Homage to Spain

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In times like the ones we are living now, when there is no room for optimism in my country. These are times when there is no room to remember the wonders Spain contains. It feels like you cannot feel proud anymore of what we own, of our heritage, of our beauty, of our history, of our country. There is only time for the crisis, the unemployment and the social drama. People forget that it is now, in these moments, when we really need optimism and surround ourselves with as much beauty as we can. There is always place for beauty in our lives and we should also write about that.

As a Spaniard who lives in a foreign country, i have many times felt quite disappointed when the time came to talk about Spain. After the conversation, i could only feel a bitter aftertaste. People who just wanted to show how passionately they could defend a certain position regarding a very difficult and sensitive issue despite not having the slightest idea about it (i.e Catalonia or Basque Country and separatism). People falling into really bad cliches, and people who ignored even the existence of a country called Spain. To all this i have to add a new group of people in the past months, who the first thing they do when they find out you are a Spaniard is to ask you about the crisis, to make brilliant questions such as: how can a country function with an unemployment rate that is over 20%? Some people should be more sensitive and also think a bit more before formulating a question. I have a special mention for that stranger who used beautiful adjectives such as “swines” to refer to all the Spaniards when he heard some Spanish coming out of my mouth. It seems that it is not time to write well about Spain.

The worst thing is however to feel that there is so much beauty in Spain that is unknow to most of the people... I would like to hear much more than simply “tapas”, “siesta” or “mañana”, accompained by a smile, when i say i am from Spain. Perhaps they think that by saying that we will engage into some special complicity. Spain is much more than that and believe it, Spaniards do not spend all their time just eating tapas and sleeping around doing nothing. To all those who want to know more about my country and to all those Spaniards who are sick of just reading and listening to sad things, i hope you enjoy this. This is a homage to my beautiful country, Spain.

Think of the first human populations migrating to Europe. Of our earliest predecessors and you will think of Spain. It holds the oldest record of human occupation in Europe, consiting of a lower jaw that has been dated to about 1.2 million years old. The jaw appeared together with flint tools at Sima del Elefante cave deposit, next to la Gran Dolina, where the first human fossils of the species Homo antecessor were found. A country full of precious records of ancient times, with some of the richest deposits, including rock art, tools and human fossils dating back to the lower Paleolithic (800.000 B.C).

When you think of Spain, think of a country that has hosted the oldest urban realm dating back from the Bronze age and whose city was “Tartessos”. Think of one of the most advanced cultures of the era and one of the first civilizations of the West. This civilization extended around the valley of the Guadalquivir river, in current Andalusia. They appear in Greek sources which are un turn based on Phoenician stories. Herodotus described it as “beyond the Pillars or Heracles”, so important in Greek mythology and which, by the way, are the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar.

Spain, ancient land where some of the most fascinating civilizations lived or used to trade. The Phoenicians, trading partners of the Tartessos people, who founded Gadir in 1100 B.C (current Cádiz, and possibly the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the whole southwestern Europe). The Phoceans, greek sailors who founded Ampurias around the 600 B.C. The Iberians, which may have arrived as early as in the Neolithic period and inhabited the eastern and southeastern Iberian Peninsula. The Celts, arriving through the Pyrinees and giving rise to a set of different settlements (galaicos, astures, cántabros, lusitanos...). Imagine the trading and cultural exchange between all these civilizations. Art, culture, alphabet, agriculture, currency, urban development, ceramic production, craft industry... When you think of Spain, think of the Carthaginians, founding cities like Ebusus (on moder Ibiza) or Carthago Nova (Cartagena) and creating huge armies of mercenaries to fight the burgeoning Rome. Think of the Celtiberian infantry or the Andalusian cavalry, the best of Hannibal's army, with which he arrived at the gates of Rome. Think of all these civilizations and you will have a minimum idea of the world heritage they left in Spain. The ruins in Tartessos; the Carthaginian necropolis of Terracota, Puig; the Greek city of Emporion (incredible ruins); the numerous Celtic hillforts like the one in Baroña; Ullastret, the Iberian village...think of all the burial chambers, city walls, amphorae and other ceramics, the new crops like the olives or grapes, the Phoenician and Greek alphabets...

