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Spanish culture

Spain has a rich cultural heritage that is over several thousand years long. Spain is part of the Iberian Peninsula, and therefore, a few references claim that Spain has Iberian culture while others claim that the Spanish culture is a mix of the Roman, Jewish and Arabic cultures. Though the Romans had ruled Iberia for thousands of years, their culture still has a dominating effect on Spain that has lasted until today. The mixed effect of the culture can also be seen in the Spanish language, which has features of both the Latin and Arabic languages. The majority of modern Spain’s population resides in cities, which have a culture similar to that in the cities of other developed western countries. Only a minor fraction of the population stays in towns that too have all the modern facilities provided by any developed nation.

One of the main features of Spanish culture is that there are two groups of Spaniards: one that strongly believes only in being a citizen of Spain, and another that believes in representing their regions along with their national identity. These differences of opinion are mainly caused by of the history that Spain has before and after evolving as an integrated state. Although Spain became a single kingdom under the rule of the Catholic Monarchs, there were constant, strong oppositions from the regional heads for the process of integration of power. One of the reasons for this opposition was the linguistic and cultural differences between these regions. This discontent also has been the factor behind the formation of the autonomous communities within Spain.

Spanish literature, music, art, architecture and cuisine from these different provinces all have their own distinct qualities. In fact, music and cuisine especially have several variations corresponding to the diverse regions of Spain. Apart from these, the primary specialties of the Spanish culture are bullfighting and tomato fights. Bullfighting was introduced in the eighteenth century, and was meant to entertain the common people while carrying out the rituals of sacrificing the bull to honor the divine powers. Sacrificing the bull has been a practice in the Iberian culture from ancient times, when bulls were killed in the religious places of Iberia.

In modern days, bullfighting consists of specific species of bull called Toro bravo, which is seen only in Spain, though there are some mixed breeds found in other parts of the world. The bullfight is called the Corrida in Spain. It has three different intervals in which three different bullfighters, called toreros, fight with the bull and try to dominate it. The second and third round bullfighters are on horseback. In the final round, the bullfighter kills the bull with a sword. This has become a very controversial practice and animals rights organizations around the world are pressuring the Spanish people to end such fights. However, bullfighting remains an important part of the Spanish culture.