Holidays are coming up, and you may also be planning to travel
to Spain. Therefore, we thought that it would be a good
idea for you to know a little more about this country before landing.
Treasure, we have collected 15 curiosities and strange things about Spain. Certainly
some will sound familiar to you, but hopefully you will discover some curious new information.
We also have a word of caution about some Spanish beaches. Because in
some beaches there are certain restrictions, and if you do not comply with the instructions, well
... spending a few days on the beach can get you out of the blue.
I am Karo.
And I Mauro, and this is Automatic Spanish. We begin. To the mess!
When you think of Spain, what comes to mind? Beach, sea, sun ... right? Well,
but apart from this vacation trio, in the country of Cervantes we also have a
few rarities that can seem very strange to the eyes of a tourist.
We have collected 15 of these curious facts that are worth
knowing before stepping on Spanish soil. Come on, let's start with two topics related
to the beach. And they are actually warnings. First, if you like to build sand castles,
be careful in Tenerife. On two beaches in Tenerife (Arona and Arisco) you can lose your hair if you
build castles that are too big. The fine is around € 500. So, before you start playing
with the sand, check the allowed measurements. Nor can the site be saved on the beach.
Getting off at seven in the morning and planting the umbrella in the front line and then not showing up
until noon is forbidden on beaches in the Valencian Community and Andalusia.
The fine can be up to € 300 Hmm… Spain is associated with beaches,
but internationally we have another prominent Spanish symbol: flamenco. Figure,
do you know what the origin of flamenco is? Its origin is somewhat unclear. The most widely accepted theory is that it
originated in Andalusia thanks to the cultural melting pot of gypsies, Arabs, Jews and, obviously, Andalusians.
But you will not only find flamenco in Andalusia. In Madrid you can also enjoy flamenco
shows . And even if it is a large city, it is very easy to get around using the subway, which,
by the way, has 1699 escalators, making it the second network with the most
escalators in the world, only behind Shanghai. 1699 stairs and 563 elevators.
Anyway, champion, if you prefer an active vacation, then we recommend you
walk the Camino de Santiago. We dedicate a whole podcast to this famous pilgrimage path.
It was podcast 068. I guess it sounds like the symbol of the Camino de Santiago is a scallop
shell , right? But do you know what it means? The reason is that, in the past, pilgrims,
when returning to their countries of origin, wore the shell of this typical mollusk from the
Galician coasts on their habit or on their hats to show that they had reached Santiago.
If you decide to start the Camino de Santiago, you will surely make many friends along the way.
And I bet you what you want that many of the Spaniards that you will meet during your
journey will be called García. And do you know how I know? Because it is the most common surname in Spain. More than
a million and a half people are named García. The second place among the most popular
surnames is occupied by “Rodríguez” (almost 1 million), closely followed by “González”.
And then we have: "Fernández", "López" and, in sixth place, "Martínez".
6th place, not bad. Let's keep going. The SEVENTH curiosity denies one of
those such Spanish clichés: the SIESTA. The siesta is one of those customs that are
always associated with the Spanish, although it is not as common as it is believed.
Around 60% of Spaniards affirm that, normally, they do not take a nap.
The word "siesta" is curious since it refers to the sixth hour of the
day (which for the Romans was 12 noon). The sixth hour of the day,
which was considered the perfect time to take a nap after eating.
Many people think that we Spaniards are drinking sangria and tinto de verano all day,
right? Well no. That is not true. Do you know what is the drink
that Spaniards consume the most? Beer. It is surprising that it is beer because
Spain is the second country with the most vineyards in the world.
Going to have wine or beer at the bar is a very widespread social custom. In fact, it
seems that Spain is the country with the highest number of bars per inhabitant. He's there with… Cyprus! In
Spain there is one bar for every 169 inhabitants. It is the highest average in the European Union. As an example,
some say that only in Atocha street in Madrid there are more bars than
in all of Norway… We haven't counted them, but we believe it at face value.
And do you know which is the city that takes the gold medal in terms of the number of bars?
Lion!
Hahaha! Very good! I guess you could see that during
your college years, huh? Hahaha! he he! Well, León is also a city
famous for its tapas. The tapas, curious name. There are several theories about the origin of the name,
but one of the most convincing is that, in its beginnings, they consisted of slices of bread or
slices of sausage that were served to cover the drinks and thus not let the flies pass.
