Culture of Spain
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The Spanish culture has roots in Celtiberian, Latin and Semitic influences, Roman Catholicism, Islam, 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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 10 p.m.; 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.
[edit] Art
[edit] Old Masters
- Alonzo Cano
- El Greco
- Francisco Goya
- Bartolomé Estéban Murillo
- Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida
- Diego Velázquez
- Ignacio Zuloaga
- Francisco Zurbarán
[edit] Modern art
- Ramon Casas i Carbó
- Eduardo Chillida
- Salvador Dalí
- Juan Gris
- Montserrat Gudiol
- José Gutiérrez Solana
- Joan Miró
- Isidre Nonell
- Pablo Picasso - Guernica
- Santiago Rusiñol
- Antonio Saura
- Josep María Subirachs
- Antoni Tàpies
- Remedios Varo
- Fernando Zobel
[edit] 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.
[edit] Dance
[edit] 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
- Tomatina
- Moros y Cristianos
- Hogueras
- Semana Santa
[edit] Food and drink
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.
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 Catalonia
- Fabada Asturiana
- Fideuà
- Gazpacho soup
- Jamón (curado)
- Paella (valenciana)
- Sangría
- Tortilla de patatas
[edit] 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. In addition, modern Spain has a number of performers in the fields of rock and roll, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop.
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 Rock bands such as El Canto Del Loco and Dikers. This new type of music has dominated the charts in Spain today, and many believe it will continue to do so for some time.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 overall Summer Olympics medal table Spain is 32nd with 133 medals.
In basketball, Spain won the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Japan.
