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This is yours truly with another episode of some news from Spain!!!. I have come back to the series with new work on in my dear Spain, I was just there in mid July ,and already looking forward to be back !! Let me tell you my latest news chosen by yours truly, By the way CLIII is old Roman numeral for 153, Hope you enjoy this post as I.

The Spanish has 600 million speakers in the world with increasingly slower growth. The Cervantes Institute’s annual report on the state of the Spanish language points to an increase of 3.4 million compared to 2022. Specifically, there are 599,405,122. 7.5% of the planet’s population. A nice round figure that results from adding the native speakers (499,947,796, 6.2% of the world), which is 3.4 million more than in 2022; “users of limited competence”, those who do not have it as their mother tongue and are proficient in it (76,422,128), almost 800,000 more than last year, and those who study it (23,035,198), with a drop of 713,000, which last year was already 325,000. However, compared to 2022, the number of speakers has increased by just over 3.4 million, while in 2022 there were four and in 2021, six. Growth is slower. Moving on !!

The concert at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium will be the first date of the ‘Luis Miguel Tour 2024‘ in Europe, after more than 50 concerts in 15 countries in Latin America, the US and Canada The pre-sale of tickets for Luis Miguel’s unique show in Madrid on the 6th July 2024 will begin this Monday, November 6 at 10h and will end on Thursday, November 9 at 10h, and Banco Santander customers will have exclusive access to it through their website. Two hours later, at 12 noon on Thursday, November 9, the exclusive pre-sale for Real Madrid members will begin, available until Friday, November 10 at noon. The general sale of tickets through the Ticketmaster website for the rest of the public will begin that same Friday, November 10 at 16h It will be the first time that El Sol de México returns to Madrid to perform since July 2018, when he offered a pair of concerts at the WiZink Center as part of his Mexico forever tour, with which he celebrated the release of his latest album. to date. Official Luis Miguel tour 2024 : https://luismigueloficial.com/tour-2024

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform on June 12 and 14 2024 at the Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid and on June 20 at the Estadi Olímpic in Barcelona , Tickets for the concerts on June 12 and 14 in Madrid will be available sale on Tuesday, November 7 at 10h Tickets for the concert on June 20 in Barcelona, tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, November 14, also at 10h. They will be sold exclusively through the websites doctormusic.com and ventas.com. The price of tickets for Madrid will be 65, 72, 82, 92, 108 and 128 euros for reserved seat tickets in the stands and 128 euros for Front Court and 88 euros for Back Court (distribution costs not included). The prices for Barcelona will be 65, 70, 78, 90, 105 and 128 euros for reserved seat tickets in the stands and 128 euros for Front Court and 85 euros for Back Court (distribution costs not included). A maximum of six tickets can be purchased per purchase. Offiical Bruce Springteen on tours : https://brucespringsteen.net/tour/

Something memorable special for my family since we have vacationed in the area for several years, see posts in my blog, Autumn in the Serranía de Cuenca: Cuenca has all the ingredients for the traveler to explore its peculiar orography every weekend. In autumn, the World Heritage city offers one more inexcusable attraction: its mountain range La Ciudad Encantada or enchanted City , the action of water, wind and ice that has made possible this karstic phenomenon full of unexpected formations. Among them, human silhouettes, objects and animals that make the visit have magical overtones. La Ventana del Diablo or devil’s window and Laguna de Uña or lagoon, you follow the course of the Júcar river in the direction of Uña, it is essential to look at the Devil’s Window, a natural cave-shaped viewpoint with majestic views of the ravine excavated by the river. Another emblematic point is the lagoon.of Uña, on whose shore is one of the interpretation centers of the natural park. The source of the Cuervo River and its waterfalls is one of the most beautiful places in the territory thanks to a circular route of approximately 1.5 km that allows you to visit the waterfalls and the source. To enjoy this magical place in the Natura 2000 Network you have to get to Vega del Codorno. The parking lot to explore the source of the river is about five km away. The water springs from a travertine spring and runs through a veritable curtain of tuffaceous formations covered with moss between which the water spills. In winter this picture freezes and is quite a spectacle. You continue the journey to Beteta ,here at the highest point of the town, the ruins of the Rochafrida castle still stand out at an altitude of 1,300 meters. A handful of alleys complete the urban area, where the beauty of its Plaza Mayor stands out with its balconies full of flowers and wooden arcades, typical of the mountain architecture, the impressive Beteta Hoz, a deep canyon carved by the Guadiela River on materials limestone covered with endemic vegetation that includes tilares and hazelnut groves. In Beteta, just 3 km away, the famous waters of Solán de Cabras (the best bottle water of Madrid) ,also spring up,with a spa included for a thermal getaway. You arrived at Priego ,famous for the crafts of wicker and pottery, It, also, treasures a sickle of great beauty and drama: the one excavated by the Escabas River, with vertical walls of more than 400 meters. Back in the town, the points of interest revolve around the Plaza de los Condes de Priego, where the 16C Palacio de los Condes stands, as well as other emblazoned houses of important families of the time. On Calle de la Cruz, you should not miss the Museum of Ethnography and Popular Arts, which tells us about the ancient crafts of Priego: from pottery to wool and from crocheters to wicker. Sublime, worth the detour, Official protected area Serrania de Cuenca in the Castilla La Mancha region tourist office : https://areasprotegidas.castillalamancha.es/rap/espacios-naturales-protegidos/enp-parque-natural/33/visita-y-disfruta