We have talked about the incredible tapas in the podcast “Tapas y pinchos level PRO”, podcast 146.
Yes, Spain is a country of good food and drink. And also of incredible beauty. I love
traveling by car through Spain observing the landscapes, the vineyards ... And there is something curious
that you can often see on the horizon when you drive on Spanish roads:
a large silhouette of a huge bull. It is about the Osborne bull, a well-known brandy brandy
from Jerez. This 14-meter-tall bull started as an advertisement and has now become
a true Spanish cultural symbol. There are almost 100 bulls distributed throughout Spain.
Well, we have talked about resting on the beach, about active rest, about food and
drink… but in Automatic Spanish we cannot miss an important topic for us: culture.
And is that Spain is the third country in the world in terms of places declared a
World Heritage Site by Unesco. In total there are 48. And do you know which are the 2
most visited places? The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the Alhambra in Granada.
Yes, the cultural and natural wealth of Spain sometimes takes your breath away. No matter
where you walk, you don't even have to look. From the Alhambra in Granada to the Altamira
caves in Cantabria, the traveler meets, without intending to, one wonder after another.
My other favorite places on the list are: the hanging houses of Cuenca, the Cathedral of Burgos,
the Old City of Salamanca, the Mudejar architecture of Teruel, the Casa Milá in Barcelona ...
But, in addition, Spain is a very prolific place in the field of creativity. From here
many artists of worldwide fame and recognition have come out . And also in Spain the
cheapest work in the world has been created . Do you know what the cheapest work of art in the world is? The Chupa chups.
Yes, the lollipop factory, this little stick candy, was founded in 1958.
And Salvador Dalí was commissioned to design the logo of the brand. Therefore,
you can buy a small work of art designed by the great Salvador Dalí for less than € 1.
And our latest curiosity today is that the schedules in Spain do not correspond
to its geographical location. Technically, Spain should adopt the London time,
since the Greenwich meridian passes through the territory of Spain. But no. In 1942,
Francisco Franco adopted European Central Time (except for the Canary Islands), because Franco wanted
the Spanish time to be the same as that of Nazi Germany. Since then,
clocks in Spain mark a time that does not correspond to that of their geographical location.
And so far these 15 curiosities of Spain. Sure you already knew many of them
, but hopefully we have discovered some curious information for you!
Before saying goodbye we would like to do a little test. See if you know the answer, sweetie.
With which countries does Spain border? A clue: there are 5 countries. If you know the answer,
write it to us in the comments. Will you be the first to get it right?
Well, this has been it for today. We say goodbye and we will see each other again in
September. If you are our student of the course "Understanding conversations
in Spanish" remember that we have added a list of free additional materials
with which you can train the understanding of various accents. There are literally hundreds
of hours of audio in Spanish. Audios with accents from different regions of Spain and
also accents from Latin America: Peruvian, Mexican, Colombian, Argentine, etc., etc.
You have hundreds of hours of listening to different themes and genres. And we have also prepared
a special bonus. Do you sometimes listen to audios in Spanish that do not have a transcription and would you like to
have it? Well, in this bonus we show you how to get the transcription of (almost)
any audio. You will find all this within the course, in the "BONUS" section.
Tesoro, if you want to train your ear and understand any native speaker regardless of the accent
with which he speaks, sign up for the course "Understanding Conversations in Spanish"
at the link EspanolAutomatico.com/ece-curso.
And nothing more. From Automatic Spanish we want to
wish you a great vacation. That is the most important. Enjoy it to the fullest,
and get a kick out of all that you always want to do but can't normally do.
We hope you enjoy it so much, so much, that you will remember this vacation for many, many
years. See you in September. We have plans! The next season of Automated Spanish comes
with a few surprises that you are going to love. I'm already jumping for joy. Hehe!
Yes, surprises that we have been working on for a few months. But we are not
going to reveal anything to you at the moment, so it will be an even bigger surprise in a few months.
I said ... See you in September!
Have a great time and don't forget your sunscreen!
Good summer, figure.
Until September! A kiss!