https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE has released never-before-seen footage of foreign hippies in Ibiza in the early 70s, a film reel censored by Franco’s dictatorship and which showcases how much Spanish society has changed. https://www.thelocal.es/20260922/spain-releases-censored-franco-era-footage-of-foreign-hippies-in-ibiza Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:46:08 +0200 spain-releases-censored-franco-era-footage-of-foreign-hippies-in-ibiza Britain has been trading with the Canaries for six centuries, so it’s no surprise that some very amusing anglicisms have crept into the Spanish dialect of the Atlantic archipelago. https://www.thelocal.es/20231024/ten-english-words-beautifully-bastardised-by-spains-canary-islanders Tue, 24 Oct 2023 14:12:22 +0200 ten-english-words-beautifully-bastardised-by-spains-canary-islanders As Ceuta and Melilla are brought back into the international spotlight after thousands of Moroccans crossed their borders illegally, The Local considers how these two cities in North Africa became Spanish and why they remain so to this day. https://www.thelocal.es/20220328/why-are-ceuta-and-melilla-spanish Mon, 28 Mar 2022 13:35:45 +0200 why-are-ceuta-and-melilla-spanish Carmen Cid was just eight when in 1937 she boarded a ship with 4,000 other children bound for Britain to escape the Spanish Civil War. She was among those who never returned home. https://www.thelocal.es/20260619/how-a-spanish-civil-war-child-now-97-fled-franco-for-new-life-in-the-uk Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:09:41 +0200 how-a-spanish-civil-war-child-now-97-fled-franco-for-new-life-in-the-uk Why is it that when it comes to their national anthem Spaniards are lost for words? https://www.thelocal.es/20180223/no-word-on-spains-national-anthem Fri, 23 Feb 2018 11:34:24 +0100 no-word-on-spains-national-anthem You may have never stopped to think about it, but where does Spain - or España - get its name from? https://www.thelocal.es/20240926/why-is-spain-called-spain Thu, 26 Sep 2024 09:47:09 +0200 why-is-spain-called-spain Did you know that Spain's current king also holds the title of King of Jerusalem? Here's the fascinating story as to why. https://www.thelocal.es/20260320/why-spains-king-felipe-vi-is-also-the-king-of-jerusalem Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:07:15 +0100 why-spains-king-felipe-vi-is-also-the-king-of-jerusalem Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday welcomed Spanish King Felipe VI's acknowledgement that abuses were committed during Spain's conquest of the Americas. https://www.thelocal.es/20260318/mexican-president-hails-spanish-kings-acknowledgement-of-abuses-during-conquest Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:07:08 +0100 mexican-president-hails-spanish-kings-acknowledgement-of-abuses-during-conquest Are you proud to be living in your region of Spain? Why not learn about the origins and interesting facts of the regional flag you see hanging from official buildings and balconies in your autonomous community? https://www.thelocal.es/20260309/spains-regional-flags-17-fun-facts-for-geography-lovers Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:09:22 +0100 spains-regional-flags-17-fun-facts-for-geography-lovers To mark International Women's Day, we celebrate 11 Spanish women who have played pivotal roles in shaping Spain's history, gender rights, science, the arts and more. https://www.thelocal.es/20241011/ten-of-the-most-influential-women-in-spains-history Fri, 11 Oct 2024 21:47:17 +0200 ten-of-the-most-influential-women-in-spains-history Antonio Tejero Molina, the Spanish Civil Guard officer who led a failed 1981 coup that ended up strengthening Spain's fledging democracy, has died aged 93, his family's lawyer said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20260225/antonio-tejero-leader-of-spains-failed-1981-coup-dies-at-93 Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:37:36 +0100 antonio-tejero-leader-of-spains-failed-1981-coup-dies-at-93 Spain's leftist government said Monday it will release classified documents related to a failed 1981 coup attempt, calling the move a step toward settling a "historical debt" with citizens. https://www.thelocal.es/20260223/spain-to-declassify-documents-on-failed-1981-coup-attempt Mon, 23 Feb 2026 11:05:51 +0100 spain-to-declassify-documents-on-failed-1981-coup-attempt Every carnival season in Spain, mock funeral parades with weeping widows take place for the ceremonial burial of a fish. https://www.thelocal.es/20200224/explained-why-does-spain-bury-a-sardine-to-mark-the-start-of-lent Mon, 24 Feb 2020 13:00:00 +0100 explained-why-does-spain-bury-a-sardine-to-mark-the-start-of-lent One of Spain's most respected memory associations on Monday accused the leftist government of flouting its own much-vaunted policy to remove public symbols inherited from Francisco Franco's brutal dictatorship. https://www.thelocal.es/20260210/spains-government-accused-of-snubbing-its-own-franco-memory-law Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:52:55 +0100 spains-government-accused-of-snubbing-its-own-franco-memory-law April 1st has no special meaning in Spain, instead December 28th is the day of practical jokes among Spaniards. But the celebration's macabre origins are far from a laughing matter. https://www.thelocal.es/20201228/why-spain-turned-a-child-massacre-into-its-april-fools-day Mon, 28 Dec 2020 09:12:53 +0100 why-spain-turned-a-child-massacre-into-its-april-fools-day In the Netherlands there's no cheery old man from the North Pole with his flying reindeer, there's Sinterklaas from Spain who rides a white horse called Amerigo. https://www.thelocal.es/20221223/why-santa-claus-lives-in-spain-according-to-the-dutch Fri, 23 Dec 2022 11:41:56 +0100 why-santa-claus-lives-in-spain-according-to-the-dutch You may have noticed that children are tasked with singing the longwinded Christmas lottery numbers on live TV in Spain. How did this tradition come about? https://www.thelocal.es/20221222/why-do-children-sing-spains-christmas-lottery-numbers Thu, 22 Dec 2022 13:48:02 +0100 why-do-children-sing-spains-christmas-lottery-numbers Spain has received a surge of citizenship applications from descendants of emigrants who fled the country's 1930s civil war and Francisco Franco's dictatorship under a scheme aimed at addressing historical injustices. https://www.thelocal.es/20251215/how-spain-has-paved-the-way-to-citizenship-for-descendants-of-franco-era-exiles Mon, 15 Dec 2025 11:38:58 +0100 how-spain-has-paved-the-way-to-citizenship-for-descendants-of-franco-era-exiles British Pathé’s fascinating collection of archive newsreels illustrates how far Spain has come in the last 60 years but also exposes how British reporting on “sun-soaked España” could be comically patronising. https://www.thelocal.es/20180314/spain-in-the-60s-old-footage-video-newsreel-british-pathe Wed, 14 Mar 2018 19:15:41 +0100 spain-in-the-60s-old-footage-video-newsreel-british-pathe Spain has two public holidays in early December which often form a “puente” (bridge), allowing workers in the country to enjoy an extended break before Christmas. Why is December 8th a public holiday? https://www.thelocal.es/20221202/why-are-december-6th-and-8th-public-holidays-in-spain Fri, 02 Dec 2022 15:16:14 +0100 why-are-december-6th-and-8th-public-holidays-in-spain