Won't shut down, won't empty trash, can't force quit, hangs forever

Hi all. Multiple problems here with MacBook Air. Can't even give you the specific OS because of the hanging problem. In brief the issues are:
1. It won't shut down unless by using the power button.
2. It won't empty the trash. Nor will it stop emptying the trash. All attempts to do so are met with either the warning that an application is in use (only the trash is in use) or it hangs
3. It is impossible to force quit. The usual keystrokes have no effect and in any case the third keystroke - usually esc- is shown under the Finder as an arrow comIng out of the upper left (open) corner of a semi-circle. Although this is a Spanish keyboard there is no corresponding key anywhere on the computer
4. Any attempts to open any other application while engaging in the fruitless attempts to empty the trash are met with the dreaded beach all of death.
As a consequence I can only use the MacBook Air by not emptying an ever growing amount of trash. This can't possibly be good.

David ...
Hopefully you can boot in Safe Mode so you can find out which OS X is installed. Troubleshooting advice can depend on that information.
Startup your Mac in Safe Mode
A Safe Mode boot takes much longer than a normal boot so be patient.
Then click the Apple menu  top left in the screen. From the drop down menu click: About This Mac
Note the version number.
Then click Restart from the Apple () menu.
Post back with the OS X version please.

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Won't shut down, won't empty trash, can't force quit, hangs forever

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