Welcoming the Virgen In this week’s Camino a Ítaca a look at one of the more hermetic aspects of Spanish culture. It’s a facet that is impenetrable and somewhat incomprehensible for outsiders looking in to understand. Click over to read the original article published in el HOY in Spanish or read the English translation below.…
Sectarian Classrooms In this week’s Camino a Ítaca a look into some Spanish classrooms via the Levant and its sectarian divisions. Click over to read the original in Spanish published in el HOY or read the English translation below. (PDF abajo) I had never seen such provocative lingerie in shop windows anywhere else in the…
In this week’s Camino a Ítaca I take a trip back to the tundra and where I’m from to look at Pope Francis’ Not-Really-Sorry tour of Canada. Click over to read the original in Spanish in el HOY or have a look at the English translation below. (PDF en castellano abajo) I’m from the last big…
It’s the Halloween special here on the Camino a Ítaca. My latest looks at the false rage at a harmless ‘tradition’. Click over to read the original in Spanish or have a look at the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo). Sacrilege comes in many forms, though I’m not sure that putting pineapple on…
This week’s Camino a Ítaca draws parallels between religious bigotry in two distinct places. The faith trap is lethal to inquiry and thought and is throw about with alarming regularity. Click over to the original article published in Spanish in el HOY, or read the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo) The world recently…
Lapiz Luzuli The terrible tragedy unfolding in slow motion in Afghanistan reminded me of gems on sale in the open air markets of Yemen. In this week’s Camino a Ítaca, I look back at the Afghan stones that were so valuable and the near hysteria of right-wing conservatives, desperate to declare their deity somehow more…
The bins are burning in Barcelona again (remind me to get into the replacement business there) for, what on the surface has been sold as a freedom of speech issue. And while freedom of speech does play a significant role in the case of a rapper sent to prison, his right to an opinion is…
Bir Ali, Yemen Different places, different times, different Christmases. This week’s Camino a Ítaca goes back to the beaches along the coast of Yemen in search of the Three Wisest of Men. Click over to the original piece in Spanish or read the English version below. Tambien se puede ver el original en castellano abajo…
Conservatism’s new defender, Isabel Ayuso As 2020 limps to its end I see swarms of bats surrounding the frog symposiums that are advising the worm conventicle in the great corner of mud. The end may be near, but end well it won’t. This week’s Camino a Ítaca looks at the fall of the Great Cheeto…
Crucifixes in classrooms Next stop on the Camino a Ítaca is a look at how you can indeed have your cake and eat it too…as long as you ‘believe’. You can read the English below or click over to the original in Spanish. You can also find the Spanish version in PDF format at the…