By Hanna Mathis

 

 

Tattoo lovers highly value the craft tattoo artists are capable of creating. Often customers are looking for a long time to choose their artist, depending on their style, experience and availability. Not to forget that a proper artist usually has to undergo many hours of training and learning before he or she will receive first customers.

A tattoo artist traditionally earns the title by completing 1 to 2 years lasting apprenticeship under strict guidelines from an experienced senior tattoo artist. Potential artists are generally expected to be excellent at drawing with an ability to customize design ideas and create own tattoo pieces. During the internship, the artist gains all kind of knowledge about sanitation and tattoo styles, in order to grow and develop as an artist.

Tattoos are made by injecting ink in the skin by using a needle, either handheld or through a tattoo machine. The needle gets into the skin about one millimeter deep and stays in the second layer of the skin, the Dermis, because its cells are much more steady than the first layer, the Epidermis. The sterilization of the entire process is fundamental as any kinds of wounds have a high risk of infection and diseases transmission.

“Tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.” – Michelle Delio

Continue reading “Artists of the Ink”

By Jerry Karg

Las Palmas travelled to the Vicente Calderón stadium in Madrid on Tuesday January 10th to take on Atletico Madrid for a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Copa del Rey. This was the second leg of the sixteenth round with Atletico winning the first match 0 – 2. Las Palmas´ trainer, Quique Setién said prior to the match his team ¨would try to put on a good performance¨. He turned out to be right as UD Las Palmas showcased their skills in an entertaining match, although this wasn’t enough to go through: 2 – 3.

Before the game, three Las Palmas fans still had high hopes. “We can still win, I think”, said Jorge, a Spanish native who was born in Las Palmas on the Canary Islands but now resides in Madrid. “But it will be difficult”, he concluded.

In front of the stadium, Paco, a seller of Atlético Madrid merchandise, said: “I am a big fan of Atletico Madrid. And I have been here for years, always in the same spot. I hope they win every game. It would mean I would sell even more scarves.”

Continue reading “Las Palmas show Atletico fans their tenacity”

By Marie Goossens

Nora Caliani two religious’ tattoos on her hand, done by her husband Juan Sanchez.

 

Madrid houses a few of the world’s most beautiful churches and Spanish culture is enriched with religious traditions. But some of the most famous tattoo artists originate from Madrid as well. The uprising tattoo culture made getting a tattoo in Madrid popular, but this clashes with the original religious Spanish culture. The style of Juan Sanchez, a tattoo parlor in Madrid, brings these two cultures together.

Tattoos – permanent images or words etched with ink – are becoming more and more popular all over the world. Almost everywhere you will very likely see people with tattoos and a lot of different tattoo parlors. Tattoos seem to be especially trending among younger people nowadays, but it has actually been around for a much longer period of time. In fact the oldest tattoo was found on Ötzi, a human who has been mummified for over 5,300 years now – his body contained 57 tattoos. Tattoos have been a part of human societies ever since, but a lot of people still frown upon the popularity of the tattoo culture.

In Spain 67,8% of the population is Christian nowadays and some people are still orthodox Christian who follow the bible strictly. As Spain now hosts some of the worlds most popular tattoo artists, it is hard not to notice the contradiction between the many churches and religious habits of Spanish people and the rising of this tattoo culture in Spain, and in Madrid specifically. Tattoos mainly began to grow more popular in Spain because more and more influential people got tattoos and liked showing them. Soccer is like a second religion to many Spanish people, so when soccer players like David Beckham started getting tattoos Spanish people started to get them too.

Continue reading “Christianity and the rise of a new culture – tattoos”

By Serena Dania

Map of Spain

When one hears about the rivalry between Barcelona and Madrid, the first thought that crosses your mind is football. However, there is much more than meets the eye when examining these two cities. The antagonism between the two is greater than some would like to admit; it extends and spills out into cultural rivalry.

Sitting in the restaurant Viva Burger in the La Latina district of Madrid, the vegetarian menu offers a wide variety of choices. However, one dish in particular that stands out: El Catalan (the Catalan). It suggests the restaurant feels neutral about the political rivalry between the two major cities of the country. But this assumption was quickly put to rest when your reporter ordered El Catalan, as the waiter directly made a remark under his breath: “anti-Español,” meaning “Anti-Spanish”.

Barcelona and Madrid are two very different cities, both geographically and culturally, yet the two are the most compared entities in Southern Europe. Being two of the most touristic cities, Madrid is the capital of Spain and Barcelona is the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea or, as nationalist Catalans would say, Catalonia.

To understand the rivalry between the two cities, one needs to understand that the issue stems from economic, historical and cultural reasons, as well as the geography of both cities. Further, the heightened political debate amidst the two cities perpetuates the tension between the Catalans and the Castilians. However, it extends all through Spain, and in some provinces the rivalry and tension is more notable than others

Continue reading “Politics on the menu: Barcelona vs Madrid”

By Jenny Rosenthal

Engrained into society, staples in fashion: vintage stores surround the city of Madrid. More specifically, the barrio (district) of Malasaña, a trendy area featuring a mix of old and new stores as well as a popular nightlife destination for locals, is packed with vintage consignments. ‘We cherish our history in Madrid – that makes vintage important.’

