Andalusians

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Andalusians

LOCATION: Spain
POPULATION: 8.059.431 (2007)
LANGUAGE: Castilian Spanish
RELIGION: Roman Catholic

INTRODUCTION

Andalusia, located in southern Spain, has a distinctive culture influenced by its Mediterranean climate and its historical tolerance of diverse ethnic groups. Tartessos, home of the once powerful Tartessian civilization, was founded in Andalusia. Its coastal area was colonized by the Phoenicians during the latter part of the 2nd millennium BC. With the fall of the Phoenicians, Carthage became the dominant sea power of the western Mediterranean. The Romans conquered Andalusia and renamed it Baetica. In the 5th century ad, it was invaded by the Vandals and then by the Visigoths.

The Moors (Muslims who invaded from North Africa and seized control of the region in the 8th century ad) ruled all of Spain for three centuries and Andalusia until 1492. This period was a time of both cultural and economic wealth for the region, which reaped the benefits of Islamic advances in philosophy, medicine, the arts, and other fields, as well as the religious tolerance practiced under Islamic rule. Córdoba had a prestigious university and became the largest and richest city in Western Europe, and one of the largest in the world. In addition, the Moors brought to the region sophisticated irrigation and cultivation techniques, building aqueducts and waterwheels throughout Andalusia and neighboring Valencia and making the land bloom. The word "Andalusia" is derived from the Arabic name for Spain: Al-Andalus.

When Christian forces based in Castile finally drove the Moors out of Granada in 1492, their religion (as well as that of the Jews) was suppressed, and the rich cultural life that had flourished in Andalusia was largely destroyed. Much of the region's wealth was confiscated, and a long period of economic decline began. The conquering Castilians—warriors rather than farmers—let the extensive irrigation systems of the Moors deteriorate, turning the fertile farms into pastureland. The latifundio, or large landed estates, became a way of life; large portions of land were placed under the control of absentee landlords, leaving Andalusia one of Spain's poorest regions. However, since Spain's entry into the European Community in 1986, Andalusia has seen economic progress. Since 1985, Andalusia is an autonomous community administered through the Junta de Andalusia, it has a local parliament and president. It is one of the four historic regions of Spain.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Andalusia is located in the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula between the Sierra Morena Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It is bound by Portugal to the west, the Spanish provinces of Extremadura, Castile-La-Mancha, and Murcia to the north, the Mediterranean to the southeast, and the Gulf of Cádiz to the southwest. The largest region in Spain, Andalusia includes the provinces of Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada, and Almería. It is a land of contrasts, containing Spain's highest mountains (the Sierra Nevada chain that rises to heights of over 3,350 m (11,000 ft), its hottest lowlands (the Andalusian Plains), the white beaches of the Costa del Sol, and the Las Marismas marshes, home of the Coto de Doñana National Park. Andalusia is crossed by the Guadalquivir River, known as the "father" of old civilizations. Seville, located 64 km (40 mi) inland on the river, is Spain's most important western port.

Andalusia is the Spanish autonomous community with the greatest number of inhabitants and the second-largest in surface. Among its cities, Seville is the third largest in Spain, with a population of approximately 1,813,908 inhabitants.

LANGUAGE

According to the 1978 constitution, Castilian Spanish, the language of the central and southern parts of the country, is the national language. It is spoken by a majority of Spaniards and used in the schools and courts.

FOLKLORE

Flamenco is a Spanish style of music and dance that originated in Andalusia by the end of the 18th century. It was developed mainly by the gypsies, although it has several elements that reveal possible Roman, Arabic, Jewish, African, and American substrata. It is expressed by song (cante), guitar music, clapping of the hands (palmas), and dancing. The greatest performers are said to be distinguished by a type of inspiration that goes beyond artistic technique called duende, a mysterious and charming power that cannot be defined.

The name cante jondo expresses its deep feeling, and the 20th century Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla, considered it to be the old traditional song, while the cante flamenco embodied modern tendencies. Flamenco singing is divided into cante grande (with mainly gypsy influence) and cante chico (with folkloric and popular roots).

Flamenco music offers a great diversity of songs, with more than 60 different kinds of palos, or traditional varieties of cante flamenco. Among the best known are the soleá, seguiriya, peteneras, fandango, tango, and tanguillo. The most popular performers include Lola Flores, Manolo Caracol, Camarón de la Isla, and guitar player Paco de Lucia.

