When I say the word ‘Spain’ to you, you probably picture yourself sat at the beach in Barcelona or wandering the streets of Madrid. You may even picture yourself admiring the architecture of the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede in Seville.
But what if I told you, that there was more to Spanish culture than the beaches, shops and architecture?!
Spain as a country wasn’t founded until 1469, when King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile married. To put this in perspective, the tiny state of Andorra was founded in 1278, making it almost 200 years older! (Well, 191 to be exact….)
Thanks to this, Spanish culture is different in every corner of Spain, no part is truly unique…
1. Spain has different cultures
Spain is not one contiguous block. Not like any country is per se. There are hundreds of tiny communities with their own language, culture and cuisines! The best known are probably the Basque Country and Catalonia due to their high presence in the news.
However, just because the Basques and the Catalans shout the loudest, doesn’t mean they’re the only ones! Other autonomous communities include those in Galicia, Asturias and Leon, who also have their own vibrant cultures, history and languages!
This means that the whole of Spanish culture isn’t just made up of one thing, but those of around 17!
2. Nudity is legal
Whilst I wouldn’t personally condone this, if you’re into it, then, well… go to Spain!
Yes, you heard me correctly, nudism is totally legal in Spain*
* There is no law against public nudity in Spain, which means, technically you could, but I’m sure residents of Barcelona would object to you walking into the Nou Camp in the nude!
However, most public nudity is spared for the nudist beaches, which many people have been to, including this person.
It is certainly one of the oddest facts about Spanish culture, as most of us, whether we’re from the UK, US or Australia, would see that as completely odd!
3. The National Anthem has no words
For most people, you can probably sing the national anthem, word for word, off by heart. So it probably surprises you that Spain’s national anthem is completely wordless.
Well… that’s not necessarily true. It does have words, but it is considered very insulting to sing them, or even lip sing the words.
Why? This mainly comes down to the nationalistic past of Spain, mainly the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The lyrics in the national anthem talk about the ‘glorious’ reign of Franco and his fascist party and ideals.
This is seen as a sore point of contention in Spain due to the regional cultures and languages of Spain- something Franco handled with harsh laws and militarising the national police in those areas.
4. Single women in Madrid
Many single women in the UK who want to find love, simply upload a profile to Tinder, and get dating. The single women of Madrid, however, do something far more different.
The single women in Madrid, on May 15th, travel to the Ermita de San Isidro. There, they prick their finger and place it in a vessel. This is thought to bring good luck in finding a husband.
This is one of the most interesting facts about Spanish culture as it is so strange, yet, we can see parts of it in a famous fairy tale. Sleeping Beauty.
5. Don and Dona
In a formal environment, you are probably referred to as something like “Mr”, “Mrs”, “Ms” or something similar. Spain has its own way of saying that, but it’s not the “Señor” that you were used to calling your Year 10 Spanish teacher.
Instead, the Spanish have their own, more formal title. For men, it’s ‘Don’ (eg. Don Juan Oscampos) and for women it’s ‘Dona’ (eg. Dona Maria Oscampos).
This is an interesting fact about Spanish culture simply due to its isolation from other other European countries. Yes, the UK has ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ but they aren’t used in the same circumstances.
6. Fresh bread is a necessity
The Spanish clearly take the idiom “The best thing since sliced bread” a little too literally.
Everyday, a fresh loaf of bread (usually a baguette), called barras or pistolas, are collected from the local panderias (bread shop).
Bread is also usually at all meals, and is usually a mainstay of their meals due to the fact that it is a “cheap way to fill your stomach” as one Andalusian put it.
This is quite an interesting fact about Spanish culture because we tend to associate bread with France and not Spain (although bread is a huge part of French life too!)
7. Football is life
To a Spaniard, football (or as they would call it El Fútbol) is everything! When you think of the world’s largest football teams, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the ones that come to mind.
Even some of the most famous footballers in the world are Spanish, such as: Cesc Fàbregas, Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres.
Football is also a major point of contention in Spain, with many local and national rivalries dividing the country, region or even town, both metaphorically and literally.
This is quite an interesting fact about Spanish culture as this is also common in other sporting nations such as England, France and Germany!
8. A day to tomatoes
“What? A day to tomatoes? Are they crazy?!” I hear you ask, and my answer would be: a little. However, this isn’t something the whole of Spain observes, merely one town (Buñol, in Valencia) in the East of Spain.
Around the 25th of August each month, there is a celebration. Or more accurately, a pure day of entertainment. by throwing tomatoes at each other. And I don’t mean throwing one tomato at that one annoying guy in your office.
No, no, I mean a full on tomato-throwing war!
This is quite an interesting fact about Spanish culture as it shows us to what depths people will go to cure boredom. After all, this intricate part of Spanish culture is purely for entertainment, rather than some time-gone tradition!
9. Offensive hand gestures
We’ve probably all been given the middle finger, or had the “V” flicked at us at one point in our life. Whilst some younger Spanish people are beginning to favour the middle finger, many still use other gestures to show how much you dislike someone.
Obscene gestures in Spain include: flicking the teeth with the thumbnail, wiggling fingers from the nose and grabbing the left arm with the right while making a left-handed fist.
Beware, if you use these to a Spanish person, you may receive some… how do you say it? Angry Spanish person telling you to “Chingue a su madre”, but I’ll let you work that one out on your own…
This is by far one of the best facts about Spanish culture, just to see the differences in what different cultures see as offensive. You probably don’t think that grabbing the left arm with the right while making a left-handed fist is offensive. Yet, to a Spaniard, it is the gravest of insults.
10. A day to jump over babies?!
I’m not going to lie to you, when I first heard that I said “Is this a hoax? How is this not illegal?”
But, it turns out it is indeed real, and yes, it is perfectly legal.
El Colacho as the locals call it, is thankfully only celebrated in one small town (Castrillo de Murcia). It is essentially a man dressed as a devil terrorising the locals for a week, culmintaing in him jumping over the babies. Why? To cleanse their original sin.
This is probably the most interesting fact about Spanish culture, as it is the most bizarre. Spanish culture dominates the world thanks to the Spanish Empire, yet no other town in the whole world does this!
Which was favourite fact about Spanish culture? What did I miss? Remember, if your business is looking to advertise to the Spanish market, our translation services are world class!