CASARES COSTA GETS READY FOR SAN JUAN CELEBRATIONS NEXT WEEK

San Juan will be celebrated with a feast of activities on the beaches of Casares Costa next Monday night. The official start of the summer season will also see the beginning of the Casares Costa Cultural Week which will last until June 30th. San Juan night gets underway at 7 pm at Playa Ancha with a children’s party with jugglers, clowns, acrobats, drummers and magicians. The evening’s activities will continue with flamenco and dance entertainment from La Cala orchestra. The party leads up to the climax of the traditional beach bonfire at midnight which this year will be made by Juan Angel Gomez Anja Tiedemann who has made works for previous years such as the The African Village and  The Dragon. The Cultural Week starts on Tuesday with an arts and crafts exhibition, and continues on Wednesday with a zumba exhibition at Playa Ancha. The week will close with a cultural trip on Monday June 30th.

ABDICATION OF JUAN CARLOS OPENS DEBATE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE SPANISH MONARCHY

King Juan Carlos shocked Spaniards by his announcement on Monday that he is to abdicate in favour of his son Felipe. Juan Carlos who is 76 and who took over as King in 1975 after the death of Franco said he is stepping down to revive the monarchy. While he is credited with helping the peaceful transition to democracy following the years of Franco's dictatorship, in recent years his monarchy was hit by scandals and corruption allegations. The decision by Juan Carlos to abdicate has also reopened the debate about whether Spain should have a monarchy at all. Thousands demonstrated in major cities across Spain on Monday calling for a referendum on the monarchy. The United Left and Podemos parties who won 20 per cent of the vote in the European elections have backed calls for a plebiscite on the future of the monarchy. Meanwhile, it is expected that a new law will have to be passed to allow King Felipe VI to take to the throne.