The ubiquity of populist discourse in politics and across various sectors of contemporary Spanish society prompts an inquiry into the use of populism in current literature. Almudena Grandes’s polyphonic novel Los besos en el pan ( Kissing the Bread ) (2015) offers a snapshot of the housing crisis in an ordinary neighbourhood of Madrid. This article will analyse the novel’s discursive strategies in order to identify the defining features of what could be considered the use of populist techniques within it. It will also assess whether these techniques serve an anti-hegemonic function of denunciation or whether the populist discourse may, in some way, have become embedded in the narrative as a form of acquiescence to the new political normal.

Review of: Habitação Para Além Da ‘Crise’: Políticas, Conflito, Direito , Simone Tulumello (2024) Lisbon: Tigre de Papel, 252 pp., ISBN 978-9-89357-041-8, p/bk, GBP 13.00

This article examines Smiley (2022), a Catalan- and Spanish-language LGBTQ+ romantic comedy on Netflix, as a critical intervention in debates over digital intimacies and platform-mediated relationships. As both romcoms and relationships themselves become increasingly platformized, the article analyses how the series visualizes the digital enclosure of dating through split-screen aesthetics and palimpsestic overlays, formally mirroring the fragmented, gamified nature of dating/hook-up apps like Grindr. Smiley dramatizes the affective labour and disorientation inherent in data-driven matchmaking, interrogating tensions between somatic and cyber-mediated intimacies. Reflecting broader trends towards physical, flesh-and-blood sex in Netflix romcoms, amid the post-romantic, heteropessimistic turn in screen productions, it balances queerer modes of interface design, digital affect and embodied sex with traditional genre discourses of the Soulmate and The One. While offering a nuanced critique of quantified, marketized love, Smiley ’s prioritization of corporeal, monogamous, (homo)normative connection over multiple, virtual encounters reveals both the constraints and possibilities of contemporary (LGBTQ+) courtship and social bonding.

Science-fiction film is not among the most produced genres in Spain. However, in recent decades, some film productions have been released related to the science-fiction genre, which have tried to be internationally competitive in order to achieve economic success. This article will analyse the case of Automata (2014), a film by Spanish director, Gabe Ibáñez, in the context of both Spanish and European science-fiction cinema. Its industrial strategies will be examined to highlight how Spanish science-fiction productions need to be international products to be competitive. In addition, Automata will be compared with other Spanish films, evaluating factors such as budget, box office earnings, locations, cast composition and other cultural elements. Thus, the diverse strategies carried out by producers of science-fiction films in Spain will be considered, as well as their different degrees of commercial success.

Mirandese, a minority language spoken in north-eastern Portugal, has undergone significant shifts in vitality over the past century. First brought to scholarly attention by Portuguese philologist Leite de Vasconcelos in the late nineteenth century, Mirandese descends from Astur-Leonese, a medieval Romance variety of the Iberian Peninsula. Historically, it survived in a stable diglossic framework alongside Portuguese and Spanish, serving specific communicative roles within small and close-knit communities. However, by the mid-twentieth century, social stigma and the pressure of Portuguese disrupted intergenerational transmission, pushing Mirandese to the brink of endangerment. In response, revitalization efforts emerged, including its introduction into local schools in the 1980s, the establishment of an orthographic norm and its recognition by the Portuguese Parliament in 1999. Despite its current endangered status, these measures have elevated the symbolic value of Mirandese, attracting new speakers (including descendants of the Mirandese diaspora), stimulating the expansion of its written corpus and increasing scholarly interest. This Special Issue ‘Mirandese Studies: Language, Literature, Landscape and Pedagogy’, an example of this interest, explores the linguistic identity and literary heritage of Mirandese, as well as its role in the linguistic landscape, and its pedagogical needs, emphasizing the importance of continued research and institutional support to ensure its survival and vitality in the future.

This article explores the presence of Mirandese in its linguistic landscape, that is, the language on display in public spaces. A fieldwork campaign in ten of the thirteen freguesias, or parishes, of the Miranda do Douro municipality reveals a noticeable lack of signage due to the eminently rural nature of the area under study, whose socio-economic structure does not favour elements of this nature in the public space. The article illustrates the diminished presence of the Mirandese language, with two defining characteristics: on the one hand, a mainly institutional origin of the signals, with scant private initiative, which hinders the transfer of oral usage to written output, and, on the other hand, the variety’s restricted functionality. Even if Mirandese has a part to play in local culture and identity, it adopts a symbolic rather than an informative role. The latter is reserved for Portuguese, as the dominant language used in all areas of communication. Nevertheless, following the implementation of remedial measures over the past 30 years, there appears to be an improvement in attitudes towards the autochthonous language, which has clearly gained prestige as a local hallmark.

Review of: Maricas: Queer Cultures and State Violence in Argentina and Spain, 1942–1982, Javier Fernández Galeano (2024) Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 342 pp., ISBN 978-1-49623-497-1, h/bk, USD 99 ISBN 978-1-49623-955-6, p/bk, USD 30 ISBN 978-1-49623-983-9, e-book (PDF), USD 30 ISBN 978-1-49623-982-2, e-book (ePUB), USD 30

Ana Lena Rivera’s novel, Las herederas de la Singer (‘The Singer Heirs’) (2023), celebrates sewing while using the age-old gendered textile art to address the importance of community support in empowering women through emotional crises – often as a result of sexual violence – and economic hardship. Through the lens of trauma and postmemory studies, this article explores the role of sewing and the gendered object of the sewing machine in forging intergenerational ties of four women in Rivera’s Las herederas de la Singer. As the protagonists navigate trauma, they challenge patriarchal structures and fight to break cycles of abuse through acts of creative labour and collective resistance. Sewing and the inherited Singer merge as metaphors for inheritance, resistance, healing and repair.

Review of: The Political Gesture in Pedro Costa’s Films, Patrícia Sequeira Brás (2024) Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne and New York: Peter Lang, 168 pp., ISBN 978-1-80079-836-6, e-book (PDF), £45 ISBN 978-1-80079-837-3, e-book (ePUB), £45 ISBN 978-1-80079-835-9, p/bk, £45

This article provides a diachronic perspective on Mirandese literature. It recalls the importance of oral tradition in the formation of literary identity, highlights the value of the first written records for the recognition of the Mirandese language and examines the role of translations and translators in enriching the Mirandese literary corpus. The discussion also identifies the authors and genres that have contributed most to consolidating this literature in modern times. It also examines the impact that key language revival measures (the publication of the Mirandese Language Orthographic Norm [1999], the political recognition of Mirandese and the institutionalization of its teaching) have had on the development of Mirandese literature. Furthermore, building on the vitality and diversity of contemporary literary production in Mirandese, the article demonstrates how the contributions of emerging authors are introducing new perspectives and themes to Mirandese literature. Finally, it reflects on the challenges faced by Mirandese literature, such as the need to expand the repertoire of literary genres and the importance of further developing the language for new forms of artistic expression.