RELIGION

Like people in the other regions of Spain, the Andalusians are overwhelmingly Catholic. The Catholicism of Andalusia has a strong element of belief in the miraculous, and some scholars believe it is possible to trace the region's devotion to the Virgin Mary to the mother goddesses of pre-Christian religions. They are particularly known for the colorful Holy Week (Semana Santa) celebrations held in their cities and towns.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Andalusians celebrate the major holidays of the Christian calendar and Spain's other national holidays, including New Year's Day, Epiphany, St. Joseph's Day (March 19), the Day of St. Peter and St. Paul (June 29), St. James's Day (July 25), and Andalusia Day, on February 28, to commemorate the date of the successful referendum vote on autonomy. The most famous celebration is Seville's Semana Santa, or Holy Week, celebration, which begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Saturday. Although each Andalusian city and town has its own religious processions, the most beautiful and spectacular take place in Seville. Each day up to 11 processions of pasos (floats)—some lasting as long as 12 hours—pass through the town, organized by members of religious brotherhoods called cofradías. The night-time processions by candlelight, accompanied by special march music, are especially beautiful.

Andalusia is noted for festivals and celebrations of many kinds that take place in the region throughout the year. Carnival celebrations are especially famous in Cádiz, with street parades, fancy dress, and satirical music competitions. Seville is noted for its famous feria, held at the end of April. It is held on fairgrounds containing booths called casetas. Seville's feria lasts an entire week, during which the town is on holiday and almost all normal business shuts down. Other festivities are Jerez's Horse Fair in May; Huelva's Romería del Rocío, when horse drawn carriages and processions converge from all the south on el Rocío; Saint John's night and its bonfires; Corpus Christi; the Virgen del Carmen processions in the coastal cities and fishing villages; and many other festivities and celebrations.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Baptism, first Communion, and marriage could be considered rites of passage for Andalusians, like most Roman Catholic Spaniards. These events are the occasion, in most cases, for big and expensive social gatherings in which the family shows its generosity and economic status. At times, families dig into their savings or borrow money in order to pay for such displays.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

In the cities, office hours begin at 9:00 AM and traditionally include an extended afternoon lunch break beginning at 2:00 PM. Workers then return to their offices from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. The day typically ends with a walk with friends or family or visits to neighborhood bars for a few drinks, tapas ( appetizers), and conversation. Dinner is often eaten as late as 10:30 PM. It is customary to shake hands, and in a social setting women usually kiss their friends on both cheeks. Young groups are formed by co-workers, fellow students, or people from the same town to go together to discos, organize parties and excursions, and date among themselves. It is not unusual to have lifelong friends known since kindergarten.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Reflecting the Andalusians' Moorish heritage, houses in the region have traditionally been built of stucco with thick walls and few windows to protect residents from the heat of the sun, although Andalusia's older houses may also be built of stone. Windows overlook patios filled with potted plants, and the house is often built around a shady central courtyard, sometimes including a fountain, in which the family can relax and cool off. Houses in Seville often have intricately carved wrought iron gates over their doors and windows.

Spain enjoys an excellent system of National Health Insurance, and the Andalusians have access to the same level of modern medical care as their neighbors elsewhere in a country with an average life expectancy of 78 years. Rail service connects the region's major cities to each other and to Madrid, including the AVE, Spain's newest rapid train, which was created for the World's Fair in Seville in 1992. Elsewhere in the area, buses are the most efficient means of transport, with links between most Andalusian villages and towns and the rest of the country. Several airports connect Andalusia with other parts of the world.

FAMILY LIFE

Most Andalusian households consist of nuclear families (parents and children only), although they do sometimes include one or more grandparents. Male participation in the domestic sphere is limited, and women have almost exclusive responsibility for childrearing, with the father maintaining a more distant and formal role. Because of unemployment and other causes, it is customary for many young adults between the ages of 20 and 30 to continue living with their parents.

CLOTHING

For everyday activities, both casual and formal, Andalusians wear modern Western-style clothing similar to that worn elsewhere in Western Europe and in the United States, Boutiques and ready-to-wear shops can be found all over. Although young people wear sports clothes and blue jeans, the average Andalusian pays more attention to personal appearance. Businessmen wear a suit and tie, businesswomen dress fashionably in suits or dresses and high heels. However, traditional costumes can be seen at the region's many festivals and in flamenco dance performances. Women's attire consists of solid-colored or polka-dot dresses with tightly fitted bodices and flounced skirts and sleeves worn with mantilla shawls, long earrings, and hair ornaments, such as combs or flowers. Male flamenco dancers wear white shirts with black suits and broad-brimmed black hats.

FOOD

Typical Andalusian dishes include gazpacho, pescaíto frito (fried fish), several kinds of shellfish, jamón (cured ham), and prepared olives. Gazpacho is a cold soup made with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and olive oil that has become common fare in Spain. While today gazpacho is usually prepared using a blender, the ingredients were traditionally pounded by hand in a special bowl called a dornillo. Pescaíto frito fried in batter is available throughout the region at special shops called freidurías. Some of the types of fish used for frying include sole, whiting, red mullet, and anchovies. A salad of lettuce and tomatoes is served with most dishes, but these are usually the only vegetables that accompany a meal. Andalusia's most popular drinks are white wines, different kinds of manzanilla and sherry, and ice-cold beer.

