ORIHUELA is preparing to host the 37th edition of the Regional School Theatre Showcase, which this year will feature 27 special performances at the Circus Theatre. The event, which for nearly four decades has brought together students from educational centres all over the Vega Baja region, has been firmly established as a source of local pride and unites the students with a love for theatre.

A programme to celebrate theatre in Orihuela

The programme, which will take place from May 5 to May 28, includes a wide variety of styles and stage productions, from classical theatre to contemporary and innovative works. The project includes performances of famous works, including:

• Lost in Translation, Toc-Toc, The Gods or Cinderella (IES Tháder)
• Trash TV (IES Mare Nostrum)
• Punch and Judy (Reverse Version) (IES Santiago Grisolía)
• Scarlet Theorem (MUDIC Jesús Carnicer)
• The Magic of Emotions, The Wizard of Oz, Shrek, Cantar Mio Cid or The Play That Goes Wrong (Jesús María San Agustín)
• Cinderella Who Didn’t Expect a Prince (CEIP San Bartolomé)
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Saint George and the Dragon, Beauty and the Beast or Enchantment (Oratorio Festivo)
• Peter Pan Musical (Santo Domingo)
• The World Upside Down or The Darlings (Virgen de Montserrate de Torremendo)

The event fosters essential values including camaraderie, teamwork, and creativity. The project allows students to enter the world of art and theatre, as well as develop important communicative skills and, above all, foster and facilitate group work among them.

Admission will be free for all audiences, though the Orihuela Department of Education recommends making a reservation in advance through the Teatro Circo to help organize attendance.

With this project, the students’ hard work onstage will reflect the talent, effort, and commitment of schools throughout the Vega Baja region, and re-affirm Orihuela’s place as a cultural and artistic hotspot on the Costa.

Marbella is ready and set to welcome 23 tennis players from across Spain this week as the city hosts the 18th edition of the National Wheelchair Tennis Open. The competition runs from Thursday 23 April through to Sunday 26 April at the Polideportivo Paco Cantos.

The tournament is organised by Club Deportivo Jacamar and forms part of the national wheelchair tennis circuit run by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET). Now in its 18th consecutive year, it is one of the longest-running events of its kind in the country.

All competitors get maximum court time over the few days

The big news of this year’s edition is the return of the women’s draw. The Marbella city council announced that five women will compete in a round-robin format, meaning every player faces every other player, with matches beginning on the opening day, Thursday. The format ensures that all five competitors get maximum court time and that the final standings reflect consistency across the full draw rather than a single day’s result. The sport maintains the same rules as conventional tennis, with the only difference being that it allows a second bounce.  

The women’s competition was absent from last year’s tournament due to the complexity of assembling a competitive female field. Its return this year was confirmed in official communications from the Marbella Town Hall.  

Paco Cantos is the perfect home for the tournament with its range of accessible facilities

For the men’s draw, the remaining players will compete across all four days, with finals in both competitions scheduled for Sunday 26 April.

The Polideportivo Paco Cantos has served as the home of this tournament for multiple editions and provides the accessible facilities required to host a national-level wheelchair tennis event.  Located on Avenida Canovas del Castillo in Marbella. Its indoor hall can house a range of sports including tennis, futsal, basketball, volleyball and skating, and the site also features three outdoor tennis courts, three padel courts, a fronton court, a climbing wall, changing rooms, and a bar. The breadth of the facility makes it well suited to hosting a multi-day national tournament, with courts available for simultaneous matches and adequate space for players, officials and spectators. Entry for spectators wishing to follow the action at Paco Cantos across the four days is open to the public.  In addition, the matches on the center court will be broadcast live on Facebook. 

Shock swept through the Real Maestranza in Sevilla on Monday, April 20, during the much loved Feria de Abril when veteran torero Morante de la Puebla received a severe horn wound from his fourth bull.

Crowds had packed the historic venue for the Monday event featuring bulls from García Jiménez. Morante attempted to control the animal with his cape but lost his footing. The bull charged and struck him in a highly sensitive area just below the left buttock. Medical teams rushed the injured fighter to the ring’s infirmary for immediate surgery.

Doctors are said to have later detailed the injury as a 10 cm wound affecting anal sphincter muscles and perforating the rectum by an eye-watering 1.5 cm. Surgeons performed wound cleaning and rectal wall repair and placed drainage. Borja Jiménez took over the bull’s handling while concern spread among spectators outside the arena. Initial reports suggested the prognosis remained guarded though not immediately life-threatening.

Toreros face frequent risks in the ring

Bullfighters encounter horn wounds on a regular basis. Studies of Spanish events over eight years recorded more than 1,200 such injuries over 13,500 occasions, producing an average accident rate near 9 per cent. Matadors absorb most of these incidents, often in the thighs or groin. While deaths stay rare thanks to modern medicine, serious cases still demand urgent vascular or specialist care.

Thousands of bulls die yearly in bullfights

Estimates indicate around 35,000 bulls lose their lives in Spanish rings each season, with global figures reaching up to 180,000 when including related events. Every traditional corrida ends in the animal’s death after a structured sequence of lances and passes. Critics describe the practice as inherently cruel, pointing to the prolonged suffering before the final sword thrust.

Bullfighting loses ground with the Spanish public

Attendance has dropped sharply over recent decades. Figures show a 75 per cent fall in spectators at bullfighting events across 25 years, from nearly 9 million in the mid-2000s to projections near 2 million today. Only about 2 per cent of Spaniards attend regularly, with younger age groups showing even lower interest in many polls. Wider surveys reveal opposition levels around 77 per cent among the population.

Fewer events take place overall, and many smaller rings have closed. Public funding continues through subsidies and youth vouchers, yet these measures have not reversed the long-term slide in popularity. Industry voices promote school programmes and media exposure to attract new followers and preserve the tradition.

Many observers view such efforts as uphill battles against changing values that question animal use in entertainment. The Sevilla incident serves as a nasty reminder of the dangers involved while pouring petrol onto the ongoing debate about whether bullfighting belongs in modern Spain.