Spain, More than Bullfights For many people in the United States, Spain likely conjures up the image of bullfighters, and while that's definitely a part of its culture, there is a great deal more about Spain that deserves to be told. Many people use the word 'Spanish' to describe people who speak the language and may be from Spain, North America, Central America, or South America. You should know that 'Spanish' indicates that a person is from Spain. The terms 'Latin American' and 'Latino' means that the person is from North, Central, or South America. Now you will learn a bit about the Spanish culture, and hopefully find out that it's much more than bullfights.

History and the Basics Hispania Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal. Under Roman rule, Spain was named Hispania, which later became España. Spain’s climate is similar to North America’s, in that it is quite diverse from region to region. In the Northwest region known as Galicia, it can be cool and rainy, while the south of Spain, Andalucia, is quite warm. Madrid is Spain’s capital, and the national currency is now the Euro. Most countries in the European Union have adopted the Euro, so now, if you’re traveling in Europe you don’t have to change currency

Spanish Rule Rulers of Spain have been various and varied. There were the Celts and Tartassos, who ruled around 1200 B.C. Later, around 1100 B.C., the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians ruled Spain. Then came Roman and Gothic rule around 400 A.D. One of the most famous periods of Spanish history involves Arab rule, beginning near 700 A.D. The Arabs, also called the Moors, ruled Spain for roughly 700 years, until they--and the Jewish Spaniards as well--were expelled from the nation in 1492 by the Catholic Kings is, of course, a very important year in Spanish history, remembered also as the year Christopher Columbus, sent by the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand (also known as los Reyes Católicos), 'discovered' America, though he died still thinking he had landed in India. Many people like to call Columbus’s landing an encounter rather than a discovery, since he simply found a land that was already inhabited, and had been for a long time.

In Spain’s later history, a civil war was won in 1936 by Francisco Franco and nine other generals who organized a coup d' etat. The Popular Front party was ousted and Franco's Nationalist party, a conservative right-wing organization, was in. Franco developed a reputation for being a cruel and vindictive military leader, especially during the first period of his rule. Starting around the 1960s, Spain enjoyed economic growth and the regime gave back more social and political freedoms to Spain's citizens. Franco ruled as dictator until his death in The estadounidense writer Ernest Hemingway wrote against Franco's fascist regime and witnessed the carnage of the Spanish Civil War first-hand as a war correspondent. Many of his novels, including The Sun Also Rises, are set in Spain.

The artistic genius Pablo Picasso, a Spaniard, painted the bombing of a humble village by Nazi fighter planes; planes borrowed by Franco from his pal Adolf Hitler. This painting, done on a massive canvas, is the Cubist masterpiece Guernica, which was named for the site of the bombing. Soon after its creation it was loaned to the United States by the painter himself. He vowed it would only hang in a free country, but required that Guernica be returned to his homeland should Spain be liberated. New York’s Museum of Modern Art fulfilled this condition of the loan after Franco’s death and the fall of the fascist government, returning the monumental painting that had hung in New York for over thirty years to a politically free Spain.

Spanish Culture El Día de San Fermín This is an annual celebration in Pamplona, Spain, during which many people run with the bulls. People dressed in white clothing and wearing red handkerchiefs run ahead of or behind about a dozen bulls that have been released into the town, along a route that goes from an initial corral to the bullfighting stadium. You have probably seen the annually televised video of this run on news broadcasts, as it is always exciting and often deadly. Ernest Hemingway was a great aficionado of the famous running of the bulls, and Pablo Picasso frequently pictures bulls in his paintings. El día de San Fermin is on July 7 every year.

Flamenco You’ll also want to experience the dancing and guitar music of the famous Spanish art form of Flamenco if you ever find yourself in Spain. For the time being, though, track down a local organization or dance hall that has a Flamenco night--often there will be an hour or so of instruction (sometimes it's even free!) and then people dance the night away. Who says you need to go to Spain to experience a wonderful Spanish tradition?

What else do you know about Spanish culture? There are quite a few resources on the Internet for finding out about Spain. You might want to start with these sites: A Rainbow of Information Rainbow of Information This website has more essential cultural information about Spain, and it also has the option of translating the page into Spanish- see how much you can understand! Welcome to Si, Spain to Si, Spain This site will tell you all you could ever want to know about the history and culture of Spain. Tour Spain Spain Take a virtual tour through some of Spain's numerous cultural destinations. This page starts in Spanish- if you're up to it, try to navegate it all in español.

Beyond Flamenco One of the hottest bands in the Spanish speaking world is called Jarabe de palo, meaning something like 'syrup from the stick.' This is a reference to a saying used when children who are acting badly need a dose of 'medicine' and would receive a spanking. No tolerance for the unruly in Spain, apparently. This six-man band hails from Barcelona, Spain, one of the world’s most beautiful cities and Spain’s second biggest. For historical reasons many people who live in the city speak Catalán, which is as much like French as it is like Spanish. Take a peek at the city on the official tourism site. Note that you are greeted in Catalán by benvinguts, not bienvenido, which is the Spanish term for 'welcome.' Benvinguts a Barcelona a Barcelona Jarabe de palo’s music is an eclectic mix of rock and roll and traditional Spanish rhythms that is better listened to than described. Some compare them to U2 or REM. Although they have four best-selling albums out to date, the song they are most famous for was a single called La flaca meaning 'the thin girl.' Check them out at their website, but don’t forget to come back to finish your Spanish lesson: Meet the Band! the Band!