{"id":3248,"date":"2018-06-19T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T14:46:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T18:46:07","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Spain … Featuring Ana @ The Misstery & Paula @ Flaw Decay"},"content":{"rendered":"


<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span> It’s time for this week’s So Your Character is … Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s  So Your Character is from Luxembourg … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span>
\n
<\/span> Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts is as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> (None of the Images are Mine)<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

My name is Ana and I\u2019m 27 years old. I live in Barcelona, which is the main city of Catalonia, a northern-eastern region of Spain. I work in digital advertising in a city close to Barcelona, and I love watching movies, reading, trying new restaurants and listening to music.<\/span>
\nBlog<\/a>\/\/Instagram<\/a><\/span>
\n
<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

Hi, I\u2019m Paula! I\u2019m a 20 years old girl from Barcelona, Spain. I\u2019m currently studying Journalism here, where I was born, yet my entire family is from Andalusia, where I spend the holidays. Being both Catalan and Andalusian I feel like I get a very \u201cglobal\u201d and different view on our country since everything, from the culture to the people, is so very different in these two places. Makeup is my passion, and I\u2019d love to turn that into my profession someday, which is why I created Flaw Decay. I also love art, music, video games, and writing, among other things.<\/span>
\nBlog<\/a>\/\/Facebook<\/a>\/\/Twitter<\/a>\/\/Instagram<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span> What do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span>
\nAna: <\/b>We\u2019re a very varied country that speaks about five different languages. Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Euskera, and Aranes. <\/span>
\n
<\/span> My favorite celebration is Saint George\u2019s Day, where couples give each other books and roses. It’s a popular legend all over Catalonia, Spain. In Montblanc \u2013 the region’s name changes depending on the person asked \u2013 there was a dragon attacking the kingdom. Scared to death, the inhabitants decided to give two lambs every day to the dragon to satisfy its hunger and prevent attacks on the village. But when the animals became scarce it was decided to send a person, chosen by drawing lots, and a lamb. When a family member was devoured by the dragon, the family received a rich compensation from the Kingdom’s Treasury. <\/span>
\n
<\/span> There are two versions of the legend at this juncture: the first one involves people getting tired of no member of the royal family being sent and therefore decide that the princess should be sent to the Dragon; while the second version says that one day a princess was chosen by drawing lots to accompany the lamb. In any case, on the cave of the dragon, the princess found a gentleman or knight of the name Jordi (George) and he slew the dragon by stabbing his sword into it and rescued her. From the blood that flowed from the lifeless body of the monster was born a red rose which the gentleman handed to the princess. The king offered the gentleman all the riches imaginable but he preferred that the riches be allocated to the inhabitants of the kingdom. In addition, a church was built in his name, from which flowed miraculous water that was able to heal the sick. ]<\/span>
\n
<\/span> On New Year\u2019s Eve, we eat 12 grapes during the last 12 seconds.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span> Paula: <\/b>I feel like the weather, the food, the art and the museums (El Greco, Goya, Picasso, Vel\u00e1zquez, to name a few great artists), the buildings and cathedrals (Gaudi\u2019s are especially beautiful and \u201cwowing\u201d), the people\u2026 everything altogether makes Spain a very unique country with a lot to offer and a lot of diversity.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> Some of our best-known landmarks are la Sagrada Familia and la Alhambra, both truly stunning. In Barcelona, concretely, we also have la Casa Mil\u00e0, el Park G\u00fcell, la Bas\u00edlica de Santa Mar\u00eda… the perfect mixture of art and architecture.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> As for celebrations, we\u2019re known for loving them. Every occasion is the perfect moment to celebrate something! Semana Santa or Holy Week (Easter break), for instance, is full of processions and religious rituals, Carnaval (around February), where people dress up and party, Sant Jordi (or \u201cday of the book\u201d for people outside Catalonia), where people give books to their partner. For instance, according to tradition in Catalonia at Sant Jordi women have to gift books to men and men have to give roses to women. Apart from these, there are many more! Basically, every region has their own traditions and celebrations. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sagrada Familia<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La Casa Mila<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Basilica de Santa Maria<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nTell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

