"Spain is different," is a typical phrase you hear from Spanish people when talking about their culture. Indeed, there is a lot to learn and understand for those arriving in Spain for the first time. Below are the main cultural habits for expats to understand, and the best ways to deal with Spanish time management, tapas, weather, and communication. Time management and at the workplace Are Spanish always late? People usually get out of the office late, and to this extent it's quite cultural. The lack of productivity, the lack of organization, but also the good practice includes leaving the office later than the normal time. It is probably another inheritance of the over exploitation of … [Read more...] about Understanding Spanish culture
spanish culture
Sex and the Spanish single lady
Madrid is full of women who are beautiful, intelligent, financially independent, over 30 and…single. It seems particularly hard for these single ladies to find their partner for life. With a ratio of 1.07 men to women and a deeply entrenched Catholic culture that promotes traditional family values, what’s behind this trend, if it’s not the numbers? Society and culture tell us we should all dream of finding a soul mate to spend our lives with and create a family, but the rules of the game have changed. Women no longer have to put up with things they don’t want. They don’t have to depend financially on a man. Their place in society does not depend any more on being someone’s wife. Yet many … [Read more...] about Sex and the Spanish single lady
Joan Manuel Serrat
A controversial choice, given that the Barcelona-born Serrat is more of a folk singer than a rocker; a Catalan Leonard Cohen, perhaps. But when it comes to Spanish popular music, he is the godfather, and his influence on several generations of musicians and songwriters is hard to overstate. His career started in the sixties and he was lionised as much for his dissident political stance during the Franco years as for his finely crafted songs. Also, kudos to a man who managed to upset Catalans for not singing enough in Catalan and who also angered Spaniards for not singing enough in Spanish. … [Read more...] about Joan Manuel Serrat
The Sunday Drivers
Singing in English is a brave gambit when it’s not your native language, but Toledo’s folk rockers “los Sunday” pulled off the feat impressively. With a low-key stage act, much of their appeal rested on the shoulders of singer-guitarist Jero Romero, whose voice gave us such unforgettable lyrics as: “People talk to people / Go and make them shush / Can you stand them talking / Superficial guff?” They deserved an Oscar for modesty (or honesty), when, on opening for Wilco in Madrid in 2005, Romero told the audience: “This is the first time in my life I’ve been desperate to get off the stage just so I can listen to the next act”. Sadly, they broke up in 2010. … [Read more...] about The Sunday Drivers
Manu Chao
Chao was born of Galician parents but grew up in Paris, where he formed anarcho-rock outfit Mano Negra. A multi-lingual rabble who toured Europe and Latin America to great acclaim, Mano Negra’s energy made up for a lack of songcraft. Chao struck out on his own with success, releasing the unique and mesmerising Clandestino in 1998. Such inspiration seemed unrepeatable; until Chao himself released an album that sounded exactly the same as the first one, called Próxima Estación: Esperanza in 2001. A revolutionary maestro to some, a vertically challenged fool in a silly hat to others. … [Read more...] about Manu Chao
Manolo García
His band, El Último de la Fila, were easy to snigger at, perhaps because they looked so un-rock ‘n’ roll, but you can’t argue with their commercial and critical success, which led some critics to label them “the Spanish REM”. However, García’s solo career has been more interesting than that of his former band. His voice is that of a broody, backwoods troubadour and it can make the most ordinary pop song sound like a heartbreaking lament (just listen to Pájaros de barro if you’re still not convinced). … [Read more...] about Manolo García
Los Rodríguez
Strictly speaking, it could be argued they weren’t “Spanish”, given that two founder members were Argentinean, but Los Rodríguez were seen as a Spanish band, given their Madrid base and their sound, which mixed Latin music, such as flamenco, with guitar rock. Hits such as Palabras más palabras menos showed they could rock, but more melancholic numbers such as Para no olvidar consolidated their unique sound and put them in a generation’s hearts. Front man Andrés Calamaro and fellow Argentine Ariel Rot are still forging acclaimed solo careers. … [Read more...] about Los Rodríguez
Industry infighting spices up Spanish cinema awards
Sunday Bloody Sunday, Star Wars, and perhaps Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: this year’s Goya cinema awards ceremony on February 13 looks like producing more off-stage drama than the content of all those movies put together. Topping the bill in this very public spat is Ángeles González-Sinde, a scriptwriter and director herself and former president of the Spanish Cinema Academy, who in her current role as culture minister is trying to push through legislation against P2P downloading sites along the lines of that in place in France, the UK, and the United States. The new legislation has been dubbed the “Sinde Law” in her honour. In her quest to protect what she calls “Spain’s … [Read more...] about Industry infighting spices up Spanish cinema awards