After the excesses of the 1990s, the drug gangs from northwestern Spain have become adept at avoiding detection. But operating below the radar is a thriving transportation empire stretching all the way to Africa and the eastern Mediterranean
After closing due to management and financial problems, the magical outdoor sculpture park and gallery will welcome in visitors from April 17 to contemplate the work of one of Spain’s most internationally renowned 20th-century artists
The country has some of the world’s most active research teams looking into the drug, but it is still illegal for medicinal and recreational purposes. The value of the global industry is set to grow to around €50 billion – is there a risk that Spanish players could miss out?
A group of Spaniards has turned television quizzes into a job that can earn them millions in prize money. Here they share their winning formulas, and reveal the hard work that success requires
Freelancer Juan Moreno has become nothing short of a hero in Germany after he exposed star reporter Claas Relotius for making up stories for the prestigious weekly news magazine
They meet up in stations, haunt hidden passageways and ignore no-entry signs. The infrastructure behind cities’ Metro and rail services has become as familiar to them as their own houses. Hooded and fast, they seek out carriages to spray as a cocktail of romanticism, art, adrenaline and risk courses through their veins. They are the ‘guerillas’ and this is their paint war
The former face of Yves Saint Laurent has returned to the studio after living on the streets of the Catalan capital
It’s never been so easy to watch pornography. And never before has it been watched by so many young people. Nowadays, kids of nine are viewing sexually explicit material that is free and accessible 24/7 online, a virtual, 21st century sex education that warps adolescents’ approach to their first adult relationships
In Spain, there are now millions of “flexitarians,” vegetarians and vegans, but while meat consumption is falling, industrial farming is on the rise
EL PAÍS SEMANAL talked to one of the most influential artists in Latin America about ‘Fragments,’ her plea for enduring peace in her country, and the power of art to inspire social change
In these extracts from his new book, former US ambassador to Spain James Costos talks about throwing parties for Michelle Obama, seeing history made from his living room and negotiating uncomfortable political situations
Roberto Polo is not easily defined. The owner of a vast art collection, some of which is being shipped to Toledo and Cuenca, he was friends with artists, bankers and celebrities in 1980s New York. He also did jail time, had a close call with death, and was born again. This larger-than-life character has a motto: "Only mediocre men never have problems"
Spain’s most emblematic dish is also its most corrupted. Paella has become the generic term for hundreds of random rice recipes. But demand for the real thing is growing. The dish may need no translation these days, but it’s time to talk about its roots. This is a trip from the wetlands of La Albufera where the rice is grown, to the Michelin-starred restaurants where the humble grain is transformed into haute cuisine
On August 17 last year, 16 people were killed by Islamic extremists in Barcelona and Cambrils. Eight of the terrorists died. They belonged to a jihadist cell that appeared, from the outside, to be an ordinary crowd of youngsters hanging out together, a band of brothers who aroused no suspicion whatsoever. A year on, we review the events of that fateful day to seek out the reasons for their radicalization and the political and social response to the jihadist phenomenon
On January 7, 2015, the Kouachi brothers burst into the offices of the satirical publication ‘Charlie Hebdo’ in Paris, armed with assault rifles. Shouting, “Allah is great!” they killed 12 people. The writer and journalist Philippe Lançon suffered terrible injuries to his face and subsequently spent nine months in hospital, undergoing surgery 17 – going on 18 – times. He then returned to ‘normal life’, which is, of course, far from ‘normal’. “It’s not the same because I am no longer me,” he explains. His book ‘Le Lambeau,’ which received critical acclaim in France, has acted as a kind of exorcism
On July 6, a rocket known as the chupinazo kicked off the mother of all Spanish fiestas. A million people from all over the planet come to Pamplona every year for the Sanfermines, an orgy of sound and color that lasts nine days and nights, and where no one is looking at their watch. This year San Fermín is looking to catch its breath in the wake of ‘La Manada’ sexual assault case. Here is how the biggest party in the world gets going
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States likes to go against the grain. Born into a peasant family in Uruguay, Luis Almagro grew up to be a rather undiplomatic diplomat. The nemesis of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, he’s also a vegetarian, a sportsman, and he’s become a leftist politician whose defense of democracy has made him a pariah with the apologists of South America’s authoritarian regimes
The Spanish weightlifting champion has spent years being pipped at the post by rivals on performance-enhancing drugs. But a crusade in 2016 retrospectively disqualified a number of athletes and today, she boasts Olympic gold, silver and bronze – making her a role model for minority sports in Spain
Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, tens of thousands of Spaniards migrated to the US. They worked in tobacco companies, factories and mines. They settled in every corner of the country, from California to Hawaii, Florida to Ohio. James D. Fernández, a descendant of such migrants, has spent the last 10 years compiling the experiences of these pioneers
A Madrid teenager is getting free lessons from the world-famous musician after dazzling him with his talent at a radio show
On the eve of his 89th birthday, one of the world’s most influential living thinkers is looking spry as he offers his view on the most pressing issues of our time from his home in Starnberg, including nationalism, immigration, the internet and Europe
Spain’s epicenter of influence lies just five minutes from Madrid. With the sole purpose of supporting the country’s leader, this miniature city is accessible to only a few. Here is how it works
Like a journey to another galaxy, this night trip to Mercamadrid has an element of science fiction about it. But the piles of fruit and vegetables and the tons of animal carcasses and fish that arrive at this immense wholesale food market are as real as life itself
Often cast as the villain of the piece, the Spaniard is one of the most highly respected actors of his generation. The soon-to- be-released ‘Loving Pablo’ sees him playing drug baron Pablo Escobar, but as he explains in this interview, having two children is proving a bigger challenge than any other role he has played so far
Besides writing prize-winning fiction, the Nobel Laureate has fought tirelessly for civil liberties. With his new book, ‘The Call of the Tribe,’ he promotes liberal thought and pays tribute to seven authors who embrace it. We talk to him about liberalism, intellectual blindness and the dangers facing democracy today
An excavation in Badajoz offers surprising insight into this ancient civilization that thrived in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula from the 9th to the 5th centuries BCE
Mired in negative clichés, video games have hooked youngsters all over the world who now follow professional gamers closely. As the electronic sports industry evolves, we present some of its protagonists