When you think of Spain, think of Scipio Africanus defeating Asdrubal Barca in Tarraco and conquering Carthago Nova during the Second Punic War. The Romans would stay in Spain for 6 centuries, but the conquest would not be easy. Julio Cesar needed 7 years to subdue the Gaul. The Romans needed two centuries to subdue Hispania, from the Second Punic War (II B.C) to the times of the emperor Augustus and that is why the Romans refered to Hispania with the following sentence: “The first to be invaded...the last to be dominated”. Think of the long siege of Numancia or of Viriato and his guerrillas. The Romans brought us their culture, their language and their law. Think of cities like Sagunto, Tarragona, Mérida (Emerita Augusta), Itálica, Lugo, Astorga, León, Toledo...think of their theatres like the one in Mérida or the amphitheatre in Itálica. The Arch of Triumph in Medinaceli or the public works such as the bridges of Alcántara and Mérida (the last one with a length of 792 m and 62 arches), the impressive aqueduct of Segovia or the modified lighthouse “Hercules Tower” in La Coruña (the only Roman lighthouse and the oldest running one in the world). Think of Hispanic writers like Seneca and Lucano, and of the Hispanic emperors Trajano, Adriano and Teodosio.

After the first germanic invasions, finally the Visigoths arrive (V A.C) as the allies of the Romans to subdue the Swabians, Vandals and Alans, getting back the most romanized provincies while the Swabian realm kept its independence until the sixth century. Neither the hispanorroman aristocracy nor the Bizantine Empire could handle them, the Visigoths arrived and were determined to stay. The Visigoths converted to Catholicism at one of the Councils of Toledo. Hispania was politically and religiously unified. The oldest standing church in Spain is a legacy from the Visigoths, called Church of Saint Juan, in Baños de Cerrato, Palencia. It is the year 711 and there is conflict. Witiza the king is dead and the pretenders Agila II and Roderico (Don Rodrigo) become enemies. History would be repeated and just as the Romans asked the Visigoths to helpe them with the germanic tribes, Agila II requested this time the help of the Arabs. They defeated Rodrigo in the battle of Guadalete, they arrived and did not leave. In 5 years they conquered most of the Peninsula, which became Al-Andalus, first a province of the Caliphate of Damascus, to then become an emirate and finally an independent Caliphate with Capital in Cordoba (the biggest capital in western Europe and the cultural hub of the whole Europe). This caliphate would collapse due to the civil wars, and split into a number of Taifas, that would be taken first by the Almoravids, and second by the Almohads.

Science flourished and while other parts of Europe remained in darkness, Al-Andalus shone. Through Al-Andalus the astrolabe, the compass, paper (appearing in the year 732 and the first paper workshop founded in Cordoba in 1036) and gunpowder (first reference of its use for military purposes in the siege of Algeciras, the year 1343 although according to the chronicles of Alfonso X its first use in Spain was in the conquest of Niebla, 1262) arrived to Europe . Al-Andalus brought incredible advances in sciences such as medicine (use of plaster to treat bone fractures, surgery techniques, anesthesia, hygienic standards...), astronomy and mathematics (huge advances in algebra and trigonometry, the numerical system still in use nowadays and different catalogs of stars), botany (use of hundreds of plants for medical purposes), agriculture (irrigation and drainage systems, windmills, and many new crops and flavors like sugar, rice, jasmine, saffron...) or chemistry. Al-Andalus became the bridge between East and Europe, through it philosophy flourished, not only thanks to translations of Greek works etc, but also throught thinkers like Averroes. When you think of Spain, think of the beautiful muslim legacy, with amazing art and architecture (Alhambra in Granada, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, the Golden Tower in Seville, the Aljaferia in Zaragoza...).

However, when the muslims came they didnt know that the inhabitants of Hispania never falter and, just as they did with the Romans until exhaustion, they fought the muslims to victory. This time, under the banner of Christianity and the idea of the lost Hispania, the Hispanic people would expel the muslims. A small group lead by Pelayo offered the first resistance already in the year 722, when they defeated the muslims in the Battle of Covadonga. Pelayo then founded the kingdom of Asturias and, for the next 7 centuries, the christiants extended their dominions until, in 1492, the Catholic kings conquered Granada. When you think of Spain, think of the Toledo School of Translators. When Toledo was reconquered by the Christians in 1085, a group of scholars made an incredible work during the XII and XIII centuries, translating many of the philosophical and scientific works from classical Arabic, classical Greek and ancient Hebrew and interpreting many Greco-Latin classical texts. The multi-cultural richness of Spain was admired and incomparable and many European scholars dreamed with a chance to go and study there. Under the King Alfonso X of Castile, translations occured in the Romance language called Castilian and thus, the Spanish language flourished, the language that has more native speakers worldwide than any language other than Mandarin Chinese.

