On this day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Shakira’s tax trial, the birth of a Formula One star and the sighting of the Spanish Armada

WELCOME to the latest edition of ‘This Week in Spanish History’, written by Michael Coy. 27 JULY, 2022 – SHAKIRA TRIAL BEGINS The Colombian megastar,

27 Jul, 2026 @ 14:31

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: A deadly train crash, a royal marriage and the mystery of baby Lucia

WELCOME to the latest edition of ‘This Week in Spanish History’, written by Michael Coy. 24 JULY, 1895 – ROBERT GRAVES BORN Perhaps you recall

24 Jul, 2026 @ 07:30

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: The defeat of Napoleon, a mysterious death and the burka ban that never was

WELCOME to the latest edition of ‘This Week in Spanish History’, written by Michael Coy. 19 JULY 1808 – THE BATTLE OF BAILEN With very

19 Jul, 2026 @ 12:30

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

BORN TODAY: Margaret Theresa of Spain – the tragic tale of a vulnerable girl at the heart of Velazquez’s greatest work

IS there a birthday in your family this week? Michael Coy has been trawling through the archives, looking for interesting Spanish personalities whose birthday will

12 Jul, 2026 @ 15:24

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: World Cup glory, an ETA kidnapping and the ‘invasion’ of Parsley Island

9 JULY – SAINT VERONICA’S DAYAs Jesus was making his way to Calvary, covered in blood, sweat and grime, a young woman pushed through the

5 Jul, 2026 @ 14:09

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

The tragic tale of a Spanish Guardia Civil officer nicknamed ‘The Moth’ – and his lethal legal shortcomings

HISTORY doesn’t have to be confined to the Middle Ages. Recent events (and here we’re discussing a fatal accident involving a pop group and the

4 Jul, 2026 @ 13:50

Crime & Law·Lead·On This Day in Spain

Nearly 200 evacuated as wildfire sweeps through Andalucia nature reserve

NEARLY 200 people have been evacuated after a wildfire tore through a nature reserve in Andalucia. Around 40 residents left their homes in Miranda del

2 Jul, 2026 @ 13:04

Environment·Jaen·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Di Stefano’s birth, Hemingway’s death and the sweet taste of World Cup glory

WELCOME to the latest edition of ‘This Week in Spanish History’ , written by Michael Coy. 1 JULY, 1917 – ÁLVARO DOMECQ IS BORN Alvaro

28 Jun, 2026 @ 16:35

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Antoni Gaudi is born, Cordoba is captured – and the curious reason why Spaniards call Brits ‘guiris’

Welcome to the second edition of our latest series, ‘This Week in Spanish History, written by Michael Coy 25 JUNE, 1852 – ANTONI GAUDI BORN

21 Jun, 2026 @ 16:15

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

This Week in Spain: Cartoonists, US invasions and 800,000-year-old skulls

Welcome to a new Olive Press series, ‘This Week in Spain’. Each week, Michael Coy will guide readers through the key moments in Spanish history

14 Jun, 2026 @ 19:37

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

The embodiment of flamenco: Celebrating the 80th birthday of a Spanish national treasure

CRISTINA Hoyos Panadero was born in Sevilla on 13 June, 1946. She is 80 today, and she is one of Spain’s national treasures. More than

13 Jun, 2026 @ 16:00

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: The Spanish villagers who refused to go to war – and the moment Real Madrid won the first-ever Champions League final

BLINK and you’d miss it. La Nava has two bars and an auto-repair shop – and 270 inhabitants. The Spanish word for a place that’s

13 Jun, 2026 @ 13:00

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: The moment Franco closed the border with Gibraltar – and the Brits annoyed Spain by pinching the Falklands

IN 1967 Gibraltar voted by 99.6% of the electorate to remain British. In other words, one vote in 250 went against Britishness. Franco wasn’t happy.

11 Jun, 2026 @ 10:16

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

The awe-inspiring genius of Sagrada Familia architect Antoni Gaudi, 100 years on from his tragic death

THE month of June is inextricably linked with Barcelona’s Antoni Gaudi. This year will be extra special as a host of VIPs – including Pope

10 Jun, 2026 @ 10:00

Barcelona·La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: How a deal struck by a Spanish pope shaped our world – and explains why Brazilians speak Portuguese

HAVE you ever wondered why they speak Spanish all over Central and South America, except in Brazil, where they speak Portuguese? It’s Christopher Columbus’s fault!

7 Jun, 2026 @ 13:36

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: A tragedy in the ring and an outrage on the streets – paving the way for decades of ETA violence

IGNACIO Sanchez first saw the light of day in Sevilla on 6 June 1891, and later married into a bullfighting dynasty. Apart from those two

6 Jun, 2026 @ 09:45

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: The birth of Lorca and Velazquez – and the Holland surrender that inspired a masterpiece

DIEGO Rodriguez De Silva y Velazquez, one of the world’s greatest artists, was baptised in Seville on 6 June of the last year of the

5 Jun, 2026 @ 10:35

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: A clumsy British accent created Andalucia’s most iconic wine empire and an unregulated firework factory blew Alicante to pieces

PART I: THE SHERRY REVOLUTION SPAIN’S multi-million euro sherry empire was built entirely on a bizarre twist of fate, an ancient accident, and a clumsy

26 May, 2026 @ 08:00

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: A supremely talented singer is born – and a deadly bar collapse rocks British tourist hotspot

THE bare facts of Juanito Valderrama’s life are easily stated. He was born 110 years ago in the north-east of Andalucia. A natural singer with

24 May, 2026 @ 08:00

La Cultura·Lead·Mallorca·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: Two Spanish royal marriages, the death of a poet and a brutal mutilation

WHEN the current king and queen of Spain married twenty-two years ago yesterday, 25 million Spaniards – more than half the population – watched on

23 May, 2026 @ 16:25

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: How one gypsy achieved legendary status in 1920s Sevilla – only for a fateful bullfight to end it all

THERE’S a church in Sevilla which was built specifically to house a beautiful statue. Many people go there, to see the image of The Virgin.

16 May, 2026 @ 16:30

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain·Sevilla

From the death of Marbella’s most corrupt mayor to a royal wedding and a meteorite strike – some of the wild things to have happened on this day in Spain

FROM celestial visitors and royal controversies to the death of an infamous Costa del Sol crook, May 14 has proven to be quite the date

14 May, 2026 @ 11:53

La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain·Other News

ON THIS DAY: The chilling tale of the ‘Vampire of Barcelona’ – but was she framed by wealthy Catalan elites?

ON February 10, 1912, Teresita Guitart, a five-year-old daughter of a family of bakers, disappeared. She seemed to have vanished into the middle of nowhere.

12 May, 2026 @ 19:42

Barcelona·La Cultura·Lead·On This Day in Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Shakira’s tax trial, the birth of a Formula One star and the sighting of the Spanish Armada

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: A deadly train crash, a royal marriage and the mystery of baby Lucia

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: The defeat of Napoleon, a mysterious death and the burka ban that never was

BORN TODAY: Margaret Theresa of Spain – the tragic tale of a vulnerable girl at the heart of Velazquez’s greatest work

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: World Cup glory, an ETA kidnapping and the ‘invasion’ of Parsley Island

The tragic tale of a Spanish Guardia Civil officer nicknamed ‘The Moth’ – and his lethal legal shortcomings

Nearly 200 evacuated as wildfire sweeps through Andalucia nature reserve

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Di Stefano’s birth, Hemingway’s death and the sweet taste of World Cup glory

THIS WEEK IN SPANISH HISTORY: Antoni Gaudi is born, Cordoba is captured – and the curious reason why Spaniards call Brits ‘guiris’

This Week in Spain: Cartoonists, US invasions and 800,000-year-old skulls

The embodiment of flamenco: Celebrating the 80th birthday of a Spanish national treasure

ON THIS DAY: The Spanish villagers who refused to go to war – and the moment Real Madrid won the first-ever Champions League final

ON THIS DAY: The moment Franco closed the border with Gibraltar – and the Brits annoyed Spain by pinching the Falklands

The awe-inspiring genius of Sagrada Familia architect Antoni Gaudi, 100 years on from his tragic death

ON THIS DAY: How a deal struck by a Spanish pope shaped our world – and explains why Brazilians speak Portuguese

ON THIS DAY: A tragedy in the ring and an outrage on the streets – paving the way for decades of ETA violence

ON THIS DAY: The birth of Lorca and Velazquez – and the Holland surrender that inspired a masterpiece

ON THIS DAY: A clumsy British accent created Andalucia’s most iconic wine empire and an unregulated firework factory blew Alicante to pieces

ON THIS DAY: A supremely talented singer is born – and a deadly bar collapse rocks British tourist hotspot

ON THIS DAY: Two Spanish royal marriages, the death of a poet and a brutal mutilation

ON THIS DAY: How one gypsy achieved legendary status in 1920s Sevilla – only for a fateful bullfight to end it all

From the death of Marbella’s most corrupt mayor to a royal wedding and a meteorite strike – some of the wild things to have happened on this day in Spain

ON THIS DAY: The chilling tale of the ‘Vampire of Barcelona’ – but was she framed by wealthy Catalan elites?

Spain blames trafficking gangs for driving thousands to storm the Ceuta border – but admits border fences were left unguarded

Hollywood celebrity bonanza in Mallorca as Cortney Cox holidays with Jennifer Aniston and Pedro Pascal in ‘Billionaire’s Bay’

Fourth body pulled from the sea off the Costa del Sol – as Ceuta border crisis sees dozens drown

The Spanish village that looks like Havana – but sits in the mountains of Asturias

UPDATE: Morocco ‘cooperating’ with Spain to return tens of thousands of migrants who have stormed into Ceuta

On This Day in Spain

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