Hollywood came to a Spanish town this weekend when Gwyneth Paltrow was honoured with the keys of Talavera de la Reina, where she stayed on a student exchange as a teenager.
At a lively ceremony in the town's Palenque theatre, Mayor Rivas welcomed the Shakespeare In Love Oscar winner as a "daughter" of Talavera, presenting her with the ceremonial keys and rod, and a parchment and ceramic plaque to mark the occasion.
Delighting the audience with her excellent Spanish, Gwyneth expressed her gratitude for the honour and made a fond reference to her student exchange visit. Members of the Lazaro family, who were her hosts on that trip, were among the audience listening as Gwyneth admitted that, though a lot of things have changed in her life, "I've still got family here, it's one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me."
Gwyneth's beau, Coldplay front man Chris Martin, accompanied his famous girlfriend to the Saturday ceremony. He'd made it down to Talavera after playing Madrid Thursday and Barcelona on Friday night.
The singer arrived at the theatre shortly before Gwyneth, who was accompanied by the mayor in his car, and watched the ceremony from a seat in the second row.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
