Its richness of lexicon means that it is often presented more as a ‘dialect’a ‘linguistic variant’ or even a language. Its use has also transcended artisans and threshing floor merchants to extend to other areas. Nowadays there are websites where is documented the vocabulary and expressions of the slang and even published works in the slang, including a hobby book and a translation from ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, whose briquero title would be ‘The cocky pitoche’. Its footprint also expands beyond the municipal area of ​​Cantalejo, with echoes in other neighboring towns in Castilla y León. More than 300 words. As Professor Sara Engra explains in an article On the subject, the gazería presents some interesting peculiarities. At a linguistic level, in terms of word structures and intonation, it conforms to Spanish norms. Also its syntax. What differentiates it is its lexicon. “It is limited to replacing Spanish words with (mostly) borrowings from other languages,” explains the linguist, who gives as an example ‘The gazebo is garnished by the briqueros of Vilorio Sierte’which would be translated as ‘The gacería is spoken by the inhabitants of Cantalejo’. The structure of the sentence, the use of verbs or plurals is similar to Spanish, the lexicon changes. What makes slang so amazing is your vocabulary and how you have formed it. The web Cantalejo.comwhich is dedicated to collecting words and disseminating the characteristics of speech, assures that the briquero is made up of 353 terms, almost all nouns, although there are also 40 verbs and a handful of adjectives, such as ‘serte’, ‘gazo’, ‘pitoche’ either ‘sievo’which in Spanish mean, ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘little’ and ‘old’. Other sources raise their lexicon to about 500 words. From Basque to Arabic. Beyond its greater or lesser richness of vocabulary, the most striking thing about the gacería is the origin of those more than 300 words that make up its slang. Engra remembers that there are terms from Basque, Galician and Catalan, but also others imported from Arabic or even Galicianisms. The linguist specifies that in some of the words of Cantalejo’s slang another phenomenon can be seen: metathesiswhich basically consists of changing the place of one or more sounds or syllables of a word, as may be the case of ‘miraglo’ instead of miraculo or ‘murciégalo’ for bat. If we review the lexicon of the gacería we can see that there are terms that derive from Spanish through this ‘deformation’. It is not his only strategy for creating words. Another, just as interesting, is to recover rarely used words and use them to indirectly refer to a new reality. Engra cites a specific case: significant (“carrying a sign”) is changed to ‘sinifaro’which means ‘civil guard’. Other peculiarities of speech are its intonation and gestures. The origins. The authors do not always agree on the details of the origin and antiquity of the gacería, although they do tend to agree on several details. The first, which dates back centuries. The second, the key role played by the inhabitants of Cantalejo who traveled through Spain to sell threshes and cattle. Engra, for example, slide which served as a code, a ‘secret’ speech shared by the Cantalejans that allowed them to “encrypt conversations and hide information” when negotiating with merchants from other regions. The gaceria would therefore be like a code created and nurtured by the residents of Cantalejo who traveled around Spain to trade their goods. When they wanted to exchange information with each other, safe from other people’s ears, they resorted to their own jargon that was indecipherable to merchants from other areas. Regarding its origins, it is usually pointed to 13th centuryalthough there are who points rather to the 16th, 18th or 19th century, with its peak well into the 20th century. a living speech. “When our ancestors toured Spain and went through Galicia, the Basque Country, Extremadura… they heard different dialects, words that they did not understand, so they brought many of them with them. In the workshops they were later unified, forming phrases. And thus the gacería was born,” explains to The Newspaper Ana Rosa Zamarro, mayor of Cantalejo and leading voice in the defense of slang. “They used it to warn each other during sales deals.” With the changes in agriculture and the depopulation of rural areas, the gacería has been losing ground, which does not mean that Cantalejo has forced its speech. A jargon for the 21st century. Zamarro assures that continues to be heard on the street and in recent years steps have been taken to guarantee its future, which includes since the publication of hobby books or to the translation of classic works. Even the local public school works to pass it on to the new generations. The objective: that Cantalejo (and the province of Segovia and Castilla y León) does not lose one of its great linguistic treasures. Images | Wikipedia1 and 2 and From Tuma In Xataka | In 1953, North Korea and South Korea spoke the same language. In 2026, they begin to be two different

In Galicia there is a town that every summer recreates a Viking landing with ‘drakkars’. And it makes perfect sense

