Friday 10 July 2009

Beauty queens + baby girls + happiness?

According to some statistics I have seen reported recently, the Spanish get more satisfaction from eating (and that includes chocolate) than from almost any other activity. Well, I already knew they enjoyed their food so what else is new? The study, by a sociologist from Barcelona University, puts food ahead of family as a source of pleasure and puts chocolate in fourth place. Mind you the work is sponsored by Magnum, the ice cream makers; maybe that has a little something to do with it!

It seems that Spain figures quite low in the ranking of countries according to levels of enjoyment and happiness. Up at the top are Colombia, Mexico, Portugal and Turkey. Now then, I wonder if the contrasting positions of Spain and Mexico have anything to do with the fact that all the lovelies who aspire to the title of Miss España have just been flown to Cancún where the finals are to be held. That should make the Mexicans smile, at least. It is also, apparently, the first time the event has not been televised here in Spain. Wow, I didn’t think anyone even took these competitions remotely seriously any longer!

Meanwhile, two
gallegas are making the news and doing their bit for the region’s reputation. Olalla Domínguez, wife of Liverpool footballer Fernando Torres, came home to her native Santiago de Compostela to give birth to her baby. Little Nora made her entry in the early hours of Tuesday with minimum fuss and minimum press coverage, obviously taking after her mother who apparently avoids the limelight.

Our local Galician free paper declares that
a “nena Torres” é galega, displaying pride in her regional identity while playing with the nickname of her father, o neno Torres (el niño Torres in Castillian Spanish), earned when he played as a junior in Madrid. The paper also points out that o neno Torres has his own links with Galicia as his paternal grandparents live in Boqueixas.

As I thought, Galicia IS the centre of the universe!

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