Culture of Spain
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Part of a series on the |
Culture of Spain |
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History |
People |
Languages |
Mythology and Folklore |
Cuisine |
Festivals |
Art |
Music |
Sport |
The culture of
History
The ancient peoples of Spain included
The
As of 2024[update], around 85% of modern
After the defeat of the Muslims during the Christian
Spain has the third highest number of
Literature
Literature of Spain |
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• Medieval literature |
• Renaissance |
• Miguel de Cervantes |
• Baroque |
• Enlightenment |
• Romanticism
|
• Realism |
• Modernismo |
• Generation of '98 |
• Novecentismo |
• Generation of '27 |
• Literature subsequent to the Civil War |
The term "Spanish literature" refers to literature written in the Spanish language, including literature composed by Spanish and Latin American writers. It may include Spanish poetry, prose, and novels.
Spanish literature is the name given to the literary works written in Spain throughout time, and those by Spanish authors worldwide. Due to historic, geographic, and generational diversity, Spanish literature has a great number of influences and is very diverse. Some major movements can be identified within it.[
Highlights include the
La Celestina is a book published anonymously by Fernando de Rojas in 1499. This book is considered to be one of the greatest in Spanish literature, and traditionally marks the end of medieval literature and the beginning of the literary renaissance in Spain.
Besides its importance in the Spanish literature of the Golden Centuries, Lazarillo de Tormes is credited with founding a literary genre, the picaresque novel, so called from Spanish pícaro, meaning "rogue" or "rascal". In these novels, the adventures of the pícaro expose injustice while simultaneously amusing the reader.
Published by Miguel de Cervantes in two volumes a decade apart, Don Quixote is the most influential work of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age and perhaps the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, it regularly appears at or near the top of lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published.
Painting and sculpture
Spain's greatest painters during the Spanish Golden Age period included El Greco, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Diego Velázquez, and Francisco Goya, who became world-renowned artists between the period of the 17th century to 19th century also in early parts of the 20th century. However, Spain's best known artist since the 20th century has been Pablo Picasso, who is known for his abstract sculptures, drawings, graphics, and ceramics in addition to his paintings. Other leading artists include Salvador Dalí, Juan Gris, Joan Miró, and Antoni Tàpies.
Architecture
During the Prehistoric period, the megalithic Iberian and Celtic architectures developed. Through the Roman period, both urban development (ex. the
Later, several currents appear:
Cinema
In recent years,[
Non-directors have obtained less international notability. Only the cinematographer Néstor Almendros, the actress Penélope Cruz and the actors Fernando Rey, Antonio Banderas, Javier Bardem and Fernando Fernán Gómez have obtained some recognition outside of Spain. Mexican actor Gael García Bernal has also recently received international attention in films by Spanish directors.
Today, only 10 to 20% of box office receipts in Spain are generated by domestic films, a situation that repeats itself in many nations of Europe and the Americas. The Spanish government has therefore implemented various measures aimed at supporting local film production and movie theaters, which include the assurance of funding from the main national television stations. The trend is being reversed with the recent screening of mega productions such as the €30 million film Alatriste (starring Viggo Mortensen), the Academy Award-winning Spanish/Mexican film Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), Volver (starring Penélope Cruz), and Los Borgia (€10 million), all of them hit blockbusters in Spain.
Another aspect of Spanish cinema mostly unknown to the general public is the appearance of English-language Spanish films such as The Machinist (starring Christian Bale), The Others (starring Nicole Kidman), Basic Instinct 2 (starring Sharon Stone), and Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts (starring Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman). All of these films were produced by Spanish firms.
