Spain is a largely mountainous country in the southwest of Europe, consisting of various geographically diverse regions and known for its culturally diverse heritage, having been influenced by many nations and peoples throughout its history.
The 'Spanish culture' has roots in
Celtiberian,
Latin,
Semitic ,
Roman Catholicism, and an ongoing tension between the centralized state (dominated in recent centuries by
Castile) and numerous regions and minority peoples. In addition, the history of the nation and its Mediterranean and Atlantic environment have played strong roles in shaping its culture.
Regionalism
A strong sense of
regional identity exists in many regions of Spain. These regions or nationalities—even those that least identify themselves as Spanish—have contributed greatly to many aspects of mainstream Spanish culture.
Most notably, the
Basque Country,
Catalonia and
Galicia have widespread
nationalist sentiment. Many
Basque and
Catalan nationalists back
statehood for their respective regions. Basque aspirations to statehood have been a cause of violence (notably by
ETA), although most Basque nationalists (like virtually all Catalan nationalists) currently seek to fulfill their aspirations by peaceful means.
There are also several communities where, despite widespread acceptance of the community's inclusion in Spain, there is a great sense of regional identity:
Andalusia,
Asturias,
Navarre and
Valencia each have their own version of nationalism, but generally without aspirations to independent statehood and generally with a smaller percentage of nationalists than in the Basque Country and Catalonia.
There are other regions which, despite a broad Spanish nationalist feeling, have strong regional identities:
Cantabria,
Rioja,
Aragon,
Balearic Islands and
Extremadura.
There are also the cases of
Madrid, an administrative autonomous community inside the two Castilles; the two north African autonomous cities of
Ceuta and
Melilla, and the autonomous community of
Murcia.
Castile was the core kingdom under which Spain eventually unified after centuries of evolution and incorporations.
Spain has a long history of tension between centralism and regionalism. The current organization of the state into
autonomous communities (similar to a federal organization) under the
Spanish Constitution of 1978 is intended as a way to incorporate these communities into the state.
Languages
Main articles: Languages of Spain
While nearly everyone in Spain can speak
Spanish (which is almost universally known in Spain as ''castellano'' — "Castilian" — rather than ''español'' — "Spanish") other languages figure prominently in many regions:
Basque (''Euskara'') in the Basque Country and Navarre;
Catalan in Catalonia,
Valencian in Valencia, and
Galician in Galicia. Spanish is official throughout the country; the rest of these have co-official status in their respective regions and all are major enough that there are numerous daily newspapers in these languages and (especially for Catalan and Basque) a significant book publishing industry. Many citizens in these regions consider their regional language as their primary language and Spanish as secondary; these languages cover broad enough regions to have multiple distinct dialects. (Spanish itself also has distinct dialects around the country, with the Andaluz dialect being closer to the Spanish of the Americas, which it heavily influenced.)
In addition, there is strong and growing support for other regional languages, some of them in danger of extinction. These include
Asturian in Asturias,
Aragonese in
Aragon, and
Aranese, a dialect of
Gascon spoken only in the tiny
Val d'Aran, but enough of a live language to be used in the
public schools there.
With the exception of Basque, which appears to be a
language isolate, all of these are
Romance languages.
Climate and geography
Spain's natural surroundings have helped shape the culture of the nation. The success of the Basques in maintaining a separate culture over a period of millennia has doubtless been aided by the mountainous geography of their region. Several separate parts of Spain have strong maritime traditions, including inland ports on rivers:
Seville, for example, was a major port until the
Guadalquivir silted up. Since the availability of mass air transport, Spain's
Mediterranean beaches, especially those along the
Costa del Sol, have drawn millions of tourists, providing considerable revenue (and enormous contact with the outside world) to a long-depressed and isolated area of the country.
Except for the subtropical
Canary Islands, Spain can be divided into areas experiencing, respectively, a Mediterranean climate; a climate dominated by the
Atlantic Ocean; and (in the inner areas) a rather extreme climate with hotter summers and colder winters than nearer the coasts. The generally warm and relatively dry summers have led to a culture in which a lot of life is lived outdoors, whether on a
patio in the courtyard of a building or on a public plaza. In Madrid, many of the most popular nightclubs move for several months in the summer to an outdoor ''terraza'' much farther from the city centre than their indoor winter location, continuing in a way the older tradition of the ''
verbena (fair)''. In the Mediterranean areas (and in the Canary Islands), outdoor meals can be a nearly year-round phenomenon.
