Spanish Stereotypes 2

| 12-09-2008 | Spanish Culture | Written by Matthew Bennett | 9 comments

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Last month I wrote a post about Spanish stereotypes and it set off a heated discussion about stereotypes and identity.

This is what I would say about the stereotypes I mentioned.

Spanish Stereotypes – My Views

Spanish people eat lots of tortilla: Spanish people eat quite a lot of tortilla. You can ask for it in about 75% of bar-restaurants that you go to, as long as they serve Spanish food (and are not an Italian, Chinese or other restaurant, or only serve drinks). It is sometimes made with a little onion as well as the potatoes and in some towns in the north they make interesting double tortillas with a tasty filling. A good great tortilla is one of the staples of every Spanish mother’s cooking inventory and everybody’s mum always makes the tastiest one. Tortilla is definitely very tasty and worth getting to know properly. Tortilla is not something that people eat every day though, or at every meal, and not everybody likes it.
Spain is sun, sea and sand: depends on the part of Spain. There are beautiful parts of the north of Spain which could easily be in Wales or England due to the greeness and quantity of rainfall and cloud. There are big differences between the north of Spain, the south and Mediterranean coast. In the north and many parts of the Spanish countryside which are inland, in winter it can get very, very cold. Here in Murcia, it’s sunny, clear blue skies just about all day every day, all year round. Clouds rarely appear. Rain appears even less frequently. From May until November, it’s very hot and it will try and rain a couple of times during the summer. Between November and February it can feel like it’s cold but it’s relative: if you hop on a flight from rainy Manchester and turn up in the middle of January in Murcia, your body thermometer will think it’s very warm. There are, indeed, many beautiful beaches in Spain. You shouldn’t think this is all of Spain, however, not even half. There are hundreds thousands of beautiful places to visit all over Spain, whether it’s sunny, raining or covered with snow. And it’s even more fun if you get to know the people, traditions and history of the places you visit.
All Spaniards are bullfighters or go every week to a bullfight: of course not. Bullfighting is half sport, half art, half barbarity, depending on who you ask. Bullfights are normally held in ferias or festival periods. It is incredibly complicated and understanding bullfighting (whether you’re Spanish or foreign) requires time. The business of bullfighting moves a lot of money. It reaches across social classes. It’s been around for ages and is not going anywhere. Many Spanish people compare it to the recently banned English ’sport’ of fox-hunting. Apart from animal rights issues, I don’t think that’s a good comparison. On a cultural level, I think bullfighting is more analagous to cricket, a thought I will explain in another post. Not everybody goes to the bulls, fewer people understand it and the only people who fight bulls are the professional bullfighters. (this assumes we’re talking about proper bullfights and not smaller bulls in the many village ferias);
All Spaniards like flamenco (and all Spanish women know how to dance flamenco): not true. Many Spanish people hate flamenco, in fact. English people think all Spanish girls know how to dance flamenco: this is because to the untrained eye it’s very easy to move around a bit and look like you’re dancing flamenco with a few swirls of your hands and hips. There are many different types of flamenco (the dance most people associate with the flamenco stereotype is called ‘sevillanas‘). Flamenco is a whole sub-culture, composed of song, dance and instrumentals, sometimes all together and sometimes individually. It’s an art. It has more followers in the south of the country where it originates from. There is traditional flamenco and there are new waves of pop-flamenco. There are many different rhythms within flamenco and most traditional flamenco songs, lyrics, dances and instrumental solos fit into one of those subtypes. It’s incredibly difficult to tell the difference between the subtypes if you’re not practiced.
Spanish people are good at that salsa dance: nope, not at all. Many Spanish people go to salsa and other dance classes though, just like people in other countries. Most Spanish blokes have two left feet just like most English blokes and most Spanish girls love at least trying to dance a lot. Salsa was created in New York and the influences were all Caribbean and Latin American.
Is Shakira Spanish? Nope, she’s from Colombia.
and Ricky Martin? no, he’s from Puerto Rico.
Everybody eats paella in Spain. No, of course not. Everybody enjoys a good one though. It’s very difficult to make well. There are many variants on what a foreigner might think is paella but which is actually a different type of rice dish.
All Spaniards drink sangría. No, Spanish people sometimes drink sangría. The most popular drinks at meals are wine, beer and water. Here in Murcia there is a great Murcian version made with peaches and sugar.
Spanish food is tapas. Some Spanish food is tapas. The idea of tapas being free is mainly a southern thing (especially in places like Granada, where you buy a beer and basically eat for free if you go to the right places). There are hundreds of different types of tapas. Apart from tapas, there is some fantastic Spanish food which is nothing to do with tapas. Every region has its own specialities. Spain could easily be a gourmet’s paradise but don’t limit your ideas of Spanish food to tapas and paella.
Mexico, donkeys, dusty roads and big hats: no, no, no. These are ridiculous cartoon assumptions that foreigners mix up with Spain from watching Speedy Gonzalez. There are of course, a few dusty roads and a few Mexicans in Spain, although I have never seen a Mexican on a dusty road. I have yet to see anybody wearing a big hat (apart from English tourists on tourist beaches and in airport waiting lounges);
Spanish people are the same as Latin American people: no. They speak the same language (with differences) and of course have historical and cultural roots, but don’t mix them up: many different national cultures which all share (apart from indigenoues Latin American communities) certain common features (language, history, religion). Although this would be very debatable, a comparison with the idea of the British Commonwealth or the more general concept of ‘the English speaking world’ would not be a bad one.
Spanish people are very lazy: no. Spanish people work some of the longest hours in Europe (although have lower productivity levels) and one of the biggest problems here is lack of sleep due to noise, timetables and a general desire to live life to the full as much as possible. The work timetable combined with the daily-chores timetable combined with a well-filled social life means that many people don’t sleep as much as they would like to. In the south in the summer (and in many other parts of the country), it’s very, very hot and between about one o’clock and seven or eight in the evening, there’s not much point in trying to do anything, espcially after lunch: it’s too hot. Life shifts a few hours at night and takes a break during the day.
The waiter doesn’t speak English very well: of course not. The idea that everybody does or should speak English is a myth. Waiters in many countries know enough to bring you a beer and, on the other end of the jobs scale, people working in multinational companies tend to have very good English if their job involves communicating with English speakers. Learning a language properly takes years of continuous effort and practice.
Spanish people are very rude and loud: this is something that many foreigners will notice on arriving in Spain. It’s a tricky one: the noise level is definitely higher and people shout a lot when they should be speaking normally. It doesn’t however, mean that people are being rude. It’s just the way it is most of the time. This item needs its own post.
Spanish people drink a lot of coffee. Yes, lots and lots. If you like coffee, you’ll like Spain. In Murcia, they have great coffees. In Madrid, the coffees aren’t as good as in Murcia.
Spanish people don’t know how to make a cup of tea. True. Not a clue, unless they’ve lived in England and taken a liking to tea.
Spanish people have wierd timetables. Spanish people have a different timetable to most of the rest of Europe, althought with shifts in globalisation, this is changing in big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Most things related to timetable differences are related to the weather and heat in the summer. The traditional Spanish timetable is: morning until 14h00, midday/lunchtime 14h00-17h00, afternoon from 17h00 until 21h00, followed by dinner.
Spanish beers are very small. Yes they are, compared to English pints, but this is absolutely the best way to drink them in the summer when it’s very hot or as a refreshing slurp in winter. Imagine trying to enjoy a few pints of stout in 45ºC heat, or mixing Guiness with seafood.
Ibiza, parties, Benicassim and Spanish music: Spain has some great parties. There is also some great Spanish music.