Ana: <\/b>We are surrounded by the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Cantabric seas. We have mountains in the north-east, valleys in the north-center and plains in the center.<\/span>
\nThe country\u2019s capital is Madrid. Depending on what you want to see, you can visit north south, east or west. The costa brava is beautiful and the north has amazing places to eat.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Costa Brava<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Paula:<\/b> The environment is very different from one place of Spain to another. In the south, people love hanging out with friends and drinking a beer while having tapas. It\u2019s way more traditional than a cosmopolitan place like Barcelona, where things happen quicker and you feel like everyone\u2019s rushing to go somewhere. Even when they\u2019re walking their dogs! I guess that\u2019s the natural difference between cities and towns, but sometimes it gets frustrating.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> This also applies to weather and landscapes, the south of Spain is way drier and hotter than the north. In the northern regions of Spain you get to see the most beautiful green landscapes, especially around the Pilgrimage of Compostela, everything is exceptionally fresh and green. And so the east coast, for instance, is known for their beautiful beaches. Spain, one can say is very multifaceted. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n

Tell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/span><\/b>
\nAna: <\/b>We\u2019re most famous because of tapas (patatas bravas, chocos\u2026) and our paella (and no, rice with stuff is not paella). Tapas are like snacks, they can be cold or hot and they can be like olives, chips, fish, omelet… But in small portions. Paella is made out of rice and they can be seafood paella or vegetable paella (or mixed). We also make Spanish omelettes and something I love about my region is \u201ccal\u00e7ots\u201d, which are like big onions and you eat with sauce.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span> Paula: <\/b>If there\u2019s one thing about Spain that it\u2019s undeniably good, that\u2019s the food. I\u2019m not talking about \u201cturistadas\u201d, places with expensive pricing and normal to bad quality food that are \u201cmade\u201d for tourists; I\u2019m talking about restaurants with homemade food. It doesn\u2019t have to be expensive to be great, especially in the south of Spain.<\/span>
\n
<\/span> My favorite Spanish dishes are croquetas (croquettes), gazpacho (cold veggie -mainly tomato- soup and toppings like ham), pulpo a la gallega (the traditional way of making Octopus in Galicia) and my grandma\u2019s migas (breadcrumbs, basically, but it\u2019s very delicious). As for desserts I love churros con chocolate (the traditional ones, also known as \u201cporras\u201d), crema catalana (pretty much a cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e) and tocinillo de cielo (a traditional Andalusian dessert made with the egg\u2019s yolk which is a literal heaven).<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gazpacho<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pulpo a la G<\/span>allega<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tocinillo de <\/span>cielo<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Tell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/span><\/b>
\nAna: <\/b>We have different languages, so for example, in Catalonia, we speak Catalan as well as Spanish, for example. The Basque Country speaks Euskera and in Galicia, they speak Gallego.  As a curiosity, we have a word that it\u2019s \u201cmerienda\u201d, which I don\u2019t think it exists in English. It\u2019s like breakfast but in the afternoon. <\/span>
\n
<\/span> Paula: <\/b>Spain has four different languages: Spanish, Basque, Catalan, and Galician. All of them except Spanish are taught in different regions and they\u2019re one of the things that distinguish them from the rest. Not only that, but we also have different accents in practically every region of the country and subsequently, slang words and phrases. For instance, while most of us call buses \u201cautobuses\u201d, people from Canarias call them \u201cguaguas\u201d <\/span>
\n
<\/span> Also as in every other country Spain has their very own expression which can be very funny when one tries to translate them into other languages: for example, Spaniards very often say \u201cvete a fre\u00edr esp\u00e1rragos\/vete a pastar\u201d (\u201cgo fry asparagus\/go eat grass\u201d), which when one thinks about it makes absolutely no sense but we have gotten so used to it that we just don’t question it, and then there\u2019s quotes like \u201ceres la alegr\u00eda de la huerta\u201d (\u201cyou are the joy of the vegetable garden\u201d), which literally makes no sense but we still use it and all know its meaning.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\n