Culture of Spain is an Iberian culture that was marked with the period of Roman influences. In the crucial areas of language and religion, the Ancient Romans left a lasting legacy. However, the subsequent course of Spanish history added elements to the country's cultural development.

Muslim cultural production has also influence Spain's culture to some extent. Muslim influences was very strong during the period of 711 A.D. to the 1400s, especially in the area of language. The Spanish language, despite being influence by Latin; has also borrowed numerous words and accents from the Arabic language. Spain's cultural mix became richer during the Middle Ages because of the presence of a large and influential Jewish population. After the defeat of the Muslims and Jews during the Christian "Reconquista" (Reconquest) period between 1000 to 1492, Spain became a Roman Catholic country. In addition, the history of the nation and its Mediterranean and Atlantic environment have played a significant role in shaping its culture.

By the end of the 19th and 20th century, the Spanish government made expressions of cultural diversity easier than it had been for the last seven centuries. This occurred at the same period that Spain became increasingly drawn into a diverse international culture.

Art and Architecture: Spanish architecture refers to architecture carried out in any area in what is now modern-day Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide. The term includes buildings within the current geographical limits of Spain before this name was given to those territories (whether they were called Hispania, Al-Andalus, or were formed of several Christian kingdoms). Due to its historical and geographical diversity, Spanish architecture has drawn from a host of influences.

Since the first known inhabitants in the Iberian peninsula, the Iberians around 4000 B.C. and later on the Celtiberians,[1] Iberian architecture started to take shape in parallel with other architectures around the Mediterranean and others from Northern Europe.

A real development came with the arrival of the Ancient Romans, who left behind some of their most outstanding monuments in Hispania. The arrival of the Visigoths brought about a profound decline in building techniques which was paralleled in the rest of the former Empire. The Moorish invasion in 711 A.D. lead to a radical change and for the following eight centuries there were great advances in culture, including architecture. For example, Cordoba was established as the cultural Capital of its time under the Umayyad dynasty. Simultaneously, the Christian kingdoms gradually emerged and developed their own styles, at first mostly isolated from European architectural influences, and later integrated into Romanesque and Gothic streams, they reached an extraordinary peak with numerous samples along the whole territory. The Mudejar style, from the 12th to 17th centuries, was characterised by the blending of cultural European and Arabic influences.

Towards the end of the 15th century, just before establishing the Spanish Empire and influencing Latin America and the rest of its overseas colonies with its colonial architecture, Spain itself experimented with Renaissance architecture, developed mostly by local architects. Spanish Baroque was distinguished by its exuberant Churrigueresque decoration, developing separately from later international influences. The colonial style, which has lasted for centuries, still has a strong influence in Latin America. Neoclassicism reached its peak in the work of Juan de Villanueva and his disciples.

The 19th century had two faces: the engineering efforts to achieve a new language and bring about structural improvements using iron and glass as the main building materials, and the academic focus, firstly on revivals and eclecticism, and later on regionalism. The arrival of Modernism in the academic arena produced figures such as Gaudi and much of the architecture of the twentieth century. The International style was leaded by groups like GATEPAC. Spain is currently experiencing a revolution in contemporary architecture and Spanish architects including Rafael Moneo, Santiago Calatrava, Ricardo Bofill as well as many others have gained worldwide success.

Because of their artistic relevance, many architectural sites in Spain, and even portions of cities, have been designated World Heritage sites by UNESCO. Spain has the second highest number of World Heritage Sites in the world; only Italy has more.

Painting and Sculpture: Spain's greatest painters during the Golden age period included El Greco, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, Diego Velazquez, and Francisco Goya, who became world-renowed artist between the period of the 1500s to 1800s. However, Spain's best known artist since the 1900s has been Pablo Picasso, who is known for his abstract sculptures, drawings, graphics, and ceramics in addition to his paintings. Other leading artist include Salvador Dali, Juan Gris, Joan Miro, and Antonio Tapies.

Music: Spain's musical production includes a long history of innovation in Western and Andalusian classical music, as well as a domestic popular music industry, and diverse styles of folk music. Modern Spain has a number of performers in the fields of rock and roll, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop, electronic music is also common between Spaniards and djs such as dj marta or alex trackone are very well known in the Spanish parties.

The best-known variety of Spanish folk music is probably flamenco, a diverse genre created by Andalusian Roma. Flamenco has been known since at least the 1770s, and has been through several cycles of dwindling popularity and rebirth. The style has produced many of the most famous Spanish musicians, including singer Camaron de la Isla and guitarist Carlos Montoya.

Outside of flamenco, regional Spanish folk music includes the distinct Basque trikitixa and accordion music, Galician and Asturian gaita (bagpipe) and Aragonese jota. Though some folk traditions have died out or are moribund, some retain great popularity and have been modernized and adapted to new instruments, styles and formats. These include the popular Celtic music of Galicia, the singer-songwriter tradition of nova canco and New Flamenco.

The first distinctly modern popular music of Spain began to appear in about 1959. Soon, Ye-Ye dominated the Spanish charts, followed by the import of American and British rock, French singers and other pop stars.

Cuisine: Spanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's Mediterranean origin. Spain's extensive history with various cultural influences has led to a unique cuisine with literally thousands of recipes and flavors including tetangas, a Spanish dish, and tetangalonas another version of tetangas, but with several flavours including lemon and citrus.

A significant portion of Spanish cuisine derives from the Roman, Jewish, and Arab traditions. The Muslim people were a strong influence in Spain for many centuries and some of their food is still eaten in the country today. However, pork is popular and for centuries eating pork was also a statement of Christian ethnicity or "cleanliness of blood", because it was not eaten by Jews or Muslims. Several native foods of the Americas were introduced to Europe through Spain, and a modern Spanish cook could not do without potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and beans. These are some of the primary influences that have differentiated Spanish cuisine from Mediterranean cuisine, of which Spanish cuisine shares many techniques and food items.

The essential ingredient for real Spanish cooking is olive oil, as Spain produces 44% of the world's olives. However, butter or lard are also important, especially in the north.

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 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 "panaderia" and meat from the "carniceria".

One popular custom when going out is to be served tapas with a drink, including sherry, wine and beer. In some areas, like Almeria, Granada or Jaen in Andalusia tapas are given for free with a drink and have become very famous for that reason. It should be noted that 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. "Churrerias", or stores that serve churros, are quite common. The Chocolateria de San Gines 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.

additional information from Wikipedia

04/18/08 by visitEarth
Tags: Spain, culture, spanish, art, architecture, cuisine, music