Jack Gaioni (Columnist), Author at Olive Press News Spain

FROM THE ARCHIVES: In Cordoban Skies… How a Moorish daredevil made aviation history

CORDOBA Airport is a non-descript local hub primarily used by small planes. Due to it’s diminutive scale, Malaga and Sevilla airports host most of the international flight routes in the region. So

2 Jun, 2023 @ 19:00

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner

Diego Velázquez Juan De Pareja (metropolitan Museum Of Art De Nueva York, 1649 50), Detalle

FREED AT A BRUSHSTROKE. Recalibrating a Chapter in Spanish Art History

DIEGO Velázquez (1599-1660) needs no introduction. Perhaps the best-known painter in Spain’s Golden Age, Velázquez’s paintings became the paragon of excellence for the great Spanish realist and impressionist painters that followed (think:

20 May, 2023 @ 11:15

Andalucia·Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead·Other News

JACKS CORNER: Emergency Services on the Costa del Sol just got better

IF you found yourself among the commotion on the A-334 north of Almeria on April 24, you are probably wondering what the frenzy was about. Not to worry. It was a drill,

5 May, 2023 @ 11:18

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

Ladies man: Spanish free-thinker Luis Vives was the world’s first Renaissance Man and championed education for all women back in the 16th century

IMAGINE for a moment an individual who witnessed his family burned at the stake for their beliefs. Then, rather than seek revenge, have the fortitude to dedicate his life to a culture

22 Apr, 2023 @ 15:31

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead

New Version Of 1000 Mile Range Electric Vehicle Unveiled

Driving on sunshine: Are solar cars the future?

THE Spanish government is preparing a law to ban the sale of internal combustion engines by 2040. It is part of a concerted effort to be the first European government to meet

7 Apr, 2023 @ 18:00

Columnists·Environment·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Other News

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING: The controversy in a small Valencian village over plans for a massive solar power array

IT was described as ‘the first and only solar extracting and pumping station in Europe’ and, from the moment it was operational, it was a game-changer. The village of Godelleta was rightfully

27 Jan, 2023 @ 11:50

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Opinion·Premium

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Superstition emptied a Spanish village in the 14th century before turning it into a must-visit festival

There is live music, falconry demonstrations, sword fights, hypnosis and magical shows

8 Jan, 2023 @ 18:38

La Cultura·Lead·Olive Press Travel·Travel News

Better luck this time! Spain’s chequered history in the FIFA World Cup

TODAY – November 20 – marks the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. While rightly surrounded in controversy for many reasons, Spain will make their debut against Costa Rica in

20 Nov, 2022 @ 10:45

Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Must Read·Premium

Life is Easy with Eyes Closed… (But opened for John Lennon in Spain’s Cabo de Gata!)

A little-known fact: John Lennon had terrible eyesight. By today’s standards he would have been considered legally blind without his glasses. He was severely myopic, had astigmatism and dyslexia. Optometrists today call

13 Oct, 2022 @ 15:27

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Must Read·Premium

THE INDUSTRIALISATION OF SPAIN’S COUNTRYSIDE: CONCERN AS COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS TURN MEGA

IT was described as ‘the first and only solar extracting and pumping station in Europe’ and, from the moment it was operational, it was a game-changer. In 2016 the small pueblo of

18 Sep, 2022 @ 13:13

Business & Finance·Columnists·Environment·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

James Bond inspired by iconic expat and British spy Alan Hillgarth who lived in Mallorca

The author confessed ‘the Bond character is a compound of all the secret agents I knew'

11 Sep, 2022 @ 17:00

Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead·Mallorca

What do King Solomon, Andalucia’s Rio Tinto mines, NASA and Mars have in common?

