La Huelga General

In Spain last month there was a General Strike, which was expressing the anger the millions of people in Spain harbor towards the new labor reforms and the lack of jobs available to them. On March 29, hundreds of people stayed home, protested in the streets, and shut down their shops for the day to show how serious they were. This of course made national news but even made international news as everyone tuned it to see how serious these strikes were. 

here are some images showing how some international newspaper made the Spanish strike front pages.

Play close attention to the images chosen to portray the strike, the violence, and the decision makers.

Semana Santa

For this time in my life I have spent my Easter sunday in a country with more commitment to religion then my home town. At home, my town is predominately jewish and each year the number of people who attend church dips a little bit lower. For the first time, I was not bombarded by advertisements for perfume or good looking men trying to sell more then boxers, but "selling" Holy Week. As I walked around teh streets of a small town close to Sorrento, Italy I saw Jesus crucified on the cross, prossesions that stopped traffic, and a decotion to relion that I have never experienced. As little as 4 years old, children were joining the prosessions as they walked the streets and sang their praises.

When returning to Madrid for Easter sunday, I was surprised to see how many shops were open and how many Easter dinners were celebrated in restaurats. Apparently, I chose the wrong Spanish city to celebrate. In Sevilla and other cities in Andalusia, processions last 14 hours and they look forward to this day all year. Seeing advertisements that replaced McDonalds ad promoting semana santa as something new, different, and refreshing to see during my favorite holiday.