The touchy relationship between Spain and its regions

If you’re following along this blog, you’ve read my previous entry and know a little bit about Spain and its history. But now we’re going to get a little more detailed. I mentioned before that Spain has 17 regions, which are sort of like America’s states. This is a decent comparison… sometimes.

The 17 regions of Spain

 

The 17 regions include Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Basque Country, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and La Rioja. (I had to memorize all these in Spanish for a college Spanish class—not fun.) My mission is located in Catalonia (or Cataluña, as it is called here), in far northern Spain, just miles from the French border.

The regions are kind of like states, like I mentioned before, but in some ways they’re totally different. Each region is fiercely proud of its own heritage and customs. The regions all have different histories, some drastically different than others (southern Spain has a much more Moorish-influenced history, for example, while parts of Navarra identify strongly with France). In fact, most Spaniards identify more closely with their region than with their country, saying they’re “Basque” or “Galician” first and “Spanish” second.

One sign of this nationalism is the language situation in Spain. Many Spanish regions have their own official language that coexists alongside Spain’s official language of Spanish. In Catalonia, the official language is Catalán, a mix of Spanish, French, Latin and indigenous dialects. In Catalonia, 6.5 million of the 7.5 million residents speak Catalán. Schools are taught in this language, the region’s official business in this language, and most street signs and billboards are written in this language. Obviously, this makes it a bit difficult for me, since I speak Spanish pretty well but know nothing about Catalán! Thank goodness many of the words and structures are similar.

Traffic signs written in Catalán

This can cause quite a few problems throughout the country. In Basque Country, the official language most everyone speaks is (surprise!) Basque, while in Galicia, it’s Gallego. What happens if someone from Galicia wants to move to Basque and find a job? It’s nigh impossible. It’d be like us needing to learn Virginian if we wanted to move to Virginia. Things get even more complicated in the official political sphere, since Madrid, Spain’s capital, does everything in Spanish, but other regions do paperwork in their own languages. When they need to connect for something, they need a translator just to get through the basics.

Some regions take their sense of autonomy further than others. Catalonia and the Basque Country are probably the most extreme regions in Spain. They both constantly threaten to leave Spain and start their own countries. Catalonia is having a vote in the next few years to decide whether to secede (though I don’t know how Spain would react to that). In the neighborhood where I live, you can’t walk a block without seeing a Catalonian independence flag waving from a window. Some towns fly the Catalonian flag at the same height as the Spanish flag, while other towns don't bother to fly the Spanish flag at all. In a way, I guess Catalonia is Spain’s Texas, though for all its bluster, I doubt Texas will ever really try to escape the U.S.

Independence for Catalonia!

This lack of central patriotism in favor of regions is a totally foreign concept for me. Growing up a true-blue American in the heart of the Midwest, I never thought my state was more important than my country. If a European asked me where I’m from, I’d instinctively say the U.S., not Wisconsin. And I’m much more concerned about the state of my nation than my state. Heck, if I don’t like how Wisconsin is changing, I can move to Michigan. But people here are born and die in the same region, sometimes refusing to ever even visit other parts of Spain, with a sort of “why bother?” attitude.

I'm not sure why it's written in English, but the sentiment is still there

I think a healthy dose of state love can be a good thing. I look forward to my state fair and my town’s yearly summer celebration. I identify with people who live in my state with me and the problems we need to overcome together. But at the end of the day, people from California and people from Vermont are still Americans. We have a lot more in common than we don’t. I think it’s dangerous to get too wrapped up in regional love, because it divides people over things that aren’t so important. We already have racism, sexism, ethnocentrism and a bunch of other “isms.” Why add one to the list? Who cares if you make paella with shrimp and someone from Valencia makes paella with chicken? The important thing is to focus on our shared humanity and to work together to create a better country for all of us.