One of the most common reactions to visiting the Rio Tinto mining complex is a comparison to a Martian landscape - and that’s not so far-fetched for a number of reasons

4 Sep, 2022 @ 11:00

Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead

LONG READ: Jack Gaioni reveals the fascinating story of Lola Montez, the fake Spanish dirty dancer who captured a king’s heart

Lola mimed the crushing of spiders that had invaded her undergarments

2 Sep, 2022 @ 17:55

Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead

Group Of Friends Enjoying A Beer In Brewery Pub Young People H

Beer today, gone tomorrow?: The history of cerveza in Spain

‘I drink beer when I have occasion …and sometimes when I have no occasion’ - Jack Gaioni agrees with Miguel de Cervantes

12 Aug, 2022 @ 17:20

Columnists·Food & Drink·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

Picture On An Olive Trees And Almond Trees Field During A Sunny

SEEDS OF HISTORY: SCIENTISTS USING OLIVE SEEDS TO PROVE BIBLE STORIES

OLIVES and Spain! Spain and olives! It’s no surprise to those of us who live here that the two are virtually synonymous. Chances are that olives will be part of your next

10 Jul, 2022 @ 14:58

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·National News

Meet the last shepherds eeking out a living on Spain’s ancient pastoral routes

MEET Valentin, his dog Hooky, and Alberto. We occasionally see each other on my walks near Requena, a rural area in Valencia province. Full disclosure: There is indeed a language barrier but

5 Jun, 2022 @ 17:00

Columnists·Environment·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

How scientists in Valencia are pinning hopes on protecting the oldest living species on earth

WITH three eyes, hundreds of legs, and elongated antennae, these critters are not going to win any beauty contests. Yet they are fascinating organisms. In fact, they are the oldest living species

28 May, 2022 @ 14:15

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Valencia

Beautiful View Of Field With Wind Turbines At Sunset And Cloudy

Wind of change: Two sides of the ecologist movement clash as Spain debates renewable energy

OUCH! Another electric bill arrived today as more evidence of the skyrocketing price of energy. Electricity costs have quadrupled – yes quadrupled! – from February last year to February this year, according

10 Apr, 2022 @ 15:00

Business & Finance·Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·Other News

Far Right Vox Supporters Demonstrate In Madrid

World Water Day: What you should know about the rain in Spain

IT is painfully obvious that, in spite of some recent rainfall Spain is experiencing a prolonged drought. Average rainfall this winter is 33% of normal while water flows in some of Spain’s

22 Mar, 2022 @ 08:00

Columnists·Environment·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·National News

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Given the bird: How falcons are used to protect Spain’s airports from the dangers of bird strikes

BIRD strikes, (airplane engines and/or landing gear colliding with birds), are a growing problem as they have become frequent, very expensive and sometimes fatal. In 2019 alone, there were 16,000 reported incidents,

6 Feb, 2022 @ 16:15

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead·National News

SPANISH AUTHOR CARLOS ZAFON: The pen is mightier than the camera…

CARLOS Ruiz Zafon needs no introduction. Arguably the most recognised contemporary writer in Spain, he has an equally successful international reputation. Translated into over 50 languages, literary critics have often compared Zafon

4 Dec, 2021 @ 15:45

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead

Dredging up history: Galicia clean-up project could shed light on mysteries of Spanish Armada

The true aftermath of the Spanish Armada has been buried by the sands of time … until now, writes Jack Gaioni

15 Aug, 2021 @ 16:15

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·La Cultura·Lead·Other News

Basque magic: How Spanish children ended up playing in English teams before ‘foreign players’ became a thing

WAS it a cultural thing? Nature vs.Nurture? Was there something in the water? Their DNA? What follows traces the plight of six Basque adolescents, their time in England and the very positive

11 Jul, 2021 @ 16:15

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

She’s Dynamite! (literally): Civil War heroine who took the fight to Spain’s men

Dynamite! It’s a form of slang that refers to the essence of something rather than the explosive device. For example, we might say: “Penelope Cruz is a dynamite actress” or “Elton John’s

28 Mar, 2021 @ 11:17

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead

How Henry VIII gambled away the crown to a cheeky Spaniard

Jack Gaioni reveals a fascinating historical tale that has been buried - until now

4 Apr, 2020 @ 09:00

Lead

Jack Gaioni explores the horrors of a Civil War concentration camp and Franco’s grip on the Spanish press

IF you were hoping for a ‘feel good’ article, read no further. If you were hoping for some logical, ‘moral-to-the story account’ – again, read no further. What follows is illogical, disturbing

15 Sep, 2019 @ 09:00

Columnists·Jack Gaioni: Jack's Corner·Lead