Antoni Gaudi – Genius or Madman?

Antoni Gaudi is one of the greatest figures in the history of Spanish and Catalan architecture. Seen as the genius of the Modernist movement (Art Nouveau), his work was not only a product of the social context of the time, but also of his own personality and devotion to the Catalan culture.

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Gaudi, the genius of the Catalan architecture

Concerns over split of Lampard and his Spanish fiancee

Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard’s seven-year relationship with his Spanish model fiancee Elen Rives has hit serious problems. The couple are still living together in their £3million home in Fulham, South-West London, while they try to sort out their issues, but a source said:  ‘It’s gone beyond reconciliation now.’
Friends say the death of Lampard’s mother Pat from pneumonia last April put pressure on their relationship.

Lampard’s agent insisted the couple were committed to each other while they tried to sort out their problems ‘amicably’. But it was reported last night that the pair were to split – with Lampard, 30, helping Elen, 29, find a house nearby so he can be close to their daughters, Luna, three, and Isla, one.

‘Elen does not want to leave the country,’ said the agent. ‘But this is a private matter. They will sort it out like adults.’

The couple, who also own a £4million home in Esher, Surrey, have had several high-profile bust-ups.
Their planned 2007 wedding was called off over Lampard’s infidelity with a brunette in Las Vegas.

A devastated Elen promptly – albeit temporarily – took off her £250,000 engagement ring.
Last year, it was revealed Elen was previously married to Jordanian Nael Asad Y Abu-Rmaileh. She divorced him in 2002 but he claims the marriage still stands, saying that under Sharia law only the man can instigate divorce.

His spokesman said no ‘third parties’ were involved in their current problems.

source: Daily Mail

Learning Spanish Courses

900,000 resident immigrants in Spain able to vote

Some 900,000 resident immigrants in Spain will vote in the country’s 2011 municipal elections, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday The Government is in the process of signing reciprocity agreements with 15 countries who recognize the rights of Spanish citizens living in their territories. In a statement Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said some 900,000 citizens from the 15 countries could vote in 2011.

The voting rights will apply to adults who have lived legally in Spain for five years without interruption. Spain has already signed reciprocity agreements with Colombia and Peru. The agreements with Argentina and Ecuador will be signed Monday and on Feb. 25 respectively.

Agreements will also soon be signed with Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, South Korea, Iceland and New Zealand. Spain is the first country in the European Union to recognize this right, according to the Foreign Ministry.

News Source © 2009 Xinhua

Barcelona apartments

Spanish government must cut airport taxes or else

Spain needs to cut its airport taxes to help its embattled tourist industry to survive the downturn, the country’s largest hotel chain Sol Melia (SOL.MC) said in an interview published on Saturday.

“We don’t understand why they (the government) don’t step in more incisively to support an industry which is so important,” Gabriel Escarrer, one of Sol Melia’s two deputy chairmen was quoted as saying by financial newspaper El Economista.

“For example, they could reduce airport taxes, which are the highest in Europe and among the highest in the world.” Spain, the world’s second biggest tourist destination after France, relies on tourism for around 10 percent of its GDP or some 100 billion euros ($128.5 billion) a year. The sector is being squeezed by the global crisis, which is sapping consumer spending on luxuries like holidays, and by the pound’s fall against the euro which is putting Britons off some of their usually favourite Spanish resorts. Earlier this month, tourist trade body Exceltur said one million fewer Britons, a nation representing 28 percent of all foreign visitors in 2007, had visited Spain in the last year.

Sol Melia had about 898 millions euros of debt and at the end of July assets worth 4.7 billion euros, Escarrer said. “We feel very comfortable with these levels,” he said.
Last year, the company told Reuters it would cut back its 1.1 billion euro 2008-10 investment plan amid the crisis and make maintaining financial health its priority. The company’s goal was to recover its investment-grade triple B rating, Escarrer told El Economista.

Future investments would be in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and some holiday destinations in Asia, he said. “The urban sector in Spain is also very important and we are thinking about going into the United States,” he said. However, the firm would use its cash flow, rather than debt, to make investments and would partner with travel companies.
“We’re not going to focus on purchases, but on management, renting places and, of course, on franchises,” Escarrer said.

Source: reuters