The

Loss of Culture in Spain

Culture is not a set thing; it is always changing, because people are always changing. Their ways of thinking and viewing the world changes from one generation to the next. Spanish culture is no exception, from Celtic traditions and customs to modern day ideas and celebrations. It is clear that throughout Spains history the different people that have lived there have left a great impact on the Spanish culture. A very interesting thing about Spain is that there are a variety of

cultures within. This is due to its 17 regions within the country and the lands physical features, such as mountains (Anonymous, 2011). Mountains create natural barriers that inhibit the spread of ideas from place to place. One good example of this is the many different languages found in Spain. Though the countrys official language may be Castillian Spanish there are other predominant languages such as Euskara and Gallego (Anonymous, 2011). These languages still prevail because the separation that the mountains create between the different regions doesnt allow for the introduction of new languages and the pollution and lost of the current language of the people in the different regions. Another example of this is, Galicia, were Celtic culture is quite prevalent. It is isolated in the Northwest part of Spain and seems to have very little Spanish influence. One of the popular instruments in the music there is the bagpipe (Anonymous, 2011). Yet Spain has gone through many stages that has change its culture.

Though there are many different subcultures found in Spain today the

countries cultural diversity looked quiet different during the Franco regime. During that time Spains dictator Francisco Franco wanted to make a unified culture . Many regions were not allowed to practice their traditions (Anonymous, 2011). Franco was very loyal to the Catholic Religion and Spain was very censored to the cultures in surrounding countries. Swing dancing and the fight for womens right was practically unknown to the Spanish people (Snelling, N, n.d.)(a). Franco had practically cut Spain off from any foreign influences. Even during Francos reign things began to change in Spain mainly due to the

allowing of foreign tourism. Franco had accepted for the country to open up to foreign tourism because the country was in need of an economic boost (Snelling, N, n.d.)(b). Foreign tourism affected many of the more urban cities in Spain as well as many cities near the coasts. They began to see other parts of the world through the people that visited Spain. One example of this is the wearing of bikinis in the beaches of Spain. Bikinis were unknown to the people of Spain and the Catholic Church disapproved the wearing of them. Yet Franco realized that if he wanted tourist to keep going to Spain he needed to allow them to wear the swimwear they desired (Snelling, N, n.d.)(c). Tourists visiting the country did not only go to visit the beautiful beaches of Spain. They would often go to the urbanized cities where they were often entertain by bullfighting and flamenco dancing, two of the biggest identifiers of Spains culture. Flamenco and bullfighting became well known symbols of Spain partly because Francisco Franco promoted them to represent the universality of Spain (Snelling, N, n.d.)(c).

Although Franco tried hard to make a unified culture many people still

practiced their traditions in secret. Yet many ideas as often is the case were lost or changed. Spain began to ease itself into this change in the last years of the Franco regime and when his death finally came Spain began to be heavily influenced by the outside world. Under King Juan Carlos people have begun to loose many of their deep rooted Catholic believes and now things such as the bikinis controversy is a laughing matter. Also bullfighting has began to loose popularity in Spain it was banned in some regions and not allowed to be shown on public television (Snelling, N, n.d.)(d). Culture is always changing and with Spains extensive history it come as no

surprise that many things in Spain have changed since the early days. Although Spain has lost many of its past culture things like Flamenco and languages still exist. This is possible because people of past generations pass down those traditions to the future generations.

Work Cited Anonymous. (2011). Spain cultures. Retrieved from http://dreamweaver.reinhardt.edu/harkins91109/spain-cultures.html Snelling, N. (n.d.)(a). The amazing story of Spain from dictatorship to democracy (Part 1 of 5) . Culture Spain for all things Spanish . Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/15/the- amazing-story-of-spain-from-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-1/ Snelling, N. (n.d.)(b). The amazing story of Spain from dictatorship to democracy (Part 2 of 5) . Culture Spain for all things Spanish . Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/17/the- amazing-story-of-spain-from-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-2-of-5/ Snelling, N. (n.d.)(c). The amazing story of Spain from dictatorship to democracy (Part 3 of 5) . Culture Spain for all things Spanish . Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/19/the- amazing-story-of-spain-from-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-3-of-5/ Snelling, N. (n.d.)(d). The amazing story of Spain from dictatorship to

democracy (Part 5 of 5) . Culture Spain for all things Spanish . Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/26/the- amazing-story-of-spain-from-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-5-of-5/