Contemporary culture
As recently as the mid-20th-century, much of Spain (especially outside of the major cities) remained quite distinct from the rest of Europe. In 1954, V.S. Pritchett could still write of small Spanish towns, "The inn, if there is one, will not be a hotel, nor even a ''fonda'' — the Arab word — but perhaps a ''posada'': a place one can ride into with a mule or a donkey, where one can stable an animal and lie down oneself on a sack of straw, the other side of the stall." [Pritchett, 1954 p. 46-47]
The idea of Spain as romantically backward, a country of landed aristocrats, illiterate peasants, colourful gypsies and bullfighters, and intense medieval-style religiosity, in great contrast to surrounding modern, industrialised, urbanised European countries was summed up in the saying "Africa begins in the Pyrenees", i.e. Spain was seen as more like North Africa than modern Europe. However, especially since the
1975 death of
Francisco Franco, Spain has become increasingly modern, prosperous and European; Pritchett's rustic ''posada'' would be unimaginable today.
Franco's death ended a decades-long regime of censorship, leading to an explosive growth in a wide range of cultural areas. The subsequent recognition of strong
cultural autonomy for the various Autonomous Communities reinvigorated many aspects of local culture that had been almost entirely repressed since the
Spanish Civil War. Spain joined the
European Union in 1986.
Spanish pop culture
★
La movida: late 1970s and early 1980s youth subculture (with affinities to
punk and
new wave) with a focal point in Madrid.
★ El
botellón. The young people gather in the thousands just for the sake of drinking.
Dress Style
Historically, various regions of Spain had quite distinct regional dress. Today, most people in Spain dress in a manner comparable to most other contemporary Europeans, although some regional variations persist. Dress in Extremadura and in the smaller cities of Castile remains relatively austere, even on festive occasions, while Andaluz dress on festive occasions is elaborate and ostentatious.
Barcelona is one of the most stylish cities in Europe, though more restrained and with a more determinedly timeless style than
Paris or
Milan.
Customs
While the ''
siesta''—an hour-long mid-afternoon break from work—is generally in decline, the typical rhythm of the day in Spain is now similar to the European norm. Many shops and some museums (though relatively few other businesses) still split their hours into two distinct periods of opening with a two or three hour break in the middle; a ''paseo'' (stroll) in the early evening remains a common custom in many smaller cities and to some extent even in the larger ones.
The dinner hour is the latest in Europe, typically about 9 p.m. (in the east) or 10 p.m. (in the west); night-life begins accordingly late, with many dance clubs (even in relatively small cities) opening at midnight and staying open until dawn; during summer in Madrid, there is nothing unusual about a live musical performance being scheduled for one or two o'clock in the morning. This rhythm has developed in accordance with the hours of the sun which rises and sets one or two hours later than in the rest of Europe. The routine perhaps lessens outdoor human activity in the period of the day when temperatures are hottest.
Architecture
Main articles: Spanish architecture
Because many of its historical buildings have remained intact today, several architectural structures in Spain, and even portions of cities, have been designated
World Heritage sites. ''These are listed at
List of World Heritage Sites in Europe: Spain.''
Spain was part of the
Roman Empire and many areas of Spain retain significant Roman architectural remnants. The
Roman aqueduct at
Segovia is still in use
as of 2004;
Mérida, now the Extremaduran capital but once the capital of the Roman province of
Lusitania, retains over 5 miles of its Roman aqueduct, Roman bridge over the River
Guadiana, an arch of
Trajan, and significant remnants of a Roman forum,
amphitheatre, and a temple popularly accounted to have been dedicated to
Diana (goddess). Another Roman bridge crosses the
Tagus River at
Alcántara. Lesser Roman ruins can be found in the heart of Barcelona.
Spain is home to several fine examples of
medieval architecture; outside of the areas that were under
Muslim control, these are primarily in the
Romanesque and
Gothic styles. Spain is also home to several examples of
Cathedral architecture. The Drassanes in Barcelona, originally a facility for building ships and now a maritime museum, is the largest and most complete medieval secular structure in the world.
