Currently sitting in the living room of my Spanish house and I hear my name being called from outside, so I stick my head out on the balcony and look up to see my Abuela on her balcony telling me to come over for lunch whenever I’m ready. I love these moments…
I don’t have too much to say about Salamanca this week, except that I finally got to see the Salamanca fiesta through the eyes of a real Spaniard. Last night I went out with my friend Nic (from my program–American) who lives in a Residencia (like a dorm) with a bunch of Spanish students. My other friend, Stephanie, and I followed a group of Spanish boys around the whole night, and it was nothing less than a blast (plus some excellent Spanish practice)!
Here we are with our new friends…
In case you were wondering what a Salamanca street looks like on a Saturday night…
Having fun!
This weekend, I visited Toledo with a school trip, just for the day. Our art professor, Enrique (Quique) was our guide. We love him, so it was a good trip. I’m glad I went on all these school-organized trips because I learned a lot from our professors that I wouldn’t have learned if I had gone on my own. However, I think I am all “cathedral-ed out,” as I am now calling it (AKA I’ve seen so many old cathedrals that I think I’ve just about had my fill). Toledo is a beautiful, small city on a hill. We visited a few old buildings–a Cathedral of course, had some fun with our free time, and took in the breathtaking Toledo river. We also saw a few El Greco originals–gorgeous, and where he lived in Toledo! I think pictures do the best job of describing the experience.
First of all, I figured I should put a pictures of bocadillo in here at some point, it’s all we eat on these day trips–bocadillo = baguette with some sort of meat on it…chorizo is my favorite.
Toledo is a labyrinth…lots of narrow winding streets. Most cities in Spain, which in the past had streets this narrow and winding have since been reconstructed because they were thought to have brought more sickness to towns by “holding in all the bad air” (later it was realized that they were getting sick because they did their business in the streets and threw trash out the windows–uh duh) but Toledo retained these magical little pathways.
Toledo Plaza
I’m going to miss these new friends of mine–during our free time in Toledo we escaped the world of Cathedrals for a bit to have some fun.
Toledo bridge
Good Friends (taking in the river)
Toledo River
Now, for a little Spanish history–women’s studies style, of course. I’m a taking a class called Women in the History of Spain, and I learn so much from it. It’s really interesting to learn the history of Spain from this perspective, and Spain’s history explains a lot about how their daily life operates today. So much of their way of life stems from, or is a result of, their history. I won’t bore you with too many dates and names and events, but here are some things I’ve found interesting that we have learned in class…(Two great movies which describe the ages that I am about briefly explain are La Lengua de las Mariposas and Las Trece Rosas).
First of all, there are two main political groups in Spain, similar to the United States (Republicans and Democrats). They are called Republicanos (opposite of us, these are the progressives) and Nacionalistas (the conservative party).
In 1931, Spain was in the era of the II República (AKA the Republicanos were in power).
From 1936-1939, the Guerra Civil (Civil War) in Spain broke out–Francisco Franco gathered all the Nacionalistas and his troops together in an effort to take over Spain and become dictator. He bombed the entire country, taking over city by city (won every city but Barcelona–they take much pride in this today). The soil in Spain was not fertile for years following because of all the bombs Franco dropped. Finally, Franco won the war and…
From 1939-1975, Franco ruled Spain as dictator. Like any dictator, Franco had strict rules for his country–there was hardly any freedom for anyone, let alone the women. I had to do a project in class on Pilar Primo de Rivera, the woman who started the Sección Feminina, a group of women who promoted Franco’s agenda. Here is an example of their propaganda on how to be a good housewife. Someone put the “Guida de la Buena Esposa” (Guide for the Good Wife) to music on youtube…I laughed out loud while watching it. If you can’t read Spanish, you can googletranslate if you want, or here is a brief summary of the 11 rules to keep your husband happy:
1. Have a delicious dinner ready when your husband arrives home from work each day. 2. Rest 5 minutes before he gets home so that he finds you refreshed, and fix your makeup. 3. Be sweet and interesting. It’s your job to make his day better when he gets home. 4. Clean and organize the house. It must be impecable for his arrival. Make a final round before he gets home. 5. Make the house feel like paradise for his arrival. 6. Prepare the children for his arrival. They are your little treasures, and they must look good. 7. Minimize the noise for when he arrives–children and household appliances. 8. Be happy to see him when he arrives with a sincere smile. Your happiness is his reward for a hard day at work. 9. Listen to him when he gets home. You may speak only after he speaks. Remember that his thoughts are more important than yours. 10. Put yourself in his shoes–don’t complain if he arrives late or has fun without you or doesn’t come home all night. Try to understand his world of compromises. 11. Don’t complain to him about your insignificant problems. Your problems are a small detail compared to what he has to deal with. EXTRA! Make him feel at ease–get him comfortable in his chair and bring him a hot drink. Speak in a sweet, pleasing voice.
Spain suffered from these years of so much restraint that once Franco died in 1975, EVERYTHING changed. And I mean EVERYTHING. Spain went crazy with liberty. Wouldn’t you if you had been cooped up under a dictador like Franco for so many years? My professor explains this freedom as partly the explanation for the Spanish way of living–relax, party, have a good time, enjoy life, stay out late. They were held back from doing any of it for so many years that they take advantage of their freedom today.
1975-1982 is what is called the transition to the democracy (with a small interruption in 1981 with the Golpe de Estado when the military attempted to take over again–but the king at the time wouldn’t have it). And 1982-present is what is called the normalization of the democracy. During Spain’s newfound freedom, women and the gay community began took hold of their rights. Here are some interesting youtube videos we watched in class which describe this time of new liberties, especially for these two groups:
A video made by Almodovar, a film director (I think) of the time, who challenged the ideas of gender roles, specifically with cross-dressed men in his films (or women as the protagonists):
Alaska, a famous singer of the time, fought for women’s rights and was an icon for the gay community. Her lyrics always sent a message of protest. This song “A quien le importa” basically says “Who cares what I do or what I say? I am who I am and I will never change.” ( Note this was years before Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way.”)
One last video is from singer, Soraya. This is her song “Mi mundo sin ti” (My World without You). Lots of people think it’s the typical “girl and guy break up, girl singing about how she doesn’t need him anymore love song,” but it is actually a song about women finally having the freedom to live on their own, without a man. Women can have their own money and their own lives. This is part of the reason why marriage doesn’t appeal to many young Spaniards today–the 35 years that Franco was in power created an awful situation for women, constantly at the beck and call of their husbands.
It’s almost April! I’m excited to be home soon, but I’m going to miss this place.
rapunzelenruta 