The abandoned Palmera Plaza Grand Hotel is emblematic of Jerez de la Frontera’s period of boom and bust in tourism and construction. Having opened its doors as a five-star, luxury hotel in the heart of the city centre, Palmera Plaza now festers in disrepair; attracting vandals, fire-bugs and the curious to explore its apocalyptic interior. Continue reading “Photo Essay: The Ruins of Jerez – Palmera Plaza Grand Hotel”
Whether enjoyed as a glass of red after work or a copa of fino with friends, wine is a beautiful thing. But there is in every glass a drop of some grape-picker’s or bottler’s sweat running from their brow to your lips, and this salty note should be savoured as much as the wine itself, but some disagree on how much value it adds. Today, in Jerez de la Frontera, home of sherry wines, conflict ferments over bodega workers’ pay. Continue reading “A Bitter Drop: Conflict in the Bodegas of Jerez”
In February 2009, after the Spanish government had shown itself incapable of enforcing Article 47 of the Spanish Constitution – declaring that “all Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate housing” – a citizens’ assembly was held in Barcelona to establish the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages Continue reading “The Barcelona PAH, ¡Sí Se Puede!”
Over one hundred years ago the International Workingman’s Association, the First International, gave voice to the hundreds of millions of impoverished workers of the world when in 1866 it declared that all workers should enjoy the right to eight hours work, eight hours rest and eight hours play. Continue reading “The Revolt of the Ladders: Movistar-Telefonica Strikers’ Occupation, Barcelona (24/05/15)”
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