The culture in Spain has a long history.
Spanish culture was for many hundred years impossible to separate from the religion. This changed when the fascist dictatorship was finally removed in the 1970s, resulting in the regional cultures manifesting themselves stronger as well as new experimental forms of culture becoming visible. However, the Spanish culture scene leverages its long heritage in the creation of the new forms.
History of Spanish culture
The culture of Spain has retained influences from medieval France and Islam.
The Iberian Peninsula, which consists of Spain and Portugal, has been inhabited since the last ice age. The area was under Phoenician influence until the Roman conquest, which in turn was overturned by the Visigoths. During the Middle Ages, Spain was split into several kingdoms and self-governing areas, with the eastern part (Catalonia) becoming part of the troubadour culture of southern France. The south of Spain was Islamic until the 15th century, which has left a lasting legacy in the south of the country. Jewish influence was also strong, although following the conquest of the Moorish kingdoms by the Spanish, the Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or go into exile. The church was responsible for tracking down divergent religious opinion through the Spanish Inquisition. In the north of Spain, the Basque language is one of the oldest in the world and not related to any other living language families.
Litterature
The troubadours are still celebrated in Catalonia.
The troubadours were famous for their verses, but the novels of Spain have made a lasting impression on the literature of other countries. From "La Celestina La Celestina" by Fernando de Rojas, published in 1499, to "Don Quijote," published by Miguel de Cervantes in 1605 and 1615, Spain saw the creation of the picaresque novel. The strong novelist tradition has given the country five Nobel prizes in literature.
Music
The dramatic flamenco music is performed on guitar and castanets, accompanying song and dance.
Spanish music includes La Macarena, but the country has a musical tradition that is as deep as its history. Religious music has been a strong influence in this deeply Catholic country. But the most famous Spanish music abroad, combined with the special type of dance that it accompanies, is the flamenco. While often considered Spanish, it is actually native to the region of Andalusia in the south of Spain. It was in this region that the Arabic music of the Moors combined with other musical influences following the "reconquista" in the 15th century, when the last Moorish kingdom was conquered, to form flamenco.
The arts
Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous painters from Spain.
Spain has been the home of several of the world's greatest painters in the last century, including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, although both spent large parts of their lives in France. Famous Spanish painters before their time include El Greco, a Greek painter who worked in Italy before moving to Spain. He painted in a style quite different from other painters in his time (the 16th century), but foreshadowed the works of both Dali and Picasso.
Cultural icons of Spain
The former royal art collection is now housed in the Prado museum
Two museums stand out as highlights of Spanish culture. The first is the Prado in Madrid, which houses the former Spanish royal collection of art, one of the largest collections of European art from the 12th to the 19th century. The second is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in northern Spain. Designed by architect Frank Gehry and opened in 1997, the museum was intended to revitalize the economy of the former shipbuilding town. It now features international exhibitions of modern artists, but it is the building, with its flowing titanium walls, that attracts the most attention.
