Massive 'March for Dignity' converges on Madrid, Spain (Video)

You probably won't see anything about this in the mainstream media or on Google News. In fact, you will most probably never, ever, see Spain trending in the U.S. or U.K. version of Google News.

If you search on the keywords "Madrid March 2014," you will get a weather forecast or details of the latest football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Despite this, and for the last several days, tens of thousands of Spaniards have been heading from all over the country to the capital city, Madrid.... read more and watch video.

Blind Labrador dog rescued by blind Paralympian athlete

A five-year-old Labrador dog named Boludo was going to be put down after he lost his sight due to retinal problems. His owners apparently decided it would not be fair to let him live.

Luckily, Boludo’s vet had a different idea. Speaking of the otherwise healthy Labrador, his vet, Martín Marín in La Coruña, Spain told the local media:

"He's a good dog who doesn't need more looking after than other (dogs)."

"If you're careful, and if there isn't too much traffic, he can go off his lead," Marín added.

The vet then organized a foster home for Boludo at the home of a local lady named Destina Hürriyet. Hürriyet then started searching on the Internet for a forever home for Boludo and has found the perfect owner.

Spanish medal-winning Paralympian Mónica Merenciano had very similar problems to Boludo. Her pigmentary retinopathy means she has a limited field of vision. Marenciano is a judo athlete, who has won bronze medals at the Athens, Beijing and London Paralympics. She is more than happy to give Boludo a home.

"When I heard that she had the same disability (as Boludo) I started to cry," Hürriyet told 20 minutos. "I knew they were the perfect pair, made for each other," she added.

Hürriyet and Boludo travelled from La Coruña to Madrid on Tuesday to deliver the happy dog to his new owner. It turns out that Marenciano has been looking for a suitable dog for some time. Marenciano has been partially blind since birth and thanks to medical care has remained stable.

Now plans are afoot to take Boludo down to the Valencian beaches where he will be able to run unobstructed on the sand. A happy ending indeed.

To the source

Man dies taking selfie on top of train

It seems selfies can be seriously dangerous to your health.  In fact they can actually take your life, as this 21-year-old died on Saturday in Andújar, Spain

He was electrocuted after climbing on to the roof of a train to take a photo of himself with his friends, unaware that the high-voltage cable above them was live.

They climbed on to the wagon at Andújar station, and the man accidentally touched the high-voltage wire, which killed him with a 35,000-volt discharge. 

His friends suffered a severe electric shock, but survived.  When police and local paramedics rushed to the scene, they found the 21-year-old was already dead. 

One of his friends remains in a serious condition at the Alto Guadalquivir Hospital nearby.

A three day mourning period has been called by the mayor of Andújar, a town of 40,000 residents in the center of the olive growing region in Andalucía.


Spanish source
The Local

Baby gorilla arrives at Madrid Zoo (video)

Gorka, a gorilla at the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid, has given birth to a brand new baby on Saturday.

The baby weighed in at 1.5kg (3.3lbs) and is Gorka's fourth baby, born after a complication-free eight-month pregnancy.

The zoo has been unable to ascertain the baby's sex as yet, as apparently Gorka is always hugging and cradling her baby in her lap.  Staff at the zoo will be keeping a close eye on mother and baby, who will most probably remain separated from the other five gorillas in the zoo for the first month, to ensure that mother and child bond.

The zoo's official Facebook page is asking for suggestions for a name for the baby gorilla who was born as part of the important European Endangered Species Programme.

A video of mother and baby can be enjoyed below:



Read more about the story (in Spanish).

Former tennis ace Boris Becker loses villa in Mallorca, Spain

German former tennis ace and six-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker, has apparently just lost out on his luxury holiday villa on the island of Mallorca in the Spanish Balearic Islands.

Becker had apparently neglected to pay a construction bill of €391,000 ($544,000) and the Spanish authorities confiscated the home.

According to a judge in Palma, the nine-bedroom property will now be auctioned off for a tidy €7 million ($9,750,993). The construction bill in question was apparently for carpentry and plumbing work, as well as for resurfacing a basketball court at the villa.

Becker’s lawyer is trying to claim that the bills were the responsibility of the real estate agent who sold him the villa, but the judge is having none of that. Reportedly Becker, 46, bought the villa 17 years ago.