The beautiful cities of Sigüenza, in Guadalajara province, Cantavieja, in Teruel province, and Oñate, in Guipúzcoa province are the three Spanish towns selected as Best Tourist Villages 2023 by the World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) . The award recognizes towns that are at the forefront of caring for rural areas and preserving landscapes, cultural diversity, local values and culinary traditions. Go see them gorgeous !

The Emmy-B of Jenkin’s wins The Champions Burger in the final held in Barcelona, It provided a holeless donuts, with a 180 gram Black Angus USA Prime meat, smoked cheddar cheese , caramelized onion, bacon bites, USA pickled cucumbers and Korean sauce ! The second prize went to the restaurant La Muralla, another restaurant in Castellón , and the third went to the proposal from The Ranch smokehouse, in Barcelona, according to the organizers. For one week, 22 burger restaurants, mostly Spanish but also from Portugal, Andorra, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, competed in Barcelona to win the title of “Best Burger in Europe.”The official Jenkin’s : https://eatjenkins.com/

Would you know how to distinguish these types of meat? Tips for differences between bull, cow, steer and calf? The first thing is to talk about age. If the animal has not yet reached 12 months of age, we will be looking at a calf . From then on we must consider him a bull . If it is male, it will go from being a steer to a bull if it is not castrated. If he is castrated he will become an ox at four years old. The second has to do with color. The white color is the most characteristic of calves. When they become steers, the meat turns pale red. As for beef, it is usually red; and that of the bull acquires a dark red tone. Finally, beef is usually very intense red, with streaks of infiltrated fat. If we stick to the size and weight, the calf and the steer can reach a weight close to half a ton. In the case of the cow, a little more: 600 kilograms. The bull and the ox far exceed that weight. And as for the flavor (although this depends on each person’s taste), the veal usually has a soft, tender flavor with nuances of dairy flavors. On the other hand, the calf begins to have a more pronounced and intense flavor. The cow meat has a much stronger flavor, while bull meat is intense and coarse, adding that ox meat differs from the others due to its sweet and mild flavor, with a tender and juicy texture. Finally, several explanations referring to the beef, highly appreciated for its flavor and texture. To be considered an ox, 48 months must pass. The ox, unlike the bull, does not have the capacity to reproduce after having been castrated from the first year of birth. Its meat is one of the most appreciated, also due to its scarcity. There are many who use their confusion between these animals to deceive consumers about the meat they eat, passing off cow as ox. But the latter has a higher quality. There is nothing comparable to the taste of an authentic Ox beef steak !! Indeed we call it chuletón de buey !!

