Elena Fortun and Carmen Laforet were two Spanish writers who became dear penpals at the end of the 1940s... At the time of their meeting, Elena (35 years Carmen's senior) was the author of the successful childrens' series 'Celia', about a troublesome little girl, while Carmen had recently been launched to fame by her debut novel, 'Nada', at the age of twenty-three... The play "Cartas Vivas", written and directed by Paula Paz of the Cervantes Theatre in London puts the letters exchanged between the two authors between 1947 and 1952 on stage...But before we learn more about these letters, Helena Rigabert takes a look at the news.

In today's broadcast, after taking a look at the news, we talk to Ana Carricondo, director of a new project aimed at preserving biodiversity in Spain.  The project is called Secanos Vivos (Drylands Alive), and the organization responsible for it is Spain's oldest NGO, the Spanish ornithological society SEO/BirdLife.  We also engage in a brief train platform chat with writer and critic Alan W. Moore, and we meet rising Spanish mezzosoprano Cristina del Barrio.

In today's broadcast I resume the journey through Middle Earth that I started a week ago with Pablo Martínez de Anguita, cofounder of the project 'El Camino del Anillo' which recreates the steps that Frodo and Sam took in Tolkien's famous trilogy. We pick up where we left off last week, just outside the town of Bree (Buitrago de Lozoya). All the information about the 'path of the ring' can be found in their website www.elcaminodelanillo.com

Last week, the international trade fair held in Madrid, FITUR, brought 131 countries together in the Spanish capital... In today's broadcast, we take a brief tour around the multiple pavillions before bringing it back to Spain with an interview with the Atla Alella Winery in Catalonia. One of their cavas was included in Wine Enthusiast Magazine's 'Best Wines of 2022' list, and Mireia Pujol-Busquets tells us all about what makes this particular bottle of Alta Alella cava so special.

In today's broadcast, after taking a look at the news, we join Agustín Pérez Rubio for a visit to the exhibition Martin Wong: Malicious Mischief, of which he is co-curator.  Among other things, Agustín Pérez Rubio talks about the growing international recognition of the importance of this American artist, who lived from 1946 to 1999.  Also joining us on this visit to the show is writer and critic Alan W. Moore, who knew Martin Wong when they both lived in New York City in the 80's and 90's.  After it closes at the Second of May Center of Art in the suburb city of Móstoles, Europe's first retrospective exhibition of the work of Martin Wong travels on to Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

In today's broadcast we will listen to the first part of a journey through Middle Earth that recreates the steps that Frodo and Sam took in Tolkien's work 'The Lord of the Rings' without leaving the mountain range of Sierra Norte in the region of Madrid. Along the way, we'll talk to Pablo Martínez de Anguita, the cofounder of the project 'El Camino del Anillo' - The path of the ring -. We will make a stop in the town of Bree (Buitrago de Lozoya) where he'll explain the details of this hiking trail of 128km (about 79 miles). There is more information available in their website www.elcaminodelanillo.com.

In this broadcast, we check up on Picasso Year celebrations with an exhibition that's currently running in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, with the help of the Centro Pompidou in Paris. Rather than focus on the artist himself, this exhibition puts the spotlight on Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, an art collector and dealer who is considered 'the great merchant of cubism'. The art dealer worked with Pablo Picasso on-and-off throughout his life, but also championed many other cubists as the art movement grew in the early twentieth century.Maximilien Thaundhart, assistant curator of the exhibition 'Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Marchant and editor', spoke with us from France... after a brief look at news from Spain.

In today's broadcast, after taking a look at the news, we return to the Teatro de la Comedia, the 19th-century theater situated in the heart of Madrid, and the press conference at which a new co-production of Calderón de la Barca's "La vida es sueño" (Life Is A Dream), was presented.  (This is our second program on this topic, the first forming part of our January 3rd broadcast.)  Theatre director Declan Donnellan and stage designer Nick Ormerod, co-founders of Britain's acclaimed Cheek By Jowl theatre company, answer questions from journalists and offer a glimpse into their particular and fascinating perspective on this play, on theatre, in general, and on life as a whole.  The new co-production of "La vida es sueño" runs at the Teatro de la Comedia through February 26th, after which it will travel on to Albi in France and the Barbican Centre in London before returning to Spain for a performance in Alicante.  Further performances will be given in Budapest, Hungary and Almada, Portugal, before a final (at the time of this writing) performance in July in the northern Spanish city of Gijón. 

In today's broadcast, we talk about one of the most iconic operas by Henry Purcell - Dido & Aeneas - which premieres in the Teatros del Canal in Madrid next week. Orchestra director William Christie, artistic director and coreographer Blanca Li and scenographer Evi Keller talked about this production that will have five performances in Madrid. We'll also hear from our correspondent Elsa Yazbek about an act of vandalism that ocurred in a church in the north of Lebanon.

In today's broadcast, we visit the Ronald McDonald House in Madrid's Niño Jesús Hospital.  For the House's 25th anniversary, the U.S. ambassador in Spain, Julissa Reynoso, visited and oversaw the Toys For Tots initiative gift some 500 toys to the children staying there.  We also look back on what Spanish music had to offer in the year we just bade farewell to.