It is almost a stereotype, of course, that the Spanish are a proud nation. It was officially put on record in the House of Lords as long ago as 1939 when Viscount Halifax argued that Spain was unlikely to let Franco’s Civil War abettors, Germany and Italy, wield continued power in the country, as “the Spanish people are a proud race, who are of all peoples in the world the least likely to mortgage the independence or the integrity of their country to any foreign Power”.
Almost a century later, Spain has vindicated this assertion, denying Donald Trump the use of America’s bases to pursue his war with Iran, and the Spanish are rightly proud of their prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s declaration of “No to war”.
Spain is proud of its history and culture
The stereotypical proud Spaniard trope, however, may conjure up an image of the bullfighter facing down a dangerously raging opponent or the haughty flamenco dancer performing in much the same way on stage. But it is not all about world politics or popular culture, as I discovered when I first came to Spain, back in the last years of the Franco dictatorship.
I came then to study the language and culture of the country and was immediately struck by my Spanish peers’ pride in their heritage. I was confidently informed, for example, that Cervantes, with his tale of Don Quijote de la Mancha tilting at windmills, was greater than Shakespeare. I suspect that some of my informants had never read either, but it was common knowledge that no author could be superior to the Spanish literary hero. I was also told, with pride, that the Spanish language was more difficult for a foreigner to learn than English. I learned, later, that they based this contention on the fact that at school they had all had to learn the occasional exceptions to the rules of gender, and that an “h” at the beginning of a word makes spelling really difficult because it is silent. They were also proud to know the names of all the verb conjugations – and admittedly, “plusquamperfecto” sounds pretty complex but I was usually able to vanquish their arguments by telling them about phrasal verbs, or asking them to pronounce the “Dearest creature in creation” poem.
Spain’s inventions and music
Discussions would sometimes turn to what Spain has contributed to the world in the way of inventions. Pride of place goes to the submarine, which my contemporaries in the last century held was a Spanish invention. There are minor caveats to this claim, but it is true that the engineer and sailor Isaac Peral developed the first electric-powered military submarine, the Peral, in 1888, and I went to see it in Cartagena. I was also told about Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, who invented the gyroplane, precursor of the modern helicopter.
My contemporaries in the 70s were not noticeably proud of Andalucía’s flamenco tradition, being more appreciative of John Lennon’s Imagine or the music of Joan Manuel Serrat, whose lyrics provided a soundtrack for the transition to democracy. They were, however, unconditional fans of the Spanish guitar, as played by Paco de Lucía.
Fine art lollipops and labour savers
Spanish heritage was not all about great cultural icons or feats of engineering either. It also emanated from the kiosk in the street selling snacks and sweets, and from the broom cupboard at home. Lower down the scale of proud inventions, and less well known to the world at large, was the Spanish infants’ top treat, the round sweet on a stick known to everybody by its trademark name of Chupa Chups with a logo based on a design by none other than Salvador Dalí.
And from lollipops to the humble but life-enhancing mop and bucket-with-wringer combination known in Spain as a fregona and of which every household in the land boasts at least one. Invented by Manuel Jalón Corominas and first commercialised in 1956, it has saved generations of (mostly) women from housemaid’s knee and the indignity of scrubbing floors on hands and knees. As one of the first purchasers in the late 50s said in a thank-you letter, “I gave thanks to God and the manufacturer” on seeing what a change it made to his mother’s life.
So from a prime minister standing his ground on the world stage, through to fine art, engineering, inventions, the simple joy of a lollipop and not forgetting the dignity of anyone who has to clean floors, Spain can justifiably hold its head high.
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