SPAIN

• Perhaps Spain’s greatest contribution to world culture is its language, Spanish, which is the primary language in approximately twenty countries.
• The Royal Spanish Academy maintains the language by working with similar groups in other Spanish-speaking countries.
• Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, is Spain’s most famous book.
• Spaniards are proud of their architecture, with cathedrals, castles, and ancient mosques reflecting Spain’s past cultures.
• Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso are two famous Spanish artists.
• Most Spaniards belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the official church of Spain.
• Public schools in Spain teach Catholic doctrine.
• Spanish Catholics observe 16 religious holidays.
• In Spain, children do not receive their presents on Christmas Day, but instead, they receive presents on Epiphany, which is January 6th.
• Epiphany celebrates the Three Wise Men giving gifts to the infant Jesus.
• The bond among Spanish family members is very strong, with many extended families living together and sharing everything.
• The midday meal, comida, is the largest meal of the day in Spain.
• In Spain, families enjoy time together and rest before returning to school or work.
• Children in Spain are required to attend school until age 14.
• Those who continue school in Spain prepare for a career.
• In Spain, young people generally go out together in groups and only date when thinking seriously about marriage.
• Popular sports in Spain include soccer, basketball, bull fighting, automobile racing, and bicycling.
• Spain is the world's leading exporter of cork.
• Cork comes from the bark of a type of oak tree.
• Workers strip cork bark from the tree.
• They remove the hard outer layer and keep the soft inner layer.
• Cork is pressed into boards and wine stoppers.
• Unlike the bark of most trees, cork bark regenerates.
• Regrown cork is ready for harvest in a few years.
• Millions of tourists visit Spain’s southern coast and islands every year.
• Service industries such as education, communications, and finance provide many jobs.
• Manufacturing is important to Spain’s economy.
• Spanish manufacturers create automobiles, ships, electrical appliances, and electronics.
• Agriculture is limited to irrigated areas along rivers and the southern coast.
• Mining iron ore once played a major role in Spain’s steel industry.
• Today mining only makes up a small part of Spain’s economy.
• Important exports include citrus fruit, machinery, textiles, wine, and processed goods.
• Spain is a constitutional monarchy.
• The country has a king or queen, but citizens elect other government heads.
• The Constitution of 1978 grants citizens religious freedom, free speech, and the right to vote.
• The president is the elected head of the government.
• The National Assembly makes laws.
• The Senado (Senate) has 256 members.
• The Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies) has 250 members.
• The Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) heads the judicial branch.