Becker almost lost the villa over a similar case back in 2012, where around €276,162 ($384,780) was owed to a local gardening and landscaping company. In that case, Becker managed to scrape together the amount owing and keep the home.

Apparently back in 2007, Becker tried to sell the house for €15 million ($21 million) but didn't manage to find a buyer.

Reportedly Becker's economic problems arose due to a €24 million ($33 million) divorce case.  With the latest case, should he wish to keep the villa, he would also be required to cough up an additional €24,000 ($33,441) in court fees and interest.  To the source

Spain's most exclusive restaurant has just one table

Well, to be more accurate, the restaurant will serve only one group of diners at a time and has only one chef, the owner, Antonio Cornejo. 

This unique restaurant is called Mercès One and is located in Barcelona.

 

When there is availability, it's possible for clients to book not only the meals of their choice, but also the décor, crockery and cutlery that they prefer to go with it.

It seems the restaurant is popular, so not only is it essential to prebook, but it can be a little difficult, too. However, a spokesperson for the restaurant told the English language news website The Local, "We're busy, but there are still plenty of free nights available." If clients are flexible with their dates, no problem.

If you are lucky enough to book an evening at the restaurant, you will find there is a variety of interior designs to choose from, ranging from modern to romantic to even minimalistic. Choose your preferred crockery and cutlery, table linen, the music you would like to hear and, of course, the dishes to enjoy as well as the drinks.

All these options can be booked online on the restaurant's website. If the number of choices get a bit too much, Cornejo says that guests can leave everything in his most capable hands.

As to the cost, menu prices average €60 (or $83) per person, excluding the wine, and the restaurant can seat parties of up to 22 people at a time.

Cornejo told the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo that he has over 12 years of experience in the catering industry, but enjoys the fact that now he is getting a chance to develop his creative side by concentrating on just one set of clients per night. Not only that, but he has 365 chances of doing just that.

To the source

Pick up an old Spanish village for nothing or for cheap

If you can prove that you have a viable plan to rescue the dilapidated stone houses and restore the town, you might be able to get an abandoned medieval hamlet somewhere in rural Spain either for nothing, or for a very low and affordable price.

Some of the villages are centuries old and were left vacant after residents moved to the big cities, or their farming land became less fertile and making a living proved too difficult. 

One prime example is A Barca, up in northern Spain.  The town dates back to the 15th century and is on offer for nothing, nada, zilch, to the right investor.

In the town there are 12 crumbling stone homes covered in moss and ivy, and not much else.  In A Barca's case, the residents left in the 1960's when a dam was built, flooding their farmland.

Other examples, going cheap at the price, include Pena Vella, near A Pontenova in Galicia which is yours for just €62,000 if you can prove your good intentions.

According to Spain's National Statistics Institute, there are around 2,900 of these abandoned hamlets all over Spain, just waiting to be snapped up by the right person.

Apparently many villages have already been snapped up by foreigners, including Americans, Britons, Germans Norwegians and Russians taking the properties.

Eco-village anyone?   Here's a website offering the hamlets for your pleasure.

Source

Former tennis ace Boris Becker loses villa in Mallorca, Spain

German former tennis ace and six-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker, has apparently just lost out on his luxury holiday villa on the island of Mallorca in the Spanish Balearic Islands.

Becker had apparently neglected to pay a construction bill of €391,000 ($544,000) and the Spanish authorities confiscated the home.

According to a judge in Palma, the nine-bedroom property will now be auctioned off for a tidy €7 million ($9,750,993). The construction bill in question was apparently for carpentry and plumbing work, as well as for resurfacing a basketball court at the villa.

Becker’s lawyer is trying to claim that the bills were the responsibility of the real estate agent who sold him the villa, but the judge is having none of that. Reportedly Becker, 46, bought the villa 17 years ago.

Becker almost lost the villa over a similar case back in 2012, where around €276,162 ($384,780) was owed to a local gardening and landscaping company. In that case, Becker managed to scrape together the amount owing and keep the home.

Apparently back in 2007, Becker tried to sell the house for €15 million ($21 million) but didn't manage to find a buyer.

Reportedly Becker's economic problems arose due to a €24 million ($33 million) divorce case.

With the latest case, should he wish to keep the villa, he would also be required to cough up an additional €24,000 ($33,441) in court fees and interest.

To the source