Many of the shops in Malasaña have been opened from as early as the 1930’s and seem to personify Spain’s value of tradition and history. Their popularity represents the Spanish culture of relishing the past and gives an insight into family customs of keeping close contact. Nowadays, vintage clothing dominates fashion, especially with the younger generation. But there appears to be a deeper meaning than just looking ‘cool.’ Wearing and buying vintage clothes represents a respect for the past but also a fashion-forward thinking in which locals want to dress differently and feel individualistic.

Vintage shopping started to arise mainly after the First World War; it was a way to recycle old clothes in a time when the country needed to ration materials. Many parts of Europe needed to survive on the few resources left and vintage shopping was an excellent way to combat that. In the Thirties, Spain had to face a civil war in which leadership would switch from loyalists to the Spanish Republic and the Rebels under Francisco Franco. During Franco’s dictatorship, Madrid started to become much more industrialized and saw a massive influx of migration into the city from rural environments. This meant that much of the south part of the city became a slum, but an active cultural life developed here. The city had become a hub for artists, rebels and alternative thinking. These artistic areas were in theory the birth of vintage shopping. Whether it was a cost saving venture or paying respect to the leadership and war, vintage shopping extensively implanted itself into Madrid’s lifestyle.

Continue reading “Standing out in Malasaña”

By Emma Cottenie

Each year, thousands of students go abroad to study, with Spain being one of the front runners. In the Spanish working environment, where 45% of young people are unemployed, internationalization is set to improve the chances of Spanish youngsters securing a future.

In the school year of 2012-2013, Europe sent its three millionth Erasmus student abroad since the start of the exchange program thirty years ago. 270.000 students traveled to another country in 2012-2013, 15 percent of them from Spain, which makes it the top country of outgoing students. At the same time, Spain is the most popular Erasmus destination among European students, with around 40.000 people moving into vibrant cities like Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Madrid each year.

In 2013, ten percent of all Spanish students went to study abroad, twice the European average and an increase of almost 60 percent compared to five years ago. Alejandra Villena Uerkvitz, head of the international office of the CEU University San Pablo in Madrid, saw this happening. “Because the concept of Erasmus is expanding, you can study everywhere, do internships, apply for a postgraduate experience and so on. It’s getting bigger every day.”

The San Pablo university is sending 350 students abroad in the academic year of 2016-2017 and is receiving no less than 600 foreign students.

 

European Commission report

Continue reading “The future lies abroad”

By Lukas Walter and Merijn Kramer

The financial crisis of 2008 was tough for the startup community of Madrid, but the creative sector is growing again. More and more startup-entrepreneurs are standing up to build up their own businesses in the Spanish capital. More and more people from Latin-America and other countries are coming to Madrid to start up their businesses due to the better entrepreneurial climate in the city.

One of the most important factors for the success of a big city lies in its economic success. A significant indicator for this is the startup community and the creative industry. It builds up the future economy and attracts even more entrepreneurs from outside.

In terms of funding Spanish startups, 2015 was a record year. According to ASCRI (Asociación Española de Capital, Crecimiento e Inversión), Spanish startups received a total amount of €659.4 million, representing a stunning 83 percent growth in volume from 2014. Catalonia and Madrid accounted for 60% of all these transactions. According to startupxplore.com, one of the biggest startup-databases in Spain, there are around 3000 startups in Spain. Approximately 900 of them are located in Madrid.

There are many hubs in the city that try to help founders get started: not just in a financial way, but by providing a space for founders to network with other entrepreneurs. One of those hubs is Campus Madrid, a working space and startup-hub for future business-owners. It was initiated by Google to stimulate entrepreneurship and build entrepreneurial communities around the world.

‘’This is evidence that the Madrid area is a very upcoming area for entrepreneurship and creative startups.’’

 

Continue reading “Creative industry Madrid is growing again”

By Jerry Karg

A photo of the old Real Madrid Museum display before Real won its 32^nd La Liga championship in 2011-2012

Real Madrid is not only winning on the pitch but they are also collecting victories off it, as their brand new museum is attracting more and more visitors.

“The Real Madrid Museum is the most visited museum of Madrid,” says tour guide Arianna at the Bernabéu stadium in the Spanish capital. This line is part of the opening statement of every tour. It is not completely true but it shows the ambition of Real Madrid. The Madrid football club is widely considered as the best of the twentieth century. FIFA awarded them with a special trophy confirming that status. Real has won the most cups in international football history, and their stadium has seen some spectacular and historical matches, including Champions League finals, ´El Clasico´ and the World Cup final between Italy and West-Germany in 1982..

Continue reading “Real Madrid, the richest museum of the city”

By Caroline Ulvin Johansson, Marie Goossens, Anneroos van Eijk, Jerry Karg, Kristina Blockx Continue reading Squares pt. II

By Melanie Hazenberg, Rick Lugtenberg, Jenny Rosenthal, Serena Dania Take a look a number of different diets that are flooding the Internet, and constantly becoming trends in peoples lives. Here we will take a closer look at the benefits of each diet, and take the best of each diet to create one new lifestyle. That creates a balance between them all.   Vegetarian Diet The vegetarian diet … Continue reading Diets