Spanish views from a small town

This past weekend, in the Tokyo Olympics, two Spanish atletes won a silver and a bronze medal, each. Before them, a Spanish tennis player beat out Djokovic to win a bronze, and two sharp shooters won gold. (Since then, there have been more.) Congratulations were in order, and many politicians celebrated their achievements.  Except those of these two athletes, who did not receive congratulations from everyone. The athletes are Ana Peleteiro, from nearby Ribeira, who won bronze in the high jump, and Ray Zapata, from the Canary Islands, who won silver in floor gymnastics (I'm not sure if those are the actual names of the sports they participated in; I don't follow the Olympics.). The only difference between them and the others is their skin.  Ray moved to the Canary Islands with his mother and siblings from the Dominican Republic when he was nine years old. He has been a Spanish citizen for years. Ana was born in Ribeira to a single mother; her father was from an African country ...

It's official! As of next Saturday, no masks will be required outside in all of Spain. We'll still be obliged to wear them inside, in public spaces, and we are told to not get very close together, but we don't have to wear those stifling pieces of paper or cloth in the hot summer sun! So, on the day when I go for my second shot, I can go without that bothersome mask, just pop it on when I get inside. My husband got his second shot last week; according to the studies, he should reach full immunity by this week. I'm getting mine next Saturday, so I should reach my full immunity by the middle of July. Oh, how heavenly not to have to worry that we might end up on a respirator if we get ill!  The studies also show that, while vaccinated people can still transmit the virus if they are infected by it, and are asymptomatic, they don't transmit as much viral load as someone who is unvaccinated. That helps explain why contagion is going down as vaccinations are going up, desp...