Overview

• At Saturday’s opening pregón, filmmaker Paula Ortiz celebrated the city while citing missing sidewalks, teachers and doctors, youth centers, and global wars and genocides, drawing applause and a widely shared video of the mayor’s discomfort.
• Natalia Chueca on Monday criticized the remarks as ill‑timed for a festive tribute to cinema, saying “you have to be elegant, and she wasn’t.”
• Ortiz replied that reproving an invited speaker was improper for a democratic mayor and a good host, adding that the speech was a collective text sent to the city two days in advance.
• Later Monday, the mayor and Ortiz spoke by phone and, according to a municipal statement, agreed to settle the misunderstanding and keep the festivities focused on Zaragoza’s film talent, with a personal meeting proposed.
• The PSOE demanded that Chueca issue a public apology and warned it will seek her formal reprobation in the next municipal plenary if she does not.