There are many things that I believed to be true about the Spanish that proved themselves to be false once I moved to Spain. I thought many of our future spanish language students should know about these untrue spanish rumours before visiting Spain so I have decided to reveal my top 5 to you. Those of you that have already visited Spain may agree or disagree with me or have other falsities you wish to share and if you do, please comment after reading.

1) Spanish Spice

Many people believe that Spanish food is typically spicy. This is not the case at all! If you want a bit more of a kick in your food then make sure you ask for your dish ‘picante’. I assume one of the reasons that people expect Spanish food to be spicy is because many foods in other Spanish speaking countries e.g. Mexico, are known to be very spicy. However, Spanish food has mediteranian roots and is more easily compared to the food of countries such as Italy and Greece than the food in Latin America.

2) Bullfighting is everybodys favourite sport in Spain.

This is a common misconception and many will argue that Bullfighting is not even a sport. Whilst bullfighting events remain popular in some parts of Spain, mainly Andalucía and Madrid, it is a dying traditional that was popularized during the reign of Franco. Lots of Spaniards today protest against the sport and bullfighting is banned in the Canary Islands and will be banned in the region of Catalonia as of January 2012. If you want to see the Spanish truly come together and rejoice over a sport, you will attend a La Liga football game. With the Spanish current European and World champions, it is not surprising that fútbol is actually the national sport of Spain.

3) Spain is good for working on your tan all year round.

As a fan of the sweltering heat, I wish! This is not true in most parts of Spain much to the jubilation of many Spaniards who live here. The climate in Spain differs greatly from region to region. During the winter the average temperature is below 10 degrees throughout most of Spain’s mainland. This is definitely not sunbathing weather. The warmest winters you will find in mainland Spain are unsurprisingly on the South coast with cities like Málaga averaging 12oc. If you are willing to travel that little bit further and visit the Canary Islands you may be lucky enough to find xmas temperatures just shy of 20degrees. This website offers a good approximated guide.

4) Flamenco is a dance.

Flamenco includes dancing but it is much more than just that. Flamenco is performance art which comprises of four main elements:  dancing, singing, toque guitar, hand clapping and sometimes also castanets. Flamenco originated in Sevilla and is now popular all over the world. It often tells a story of love and loss of people and can be a very powerful thing to watch and hear. For anyone planning on visiting Spain, I definitely recommend you go and see a live Flamenco show. Here is a little clip of a Flamenco performance.

5) You should tip after your meals.

This is a misconception that Spanish waiters appreciate. Tourists are usually the only tippers but are definitely the biggest tippers in restaurants in Spain. Do as the Spanish do, if you really enjoy the meal and the quality of service then leave a small tip in appreciation. There is no need to tip a percentage of the bill and tipping is definitely not compulsory.

Well thats all the words of wisdom I have to share with you today but I promise to be back with more misconceptions soon…..

Blogger: Nellie