Part one: Culture

Country: Spain

1.     Popular sports in Spain include: soccer, basketball, tennis, cycling, handball, motorcycling, Formula One, sailing, golf, skiing, and the controversial sport, bull fighting. Spain is currently going through a sort of sport “golden-age” with many successful accomplishments in sports such as: soccer, tennis, basketball, cycling, and formula one. The most popular sport in Spain is soccer, or football, and it is widely supported on both the club and national level. Spain’s national soccer team is currently one of the best in the world winning last World Cup and the last two Euro cups. Spain is also represented well in the tennis community with tennis star Rafael Nadal, winner of two Wimbledon Championships and five Davis Cups and in the cycling community with Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre.

2.     Spanish music is very diverse consisting of traditional styles such as flamenco and classical guitar, opera, classical music, hip-hop, electronic dance music, and rock. The traditional music varies by region from flamenco found in the southern region, Andalucía, to Galician music consisting of bagpipes accompanied by various other instruments. Popular singers include: Enrique Iglesias, David Bisbal, Rocío Dúrcal, Raphael, Luz Casal, and many more.

3.     Spanish cuisine consists of a vast amount of different food that may have different various depending on the region. Since Spain is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, Northern Africa, and France, Spanish food often has many influences from a variety of cultures. Some traditional Spanish foods are: paella, tortilla de patatas, jamon iberico, gazpacho, salmorejo, and pescado frito. Not only is the food in Spain unique, but so is the atmosphere in restaurants and the way that it is served. Food in Spain is often served in small portions called “Tapas” where one orders several different plates of small, often bite-sized, portions of food and everyone takes a little from each plate.

4.     There is not much religious diversity in Spain. 70.5% of Spaniards are Roman Catholic, 24.1% are atheist, and around 3.1% have another religion. This is primarily due to the emphasis that was put on Roman Catholicism throughout Spanish history, especially during the Inquisition, and the power and prevalence of the Catholic Church in Spain.

5.      A lot of Spanish holidays and customs have something to do with Catholicism due to the majority of the population being Roman Catholic. National Holidays include: Día de todos los Santos, Dia de la Constitucion, Immaculada Concepcion, Noche Buena, Navidad, Año Nuevo, Día de Reyes, Noche Vieja, Día del Trabajador, Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo, Asunción, and Fiesta Nacional de España. There are also many regional festivals and holidays such as “La feria de abril” in sevilla or “Dia de Castilla y León”. Traditional customs include: La siesta, greeting with one kiss on each cheek, bullfighting, eating dinner around 9-10PM, and much more.

6.     Spain has a few popular TV shows and movies. TV shows include: “Aqui no hay quien viva”, “Cuéntame cómo pasó”, and “Paco’s Men”. Popular movies include: “Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage, REC, Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Amores Perros. Spain was also the birthplace for popular actors Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas, Paz Vega, and Elsa Pataky.

7.     Some online news sources in Spain are: http://www.abc.es, http://www.rtve.es/noticias/s/espana/, http://www.elmundo.es/espana.html.

8.     There are some online forums for Spanish expatriates such as: http://www.internations.org/spain-expats, http://www.eyeonspain.com, http://www.alloexpat.com/moving_to_spain_forum/, and http://www.expatexchange.com/spain/liveinspain.html

1.     Spain has a very interesting type of government as it is following the ruling of Spanish dictator, Franco. The government in Spain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. An elected prime minister runs the government, but Spain also has a king that holds the constitutional head of state. The king has no executive role other than representing the country at events, appointing officials, and being the commander in chief of the Spanish armed forces. The main two political parties in Spain are the Partido Popular (PP) and Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). Other parties include: La izquierda plural, UPyD, and CiU. The current prime minister is Mariano Rajoy Brey who is part of the PP party, which is center-right wing.