On December 6th, 1978, Spain went to the polls to vote in a referendum to decide about the Spanish Constitution. 88 % of votes were in favour at the time. In June 1977, the first free elections since 1936 had been celebrated in Spain. The Spanish Constitution has been reformed once to extend to citizens of the European Union the right to active and passive suffrage (both, voting rights and eligibility as candidates) in municipal elections. The government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (PSOE) has announced its intention to undertake a major reform of the constitution during its tenure. Not everyone in Spain is agreeing as to how to undertake such a needed reform.

As fate would have it, Jordi Solé Tura, one of the seven fathers of the Spanish Constitution died earlier last week aged 79.

December 6th is a national holiday in Spain, as is December 8th (Día de la Inmaculada Concepción de María). Fittingly, Spain celebrates what is known as a puente and makes for a four-day weekend. Next year will be even better, as December 6th, 2010, will fall on a Monday. Most shops will be closed today – and tomorrow – because of the puente, at least here in Mallorca.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 30th, 2009. The time was 17:50:23.