Hola! Can you guess the culture that you will learn more about today? Yes, Spanish it is! Read to find out more interesting facts about this country.

Spain is located in southwestern Europe, Pyrenees mountains and southwest of France. As of 2019, the population of the country has been estimated to be more than 46 million people. The official language of this country is Spanish or Castilian Spanish. Castilian Spanish is the language spoken through Latin American countries and Miami. Additionally, approximately 17% of the population can speak Catalan, 7% speak Galician and 2% speak Basque.

Spain is generally a Roman Catholic country as 94% of the population faith in this religion. In Spain, some traditions and celebrations are more cultural than religious, meaning they are celebrated by the majority of the population even though those people might not have faith in that specific religion and its history. For instance, during the Holy Week is a Christian celebration, but the there are many processions that take place and people wear a capirote. Islam is the second largest religion in this country. Many religious arts are expressed through architecture in masterfull cathedrals, and mosques.

Likewise other cultures, Spain has many different regions, and each region emphasis their own speciality in different regions. Seafood is usually one of the fundamental features in traditional Spanish dishes. Tapas is one of the people’s favorites; this is a combination of appetizers which can be chosen to be hot or cold. Tapas can involve the following ingredients: Chorizo, potatoes, spicy lamb meatballs, sea food (calamari) and some grilled vegetables. Paella on the other hand is one of the well liked Valenciana recipe that includes the following; rice, vegetables, meat, fish and it is seasoned with saffron and various spices. Lastly, one popular dessert is Churros with chocolate. Churros are seasoned often with sugar and dipped into chocolate, and are ate generally for dessert.

One Spain’s cultural traditions is the siesta. The siesta is often for workers and students to go back home around lunch time to rest, take a nap and socialise with their family members or with friends before returning to doing their work. This creates a break for workers, to think about something else rather than work for the entire day. Spain is also well known for its Flamenco dancing. Flamenco dancing is able to attract tourist from all over the world, and the dancers wear long, fluffy dresses. Bullfighting is also very common in Spain.

Now that you know some basic facts about this country, do you want to go and experience the culture yourself?