π Welcome to Tapa Newsletter!
Bite-sized news about Spain for people on the go.
February 16th, Madrid
π Welcome to the first (beta) issue of Tapa, a newsletter about all things Spain!
π¨π»βπ»π¨π»βπ» Tapa is an English-language, weekly newsletter created by journalists Ian Mount and Adrian Bono (if you never heard of us, our bios are at the bottom).
πͺπΈ Our goal is to help you understand whatβs happening in Spain. If you donβt have time to follow the news, you struggle with Spanish or simply love explainers, then this is the newsletter for you.
π We will cover the serious stuff (politics, economy and social issues) and the trivial stuff (lifestyle, social media, and memes).
π We will make things short and simple to understand. We value your time.
π§ͺ Last but not least, this is our beta version so expect some things to change in the coming weeks as we listen to what readers have to say. If you hate it, weβll change it.
Alright, letβs do this.
This Week in Politics
Scandal
π« 1. The Chaos Over the Rollout of the βOnly Yes Means Yesβ Law Continues
Spainβs coalition government between the center-left PSOE and far-left Unidas Podemos is facing their worst internal crisis yet due to fallout from the implementation of the βOnly Yes Means Yesβ sexual consent law passed by parliament last year.
What happened: After the lawβs passage, judges began reducing the prison sentences of some previously convicted sex offenders because of legal gaps in the new lawβs redefined sentencing guidelines. Experts and politiciansβboth inside the government and in oppositionβbegan demanding urgent amendments to the law. The problem? The different political stripes couldnβt agree on what amendments were necessaryβor who was to blame.
Why it matters: Not only has it petrified many victims of the sex offenders, itβs also sparked rumors that the coalition could break up due to irreconcilable differences.Β Β Β
The law was spearheaded by Equality Minister Irene Montero (pictured above) and is considered her signature bill. It was an answer from the government to the national outrage that arose after a group known as βLa Manadaβ (or βthe wolfpackβ) that perpetrated a high-profile 2016 gang rape in Pamplona was convicted of the lesser crime of sexual abuse because the regional court ruled the men had not used coercive violence and the victim had not resisted. (The Supreme Court later elevated the crime to rape and increased the punishment.)
The passage of the law was celebrated by progressives as a major step forward in womenβs rights, because it stressed the need for explicit consent before sex (i.e. βOnly Yes is Yesβ). It also said rape victims wouldnβt have to prove they had suffered intimidation or violenceβor had fought back.
However, things took an unexpected turn last November when some convicted sex offenders began to see their sentences reduced (and in some cases were released) thanks to loopholes in the new legislation.
Montero immediately said she stood by the text of the law and that βsexistβ judges and prosecutors were to blame because they were wrongly interpreting it. She argued that sexism βcan cloud the impartiality and integrity of the justice systemsβ and βcan make judges apply the law in the wrong way.β
This became an instant headache for Prime Minister Pedro SΓ‘nchez, who was forced to defend the piece of legislation that came not from his own PSOE party but from Unidas Podemos. Unlike Montero, SΓ‘nchez avoided blaming judges and said that the government would correct any mistakes in the law.Β
According to El PaΓs, of the more than 3,900 sex offenders serving time in Spain, 479 of them have seen their sentence reduced, and 46 have seen rulings that call for their immediate release.Β Β Β Β
After weeks of trying (and failing) to reach an agreement with Unidas Podemos, the PSOE filed a motion to debate an urgent reform in parliamentβwithout the support of its allies.Β
The decision to urgently review the text was backed by center-right PP and far-right Vox, while Unidas Podemos abstained. The debate over the amendment is expected to reach the floor of the lower chamber on March 7, on the eve of International Womenβs Day (March 8).
With friends like these: The PSOE and Unidas Podemos bitterly disagree on how to change the law. The PSOEβs reform would establish higher punishments for cases with violenceβeffectively creating different levels of sexual assaultβwhich has inspired Unidas Podemos to accuse the socialists of wanting to βreturn to the Penal Code of La Manada.β
Despite the logjam, SΓ‘nchez canβt wait anymoreβthe political cost of leaving the law as it is will be very, very high.
Our take: While this certainly strains the relationship between the PSOE and UP, it is very unlikely that the coalition will disintegrate before national elections in late 2023. Even fighting, they are stronger together than apart.
ποΈ 2. Catalan independence leaders face the courtβagain
The relationship between the ruling PSOE and Catalan pro-independence parties that often support it took a hit this week from fallout over another penal code reform that didnβt go quite as planned.