by

If you want to experience a Viking landing in your flesh, a historical representation that includes longships like those used by Nordic people in the 9th century to sail the seas, warriors with axes and medieval fortresses, you don’t need to travel to Scandinavia. In Catoira, a Galician town of just over 3,000 inhabitants, they celebrate every summer a pilgrimage that for a few hours turns the Ría de Arousa into the scene of an epic battle. The most interesting thing is its background: it is not a whimsical festival, but rather a tribute to the role that the town played centuries ago in the defense of Galicia. Vikings in Galicia? When you think of Vikings, the first thing that comes to mind is Scandinavia and the Nordic navigators who centuries ago, between the 8th and 11th AD, dedicated themselves to sailing, trading and plundering across Europe. However, every summer Catoira, a small town in the province of Pontevedra, celebrates a pilgrimage focused precisely on the Vikings. It has been doing so for more than six decades and with such success that its celebration has achieved the seal of international tourist interest and, in just one week, attracts more than 100,000 people. Not bad if we take into account that in the town they live 3,300. An old connection. Catoira celebrating a Viking party makes all the sense in the world. The town may be more than 2,000 kilometers from Norway, but centuries ago it played a crucial role in repelling raids by the normative pirates (also Saracens) who came to Galician lands in search of loot and, above all, an easy access route to Santiago de Compostela. To understand it, you must first understand the strategic geographical role of Catoira, a town located at the inland end of the Arousa estuary, near the mouth of the Ulla. If the pirates wanted to reach Santiago, where the 9th century The tomb of Saint James the Greater was located, it offered them an ideal access door. “The key and seal of Galicia”. The local rulers soon understood the role that the Catoira area played and that is why they fortified it with the West Towersa medieval defensive system located at the head of the estuary. Today we preserve two of the seven original towers that between the 9th and 10th centuries They allowed the locals to stand up to Norman raids. “The Vikings who arrived in Galicia in the 9th and 10th centuries with the intention of plundering our lands encountered resistance from the troops of the Castellum Honestiwhich during that time prevented the Norman armies and Saracen pirates from ascending the river, to the point of this fortress being considered the ‘Key and seal of Galicia’”, remember the Catoira Town Hall. A party… and a tribute. A few decades ago, in 1960the members of the Ateneo do Ullán decided to remember the heroic past of the town with an act that basically commemorated the landings in the lands of Ullá. As the City Council explains, it began as “a meeting of friends with cultural concerns”, a celebration without major pretensions. Over time, however, the party gained strength. In 1965 a company took over the organization and during the next quarter of a century the pilgrimage continued to grow and increase its impact beyond Catoira, Pontevedra and even Galicia. It grew so much, in fact, that between the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s the City Council decided take charge of the organization. What had started as an improvised act gained the status of international holiday. There are no Vikings without longships. Proof of how much the pilgrimage expanded (and of its vocation to continue doing so) is that the event incorporated several longshipsthe characteristic warships used by the Norse and Germanic tribes. In 1993, the first one was built, named ‘Torres de Oeste’, and over time two others were added: ‘Frederikssund’ and ‘Ardglass-Catoira’. These are not more or less approximate copies. To make the first, a group of expert Catoirense craftsmen traveled to Denmark, where they studied Viking boat-building methods and were inspired by the Skuldelev 5a longship found in Denmark. The ‘Frederikssund’ is also an adaptation of an authentic 11th century ship, the Gokstadlocated in Norway. Ironies of history, today Catoira’s heroic past is celebrated with a pilgrimage in which the protagonists are the Vikings and in which (of course) there is no shortage of medieval markets, shows, seafood and red wine from Ulla. Images | Council of Catoira, Spain tourism and Xunta de Galicia In Xataka | When the Romans arrived in Galicia, they encountered the enemy they feared most: a river that stole their memory.

the initiative of a town in Huesca to make neighbors look each other in the eyes. “We’ll put the cell phone in a bag”

by

The United Kingdom announced a few hours ago that is going to ban social networksamong other things, to those under 16 years of age. In a much more diplomatic line, the Aragonese people of Alcalá de Gurrea will soon celebrate a day without screens to enjoy the best social network: eye contact. This is an experiment that will put the entire town in “airplane mode” and, as you know, people are quite dependentthey will ensure that it is fulfilled in a very curious way. Putting cell phones in a bag with a sheriff patrolling the town. It’s much nicer than it sounds. Town in airplane mode. It will be next June 28 when, for a few hours, the Aragonese municipality will implement this measure. They will invite neighbors who want to join in to leave their cell phones aside to interact with the rest of the town and, as detailed in Chain Beingduring those hours there will only be one cell phone: the one owned by one of those responsible for the activity. “The sheriff will go throughout the town in case something happens and will call the right person if necessary,” the organizers point out. The objective is clear: to make people look each other in the eyes. “The plan is for people to do all kinds of activities but, above all, to interact with each other during those nine hours,” they say. To do this, there will be a group meal, activities such as a kayak experience and common spaces in which various types of activities and creative workshops will take place. What if you’re embarrassed? Well, they have it covered: “the organizers will be waiting for people to break the ice,” they say. The typical “do you know my friend?” of all life. to the bag. And the way to make sure people put their phones aside is to do it…literally. The event, as those responsible in Ser comment, will take place on the outskirts of the town and will be where participants will be given a bag to store their devices. “When you cross the border of airplane mode, there is no turning back: no one will be able to locate you,” they point out. “Since people are so dependent, we will put it in a sealed bag that they will not be able to open for nine hours.” As we read in Zaragoza-Citythe capacity will be very limited in this first edition, of just 200 people and the organizations defend that it is not about giving up technology, but about realizing that we can not be constantly glued to the screens. Not so original. If you are unable to put your phone down for a second (which is not the user’s fault either because applications use sophisticated tactics to ‘tickle’ our brains and that are very addictive), is a good solution. However, you should know that Alcalá de Gurrea is not the only place where this is done. On April 18, Euskadi celebrated the first ‘Family Cell Phone Free Day’ which, basically, was the same: the cell phone was left in a safe and guarded bag to experience a fun day without screens. There is an association called EsMontañas that has also driven a similar initiative in almost 60 Alto Aragonese towns and there are private initiatives such as ‘Offline Club’ that organizes meetings of the style in some cities. Others do it out of obligation. The truth is that the absence of the sound of notifications and not having the phone at hand to pick it up, unlock it and look into space simply on impulse does not seem like a bad idea to ‘detoxify’ the device. Now, it is fine as long as it is voluntary and not an imposition. In Vadgaon, India, every day at 7:00 p.m. a siren sounds which urges citizens to turn off televisions and cell phones with the aim of recovering face-to-face dialogue. And Green Bank, a city in the United States, is a municipality without mobile phones by obligation. Due to the presence of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory implies a radio-silent zone in which mobile phones and Wi-Fi devices are very restricted. Curiously, this situation is a claim for people who want a life without smartphones. In Xataka | The science of “doomscrolling”: how technology hacked psychology so we can’t let go of our phones

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.