A courageous lady worth mention it, Lorena Paricio, born in Catalonia 40 years ago, works as a primary care nurse and specialist in Dietetics and Nutrition, in an outpatient clinic in Barcelona, and combines this activity with committed bullfighting activism. Since January 2021 she has been president of the Federation of Bullfighting Entities of Catalonia and last May 2023, she was appointed coordinator of the Platform of Bullfighting Fans. She stayed out of the party until she decided to expand her training and, driven by curiosity, she researched the meat of the fighting bull for her final year project. but the study led her to discover a previous and new world for her, the life of the bull in the countryside, the founding breeds, the ranches… and knew that those anti-bullfighting messages she received did not tell the truth ! There she began her love of bullfighting. The hobby gave way to commitment, and she joined the Union of Bullfighting and Amateurs of Catalonia (UTYAC), of which she was secretary for nine years. That was a movement, still in force, that was born with the aim of uniting Catalan fans and professionals; We organized many activities, including several conferences, and we made ourselves seen. We did not have bulls, but we did have a lively hobby. Another of the objectives of the federation is to establish relations with national organizations that can provide support, such as the Toro de Lidia Foundation, the Union of Bullfighting Federations of Spain or the Platform of Bullfighting fans. But will there ever be bulls in Catalonia? That is the big question. If the owner of the Plaza Monumental in Barcelona wanted… When spoken with him he made it very clear to me: the Catalan socio-political situation did not allow him to offer bulls. It does not depend on the fans, we can only be annoying and talk to politicians so that the building is not dedicated to other tasks, Indeed politicians ruined everything to do with traditions, the new world order and less each day,

I have several posts on Valencia ,dear to me since in my childhood had an aunt of my mother that lived in El Saler and took me there, Clock forward was able to visit with my dear late Martine and the boys and as such, memories forever, This is an overall vision of it, This city is more than paella, sun and beach, and more than a tourist alternative to other crowded cities. We have views of a golden sunset in which we can see the dome of the Mercado Central market, silhouetted by that light so characteristic that it made Sorolla spend his entire life painting it , A little over 30 years ago, Valencia had a sign at the entrance to the city that invited tourists to visit it in two hours, as a place of passage and of little interest. (and before that nothing at all ! ) Today, international media such as The New York Times or CNN have recommended the city as the fashionable destination, always with the tagline of “an alternative to the overcrowded Barcelona.” Valencia has been chosen as the European Green Capital in 2024, an award granted by the European Commission that recognizes the city’s efforts to improve the environment and quality of life. These are: pedestrianization of several areas of the central district or creation of a bicycle path of more than 175 km that not only runs through the streets, but also takes us to the beach and the orchard. In addition to everything it already had: the Turia Garden, a route of more than 9 km of gardens and sports areas where the old riverbed once stood; and two natural paradises: less than 20 minutes by car from the historic center, the Albufera natural park, (worth the trip) where you can take a boat ride among the rice fields or be surprised by its sunsets, and, 45 minutes away, the Turia natural park , with more than 8,000 hectares of Mediterranean forest. And, of course, the famous Valencian orchard, the only peri-urban agricultural space in the world, distributed in a 15-km radius that surrounds the city, the City of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated in 1998 and designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, a space with which Valencians have ambivalent feelings, like Parisians with the Eiffel Tower,(yes me too) but which is an enormous tourist attraction and which has been the scene of various film productions, attracting, in turn, more tourists. The list of new openings will be added , in November 2023, the Hortensia Herrero Art Center, the private collection of the businesswoman and wife of one of the most illustrious Valencians, the founder of Mercadona Juan Roig, in the old Valeriola Palace, and which will feature the works of artists such as Andreas Gursky, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Anish Kapoor or Mat Collishaw. The second largest art gallery in Spain after El Prado, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, and the Parish Church of San Nicolás, baptized as the Valencian Sistine Chapel, for its impressive frescoes. In recent years, historical places have been rehabilitated to give them a new life: it has happened with the aforementioned Central Market or, more recently, with the Mercado de la Imprenta (C/ de la Mascota 17), a new gastronomic space located in the old Imprenta Vila that was built in 1908. There have also been transformed the well-known Plaza de la Reina, La Lonja and Los Santos Juanes to become more walkable places. In Valencia, around 70% of the GDP depends on the services sector, and a very important part, directly or indirectly, on tourism. The historic center of Valencia is one of the largest in Europe. The Valencia tourist office : https://www.visitvalencia.com/en