Your Comments

I have to disagree. On far too many occasions I have had this stereotype demonstrated in cold hard fact, here in Spain. It is a very, very seldom occasion that a Spaniard makes the exception that proves the rule.
Not only do Spaniards demonstrate laziness in their occupations and general attitude towards life, they also have a very well developed sense of entitlement, a significantly lower sense of personal responsibility, and have no idea what ‘rugged individualism’ even means.
You will immediately be labeled and despised as a meddling, snobbish, mean and rude outsider if you do ever give a Spaniard an opportunity to excel, and assign them more work than they are comfortable with. And if you do your own job, agree to deadlines, and meet them – you are most certainly a ‘trepas’ and ‘pelota’

Ray
Well, disagreeing is fine, of course . Although we work very long hours in Spain, I have read more than one article that places Spain’s productivity near the bottom of the European lists.

Matthew Bennett
Maybe like in many countries it varies from region to region? I know that I am living with a Spanish Host Family in Cantabria and they work incredibly hard, not just at their jobs but with the family as well. I think half the problem is snobby Brits coming and assuming that everyone Speaks english because I have not encountered any rude spanish people… some crazy ones yes, but not rude, but I speak their language…
Its the same as in the UK, English people get annoyed with immgrants coming into our country and not speaking English… thats how the Spanish/French/German (etc) feel when one goes to their country and speaks in foreign tongue!

Kirsty
I am an Argentinean girl, living in Spain. I studied here four years in college and of course you have a large amount of lazy people who wouldnt go to class for staying in bed. But you have also people who were studying hard and combining it with a job. I ve been studying in Germany, Ireland and Scotland and you find people of every kind in every place. One just have to be open minded and adapt.

It is true that Spanish people tend to keep their timetables and they do not mix with locals when they go to other countries, which in my opinion is a mistake. To widen your mind travelling you have to get to know the culture of the place. But the truth is that you couldnt say that English mix much with Spanish around here either. I live in Málaga and you have entirely English ghettos in Torremolinos or Fuengirola. Some of them have been living here for ages and cant speak proper Spanish. I guess we are all much more demanding when we have the foreigner knocking at our country's dorr…

My point is that stereotypes are out date: you have lazy and hard-working people everywhere, nice and stiff, narrow- and open-minded.

