ALMERÍA CITY COUNCIL AND THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SIGN AN AGREEMENT ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN GAMES
The Councillor for Tourism and Sport, Antonio Ortega, has signed an agreement with the Mayor of Almería, Santiago Martínez, for the future construction of the Mediterranean Sports Palace, where the Almeria games will be held in 2005. The palace will be constructed inside a large sports area of more than 134,000m2 which will be distributed into four parts to house the sports complex made up of a training track, the sports palace, the Mediterranean Stadium and an open area. In reference to the Stadium, the town planning councillor from Almería Council, Diego Cervantes, has said that he already has the designs, the architect and the construction company.

THE POET LUIS CERNUDA WILL RECEIVE THE HONOUR OF THE CITY OF SEVILLE IN THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE YEAR OF HIS BIRTH
The events are already underway with a meeting called 'The Reality and the Desire' in which many lovers of Cernuda's work took part. Also two new editions have been published – 'Oconos' and the anthology 'Música Cautiva'. Most of interest is the presentation of a new anthology from the poet. This facsimile edition an unpublished autobiographical notebook was written by the poet in Spain before his exile. The Seville commission responsible for Cernuda's Centenary, made up of the City Council, the Provincial Council and the El Monte Foundation, have said the best praise they can make is to celebrate the centenary with the greatest promotion possible of his work.

THE FACILITIES TO HOST THE WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES IN 2002 WILL BE COMPLETED IN JULY
Seven months from the start of the largest event ever to be held in the city of Jerez, the main facilities which will hold the events such as the municipal stadium, the sports palace, and the covered riding school, will be completed in June, apart from the stadium which will be terminated a month later, according to Antonio Ortiz, the Director of the Jerez 2002 organising committee. The jewel in the crown of Jerez 2002 will be the setting of the opening and closing ceremonies and which will also host the rounds of doma clasica dressage and the jumping – two of the most attractive disciplines. The Jerez Equestrian Games will be an event of equal tourist and sporting interest. It's expected that during the 12 days of competition from September 10 to 22, 300,000 people will be attracted to the city and the district.

PICASSO'S BIRTHPLACE HOSTS AN EXHIBITION TITLED 'PICASSO CERAMICS'
The house of Picasso's birth hosts an exhibition called 'Picasso.Ceramics'. The show has 26 ceramics made by the Málaga artist from his first stage as a ceramist, in 1947, to his last creations in the art made at the end of the 60's. Plates, bowls, jars, vases and crockery show all the creative stages of the artist in this new medium, as well as different designs used to decorate the clay. Some of the pieces belong to a series of which the artist made 200 variations and others are unique pieces. The display belongs to the Arte Serra de Palma de Mallorca Foundation, and have been taken to Málaga especially for this show. The exhibition remains open until May 26.

THE ALHAMBRA OPENS THE TOWER OF THE CAPTIVE TO THE PUBLIC
The Tower of the Captive in the Alhambra, considered one of the best examples of Nazarene Art, can be visited until the end of the month, thanks to the programme –'This month's space' promoted by the managers of the Alhambra monument complex, which allows visitors to see areas generally closed to the public. The Tower of the Captive, is a palatial tower, which was built by Yusuf I, the same sultan who ordered the construction of the Comares Palace and the Dressing Room of Queen Isabel of Portugal, among other monuments. The tower will be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with the same opening hours as the rest of the monument, and can be seen with the general entrance ticket.

PROMOTION CAMPAIGN FOR THE CAZORLA NATURE PARK STARTS
The start of the promotion campaign for the Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Nature Park got underway in honour to Felix Rodríguez de la Fuente. The act coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the tragic death of Rodríguez de la Fuente and saw the first publication of a document on the area from this researcher, according to sources from the provincial government in Jaén. The promotional campaign has been approved by numerous institutions and is designed to consolidate this natural space as a reference point for inland tourism in Andalucía. The promotion of the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Nature Park, the most extensive and forested in Spain, has an investment of 300,000 €.

ANDALUCÍA LIVES ITS GRANDEST WEEK
Holy Week has a long tradition in Andalucía and during this time the Andalucians carry their most representative images through the streets of the main cities. Visitors from across the world come to live one of the most beautiful and traditional celebrations in the world. The Andalucian Holy Week is internationally recognised thanks to its age, beauty and the historic value of its statues. To this the characteristics of each province are added when its time to take the images in procession. These and other attractions mean that hotels in the region are fully booked both with National and Foreign tourists, who want to see – in situ – this special way of living this religious fervour.

ALMERIA EN CORTO
'Almería en Corto' is the name of an international short film festival which is to be held in the Cervantes Theatre in Almería between May 27 and June 1. Organised by the provincial government, the festival intends to attract the attention of young filmmakers from across the world. There will be prizes of 9,000, 6,000 and 3,600€ in the competition together with an extraordinary prize of 12,000€ for the short with a Western theme and outstanding script, which in addition will then be filmed in the Almería landscape. Although the names of the judges have not been revealed, it has been said that they are all well known b y the public thanks to their professional careers in the world of film. In addition to the projection of the shorts selected, other activities are planned such as debates and conferences. It's still not been decided whether the Cecilio Paniagua photographic prize will be kept in this edition.