Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Spanish Crisis

I know that this is not the typical "Happy New Year!" message but I am afraid the new year, 2013, will not bring any good news here in Spain for most of us - as far as working / living conditions are concerned. If you watch the following documentary, you will understand why I am not at all optimistic about it.

It is a long documentary, about one hour long, but it will be good listening practice: you will be listening to a nice British accent while you read the subtitles to make sure you understand the message. In this BBC documentary,  reporter Paul Mason explains the development of the financial situation in Spain from Franco´s times to the present.



We are all having a hard time and protests are non-stop all over Spain but "Spain is Different" and some people carry their protests in very peculiar ways, like the one in the following videos: a Seville-based performance group calling itself Flo6x8 has been sending trained dancers into the lobbies of bank branches across Spain to disrupt business. Here´s an example of what they do:



The second video was recorded in a Bankia office; as you know, Bankia, one of Spain’s largest banks and the current target of corruption investigations, received a 30 billion Euro (US $36.9 billion) bailout from the EU’s crisis lending body. In the lyric, the singer is addressing the bank as an old friend from whom he now feels distant:
Your character and will
have changed a little my friend
Ay, since you got rich
I can’t put up with you
and your new money ways.



We´ll soon see what 2013 brings...

3 comments:

  1. Indeed it doesn't look like a good start for 2013. Happy New Year anyways!
    With regards to your post, the following link might be something for your students: http://twocatsandachickenshopmystery.com/
    Best, a fellow English teacher ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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