The state of play beforehand: Nine Catalan independence leaders who had been convicted and jailed over their roles in the tumultuous 2017 attempt to take Catalonia out of Spain had already been released from prison after being pardoned by SΓ‘nchezβs government in 2021. But the pardons did not remove years-long bans on holding public office.
What was expected: A penal code reform that SΓ‘nchezβs government passed in December removed the crime of sedition and reduced punishment for some misuses of public funds. It was expected to lower the punishments meted out to those Catalan independence leaders β and allow them back into public office.
What happened: The Sala de lo Penal del Tribunal Supremo on Monday handed down its revision of the sentences given to 9 leaders. It dropped the ban on 5 of leaders under the new code but retained bans until 2030/1 on the top 4, including Oriol Junqueras, the president of the ERC (Catalan Republican Left)βwhich had negotiated the new code with SΓ‘nchezβs socialist party.
Devil, meet the details: Under the revised penal code, sedition was replaced by βaggravated public disorder,β and the maximum sentence for misusing public funds was reduced in cases where the money was not taken for personal gain.
As they hadnβt bought Cadillacs with the public money they took for the separatist push, it seemed that they had a good chance to be unbanned. The Tribunal Supremo ruled, however, that despite this, those using public funds to hold an illegal βsecessionistβ referendum were in fact engaging in βaggravatedβ misappropriated of funds (a higher level crime) and could not be offered the leniency meant for those not seeking personal gain.
An unhappy Junqueras and his ERC said the judges were showing a βdesire for revengeβ and were βperpetuating political persecution with twisted interpretationsβ of the new law.
Whatever you think of the ruling, itβs again clear a part of Spainβs judicial branchβthe conservative part, if not moreβis unimpressed with the socialistsβ legal reforms. In this case, the judges complained that this penal code reform βblurs the problemβ of acts against the constitution and could let the authors of future non-violent attacks βunpunishedβ.
π¬ Five things people will be talking about at dinner parties this week:
The 37th Goya Awards (Spainβs equivalent to the Oscars) took place last Saturday night in Seville and the rural drama The Beasts (As Bestas) was the big winner of the night with nine awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. The movie, which Variety describes as a βmodern day feminist westernβ, revolves around a French couple working in home restoration who move to a remote, isolated area in Galicia and begin to clash with the locals.
Revered film director Carlos Saura, Spanish cinemaβs βlast classic directorβ died last Friday at 91 from respiratory failure. The prolific filmmaker, who helmed 1990βs classic Β‘Ay, Carmela!, was expected to receive the Goya of Honor award during the Saturday night ceremony. A long list of local celebrities attended his wake to pay their respects and even dedicated a song to him.
Con Carlos Saura muere una parte importantΓsima de la historia del cine espaΓ±ol. Deja tras Γ©l una obra indispensable para la reflexiΓ³n profunda sobre los comportamientos del ser humano. Descansa en paz amigo. #DEP #CarlosSaura
Antonio Banderas, President Pedro SΓ‘nchez and the Royal Palace were some of the local leaders and celebrities who took to Twitter to say goodbye to the iconic movie maker. Side note: Saura had a child, Shane, with American actress Geraldine Chaplin, who is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin and granddaughter of playwright Eugene OβNeill.
βIβm homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself.β With those words, the Czech professional footballer Jakub Jankto became the first player on a team in Spainβs La Liga top-flight league to come out (heβs signed to Getafe, though heβs currently on a one-year loan to AC Sparta Prague). In pretty much any other walk of life this wouldnβt be big news, but menβs professional football has marched to its own (slow) drummer. In the words of CNN, βJankto joins Australian player Josh Cavallo as the only openly gay top-flight male footballers in the world. Jake Daniels, an 18-year-old striker for Blackpool in Englandβs second tier, came out in May 2022.β
After so many months of economic doom and gloom, Spainβs economy is now expected to grow around 1.6% this year. This is βmostly due to a stronger-than-expected expansion last year,β said Bank of Spain chief economist Angel Gavilan on Tuesday. As this is election season, expect that growth to be framed as something like 16% by the PSOE, and 0.16% by the PP.
The historic flamenco show that legendary music producer Ricardo PachΓ³n put on in 1984 in Utrera, just outside Sevilla, was a religious experience for many who attended. Turns out thereβs a reason for that. Architects have now discovered that the Los Montoya disco that hosted the show, which featured CamarΓ³n de la Isla, Lole y Manuel and guitarists MoraΓto Chico and Raimundo Amador, had been built atop a 13th century synagogue, the most important on the Iberian peninsula.
π· A Photo That We Think You Should See
Here is Madrid mayor JosΓ© Luis MartΓnez-Almeida (46) getting a peculiar cake from his staffers on Valentineβs Day.