The architecture in southern Spain reflects its
Moorish history. The
Alhambra is probably the most famous example, showing a mixture of
Islamic architecture and European influences. Significant Moorish buildings survive as far north as
Zaragoza. Throughout Spain, many former
mosque and
synagogue buildings survive as Christian churches or, occasionally, converted to other uses. Good examples of this are the Church of Corpus Christi in
Segovia and the Church of Santa María la Blanca in
Toledo, both former synagogues, and the
Mezquita (Spanish for "mosque"), a 10th century mosque in
Córdoba, reconsecrated in
1236 as a Christian Church. The influence of Moorish architecture did not end with the ''
reconquista'': there were many prominent ''
mudéjar'' architects, Muslims living and working in Christian Spain.
When the city of Barcelona was allowed to expand beyond its historic limits in the late 19th century (a suspicious Spanish government had long kept a ring of undeveloped land around the city to make it easy for the military to deploy against any unrest), the resulting ''Eixample'' ("extension"), larger than the old city, became the site of a burst of architectural energy. Most famous among the architects represented there is
Antoni Gaudí, whose works in Barcelona and elsewhere in Catalonia, mixing traditional architectural styles with the new, were a precursor to
modern architecture. Perhaps the most famous example of his work is the (
as of 2004) still-unfinished La
Sagrada Família, the largest building in the ''Eixample''.
Other notable Catalan architects of that period include
Lluís Domènech i Montaner and
Josep Puig i Cadafalch. One block on the Passeig de Gràcia contains buildings by each of the three; the clashing styles led to the nickname ''"manzana de la discordia"'', literally the "block of discord", but also a pun: ''"manzana"'' can also mean "apple", hence
"apple of discord".
Alejandro de la Sota was one of the early proponents of
modern architecture in Spain; the first steel framed building in Madrid is his
1961 Maravillas College Gymnasium.
Santiago Calatrava began to make his name from the
1980s and works internationally. His work is typified by a great understanding of
engineering as well as nature. A notable building of his is the
City of Arts & Sciences in Valencia.
Enric Miralles possessed a highly esoteric style which has been compared to fellow Catalan Gaudí, and was beginning to be successful internationally, but died in
2000, at only 45 years old. His largest work, the
Scottish Parliament Building was completed posthumously. The
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao may be the most famous example of contemporary architecture in Spain, although the architect,
Frank Gehry, is a citizen of
United States and of Canadian decent.
The dry weather of Spain resulted in the importance of water
fountains in Spanish urban design. In addition,
ceramics figure prominently in architecture throughout Spain, especially in the
tile roofs (though slate was traditional near the Atlantic coast) and the use of decorative tiles known as ''
azulejos''.
Dance
★
Contradanza
★
Flamenco
★
Pasodoble
★
Sardana
★
Jota
Festivals
Many of the traditional festivals in Spain revolve around
Catholic saints and historical events.
★
Fallas
★
Bonfires of Saint John
★
El Rocío
★
Carnival
★
Carnival of Cádiz
★
San Fermín
★
Mystery Play of Elx
★
Romeria
★
Tomatina
★
Moros y Cristianos
★
Hogueras
★
Semana Santa
Food and drink
Main articles: Spanish cuisine
Spanish
cuisine is made of very different kinds of dishes due to the differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by the variety of seafood available from the waters that surround the country. Some foods typically associated with Spain include ''arroz con leche'', (rice with milk), which is served as a dessert, and ''paella'', which is made with yellow rice typically garnished with a variety of meats or seafood.
As Spain has had a history with many different cultural influences, the richness and variety of its cuisine is overwhelming, but all these ingredients have made up a unique cuisine with thousands of recipes and flavours. Much influence on Spanish cuisine has come from the
Jewish and
Moorish traditions. The Moors were a strong influence in Spain for many centuries and their food is still eaten in Spain today.
★
Chorizo
★
Cocido
★
Cuisine of Cantabria
★
Fabada Asturiana
★
Fideuà
★
Gazpacho (soup)
★
Jamón (curado)
★
Paella (valenciana)
★
Sangría
★
Tortilla de patatas
Music
Spain's musical output includes a long history of innovation in
Western and
Andalusian classical music, as well as a domestic
popular music industry, and diverse styles of
folk music. Modern Spain has a number of performers in the fields of
rock and roll,
heavy metal,
punk rock and
hip hop,
electronic music is also common between spaniards and djs such as
dj marta or
alex trackone are very well known in the spanish parties.