Year | Total number of spectators (millions) | Spectators of Spanish cinema (millions) | Percentage[clarification needed] | Film | Spectators (millions) | Percentage over the total of Spanish cinema |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | 96.1 | 10.4 | 10.8% | Two Much (Fernando Trueba) |
2.1 | 20.2% |
1997 | 107.1 | 13.9 | 14.9% | Airbag (Juanma Bajo Ulloa) |
2.1 | 14.1% |
1998 | 119.8 | 14.1 | 13.3% | Torrente, the stupid arm of the law )(Santiago Segura |
3 | 21.3% |
1999 | 131.3 | 18.1 | 16% | All About My Mother )(Pedro Almodóvar |
2.5 | 13.8% |
2000 | 135.3 | 13.4 | 11% | Commonwealth (Álex de la Iglesia) |
1.6 | 11.9% |
2001 | 146.8 | 26.2 | 17.9% | The Others (Alejandro Amenábar) |
6.2 | 23.8% |
2002 | 140.7 | 19.0 | 13.5% | Emilio Martínez Lázaro ) |
2.7 | 14.3% |
2003 | 137.5 | 21.7 | 15.8% | Mortadelo & Filemón: The Big Adventure )(Javier Fesser |
5.0 | 22.9% |
2004 | 143.9 | 19.3 | 13.4% | The Sea Inside )(Alejandro Amenábar |
4.0 | 20.7% |
2005 | 126.0 | 21.0 | 16.7% | Torrente 3: The Protector )(Santiago Segura |
3.6 | 16.9% |
2006 (provisional) | 67.8 | 6.3 | 9.3% | Volver (Pedro Almodóvar) |
1.8 | 28.6% |
Languages
Spain is a multilingual country with a relatively complex sociolinguistic situation.
Another Romance language, Catalan is a
Aranese, a standardized form of the Pyrenean
Considered to be a
Regarding the Spanish autonomous cities in North Africa, the largely rural variety of vernacular
Religion
About 56% of Spaniards identify as belonging to the
Holidays
An important Spanish holiday is "
One of the best-known Spanish celebrations is the "
Sports
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Cuisine
A significant portion of
The essential ingredient for real Spanish cooking is
Daily meals eaten by Spaniards in many areas of the country are still very often made traditionally by hand, from fresh ingredients bought daily from the local market. This practice is more common in the rural areas and less common in the large urban areas like Barcelona or Madrid, where supermarkets are beginning to displace the open air markets. However, even in Madrid food can be bought from the local shops; bread from the "panadería" and meat from the "carnicería".
One popular custom when going out is to be served tapas with a drink, including sherry, wine and beer. In some areas, such as Almería, Granada or Jaén in Andalusia, and Madrid, León, Salamanca or Lugo tapas are given for free with a drink and have become very well known for that reason. Almost every bar serves something edible when a drink is ordered, without charge. However many bars exist primarily to serve a purchased "tapa".
Another traditional favorite is the churro with a mug of thick hot chocolate to dip churros in. "Churrerías," or stores that serve churros, are quite common. The Chocolatería San Ginés in Madrid is especially famous as a place to stop and have some chocolate with churros, often late into the night (even dawn), after being out on the town. Often traditional Spanish singers and musicians will entertain the guests. [1]
As is true in many countries, the cuisines of Spain differ widely from one region to another, even though they all share certain common characteristics, which include:
- The use of olive oil as a cooking ingredient in items such as fritters. It is also used raw.
- The use of sofrito to start the preparation of many dishes.
- The use of onionsas major ingredients.
- The custom of drinking wine during meals.
- Serving bread with the vast majority of meals.
- Consumption of salad, especially in the summer.
- The consumption of a piece of fruit or a dairy product as tarts and cakeare typically reserved for special occasions.
Education
The Spanish educational system follows a highly decentralized model.
As of 2020, the overarching educative legislation is regulated by the Ley orgánica para la mejora de la calidad educativa (LOMCE), an organic law.
Relative to the average in European countries, Spain has a low share of students in public centres in both primary (69% of students in public centres) and secondary education (68%).[17] This is largely due to the salient role of the so-called "educación concertada", which allows for privately owned centres funded by public money.[17]
Obligatory education
Age | Name | |
---|---|---|
Primary Education | 5-6 | 1st grade |
6-7 | 2nd Grade | |
8-9 | 3rd Grade | |
9-10 | 4th Grade | |
10-11 | 5th Grade | |
11-12 | 6th Grade | |
Secondary School | ||
12-13 | 1º ESO | |
13-14 | 2º ESO | |
14-15 | 3º ESO | |
15-16 | 4º ESO |
Optional education: Bachillerato
Bachillerato is usually taken if people aspire to go to college.
