Ramiro Villapadierna
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Ramiro Villapadierna (Madrid, Spain, 1964) is the Berlin based Central Europe Bureau Head for the Spanish national daily ABC and long time flying Eastern Europe and Balkan Correspondent.
[edit] Overview
Born in Madrid, 1964. University Degree in Communication Arts (Universidad Complutense) Working languages: Spanish, French, English, German, Italian, Serbo-Croatian and Czech.
In 1990, at the time of the collapse of communist regimes and the beginning of democratic transition, he was assigned to open the Eastern Europe ABC office. Based in Prague, Vienna and since 2002 in Berlin, as well as eventually residing all over the Balkans, he's been one of the more long-standing european reporters travelling the eastern regions where he consistently accounts among the most knowledgeable.
He's continously reported on the political, social and economic transition in Centre and East Europe, including historical processes like the spliting of Czechoslovakia and the collapse of Yugoslavia, the subsequent wars in the Balkans (where he was shot at, wounded, arrested and robbed at different times). As for a change he was exceptionally assigned to touring the USA, year 2000, for a series on the american society, between the Clintons and Bushs era.
Over 4,000 reports, articles and analyses on the Central Europe and the Balkan peoples, interviewing dozens of chiefs of State and Government, ministers, intellectuals and artists, through more than 300,000 km toured in the region.
Formerly he was a culture reporter and music and jazz commentator with ABC (where he was staff writer since 1986) as well as other outlets.
Articles published by the local Press in the Czechlands, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland. Travel writings and special country reports published in Spanish magazines and Encyclopediae.
Requested correspondances and comments for the BBC, CNN, Deutsche Welle, Radio France International, Radio Nederland, Radio Nacional de España.
Lectures on Europe and the Balkans at the end of Communism, Nationalism, War reporting and confict resolution, at events and meetings like the International Balkan Correspondent Congress; Prague NATO Atlantic Club; International Summer University - Menéndez Pelayo; Foro Formentor; Fondazione Giorgio Cini de Venecia; Universidad de Alicante; Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Academia de la Guardia Civil and Escuela de Guerra. Commenting guest to special TV broadcasts on the region.
At Diván Este-Oeste he keeps one of the very few spanish language blogs on old Mitteleuropa issues as well as non-typical stories from Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechlands, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.
A selection of articles regularly appear in the internet at Visiones desde Berlín He's written or taken part on several collective books and projects on nationalism, Central Europe, and Journalism in conflict areas, as well as a literary family saga La Grande Vie: Lances y pasión de los Villapadierna for The Ritz Villa Padierna.