The best-known variety of Spanish folk music is probably
flamenco, a diverse genre created by Andalusian
Roma. Flamenco has been known since at least the
1770s, and has been through several cycles of dwindling popularity and rebirth. The style has produced many of the most famous Spanish musicians, including singer
Camarón de la Isla and guitarist
Carlos Montoya.
Outside of flamenco, regional Spanish folk music includes the distinct Basque
trikitixa and
accordion music, Galician and Asturian
gaita (
bagpipe) and Aragonese
jota. Though some folk traditions have died out or are moribund, some retain great popularity and have been modernized and adapted to new instruments, styles and formats. These include the popular
Celtic music of Galicia, the
singer-songwriter tradition of
nova canço and
New Flamenco.
The first distinctly modern popular music of Spain began to appear in about
1959. Soon,
Ye-Yé dominated the Spanish charts, followed by the import of American and British rock, French singers and other pop stars.
Spanish music today mainly consists of pop bands such as
El Canto Del Loco and
Amaral. This new type of music has dominated the charts in Spain today, and many believe it will continue to do so for some time.
Film
:''Main article:
Cinema of Spain''
While mid-century Spanish directors such as
Luis Buñuel worked mainly in exile, film has prospered in Spain since the reestablishment of constitutionalism. Among the leading late 20th- and early 21st-century Spanish film directors are:
★ '
Pedro Almodóvar', Double
Oscar Winner;
1999 "
Foreign language film" (
Todo sobre mi madre) and
2002 "
Original Screenplay" (
Hable con ella)
★ '
Alejandro Amenábar',
2004 Oscar winner for "Foreign language film" (
Mar Adentro).
★ '
Pablo Berger'
★ '
Manuel Martin Cuenca'
★ '
Mateo Gil', who works with 'Amenábar' on most of his films.
★ '
Álex de la Iglesia'
★ '
Julio Medem', director of
Lucía y el sexo
★ '
Ventura Pons', directs mainly in
Catalan
★ '
Carlos Saura', whose five decades as a director include numerous films centered on dance (especially
flamenco, as well as the official film of the
1992 Olympics in
Barcelona.
Spain also has some rather notable "
B movie" directors, such as:
★ '
Santiago Segura', director of
the Torrente Trilogy.
Sport
:''Main article:
Sports in Spain''
Sport in Spain is dominated by '
Fútbol', with
La Liga, the country's professional league, drawing large attendances;
Real Madrid and
FC Barcelona are traditionally the most successful teams. The
national team, however, underperforms consistently at the
World Cup, although it did win the
1964 European Football Championship. Currently Spain is captained by
Raúl González, who is very much the Golden Boy of Spanish football – he also is the top scorer for the national team and captain of his club, Real Madrid. Spain hosted the
1982 FIFA World Cup.
In '
Tennis', Spain won the 2005
Davis Cup champions, with teenager
Rafael Nadal leading the line. '
Cycle racing' is a major sport, hosting the 3rd biggest stage race in
UCI ProTour, the
Vuelta a España.
Navarran Miguel Indurain is one of only five Spanish men to win the famous
Tour de France. Recently,
F1 Champion Fernando Alonso has spurred a rise in
Formula One popularity in Spain.
'
Bullfighting' is an icon for Spain, and despite slight recent declines in attendance it is still alive and well across the country, though is threatened by Animal Rights organizations. Another traditional Spanish sport is '
Pelota', alongside its brother sport
Jai Alai. Spain has also achieved degrees of success in '
middle distance' running, '
Golf', '
Basketball' and '
Handball', amongst others.
Jai-alai is also a very popular sport which came to Spain via the moors.
At the '
2004 Summer Olympics' in
Athens,
Spain's athletes won 19 medals (3 Gold, 11 Silver and 5 Bronze), finishing 20th in the medal table. In the
all-time Olympics medal table Spain is 34th with 97 medals.
In basketball, Spain won the gold medal at the
2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan.
See also
★
List of Spain-related topics
★
Hispanic culture
★
Catalan Traditions
★
Spanish gardens
★
Toledo steelmaking
★
Sport in Spain
References
Pritchett, V.S., ''The Spanish Temper'' (1954). Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
External links
★
Spanish language and culture
★ http://www.idealspain.com/Pages/Information/Culture.htm
★
Spanish Festivals - What's on When? (from About.com)
★
Outstanding Festivals in Spain and Their Schedules
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