Many stereotypes about Spain have little to do with today’s reality. In 1950 Spain was a poor country, still trying to recover from its civil war, and many stereotypes arose at that time.

Some Truths About Spanish

Stereotypes

Spain is a modern country, the 12th highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world. However, with the fall in the housing market economy, Spain's outlook is rather dull.

The City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia

Spain used to be a cheap country to visit, but no longer. Cost of living increases means that Madrid is the 26th most expensive city in the world now, and Barcelona No. 31.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Stereotypes are used as mental shortcuts to classify people quickly. They are usually wrong and the basis for prejudice. This presentation will try to look at the top ten of the stereotypes about Spanish people.

Red carnations - Juan Mari Arte

La siesta, 1911. JOAQUÍN SOROLLA

1. The Spanish are lazy and love to sleep siesta

Yes, the Spanish like to sleep siesta, but only about 20% of them can do it. The population is concentrated now in big and medium sized cities. Many people now live in the suburbs, quite far from where they work, and do not have time to go home for lunch. So they cannot sleep siesta.

In the EU, the Spanish have the longest working day and they work hard. You do not get to have the 12th highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world by being lazy.

This is true. Spain has more sunshine than the rest of Europe because it is at the southern tip of the continent. Yet its geography is very varied. There are the central plateau, the Mediterranean coast, the Atlantic coast, and the Pyrenees. In the north there is less sun than in the south and in the central plateau it can be very cold in winter.

2. Spain is the land of sunshine and beaches

The sun is predominant along the Mediterranean and in the south, in Andalusia. Of course the north can be colder and has more rain throughout the year than the south.The beaches in Spain have a very wide variety, from the Mediterranean to the Balearic Islands, from the Canary Islands to the North coast. So this stereotype is true. Some beaches are monitored on a daily basis and there are high standards of cleanliness required to have the European Blue Flag, the sign of quality.

SPAINNORTH (Cantabria) CENTRE (Salamanca)

SOUTH (Granada) EAST (Málaga)

3. Spain is the land of bullfights.

Bullfight is no longer considered a sport in Spain, but is described as a cultural tradition. Yes, there are bullfights in Spain, but their popularity is decreasing every year. Today only 25% of the population supports bullfighting and young people prefer going to football games. The majority of people who go to bullfights are middle aged and older people. In some communities, bullfights are no longer allowed. This tradition is entering a crisis because fewer people attend the bullfights every year.

A growing and progressive majority of Spanish dislike bullfights because they are considered something cruel and irrelevant to modern life. There are powerful economic forces that want to keep the bullfights alive. People who grow the bulls and the owners of the bullrings want also to keep the bullfights. Many politicians want the bullfights, especially if their communities enjoy the bullfights. This is a controversial matter in Spain. Time will tell!

4. Spain is the land of flamenco.

Most of the Spaniards do not know how to dance flamenco. Flamenco has its stronghold in Andalusia, especially in Seville.

Flamenco is not an easy dance, and one has to go to a dance school to learn it. Flamenco dancers are very dedicated people because of the difficulty of the dance, and it requires constant practice. There are famous flamenco schools in Spain now that attract a large number of foreigners from Europe, the Americas, and the Orient.

Every region of Spain has its traditional dance

5. Spain is the land of paella and sangria.

Yes, this is true. The Spanish love paella. In many parts of Spain, when people go out to the countryside to partake of nature, instead of a barbecue, they will cook paella. The paella has many different forms and the most famous one is the paella Valenciana, originally from Valencia.

The sangria is not so popular with the Spaniards, as it is with tourists. The Spanish prefer to drink good red wine from nationally famous wineries. Wine is drunk with everything in Spain. With fish and seafood people drink white wines and those from Galicia, in the North of Spain, are very appreciated.

7. Spain is the land of fiestas.

LAS FALLAS VALENCIA

LOS SANFERMINESPAMPLONA

FERIA DE ABRILSEVILLA

CARNAVALESTENERIFE

MOROS Y CRISTIANOSALICANTE

SEMANA SANTAMÁLAGA

Yes, this is true. Every city, town and village has a fiesta once a year to honor their patron saint. People in Spain like to have fun and the fiesta is the time to have it. Most of the fiestas are very colourful events, and it is when the Spanish put on the costumes of their region and cook the food their region is famous for.

9. Spanish men are "latin lovers".

Most of Spanish men do not meet the stereotype of the Latin lover. However the Latin lover is alive in Spain. These playboys are tall, handsome and very attractive.

Because of the mixture of races, one can say that the genes Spanish have are very strong and vibrant, and they produce beautiful women and handsome men. One has just to sit at a sidewalk café and observe the people passing by to see some physically very beautiful people passing by. This is one of the joys of visiting Spain!

10.- Spanish love football.

This is true. Footbal is the most popular sport in Spain. Real Madrid and Barça are two of the best football clubs in the world. But sport , in general, is part of the Spanish culture. The good weather allows us to practise any kind of sport at nearly any time of the year. Spanish people love sport competitions. There are very good sportmen and sportwomen in Spain, indeed.

SPANISH MONUMENTS ARE UNIQUE

UNIQUE SPAIN

This tradition of making human

towers is unique from

Catalonia

Castellets – Villafranca del Penedés

10.- Spanish love football.

This is true. Footbal is the most popular sport in Spain. Real Madrid and Barça are two of the best football clubs in the world. But sport , in general, is part of the Spanish culture. The good weather allows to practise any kind of sport at nearly any time of the year. Spanish people love sport competitions. There are very good sportmen in Spain, indeed.

EVERTHING UNDER THE SUN

Conclusions.

There is much more to Spain than what the stereotypes paint. Spain is a modern, industrialized country, with a high economic growth rate. The Spanish are determined to improve their standards of living. They also want to project a new image to the rest of the world because some of the stereotypes about them are negative and are not true.

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