- Common Subjects are in red
- Optional Subjects are in pink
- Modality Subjects are in blue
- Technology Via are in yellow
- Natural Sciences Via are in green
- Humanities Via are in olive
- Social Sciences Via are in brown
- Arts Via are in beige
Natural Sciences/Technology | Humanities and Social Sciences | Arts |
---|---|---|
Physics | History/Geography | |
Chemistry | Economy | Technical drawing |
Biology | Maths
|
Painting |
Maths
|
Latin | Sculpture |
Technology | Ancient Greek | Audiovisual |
Technical drawing | Art History
| |
2nd Foreign Language French, German, Italian | ||
Communication and Information Technologies
| ||
Psychology | ||
Spanish Language
| ||
Philosophy | ||
First Foreign Language
| ||
Physical Education only the first year
| ||
Autonomical Languages (only in the autonomies where is spoken) Catalan, Valencian, Basque, Galician | ||
Religion only the first year
|
Cultural diplomacy
The cultural diplomacy of Spain has set
Similarly to other European countries, Spain has used the model of cultural institute (in the case of Spain the Instituto Cervantes) as leading tool for cultural diplomacy, with common aims such as the dissemination of the country brand, cultural exchange and cooperation, and linguistic and educational promotion.[21]
Nationalisms and regionalisms
A strong sense of national identity exists in many autonomous communities. These communities—even those that least identify themselves as Spanish—have contributed greatly to many aspects of mainstream Spanish culture.
Most notably, the Basque Country and Catalonia have widespread nationalist sentiment. Many Basque and Catalan nationalists demand statehood for their respective territories. 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 peacefully.
There are also several communities where there is a mild sense of
There is some traction in the province of León pushing to separate from Castile and León, possibly together with the provinces of Zamora and Salamanca.
Spain has a long history of tension between centralism and
Historical Spanish clothing
-
Spanish dress, 18th century, silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[22]
-
Spanish dress, 1802, silk, metal. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[23]
-
La Señorita, 1878, by John Bagnold Burgess, Spain.
See also
- List of cultural icons of Spain
- Culture
- Outline of Spain
- Iberians
- History of Spain
- Music of Spain
References
- ISBN 9788496840140.
- ISBN 9788497391399.
- ^ A comparison can be drawn with the North African nations, who also lived under the Roman Empire before Muslim rule. However, there is scarce reminder of the Roman presence in North Africa as the predominant culture is Arabic nowadays.
- ISBN 9788497349529.
- ISBN 9681855426.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "World Heritage List". UNESCO. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
- ^ Revenga Sánchez, Miguel (2005). "Notas sobre oficialidad lingüística y cultura constitucional". Revista de Llengua i Dret (43): 129–142.
- ^ Melero, Maite; Badia, Toni; Moreno, Asunción (2012). "The Spanish language in the digital age" (PDF). White Paper Series. Springer: 47.
- ^ Melero, Badia & Moreno 2012, pp. 47–48.
- ^ ISBN 9789462091252.
- ^ "Ethnologue report for Spain". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
- ISSN 1577-6921.
- ^ Fernández García, Alicia. "Repensar las fronteras lingüísticas del territorio español: Melila, entre mosaico sociológico y paradigma lingüístico" (PDF). ELUA. Estudios de Lingüística Universidad de Alicante. 29. Universidad de Alicante: 105.
- ^ "Barómetro de Mayo 2022" (PDF) (in Spanish). May 2022.
- ^ "Holy Week in Seville - a 450-year-old tradition still strong today". Deustche Welle. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-8188-304-6.
- ^ eldiario.es.
- ^ Rodríguez Morató & Martín Zamorano 2018, p. 573.
- S2CID 149958989
- ^ Rodríguez Morató & Martín Zamorano 2018, p. 569.
- Real Instituto Elcano. pp. 3–4. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Dress". Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
- ^ "Dress". Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
External links
- Official Spanish Culture Website 162,000 pages of information.
- Articles about Spanish Culture
- News about Spanish Culture