Spain
A glimpse into Spain's culture
Popular Culture vs Folk Culture
Popular Culture- found in large, diverse societies that share certain customs. It spreads far and quickly through technology.
Examples of Pop culture: popular music, fast food, TV, sports and more.
Folk Culture- practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated areas. It barely changes and does not spread far. Folk culture spreads by relocation diffusion.
Examples of Folk culture: Amish
Music
Music is a huge part of folk and popular culture. Enrique Iglesias is one of the most popular singers in Spain. He is labeled as the King of Latin Pop. He sings many songs like Bailando and El Baño. Flamenco is a folk culture music genre that is enjoyed by many. This type of music is played with a Flamenco guitar and many people like to dance to this music.
https://youtu.be/XNhfV_53W7A
Sports
Spain is VERY into fútbol, or as we call it in America, soccer. It is the most watched sport in Spain and Spain has over 15 soccer teams! Soccer originated Another sport important in Spain's folk culture is bull fighting. It originated in Spain 711 B.C and has been around for centuries. It is a very thrilling and dangerous sport. If the people of Spain aren't watching soccer they are definitely watching bullfighting.
Jordi Alba keeping the soccer ball away from the other team
Bullfighting
Soccer fans cheering.
Food
Food in Spain is both popular culture and folk culture. They have many popular foods like pizza and tacos. Along with many fast food restaurants like Five Guys and KFC. They also have many folk culture dishes like Paella (seafood and rice dish) and Tapas (a little a appetizer), which are enjoyed by many natives and tourists.
Housing
There are many different places to live in Spain, which means there are also many different types of houses. The most common type of house is the first pictured below. This type of house is most common because many people can afford these houses and they are modern yet still Spanish looking. There are also more traditional houses like the third one pictured below. Which is older and more folk culture with its arched windows and doors. In some areas many houses are very close together (picture 2) because of an houseing shortage in the 1980s. The government made many homes close together so they could get the most out of the space they had.
Common house in Spain
Street of houses in Spain
More traditional home in Spain
Clothing
Clothing is very important in both popular culture and folk culture. Pop Culture clothes in Spain would include many of the clothes Americas wear but you would be labeled as a tourist if you wore shorts or a skirt that was not past your knees. In Spain men and women are expected to wear long skirts or pants, no matter the weather. Traditional clothes in Spain are usually heavy fabrics colored red, black or gold. Ruffles are also a huge part of traditional Spanish clothing. Some traditional clothing peices are Peineta, Mantilla and Gilet.
Traditional Spanish dress
Popular culture outfits
Traditional men's outfit