Spain today
What are Spanish like people today? If you happen to stroll through any one of our cities you will see that we are...
- European: Flying in front of any government building you will see the flag of the European Union waving, but if you look beyond that you will find beautiful buildings that could easily be in London or Vienna. Here you will find the best international art exhibits, cinemas with movies in their original language and we've even imported Italian style cafés and the typical English pubs!
- Modern: You only have to look at Spanish people walking on the street. We follow the latest trends, love fashion and have a unique style that fits in perfectly with the times we're in. Walk along the busy shopping streets of Madrid, Barcelona and Seville. Go to any local corner bar and you'll see that even the most humble one has been converted a minimalist showcase playing the latest music hits and offering different varieties of gin and tonic that you didn't know existed!
- Techies: Along our discover tour, we'll stop at any one of the many sidewalk cafés to have coffee or something more refreshing. Here, undoubtedly, you will see people looking at their smartphones, taking photos to upload to Instagram, updating their Facebook status or just reading the latest email.
- Open to the outside: To this day we are still aware of how Spain was "isolated" from the rest of the world three decades ago. Because of this, we are more open than ever to outside influences and trends that reach us. We are avid readers of the international press (thank goodness for the internet!) and we all know someone that is living abroad. Even in casual conversation, you will hear things like, "...in London they do that differently" or "we have so much to learn from the Austrians".
- Travelers: This may be a consequence of the previous point. Spanish people love to travel the world! We enjoy expanding our social networks with photos of our trips, telling stories of our experiences on the road and meeting new people. Before, we would go to Torremolinos and think we were on the other side of the world. Now, it almost feels strange not leaving the country for vacation!
- We are still learning from our history: If you pass by a bookstore, you will notice in the window something that before would have been a little "strange". I'm referring to the stacks of history books related to the Spanish empire. Not too long ago, to talk about that period of time felt shameful: it was a time of time of conquistadores in America, rebellions in the north of Europe and rude swashbucklers. But today, we have rediscovered that era and some have even formed historical recreation societies. We've dusted off 16th century manuscripts on fencing and the most popular shows on television deal with our past queens.
Spain has become a modern country and it has done so very well, even though, to tell the truth, we can still act like timid teenagers. One thing for sure is that even with our faults, we still have plenty of potential to continue growing and maturing.
Wow! We need to take more strolls through our streets.