Calls for Spain to Return to GMT

Could the siesta days for the Spanish be over?

Calls for Spain to Return to GMT

The Spanish people work long hours, often into the dark evening that is an hour later than it really should be.

For the past few years Spain has come close to moving back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but it’s never gone through with the move.

During the campaign process for the general election (not counting the second election that happened in June) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made it a campaign promise that he would return Spain back to GMT, taking the country out of GMT+1 and bringing it back in line with Portugal and the UK, which is where a country with its geographical position should be.

Rajoy is now back in power and he’s started the conversation about bringing the clocks back an hour. Fátima Báñez, employment minister of Spain, said last week that the country should think heavily about dropping GMT+1. The country moved to the timezone in 1942 after General Francisco Franco made the move to bring Spain in line with Nazi Germany.

Spain is actually a little further to the west than much of the British Isles, and so it’s fallen out of sync with Europe. This is something that has hampered the workforce of the country and could have held back economic development for decades.

One of the main arguments of those pushing for the change is that the working day in Spain is still based around agricultural labour patterns, rather than being based around the reality that is the office-based existence. While it’s not universal across the whole country many Spanish workers begin their day at 9AM. They work until noon and take a few hours off, before returning to the office to continue working until around 8PM. Critics argue that this working day is too long and exhausting, not to mention it’s an hour longer than it should be.

Fátima Báñez spoke of a desire to create a workday that end sat 6PM. To do this the government will need to deal with trade unions and companies. Báñez will make the first move by meeting with the largest companies and trade unions to create such a deal.

It’s unlikely that there will be opposition to these changes in parliament for Rajoy’s People Party (PP). Both the Socialists (PSOE) and Cuidanos already agree with the plans. There are very little arguments that this change could have a negative impact, and even Catalonia supports the change.

The change almost happened in the Balearics. Back in October the islands implored Madrid to allow them to stay on summer time and not move the clocks back an hour. The request was denied, but it should only be a matter of time now until Spain lets go of their traditions and embraces GMT.

Spain Calls for Tapas to be Recognised on Unesco Cultural Heritage List

Spain Calls for Tapas to be Recognised on Unesco Cultural Heritage List

Tapas, from the ingredients involved to the dining method itself, is aiming to be recognised by Unesco.

Tapas are a wonderful way to eat

Many great things have origins in Spain; Flamenco, Sherry, Bullfighting, sunburn, and Latino love machines like Julio Ilgesias. One of the things that Spain is most known for is their food.

Spanish food can be found all over the world in many different forms and varieties including ranging from El Bulli’s experimental cooking to the simple bags of frozen paella found in a supermarket. Tapas is perhaps the most famous form of Spanish cuisine.

Tapas has become so prolific in UK restaurants, mostly due to the influx of Spanish nationals flocking to Britain as a result of the Spanish economic crisis, that tapas being sold in supermarkets has seen a sales increase of 40% year after year since 2013.

One of the reasons that tapas has become such a favourite is that there is a lot of variety including flavours and textures and portion sizes. The affordability of tapas also helps. Tapas has become such a favourite that the Spanish Royal Academy of Gastronomy has asked Unesco to put tapas on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Plenty of people will know Unesco for their work with promoting historical sites and protecting them. They also offer protection for different cultural assets such as “intangibles” including living practices, skills, and artisan craftsmanship specific to a country.

The president of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy, Rafael Anson, says that Tapas is the very model of food. He believes that pizza by itself would not be considered intangible but the entire Mediterranean diet is.

He added that restaurants in spain and tapas is also a way of eating. He was the driving force of the push to see the recognition of tapas and considers the project to be very advanced.

Anson said that while it will be up to the Ministry of Culture to formally present the idea to Unesco he has spoken to them himself and they are considering it.

Unesco has already recognised the Mediterranean diet as being a cultural heritage asset. Unesco also considers Flamenco and the human towers of Catalonia to be cultural heritage assets too. Tapas would definitely belong on a list like that. Italy is already trying to ensure that tapas isn’t the only food on the list. While pizza itself isn’t enough to count Naples is attempting to have the art of Neapolitan pizza making admitted by Unesco.