The Loss of Culture in Spain

Change is inevitable: in people, places, things, and ultimately, culture. This is due to the fact that the way of thinking and worldview changes from generation to generation. Spanish culture is no different, ranging from Celtic traditions and customs to modern day traditions and festivities. If we trace culture and ideas throughout history, we can see that different people that have lived there have left a great impact on Spanish culture. Due to Spains 17 regions and variety of physical features, an assortment of culture has grown (Anonymous, 2011). Mountains create natural barriers that inhibit the spread of ideas and customs from different regions. For example, many different languages are found in Spain. There is a trend that follows the natural formation of landforms. Though the countrys official language may be Castilian Spanish there are other predominant languages such as Euskara and Gallego (Anonymous, 2011). The diversity in language exists today because of the natural separation created by mountains. This prevents the introduction or merge of languages in different regions. Meaning, that smaller (less popular) languages are essentially being isolated due to their location. A second example includes the region of Galicia where Celtic culture is prevalent. This region is isolated in the Northwest part of Spain and does not have much Spanish influence. The loss of Spanish culture can be seen in music in this region. For instance, one of the most popular instruments is the bagpipe (Anonymous, 2011). Spain has gone through many stages that change the culture little by little.

There are many different subcultures found in Spain that contribute to the overall cultural diversity of the country, however they looked quite different during the Franco regime. At the time Spains dictator, Francisco Franco had one idea and that was to make a unified culture. Many regions were not allowed to practice their independent and unique traditions (Anonymous, 2011). The Catholic Religion influenced and censored the culture and customs occurring due to Francos ruleessentially one culture was the goal meaning there was a lack of diversity. Swing dancing and the fight for womens rights were practically unknown to the Spaniards (Snelling, N, n.d.). Franco had limited the level of diversity by essentially cutting Spain and its individual regions off from any foreign influences. However, a diversified culture is being brought to Spain due to foreign tourism, even during Francos reign. Franco had allowed the country to open up to foreign tourism because the country was in need of an economic boost (Snelling, N, n.d.). This tourism affected many of the urban cities as well as some cities near the coast. Spain was being exposed to different parts of the world, because these regions were being exposed to different types of people. One example of a change in customs is bikinis on the coastal beaches of Spain. The Catholic Church limited the exposure to this type of culture due to religious beliefs. However, Franco realized that if he wanted Spain to experience an economic boost, he would have to expose Spain to diversity In culture (Snelling, N, n.d.). However, Spains culture was influencing the tourism industry more than the tourism industry influencing the culture within the country. For example, bullfighting and flamenco dancing became

well known symbols of Spain. This is due to the fact that Franco promoted them to represent the universality of Spain (Snelling,, N, n.d). Culture is always changing, however the level of diversity depends solely on how much is allowed to influence the existing culture across the world. Spain has an extensive history, however it lost a lot of access to cultural diversity during Francos regime. Yet, even if Spain is experiencing cultural loss, this means it is gaining diversity.

References 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 16, 2014, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/15/the-amazing-story-ofspain-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 16, 2014 from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/17/the-amazing-story-ofspain-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 16, 2014, from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/19/the-amazing-story-ofspain-from-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-3-of-5/%EE%80%80 Snelling, N. (n.d.) (d). The amazing dictorship to democracy (Part 5 of 5). Culture Spain- for all things Spanish. Retrieved April 16, 2014 from http://www.culturespain.com/2012/09/26/the-amazing-story-of-spainfrom-dictatorship-to-democracy-part-5-of-5/