Andalusia

Spain’s southernmost region seems to produce artists of various kinds. The most famous would be Pablo Picasso, born in Málaga in 1881, but there’s also a couple of honourable mentions: the iconic poet and playwright Federico García Lorca (Granada 1989) who was assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, Paco de Lucia, probably the famous flamenco guitarist and artist of all time (Algeciras 1947), and then of course the queen of flamenco - singer, dancer and actress Lola Flores (Jerez 1923). Oh, did we mention Antonio Banderas is from Málaga (1960)?

Galicia

The northwest region the other hand, produces politicians. Obviously, the most prominent and controversial of these is dictator Francisco Franco (Ferrol 1892) but former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (Santiago de Compostela 1955) and Spain’s current Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz (Fene 1971) are also Galicians, as well as Manuel Fraga (Vilalba 1922) whose long career saw him serve as both as minister in the dictatorship, where he pushed the Spain is different! tourism campaign, but also founded the Partido Popular during the transition to democracy and served as President of Galicia between 1990 and 2005.

Asturias

Asturianos seem to be sportsmen, whether it be Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso (Oviedo 1981) or footballer and former Barca coach Luis Enrique (Gijón 1970), or historical religious figures like Don Pelayo, a nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718 and is widely believed to have kickstarted the Reconquista of Islamic Spain.

Cantabria

Similarly, legendary golfer Seve Ballesteros was born in the tiny Cantabrian town of Pedreña in 1957. He is regarded as one of the greatest golf players in history. There's also the president of Banco de Santander, Ana Botín (1960), who was born in the Cantrabian capital that the huge global banks gets its name from.

Basque Country

Famous Basques include Miguel de Unamuno (Bilbao 1864) who was one of the most famous writers of the influential ‘Generation of ‘98’. Honourable mention must go to Ignacio de Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who was born in Azpeitia in 1491. There's also Juan Sebastían El Cano (Getaria 1526), the first person to go around or circumnavigate the globe.

Navarre

In neighbouring Navarre, another top Spanish sportsman, Miguel Induráin (Villava 1964) dominated the world of cycling in the 1990s, winning five Tour de Frances and the only man to win five consecutively.

La Rioja

Goya award winning actor Javier Cámara (Albelda de Iregua 1967) is probably the most famous riojano in recent years. Less known is Gonzalo de Berceo (La Rioja 1190), considered to be the first known poet in the Spanish language.

Castilla y León

Isabel la Católica (Madrigal de las Altas Torres 1451) stands out as arguably the most consequential Spanish queen ever. Honourable mention goes to Spanish TV legend Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (Poza de la Sal 1928) known for the highly successful series El Hombre y la Tierra, the Spanish David Attemborough if you will.

Catalonia

The northern region also seems to produce iconic artists, whether it be Antonio Gaudí (Reus 1852) or Salvador Dalí, originally from Figueres (born 1904). Current pop megastar Rosalía is also Catalan (Sant Cugat del Vallès 1992).

Aragón

Another of the most important Spanish painters of all time, Francisco de Goya (1746, Fuendetodos) was from Zaragoza, influential filmmaker Luis Buñuel, part of the surrealist movement of the 1920s, was born in the Aragonese town of Calanda in 1900, and Ferdidand I, the Catholic king that united Spain, was born in the region in 1452.

Valencia

Pope Alexander VI, who was born in Xàtiva in 1431, and, more recently, the famous but controversial architect Santiago Calatrava (the man behind Valencia capital’s futuristic Arts & Sciences complex) was born in the city in 1951.

Balearic Islands

Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Rafa Nadal, was born in Manacor in Mallorca in 1986.

Murcia

Keeping on tennis, the new face of Spanish and world tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, was born in El Palmar in 2003. Honourable mentions include Bárbara Rey (Totana 1950), the famous actress who had an affair with the then King Juan Carlos, as well as legendary Real Madrid player Chendo (Totana 1961).

Castilla-La Mancha

World renowned film director Pedro Almodóvar (Calzada de Calatrava 1949) put his home community of Castilla-La Mancha on the map, while a notable mention should probably got to Queen Juana I of Castile - known as Juana La Loca- from Toledo (1479).

Madrid

There’s an argument for any number of of Madrileños chosen here, but it has to be Miguel de Cervantes, born (allegedly, it must be said) in Alcalá de Henares in 1547 who has had the most influence around the world for writing Don Quixote, widely considered the first modern novel.

Other worthwhile mentions are Spanish singers Julio and Enquire Iglesias and Hollywood actress Penélope Cruz.

