Carlos Sánchez Criado

“Review”

This Sunday, alongside a few friends, I visited the local sports centre, also known as “A
Sardiñeira”. At first, it was hard to find a parking spot, and a 5 minute walk was necessary from
the alternative parking spot (Apparently, this is a usual problem on these facilities). Once
inside, there was nobody at the reception, and a waiting of almost 10 minutes period was
mandatory. Prices were asked, but they were not fixed, and depending on which of the 22
memberships you are part of, the price could be either as expensive as a hotel room (around
50€) or as derisory as a couple of euros. I am glad that one of my friends was already a
member.

First, we visited the swimming pool. The dressing room was decent, nothing weird at sight and
the hygiene was expectable from a public dressing room. The length of the pool was 50
meters, which is to appreciate. Only a few lanes were being used. A shame we could only
enjoyed the rest of them for merely half an hour as the aqua gym class was about to start and
half of the lanes had to be removed, so we had no choice but to leave the pool, as, clearly, and
based on the age of the aquatic gymnasts, we were clearly not the target.

Next stop was the indoor football pitches, although they were used as well for basketball and
hockey, so we were lucky that of the pitches was not being used. We had a place to play, but
not a ball to play with. Searching in the inventory storage, we found one that must have been
there for “only” 15 years. Still, it was better than nothing. We played a couple of 3v3 matches
with almost no disturbances, apart from a couple of times that we could hear the hockey ball
hitting the curtain splitting the pitches, which was a bit scary, I must admit.

In conclusion, the place is just fine, the materials are there and there is nothing too fancy or
too luxurious, although I still do not understand how some memberships can be so expensive.

“Article”

I have always loved music. When I was 5 years old, there was always music playing at home.
Our parents always kept telling both my older brother and I how important music was to keep
a smile on our faces. Even when I was 12, my brother started working as a DJ, and he let me
used the mixer sometimes. It was when I turned 18 that I inherited my brother’s old mixer, as
he was already a professional, playing at clubs and festivals occasionally. It was at this
moment that I realised that this was going to be my passion, in which everything just clicked.

Usually, when an object is inherited, it is due to financial difficulties, such as not being able to
buy new clothes for the smaller children (It is a very efficient solution). Luckily, we had all we
needed at home as children, but I do not want to sound ungrateful, but the complete opposite.
If it had not being by my brother´s mixer, I would have never thought about working in the
music industry nowadays, even though if the thing barely worked back then.
Inheriting doe not only make you be grateful for what you have, but it can also make you feel
things you would not have otherwise, like a sense of belonging, share a bond with someone
else, a person you can look and consider an equal. It may be seen with the wrong eyes, but I
can assure you that what may come from the inheritor as a person in the future will most likely
be better than from the rich kid who has always had everything, he wanted without even
noticing it.

“Letter”

Dear sir or madam.

I am writing this letter to you as a response to the announcement you made about an
important historical event in a country. I decided to join this initiative, so I will talk to you
about what happened in Spain on July 1936.

It all started when a group of military men, leaded by Francisco Franco decided that it was time
for a change. Using the chaos of the European tension at the time, they hired a Plane (The
Dragon Rapide) and flew all over Spain, starting from Melilla and the Canary Islands, revolting
the local governments. Gradually, the garrisons all over Spain decided to join and it was on
September 21st, 1936 when Franco was named the ruler of Spain, also known as
“Generalissimo”.

This was a moment of great importance as it meant the beginning of a dictatorship in Spain
that would last for almost 40 years. Nowadays, when looking back to it, most people have
already learned the lesson, and that is what would like to be heard. Even thought there are still
remnants out there that would love to go back to a dictatorship. That is why education is so
important, to avoid this from happening once again, instead of paying heed to false promises,
common sense is more important.

A dictatorship means the elimination of universal human rights, as basic as the right to vote, to
choose who one wants to be ruled by. And, of course, there is the racial and ethnic segregation
that comes with it. Just like, Berlin, bullet holes can still be seeing in the streets, the past
should not be hidden, maybe we should be ashamed of it, but without hiding the truth.