The VII edition of the Corral Cervantes Fiesta Festival organized by the Siglo de Oro Foundation and which, for the second year, has its headquarters in the Corral Cervantes, the space built on Paseo de la Chopera, next to Matadero,Madrid , An imitation of the corrales of comedies of our Golden Age, The festival will run until December 17, 2023. Fifty performances of twenty different shows will be presented, created by eighteen companies from seven autonomous communities (Castilla y León, Madrid, Andalusia, Asturias, Castilla -La Mancha, Canary Islands, Valencia) and an international one (Italy). Official Festival Corral de Cervantes : https://corralcervantes.com/

In just over a decade, Madrid has been filled with modern cafes with their own codes around the coffee ritual.These tastings are carried out by professionals certified by the Specialty Coffee Association or the Coffee Quality Institute, In 2011, Santi Rigoni and Patricia Alda imported to Madrid the specialty coffee format that had been operating for years in other cities around the world. There is a list of rules around a model that since then, in just over a decade, has multiplied almost infinitely, under a true fever of openings. The boom is positive, despite the fact that we are in a difficult time in which the price of green coffee has risen by 40%,they said,

Santiago Rigoni and Patricia Alda, Argentine and Spanish, are undoubtedly responsible for the arrival in Madrid of the specialty coffee business model. It was with the opening in 2011 of the first Toma Café (drink coffee) headquarters, on Calle La Palma, in Malasaña district. Thus, apart from the initial headquarters, they have two other locations near the Plaza de Olavide. The third location is called ‘Proper Sound’ to address a true diversification: from a coffee roaster and a place to sit down for breakfast, to a natural wine and ‘beer’ bar, tables and vinyl, with extended hours on some nights to offer dinner. In addition, they have created a school for young people who have later started businesses, while they provide consulting to restaurants and cafes. Toma Café Calle La Palma, 49 Official Toma Cafés : https://toma.cafe/es/cafeterias

The Argentine-Italian Fede Graciano has built a group around the Acid brand in just six years. The opening of Acid Café in December 2017, as a specialty coffee format and something to eat on calle Verónica, was followed at the end of 2020 by Acid Bakehouse, with a café and bread and pastry bakery, next to the Mercado de Anton Martin. In May 2022, Gota Wine opened on Calle Prim. That arrival in the Salesas neighborhood meant growing a little more at the end of last year with the third Acid, under the surname ‘Shop’, in calle Barquillo, where it adds specialty coffee, breads and pastries offer. The latest has been creating the wine distributor Gota Wine Global, several ‘pop-ups’ in different countries and the opening of Acid Bakehouse in Berlin. That is, maximum diversification (coffee, bread and pastries, food, wines…) in an artisanal context. Acid Bakehouse., calle Magdalena, 27, Official Acid Café : https://acidcafe.es/

Six years ago, Nolo Botana and Pablo Caballero helped conceptualize and open Misión Café ,a track in Noviciado district to also take into account. A few months ago they separated from the project, while they remain in charge of what has been their main space these years: Hola Café, which started in March 2017 in Lavapiés district. By the way, they are preparing to open another Hola Café in Lagasca. Calle Doctor Fourquet, 33, Official Hola Café : https://hola.coffee/pages/cafeterias

Casa Neutrale materializes the leap of emperors from the world of fashion to hospitality. Nacho Aragón, also a partner in the Manosanta churrería ,and Jaime Gil are the founders of the Neutrale clothing brand, based on a philosophy defined as ‘sustainable lifestyle’, which, in 2021, they brought to a coffee format. Casa Neutrale Café started with its first location on calle Regueros, in the Salesas neighborhood, where it offers specialty coffee, a menu of Mediterranean recipes and “unique wines.” This offer was consolidated and expanded on the solid side in 2022, with the start of a second larger space in Plaza de Cataluña. Casa Neutrale Calle Regueros, 13, Official Casa Neutrale Café : https://www.casaneutrale.com/

Nommad Café started with a subtitle defined as “brunch, coffee & wines”, with a headquarters on Calle Alcalá, where it combines specialty coffee and offers for breakfast or something to eat. Last September, it grew with the opening of a second location that implies an evolution towards a restaurant. Thus, Nommad Restaurant, located at Calle Barquillo, 30, Nommad Cafe & Brunch. Calle de Alcalá, 107, Local 3, no webpage but reviews in RestaurantGuru : https://restaurantguru.com/Nommad-Madrid

There you go folks, another dandy tour of my dear Spain.  It is time to enjoy my some news from Spainonce again, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember ,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!