Extremadura

The most famous Extremeños tend to be conquistadores such as Francisco Pizarro (Trujillo, 1478) and Hernán Cortés (Medellín, Badajoz 1485), both of whom played a key role in the Conquest of America, more specifically causing the fall of the Inca Empire (Pizarro) and the Aztec Empire (Cortés).

Canary Islands

The most famous Canario is probably artist and sculptor César Manrique (1919 Arrecife). There's also novelist Benito Pérez Galdós (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1843) and iconic luxury shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (Santa Cruz de la Palma 1942), made famous by hit series Sex and the City.

Ahead of the final, RTVE displayed the following text in white on a black background: "When it comes to human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine."

The European Broadcasters Union (EBU) had explicitly asked the Spanish broadcaster not to refer to the Gaza war due to the non-political nature of the competition. If RTVE chose to ignore this, "penalties" would be incurred, it said in a letter, which RTVE published.

"Political statements that could jeopardize the neutrality of the competition are prohibited," the letter stated.

According to Spanish media reports, the letter was triggered by a complaint from the Israeli public broadcaster KAN. KAN complained that in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday evening, Spanish presenters had referred to the deaths caused by Israel's actions in Gaza during the performance of Israeli candidate Yuval Raphael.

The EBU confirmed that it had been made clear to RTVE that the commentators must maintain neutrality.

In Basel, which hosted the contest, pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed briefly with riot police. Blows were exchanged and officers deployed tear gas.

Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, recognised the State of Palestine in May 2024, followed by Slovenia in June.

The Spanish government is one of the most critical voices in the EU against Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government.

Barcelona, a world reference in urban planning and design, also hides a much less glamorous side: that of its closed, bricked-up, and unused historic buildings in Barcelona, turned into urban ruins in the heart of the city. While new luxury blocks are being built and hotels are multiplying, the tangible history of the city fades behind flaking walls and “keep out” signs.

More News

Urban Planning The real story behind the movie 'El 47': this is how the district with the most inequalities in Barcelona has changed

DGAIA The PP supports creating an investigation committee on the Dgaia and asks that Martínez Bravo appear

Housing The Generalitat sees the participation of developers in its affordable housing plan as "fundamental"

The lack of effective conservation policies, bureaucratic slowness and institutional disinterest have condemned dozens of properties of heritage value. Some are in private hands. Others, in public hands. But all share the same destiny: oblivion.

Located in the heart of the Rambla de Barcelona, the Teatre Principal is the oldest theater in the city. Founded in 1579, it was for centuries a symbol of Barcelona's popular culture. Today, however, it is a boarded-up building, without activity and without a clear project for its rehabilitation.

After closing in 2006, it briefly reopened with intermittent performances and concerts. But in 2017 it closed definitively, and since then, it has remained unused in one of the busiest arteries in Europe. The last attempt was to turn it into a disco, an idea that failed miserably.

Its abandonment is not only a cultural loss: it is a shameful picture of institutional deterioration. While culture is promoted with headlines, a theater with more than 400 years of history dies in silence in the heart of the city.

At number 37 of Princesa Street, in the Ribera neighborhood, stands a discreet but relevant property: the house where the painter Santiago Rusiñol was born in 1861. The building, privately owned, has been bricked up since 2011, after several attempts at occupation.

There was a plan to turn it into a boutique hotel, but the hotel moratorium promoted by Ada Colau frustrated it. Since then, neither hotel, nor museum, nor cultural center: the building remains closed, deteriorating at an accelerated pace, without anyone assuming responsibility.

There is no commemorative plaque, no conservation project, no willingness to value the figure of one of the references of Catalan modernism. A city that does not protect its roots cannot boast of culture.

The Torre del Fang, located in the La Sagrera neighborhood, is an old farmhouse from the 13th century. Its name comes from the mud (“fang”) of the lands where it was built. Although it was listed as a local cultural asset in 1984, today it is closed, dirty and forgotten.

His misfortune came with the endless works of the AVE and La Sagrera station. Since then, it has been fenced off, bricked up and excluded from any real recovery project. The neighbors have been demanding its rehabilitation as cultural equipment or a civic center for years, but the town hall has not moved a finger.

Barcelona boasts of being an open, cosmopolitan and advanced city. But each closed historic building, each forgotten theater or secluded farmhouse tells a story of political negligence, institutional abandonment and contempt for the common legacy.

Heritage is not built only with tourist slogans or punctual exhibitions. It is defended with facts. And today, in Barcelona, ​​those facts are conspicuous by their absence.