About Spain - Things That Will Never Change
The leader of the Basque country, Ibarretxe, claimed that Picasso's Guernica should be "repatriated" to the Basque country.
This simple (and rephrased) fact is the trigger for this article.
The question is simply about change and the setting is a country like Spain.
Change is about all that is visible (constructions, all that is built) but also about things you cannot see directly, like principles or mechanisms.
Spain in this context is interesting because of the many paradoxes in the country.
Yes of course, Spain has changed over the last century.
This must be the conclusion having observed the (new) constructions.
There is a lot more built since "then".
Cities like Barcelona are world famous, the two towers in Madrid, the Guggenheim in San Sebastian.
Architecture.
The infrastructure has been improved or designed and rebuilt from scratch.
There is a modern and high quality tourism sector.
Spain is an economic power in the European Union.
The stock market is outperforming other European indexes (only lately with a diminishing rate).
Spain is dynamic.
It is also a gateway to south America and to Africa.
Spain is where world famous companies like Inditex (Zara), Telefonica and Santander are originated from.
Visit the Costa del Sol now and understand what has been changed since 60 years.
Some black-and-white photographs still hang on the wall of cafes and bars.
Spain is a modern country where women work like man and divorce is no longer an issue influenced by the church.
People are free.
Yet, there is also something in the daily live here that doesn't seem to change.
If you observe the political process.
First you think it is a joke, where people live on television have no respect for the rivaling party.
"You are a liar," expresses the leader of one political party and he is replied with, "under your regime the people have been deceived.
" Politics in Spain is a man to man combat.
It is not about "this measure is not efficient," but it is about personal attacks of the other person.
In our street we found a few days ago this propaganda, a leaflet: "Mayor of Mijas best paid mayor of Spain, with a salary of 125,000 Euros.
" The leaflet was printed in the style and form of El Pais, the largest newspaper in Spain.
Whether it is true and whether El Pais printed the article doesn't really matter.
What matter is the personal attack of the other side.
Not quite human.
In the north of Spain there is the terrorists movement ETA, they are original Spanish Basques.
Spanish, because there are also Basques in France, but there they have not become terrorists.
There is no such a movement in France.
Specialists argue that in order to understand the ETA terrorist you shouldn't compare them with the Irish IRA.
And they are right.
To understand the Spanish Basque terrorists, you have to compare the Spanish Basques with the French Basque and then question is: why one is armed and the other is not? The difference is that Spain has fought an internal civil war and France has been involved in the World War II.
The difference is that France culture has been strengthen by fighting against external enemies.
The Spanish culture has been weakened because of an internal war.
And this is were I doubt of a true and sincere change.
Internal competition is alright (also in companies), sole internal rivalry should be controlled as much as possible but this is a big issue in Spain.
And internal terrorism is "only" the extreme side of a cultural heritage.
The principles are the same, but more extreme dimensioned.
Are politicians sincere when they claim a country without terrorism? Picasso didn't quite like Malaga where he was born (another act of competition and rivalry).
But I think that he painted the Guernica because he understood more than anyone what such an internal war meant.
But that was Picasso.
I wonder; was he at all Spanish? © 2007 Hans Bool
This simple (and rephrased) fact is the trigger for this article.
The question is simply about change and the setting is a country like Spain.
Change is about all that is visible (constructions, all that is built) but also about things you cannot see directly, like principles or mechanisms.
Spain in this context is interesting because of the many paradoxes in the country.
Yes of course, Spain has changed over the last century.
This must be the conclusion having observed the (new) constructions.
There is a lot more built since "then".
Cities like Barcelona are world famous, the two towers in Madrid, the Guggenheim in San Sebastian.
Architecture.
The infrastructure has been improved or designed and rebuilt from scratch.
There is a modern and high quality tourism sector.
Spain is an economic power in the European Union.
The stock market is outperforming other European indexes (only lately with a diminishing rate).
Spain is dynamic.
It is also a gateway to south America and to Africa.
Spain is where world famous companies like Inditex (Zara), Telefonica and Santander are originated from.
Visit the Costa del Sol now and understand what has been changed since 60 years.
Some black-and-white photographs still hang on the wall of cafes and bars.
Spain is a modern country where women work like man and divorce is no longer an issue influenced by the church.
People are free.
Yet, there is also something in the daily live here that doesn't seem to change.
If you observe the political process.
First you think it is a joke, where people live on television have no respect for the rivaling party.
"You are a liar," expresses the leader of one political party and he is replied with, "under your regime the people have been deceived.
" Politics in Spain is a man to man combat.
It is not about "this measure is not efficient," but it is about personal attacks of the other person.
In our street we found a few days ago this propaganda, a leaflet: "Mayor of Mijas best paid mayor of Spain, with a salary of 125,000 Euros.
" The leaflet was printed in the style and form of El Pais, the largest newspaper in Spain.
Whether it is true and whether El Pais printed the article doesn't really matter.
What matter is the personal attack of the other side.
Not quite human.
In the north of Spain there is the terrorists movement ETA, they are original Spanish Basques.
Spanish, because there are also Basques in France, but there they have not become terrorists.
There is no such a movement in France.
Specialists argue that in order to understand the ETA terrorist you shouldn't compare them with the Irish IRA.
And they are right.
To understand the Spanish Basque terrorists, you have to compare the Spanish Basques with the French Basque and then question is: why one is armed and the other is not? The difference is that Spain has fought an internal civil war and France has been involved in the World War II.
The difference is that France culture has been strengthen by fighting against external enemies.
The Spanish culture has been weakened because of an internal war.
And this is were I doubt of a true and sincere change.
Internal competition is alright (also in companies), sole internal rivalry should be controlled as much as possible but this is a big issue in Spain.
And internal terrorism is "only" the extreme side of a cultural heritage.
The principles are the same, but more extreme dimensioned.
Are politicians sincere when they claim a country without terrorism? Picasso didn't quite like Malaga where he was born (another act of competition and rivalry).
But I think that he painted the Guernica because he understood more than anyone what such an internal war meant.
But that was Picasso.
I wonder; was he at all Spanish? © 2007 Hans Bool