There is a rich variety of Andalusian deserts, heavily influenced by medieval Andalusian cuisine, like pestiños (deep-fried pastry bathed in honey), polvorones (almond cookies), amarguillos (almond macaroons) and alfajores. Tapas, said to have originated in Andalusia, are popular in all of Spain and include shrimp-fried squid, cured ham, chorizo (spicy Spanish sausage), and potato omelets (called tortillas).

The wines of Jerez are famous the world over. Other stand-outs are the manzanilla of Sanlúcar, the white wines of Cádiz, and the Moriles, Montilla, and Málaga wines, among others. The liquors of the region are also popular, included the Rute and Cazalla anis, and the rums from Motril.

EDUCATION

Andalusian children, like other Spanish children, receive free, compulsory schooling from the ages of 6 to 14, when many students begin the three-year bachillerato course of study, after which they may opt for either one year of college preparatory study or vocational training. Today, each Andalusian provincial capital has its own university; the one in Seville being highly regarded throughout Spain.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Andalusia has an ancient cultural heritage dating from prehistoric times. It features beautiful examples of Roman architecture, such as the ruins of the city of Itálica, near Seville, and Moorish buildings, such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba, and the Giralda and Torre del Oro in Seville.

Andalusia is the birthplace of many illustrious people. Philosophers and writers include Séneca the Younger, San Isidoro de Sevilla, Averroes, Maimónides, Luis de Góngora, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Antonio Machado, Federico Garcia Lorca and Rafael Alberti. Famous statesmen include the Roman emperors Hadrian and Trajan, and former president Felipe González. Manuel de Falla is a famous Andalusian guitarist. Diego Velázquez and Pablo Picasso are the regions well-known artists.

Andalusia hosts numerous cultural events. The International Exposition was held in Seville in 1992. At the end of June, there is an International Festival of Classical Music and Flamenco dancing in Granada. There is also an International Festival in Córdoba in July, and Flamenco contests in September in Ronda.

WORK

Andalusia is primarily an agricultural region but the service sector, particularly tourism, retail sales, construction, and transportation have grown very quickly. According to the Spanish Institute of Statistics, the GDP per capita of Andalusia, 17401 euros in 2006, is still the second-lowest in Spain. At the same time, the economic growth rate for the 2005-2006 period was 3.72 % one of the highest in the country.

SPORTS

The Andalusians share their countrymen's passion for soccer (called fútbol), especially in Seville, where there is an old rivalry between the Betis and the Sevilla, the two home soccer clubs. Andalusia's other sports include tennis, swimming, hunting, and horseback riding.

Bullfighting is known as the " fiesta nacional, " the national sport. The sport originated in Andalusia, where Spain's oldest bullrings are located (in Seville and Ronda). At the beginning of the bullfight, or corrida, the torero (bullfighter) sizes up the bull while performing certain ritualized motions with his cape. Next the picadores, mounted on horseback, gore the bull with lances to weaken him, and the banderilleros stick colored banners into his neck. Finally, the torero confronts the bull alone in the ring. Exceptionally good performances are rewarded by giving the torero one or both of the bull's ears.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

In a region affected by extremely hot weather much of the year, Andalusian life moves at a leisurely and casual pace. Much social life centers around the neighborhood bars where one can relax with a cold drink and a plate of tapas. However, people also enjoy staying home and watching television, which is found even in the smallest village.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

In addition to leather crafts (the word "cordovan" comes from Córdoba), the Andalusians are known for their ceramics, which are distinguished by the geometric designs that originated with the Moors (based on the Islamic prohibition against representing living things in art). The art of Andalusian builders and stone carvers has survived in such famous buildings as the Alhambra Palace in Granada, the Giralda Tower in Seville, and the mosque in the city of Córdoba.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Andalusia is a poor region with high rates of unemployment and much of the land concentrated in large holdings (latifundios). Andalusians tend to emigrate to other regions, mainly to Cataluña, and from the countryside to the cities. Unemployment and poverty are linked to delinquency, alcoholism, and drug dependency, problems that the Andalusian cities, mainly Sevilla, Cádiz, and Málaga, share with other developed countries.

GENDER ISSUES

Married women in Andalusia maintain close ties to their mothers. Common-law marriages are not unusual. Only church marriages were formally recognized in Spain until 1968, when civil ceremonies were first allowed by law. Divorce has been legal since the 1980s, although a man is much more likely to divorce his wife than vice versa. While the tradition of machismo, the public assertion of masculinity, is seen by many as belittling women, Andalusian women actually have an ever-increasing role in society and a high degree of economic independence, competing favorably with men for the region's jobs. Many women are found holding municipal and government posts and managing businesses. A large percentage of women attend university. Evidence of the secular nature of contemporary Spain can be seen in the widespread support for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Spain. In June 2005 a bill was passed to allow gay marriage, making Spain the third country in the European Union to allow same-sex couples to marry.

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