1. By Heidi Delgado & D’eona Phillips

3.  The capital of Spain is Madrid  Population (National Institute of Statistics (INE), January 1, 2011): 47,190,493.  Climate: Temperate. Summers are hot in the interior and more moderate and cloudy along the coast; winters are cold in interior and partly cloudy and cool along the coast.  Languages: Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan- Valencian 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%.

5.  Spain’s economy which is varied capitalist, is the 12th largest economy in the world.  In conditions of per capita income, Spain is about at balance with the strong economies of Germany and France.  Between 1994 and 2008, the Spanish economy grew progressively. However, Spain was very much affected by the global financial crisis of 2007. The crisis worsen the nation’s GDP, and the economy entered recession through the third quarter of 2008.  In fact, Spain’s GDP growth during 2009 dropped to 1.2%, which was below the minimum 2% growth enjoyed by the nation for a decade before the crisis.

6.  About 5 million hectares were dedicated to stable crops: orchards, olive groves, and vineyards. Another 5 million left empty each year because of poor rainfall.  Permanent meadows and pastureland took up 13.9 million hectares.  Forests and scrub woodland accounted for 11.9 million hectares, and the balance was wasteland or was taken up by populated and industrial areas.  However, the census showed that 61.8 percent of Spain's farms had fewer. These farms accounted for 5.2 percent of the country's farmland than 5 hectares of land.

7.  Motor vehicles, medicines, machinery, fuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are exported from Spain to mostly France and Germany.

8.  Majority is Catholic  There are also some Jews who have settled in Madrid, Barcelona, Cordoba and Sevilla. There are some Anglicans in Spain.

9. o Besides the popular music all over the world there are Spanish pop and rock acts and then there is lighter flamenco, regularly mixed with pop sounds or somewhat pop with a flamenco inspiration (like Chambao, Melendi, Manuel Carrasco). o Dance music is normally more played in Spain like what used to be called techno dance, which is mostly electronic music. o Rock andaluz was an old label used in the 70's for a mix of symphonic rock mixed with flamenco. Endless songs with stylish arrangements But that was out of fashion in the early 80's, no one uses that expression anymore for their music. It's something of the past that makes you think of the 70's, like glam rock.

10.  National Spanish Holidays 2012  January 1 - New Year's Day  January 6 - Epiphany  April 6 - Easter  May 1 - Labor Day  August 15 - Asunción de la Virgen  October 12 - Spanish National Holiday  November 1 - All Saints Day  December 6 - Constitution Day  December 8 - Inmaculada Concepción  December 25 - Christmas

11.  Local Holidays 2012  Alicante: March 19; April 9 & 19 ; June 25; October 9  Barcelona: April 9; May 28; September 11 & 24; December 26  Cádiz: January 2; February 20 & 28; March 19; April 5  Granada: January 2; February 28; April 5; June 7; September 15  Madrid: March 19; April 5; May 2 & 15; November 9  Málaga: January 2; February 28; April 5; August 20; September 8  Marbella: January 2; February 28; April 5; June 11; October 19  Pamplona: March 19; April 5 & 9; November 29; December 3  Salamanca: March 19; April 5 & 23; June 12; September 8  Sevilla: January 2; February 28; April 5; May 30; June 7  Tenerife: February 2; April 5; May 3 & 30; July 10  Valencia: March 19; April 5 & 9 & 16; October 9

12.  Distinct ethnic groups within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians.

13. Flag of Spain Red and yellow are traditional Spanish colors and are acquire from the coat of arms of the original Spanish kingdoms. There is no special meaning of the colors. The most important part of the flag is represented by the Coat of Arms. The crown stands for the Constitutional monarchy and the supporters symbolize the geographic position of Spain: the Pillars of Hercules represent Gibraltar and Ceuta on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. They display a motto in Latin, "PLUS ULTRA," meaning "More Beyond". Sitting on top of the pillars are two crowns: one is supposed to be the Imperial crown while the other is the Royal crown. The four quadrants indicate the four kingdoms which came together to form a unified Spain in the late 1400’s. Castile represented by a castle, León represented by a lion, Aragon represented by vertical red and yellow stripes, and Navarre represented by linked chains. There is also the kingdom of Granada represented by a pomegranate fruit at the bottom and an impaled fleur de lys which represents the ruling House of Borbón.

14.  CARLOS V (1500 - 1558) he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope, In September 1517 he landed in Spain to begin his rule as King. He had spent almost 38 years trying to unify Europe but he was not as successful as he would have liked to have been. In 1530Carlos is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII.