Are You moving to Spain or marrying a Spanish partner? Want to know about the culture of Spain? Here we’ve provided you with an overview of Spanish culture.
Regional culture in Spain
Culture in Spain varies to a large degree depending on geographical region. Generally speaking, people in the north of Spain are reserved and this is reflected in the local culture. In the south of Spain people are warm, lively and jovial which is again present in the local culture. There are, however a few aspects of culture in Spain that apply to the whole country. Some examples of Spanish culture are mentioned below.
Male dominant culture in Spain
Spain has traditionally been a patriarchal society with the man of the family being firmly in control. Although modern Spanish culture has taken on many of the facets one would associate with a western European country, elements of male dominance still exist in the culture in Spain.
Festival culture in Spain
All people in Spain love celebrations and festivals and it is firmly embedded in the culture. A glimpse at a calendar in Spain will reveal a multitude of local and national festivals throughout the year which are celebrated by people in Spain as part of their culture. Festivals in Spain are either religiously or nationally motivated; however, both of them are considered to be equal expressions of the culture of Spain and almost certainly involve a lot of food, drink and noisy celebrations.
Foreign culture in Spain
Multiculturalism is a relatively new experience in Spain in comparison to other Western European countries. Immigration on a large scale into Spain only began about 10 years ago and since then a steady flow of migrants have been coming into Spain bringing their culture with them. Today, there are over 500,000 Muslims living in Spain, most of whom come from Morocco. More than 1 million people from the total population of Spain come from the former colonies and have moved to Spain to take advantage of a law that allows them to apply for Spanish citizenship after only two years residence in Spain. The multicultural experiment in Spain has had mixed successes, with many native Spaniards feeling that their culture, and the culture of immigrants are incompatible.