MartΓnez-Almeida, who is single, has always made light of the fact that heβs unable to find that special someone, usually by poking fun at himself and saying heβs βa disasterβ in life. Last year, for example, a group of women celebrating a bachelorette party ran into him and took a photo with him. He posted it on social media saying βNot my weddingβ. He even says heβs βlost all chance to find a partnerβ. So this February 14th, his staffers decided to gift him a heart-shaped cake that reads βSan SolterΓnβ (which we could loosely translate as βHappy Singletineβ). Hope is the last thing you lose, Mr. Mayor!
π₯ Bonus Round: 5 Things to Do in Spain This Weekend
Carnival is back, baby! Thatβs right, after a two-year break due to a global pandemic, the Madrid carnaval is back in town from February 18 to 22. You can check the program here (sadly, no English version). Expect lots of street parties, live music and entertainment, especially this Saturday. Donβt miss the celebrations at Matadero this weekend. Definitely a must if youβre into live DJs, dancing and other musical performances.
Madridβs carnaval is far from the only one in Spain. The Spanish versions are not nearly as extravagant as Brazilβs (or New Orleansβs) but there are a growing number of worthwhile ones to visit. Try Sitgesβs βRace of the decorated bedsβ on Feb. 18.
Chances are many of you reading this today are foodies. If thatβs the case, I have good news, as the 13th edition of the Cocido MadrileΓ±o Route just started and will go on until the end of March.
If youβre into this traditional chickpea-based stew from Madrid, check their website and find one of the 36 restaurants participating (yes, thereβs a vegan option) get ready to enjoy some of their best creations. Pro-tip: wear sweatpants. Youβre welcome.
Lucian Freud is coming to town. βLucian Freud: New Perspectivesβ opened in Madridβs Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza on Feb. 14. Freud twice painted portraits of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, who was one of the first private collectors to focus on his work. The Baron looks pained in his 1982 portraitβwhich is not surprising considering that Freud required up to 100 hours of sittings to complete a painting.Β Fun factoid: Jerry Hall couldnβt handle the sitting. When she couldnβt fit Freudβs painting time in her agenda and left during Large Interior, Notting Hill, 1998, Freud replaced her with his studio assistant, David Dawsonβwho can be seen in Hallβs role, nursing a baby.
And Goya is leaving. This weekend will be your last chance to see the restoration of the first two preparatory oil sketches made by Goya for the painting La predicaciΓ³n de San Bernardino de Siena (The sermon of Saint Bernardino of Siena. The Prado Museumβs exhibition is in Sala 34 of the Edificio Villanueva building.
π A Message From Our Sponsor
Secret Kingdoms is your English bookstore in Madrid. It specializes in Spanish history and literature, contemporary and classic novels, books for children and young adults of all ages, history and historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, biographies and much more.
Located on Calle de MoratΓn 7 β a few blocks away from the Prado Museum β and with over 20,000 new and used books, Secret Kingdoms has something for everyone.
Find out more at www.thesecretkingdoms.com
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Weβll be back next week with more.
π₯ About the authors
Ian Mount
Ian Mount is a Madrid-based writer, editor and journalist who has written about politics, business, economics, sportsβand wineβin the U.S., Argentina and Spain for more than two decades.
Ianβs news stories and features have appeared in print and on radio at the Financial Times, the New York Times, NewYorker.com, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York, Fortune.com, The World, Marketplace and many other outlets.
His book The Vineyard at the End of the World: Maverick Winemakers and the Rebirth of Malbec (W.W. Norton, 2012), was chosen by JPMorgan Private Bank for its annual summer reading list (aka the βBillionaire Book Clubβ).
Ian has run three sub 3:10 marathons and would really like to break the three-hour barrier but is coming to admit that, with the passage of time, this is looking increasingly unlikely.
Ian is on Twitter atΒ @IanMount
Adrian Bono
Adrian Bono is a multimedia journalist and media consultant who has been covering politics and pop culture in the US, Latin America and Europe for over a decade.
His opinion has been featured in the BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera and Univision, and he has appeared as a contributor on The Guardian, Monocle and Business Insider.
He has worked for influential publications such as Infobae and the Buenos Aires Herald and has been invited to speak on the future of journalism and the rise of disinformation Latin America, the United States and Europe.
He has a Bachelorβs Degree in Social Sciences and Humanities from Universidad de Palermo (Argentina) and a Masterβs Degree in Fact-checking, Digital Verification and Data Journalism from Universidad CEU San Pablo (Spain). He is based in Madrid.
Adrian is on Twitter at @AdrianBono