What sounds bring images of Spain to mind? Quite a few of us will think of the rhythmic instrument of castanets – they are used in many types of Spanish folk dance and by flamenco performers. Composers around the world have used castanets when they want to create a “SpanishContinue Reading
“Let’s go to Spain!” Many of us have said it, often with hopes of conducting a winter migration to a warmer, sunnier corner of the world. However, heading south in winter is not a modern notion. Did you know Europeans traveled to the Iberian Peninsula more than 20,000 years ago?Continue Reading
Destreza is a true child of the renaissance: a practitioner must not only master weapon technology, but also have insight into philosophy, mathematics and moral issues. Spain’s golden age after the discovery and colonization of the American continent in the late 15th century was relatively short, but for those whoContinue Reading
In their time, the Celts dominated large parts of Europe. The Iberian Peninsula is, to this day, considered to be the Celtic heartland, and the Celts of today’s Great Britain actually originated from Spain. The Celts were unafraid of challenging the superpowers of their day: Romans, Greeks and Phoenicians. TheyContinue Reading
Today, Friday 11 November at 11 o’clock, it is 104 years since the First World War ended. Spain had declared itself neutral in this first global war; a war which claimed at least 16 million human lives. Nevertheless, there were strong sympathies in Spanish society – for and against theContinue Reading
Hispano-Suiza may be a car brand you don’t immediately recognize, but in the 1920s and 1930s the Spanish-Swiss company was one of Europe’s leading car manufacturers. Several of its innovations were far ahead of their time. Hispano-Suiza’s vehicles were sought after and exported to markets as far away as Australia.Continue Reading
Juan de la Cosa was the owner and captain of Columbus’ flagship the Santa Maria, but the relationship between the Italian explorer and his Spanish captain must have been of the complicated kind. As we wrote in part I of the story of de la Cosa, Columbus did not holdContinue Reading
Leading up to Spain’s National Day (Columbus Day) on the 12th of October, we start a story of a man, Juan de la Cosa, who played a central role in Columbus’ quest to expand Spain’s horizon, to find new land and to subjugate these in the name of the crownContinue Reading
The first Moorish setback in Europe Muslim forces set their sights on Iberia in 711 AD, fought the Visigoth king’s armies at Guadalete in southern Andalusia and continued north quickly thereafter. By 721 AD they had conquered the whole peninsula save some minor areas in the north, crossed the PyreneesContinue Reading
Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain has been a pilgrimage destination since the early ninth century. Nowadays, the walking paths leading to what is claimed to be the tomb of the Apostle James are also popular among people from the North. And this despite the fact that their ancestors, formerlyContinue Reading