Anyway, cool post Matthew!
Saludos

Laura
lol Im living in spain right now.. in the vacation portion but I am in the military. I am an american and Ive noticed the british outlook to be rather negative. I can say this for sure.. The spanish are very lax on their concept of time. if you want something done give it a while longer to get done. If you can accept it you may appreciate it very much. Sangria is very loved in southern spain, but only during the summer. Personally I love it and will continue to drink it year round. The spanish in big cities like madrid or barcelona have very similar hard working ethics as much as the english or americans do. It's only the smaller shops and such that do not. One thing that I cant get used to is how they have no concept of personal space. At least in america we keep our distance from eachother unless.. well ha invited in.

The one thing we americans do that spanish dont, annd something i am taking time on getting adjusted to, is the common dance in clubs. They seem to find their personal space there. And if you have ever been to an american club you would notice that we seem to lose that sense of space… fast. haha. One more thing.. I dont know about the english, but in america we dont touch alcohol until maybe 6-7 pm at the earliest but here in spain it is common to drink wine with lunch before heading back to work. Hence siesta i suppose.

That's all I have for now though

natevan
Hi:

As one of the “weird creatures” under scrutiny in these posts (Spaniards), I would like to make a couple of remarks:

1) We do have our personal space. It is just different from that of other countries. Distances tend to be shorter and we are more tactile than most other nations. The codes are different. If you want to feel more comfortable about it, try to get aquainted with them, by asking/observing people, for instance.

2) Neither I or any of my family, friends or acquaintances ever drink sangria. I have had a can of it sitting in my fridge for about three months, and the odds are that it will end up down the drain. I did not even buy it on purpose: it came attached to some other drink I bougth as a “promotion pack.”

3) Spain is a very diverse country. Living in, say, Rota and talking about Spain as a whole is like living in San Diego and thinking that you know the USA. To give you just a very simple, superficial example, it has been raining where I live nearly non stop for the last two months, and we are already halfway through the summer!!!!!!!!!!!

4) I hate flamenco and bullfights, and I don't consider myself atypical in that respect.

5) In Spain, they are sloppy workers and diligent, responsible ones, in a proportion similar to anywhere else in the “civilised” (sorry to be so ethnocentric from a Western perspective) world. Differences are down to variation in individual dispositions not because it runs in our culture. I regard assumimg otherwise as a tad xenophobic.

I do not intend to sound too recriminatory, and I have not exactly posted this in answer to the previous post, perhaps more to do with general preconceptions about us. Enjoy your stay among us, “Natevan”.

Carlos
Hi! Thank goodness there is someone else who know salsa is not from Spain. I am a salsa dancer in the U.S. and even wrote a Master’s thesis on salsa music and dance. However, giving a mini lesson here in Spain, I was told by a Spaniard that less merengue (which was actually a cha-cha-cha) would have been better for a salsa class. I was also pinched on the cheek and treated like a misinformed child when I said salsa came from NY. Something you may want to add to your list of stereotypes or overall observations is that here in Spain, “experts” are in endless supply.

Thanks for this list!

Christina Baker
I am a Spaniard myself and just find hilarious many of the comments that I usually hear about us.
I have been living in the UK for over 5 years and just gave up trying to explain misconceptions about Spanish people and Spain itself as a country.
When I am asked, did you find very hard to get used to the English weather? Initally, I would answer: Well, not really, I am from Northern Spain, Galicia, you know, this area is predominantly rainy and pretty cold in winter, even colder than the UK, I would say. But now, I just had enough and therefore I usually agree with every comment I am told. Oh yes, you’re right, very hard indeed. This weather is so miserable particularly bearing in mind that my home city is placed in the middle of the tropic!!
Just a few days ago, I have been asked if I turned black in summer because of sunbathing. My look is pretty much European. And this is not a racist comment at all, don’t take me wrong. Spain is the outcome of a number of invasions carried out by a large number of people coming from very different origins (so that the Spanish race just doesn’t exist), but anyway it should not be difficult to anyone to differentiate an Asian (paquistani) from a Spaniard, something which apparently is really hard to distinguish, according to what I have been told. Ironically, I said that we have very strong links with the Far East, so that we have similar facial features.
I have never ever seen a flamenco show in my region, but obviously we’re very skillful and accomplished flamenco dancers and needless to say that we love bullfighting and drink alcohol all day long. I must say that I have no clue about flamenco, so I can’t say whether I like it or not, I am totally against bullfighting and also am a teetotal. I have not drunk a drop of alcohol for a number of years.
Anyway, as I said there are so many stereotypes about us that the list is just endless (lazy, irresponsible, party people, rude, among many others…, but curiously none of them are positive, but nevertheless they do not bother me at all, I just find them funny). Believe me, I dealt with people from many countries and found good and bad people everywhere, culture is more and more a globalised issue, and people trend to behave according to similar patterns.
Thanks to those who can spare 2 minutes to read my comment.

Pablo
Poms accusing Spaniards of laziness!!! Now that’s rich.

Robbo

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