Before I arrived in Spain, I wanted to make sure that I was prepared for the trip that was to come, so I did some research online about Spain. The websites that I visited addressed a variety of different topics but a lot of them seemed to be centered around stereotypes of Spanish people. Whether they were accurate or not, I wasn’t sure at the time, but within the first week, my Spanish teacher had my classmates and I discuss this subject in class and make judgements based on our own personal experiences. So, here are some common stereotypes of Spaniards and my experiences with them.
Spaniards love bullfighting.
Bullfighting has been a long standing tradition in Spain, but now it is actually quite controversial due to rising movements against animal cruelty. Certain regions of Spain, such as Catalonia and the Canary Islands, have even banned this practice. Moreover, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the city and so far, I haven’t seen a single bullring in my neighborhood.
Spaniards are never on time because they have a different concept of time.
Spaniards do have a different timetable compared to the rest of the world as the time to eat lunch and dinner would be considered unusually late in the United States. However, the myth that Spaniards are usually never on time has never been something that I experienced here in Alicante. My eating schedule with my host family is always at the same time, and they have never been late to preparing meals for me, ever. Every day, breakfast is at 8:00 a.m., lunch is at 2:30 p.m., and dinner is at 9:00 p.m., and those times never change.
Spaniards are extremely religious.
On the first day that I was in Spain, my host family took the time to introduce me to the city and we visited different parks, shopping centers, and Catholic churches. It was clear from the beautiful churches that were constructed that religion played a big role in Spain as the majority of Spaniards practice Catholicism. However, while 80% of the population in Spain identify themselves as Catholic, less than 30% actually go to church or practice Catholicism. Furthermore, as I witnessed the pride parades that took place in Alicante, it’s clear that most Spaniards, including the government itself, have a lot of respect for women’s rights and LGBTQ rights. This is also evident in the fact that same sex marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005 in comparison to the United States, which didn’t completely legalize same sex marriage until 2015.
Spanish food is spicy like Mexican food.
This stereotype could not be any more wrong. In Spanish cuisine, it’s actually very uncommon to use spicy condiments, and most Spaniards don’t really prefer eating spicy food. In all the meals that I have eaten that were cooked by my host family, there has not been a single dish that was prepared spicy. When I go out to eat at restaurants with my friends, it’s very rare for me to spot dishes that are spicy.
- Tracy Jiang
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