When you think of Spain, think of Cristopher Columbus and the Atlantic expansion. Think of all those brave men who abandoned their land in search of a new future, in search of adventure. Think of “La Pinta”, “La niña” and “La Santa María” arriving to Guanahani after two months surrounded by ocean. Think of all those who made of Spain the first global empire, an overseas empire with territories in all continents (Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned 6 centuries). It is a common mistake to think that the sentence “The empire on which the sun never sets” was originally coined to describe the British Empire. It was originated with a remark made by fray Franciso de Ugalde to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. It is not the purpose of this post to open a debate about colonization. We all know many wrong things occurred and this is not a claim that Spain should become an empire again. Please refrain from comments in that direction. I just acknowledge the bravery and the thirst for adventure and knowledge that pushed many Spaniards to enroll in a ship and travel beyond what was known. Think of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who discovered the Pacific Ocean. Think of Fernando de Magallanes, or of Juan Sebastián Elcano (first person going around the world and therefore demonstrating the sphericity of the world). These people began the history of the Pacific Ocean as the “Spanish lake”. Think of Legazpi, or Pinzón, think of scientific expeditions such as that of José Celestino Mutis y Bosio (botany) or that of Malaspina (enormous amount of material in botany, geology and zoology plus 70 new nautical charts). Think of Japan, California, the Philippines, Siam, Formosa, China, Indochina, Guam...think of all the sailors that explored the Pacific Ocean way before the Brithis Cook or anyone else and you will think of Spain. The influence of Spain in the development of modern geography and cartography is of extreme importance. Spain was a pioneer in cosmology during the XVI century, when the “House of Trade in Seville” was created to encompass all matters regarding transatlantic shipping, to study mathematics and astronomy, to develop instruments...

Spain's contribution to the world is enormous and unfortunately, extremely underestimated. When you think of Spain, think of the Spanish Golden Age during the Hasburg dinasty. Think of the great Miguel de Cervantes who founded the modern novel and wrote masterpieces like “Don Quijote” or “Novelas Ejemplares”. Think of Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca and their contribution to comedy and teather. The Spanish rogue exercised considerable influence in Europe. The German romanticism always found inspiration in Spain and playwrights like Calderón became their aesthetic symbol. Think of universal literary myths like “La Celestina” or “Don Juan”. Think of the incredible poets Francisco de Quevedo and Luis de Góngora. Think of artists like Diego Velázquez or Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, of Zurbarán and Ribera! Think of “El Greco”, who, although not originally from Spain, found a new home in the flourishing and radiant Spain. When you think of Spain think of “El Escorial”, its unique architecture, its library with more than 40,000 volumes, its reliquaries...When you think of Spain think of Goya and his “Black Paintings” and other works, a clear aesthetic revolution. When you think of Spain, think of that unique “Generation of '98”. What an unmatched number of intelectuals! Miguel de Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Azorín, Pío baroja, Antonio Machado...Think of the “Generation of '27”: Dámaso Alonso, Federico garcía Lorca, Luis Cernuda, Pedro Salinas, Rafael Alberti...Any field in the XX century such as literature, art, science, philosophy...has been enriched with the Spanish input. From philosophy to cinema, thinking of the greatest such as Ortega y Gasset, Gregorio Marañón, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Severo Ochoa, Ramón y Cajal or Luis Buñuel. The Spanish contribution to European culture and world heritage will be always admirable.

Spain, land of contrasts, rich also in natural wonders. When you think of Spain think of “Sierra Nevada”, the largest mountain range in western Europe after the Alps. Think of fantastic National Parks such as Doñana, Timanfaya, Aigüestortes i estany de Sant Mauricio, Teide, Garajonay or Islas Atlánticas. Think of incredible formations such as “Las Médulas”, “Torcal de Antequera”, “Bárdenas Reales” or “Lagunas de Ruidera”. Think of a country with 44 Unesco World Heritage sites (both natural and cultural), second only to Italy. And last but not the least, yes, the food. The castilian roasts, morcilla, cheese, jamón de Guijuelo...gazpacho, salmorejo, pescaíto frito, queso and pisto manchegos, pollo al chilindrón, sopa de farigola, crema catalana, pulpo a la gallega and all the seafood, paella, fabada, cocido, cochifrito, chistorra, gambas al ajillo, the cod and the hake in the tradicional Basque cuisine...all the embutidos (chorizo, jamón, salchichón, lomo etc) and of course our tortilla de patatas. It is simply magnificent and incomparable. Not a single country can tackle our culinary culture. Not a single country can match our lifestyle, our culture of life, our “tapas”, our human contact in the day to day.

This is my country, and no matter how long i am away from it or how much i dislike many things of it, I have, and will always love it.

"Oyendo hablar a un hombre, fácil es

                                                                           acertar dónde vio la luz del sol;

                                                                           si os alaba Inglaterra, será inglés,

                                                                          si os habla mal de Prusia, es un francés,

                                                                            y si habla mal de España, es español."

                                                                            Joaquín M. Bartrina