"Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos."
Raise crows and they'll peck your eyes out — ingratitude is the reward for misplaced kindness.
A glorious June Friday settles over Madrid as the city draws its breath ahead of a monumental weekend. Pope Leo XIV arrives tomorrow, and the final touches are being applied across the capital — from the altar rising on Plaza de Cibeles to the popemobile being rolled out for its first test drive through the Castellana. The Feria del Libro is in full bloom at El Retiro, drawing families and book lovers between the trees. Princess Leonor has made the nation proud with her paratroop wings, and two lost paintings have resurfaced just in time for auction. With clear skies, the promise of summer heat, and a city dressed in its Sunday best, Madrid is ready to welcome the world. Buen finde.
With just over 24 hours until Pope Leo XIV touches down at Barajas, Madrid is in full papal-preparation mode. The popemobile — a custom-built electric Fiat with bulletproof glass and an open-air viewing platform — arrived under police escort early Thursday and completed its first test run along the Paseo de la Castellana in the early hours of Friday morning. Plaza de Cibeles, which closed to traffic at midnight, is now a construction site of scaffolding, sound systems and staging as crews work around the clock to build the altar for Sunday's Corpus Christi Mass. The Ayuntamiento expects up to 1.8 million pilgrims over the weekend. EMT buses and Metro Line 4 remain free of charge through Tuesday, and the city has urged teleworking where possible. In the Lucero neighbourhood, the route the Pope will take to visit the CEDIA homeless shelter on Saturday has seen a sudden, welcome burst of street-sweeping and asphalt repair — a flurry residents note is appreciated but bittersweet.
Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish throne, has successfully completed elite paratroop training, earning her jump wings after a gruelling course with the Spanish Army's Parachute Brigade. The 20-year-old Princess, who is training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza as part of her three-year military education, completed multiple static-line and free-fall jumps, including night operations and combat equipment drops. The accomplishment follows her earlier service as a midshipman in the Navy and continues her preparation for her future role as commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. The Casa Real released a statement expressing pride in her determination and discipline, noting that she has met every standard required of regular soldiers, with no special treatment.
The 85th Feria del Libro de Madrid is in full swing at the Parque del Retiro, with more than 350 book stalls, author signings and literary events running daily through June 15. This year's edition honours the legacy of Federico García Lorca — whose birth on this day in 1898 is being marked with a special exhibit of first editions, manuscripts and photographs from his time in the Residencia de Estudiantes. The fair has drawn large crowds despite the gathering summer heat, with families queuing for children's storytelling tents, poetry readings under the trees, and late-night openings on Friday and Saturday. Librerías from across Spain have set up along the Paseo de Coches, and the aroma of grilled sardines and churros mingles with the smell of fresh ink.
Two Spanish Baroque paintings believed lost for over a century have resurfaced in a private collection in Madrid, just days before they were scheduled to go under the hammer at a major auction house. The works — attributed to the circle of Francisco de Zurbarán — depict scenes from the life of Saint Boniface, whose feast day falls today, June 5. The paintings were last documented in an 1892 inventory of a noble family's estate in Seville before disappearing from the historical record. They were rediscovered during a routine appraisal when an art historian recognised the distinctive handling of light and shadow. The auction, expected to fetch upwards of €400,000 for the pair, has drawn interest from the Prado Museum, which is considering exercising its right of first refusal to keep the works in Spain.