Basically, I
wrote an article in Spanish for one of my classes at university on the idea
that 'Spain is not only Paella and ole', focusing in on stereotypes regarding
the Spanish lifestyle and so on. Therefore I thought it would be interesting to
post it on here. Also, in the comments section is my original article written
in Spanish.
"You´re always eating paella aren't you?" or "enjoying the sun and sand?" these are the most frequent questions from my friends and family back home. But it isn't only them that think like this, the rest of the world also have various stereotypes about life in Spain. For example, that everyone is always partying, having siestas or watching a bullfight. Whereas, in reality it is the opposite and according to a study, Spaniards work more hours than the rest of Europe and I am certain that you wouldn't have considered Spanish people as hard workers, due to their stereotype.
"You´re always eating paella aren't you?" or "enjoying the sun and sand?" these are the most frequent questions from my friends and family back home. But it isn't only them that think like this, the rest of the world also have various stereotypes about life in Spain. For example, that everyone is always partying, having siestas or watching a bullfight. Whereas, in reality it is the opposite and according to a study, Spaniards work more hours than the rest of Europe and I am certain that you wouldn't have considered Spanish people as hard workers, due to their stereotype.
However, throughout my six months here in
Barcelona, my opinions have changed drastically. I have realised that Spain is
full of culture and traditions that I never knew existed. For example 'Els
Castellels' in Catalonia, 'Els Enfrainats' in Alicante and 'Las Hogueras de San
Juan' in Galicia. But despite all these festivals and celebrations, Spain has
serious problems just like other countries, especially in regards to the
unemployment rate, which is the highest of percentage of young people
unemployed in all of Europe.
It is clear that the sun, beach and parties were
only commodities exploited to attract tourists and therefore it is essential
that we forget the stereotypes and remember that Spanish isn't only paella and
ole.
España no es sólo paella y olé
ReplyDelete“¿Siempre estás comiendo paella no?” O “¿Qué tal el sol y la playa?” Estas son las preguntas más frecuentes de mi familia y de mis amigos en Inglaterra. Pero no son sólo ellos que piensan así, el resto del mundo tiene varios tópicos sobre la vida en España también. Por ejemplo, la idea que que la gente siempre está marchando de fiestas, haciendo siestas, o mirando una corrida de toros. Mientras que en realidad es lo contrario, según a un estudio los españoles trabajan más horas que el resto de Europa, y estoy segura de que no habrías considerado la gente española como trabajadores duros, debido a este estereotipo.
Sin embargo, a lo largo de los seis meses como extranjera en España, mis opiniones también han cambiado drásticamente. He dado cuenta de que España está llena de culturas y de tradiciones que nunca sabía que existían. Por ejemplo ´Els Castellels´ en Cataluña, ´Els Enfarinats´ en Alicante, y ´Las Hogueras de San Juan´ en Galicia. Pero a pesar de los varios festivales y celebraciones, España tiene problemas graves al igual que otros países, tales como en cuanto a la tasa del desempleo, que es la tasa más altapara los jóvenes detoda Europa.
Para concluir, está claro que el sol, la playa y las fiestas ruidosas fueron comoditos explotados para atraer a los turistas y por lo tanto es imprescindible que olvidemos los tópicos y recordemos que España no es sólo paella y olé.