Welcome to
SINGING CANARIES
the web site for
Canarian Music
Serinus Canaria
Welcome toSINGING CANARIESthe web site for Canarian Music |
Serinus Canaria |
Spain
Geography - Spain is the Western most country of Europe, except for Portugal. Spanish is the language spoken.
Flag -
Coat of Arms - 
Together - 
National Flower - the carnation
Spanish National Anthem: The official anthem of Spain is the "Marcha Real" or Royal March. This is used for all official ocassions, festivities, and celebrations across the country. It dates back to 1770. There are no official lyrics to this march, but several sets of text have been unofficially added since. One of the most popular sung versions is that of poet José María Permán (1897-1981). Children at schools learn a particular set that is sung when this march is played. Spanish National Anthem
Population - 40,217,413 (July 2003 est) (according to The World Factbook - link below)
Climate - Climate varies widely.
Vegetation - Vegetation vastly varies from the North of Spain with its green pastures to the coasts of Marbella with its beautiful beaches. Hence the vegetation is as varied as its nature.
Climbing - Pirinees, the "Picos de Europa" or Europan Peeks or the Sierra Nevada.
Agriculture - Spain is known for its agriculture. There are the famous oranges of Valencia, the North in Oviedo is famous for its milk and cheese due to its green pastures, etc.
Arts and Crafts - All the different regions of Spain are famous for their typical ceramics and embroidery.
Government - Led by the King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, this monarchy are just reigning figures. Spain is a socialist democracy ruled by the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) party just elected on Sunday, March 14th, 2004. Hence, we have a president of head of paliarnment, elected by majority of votes.
Spain belongs to the European Union
(EU), and it is formed by 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities,
Ceuta and Melilla. As such, and even though each is governed by Spain, they
each have their own government, paliarment, and administration.
The currency was the peseta which does no longer exist as of January 1, 2002
when the EURO took over. Now 1 euro equals = 166’386 pesetas and the conversion
has been brutal!
Education System - The education system is ruled by the government of Spain, this includes all the local districts. There are three types of schools in Spain: 1) public school; 2) consertado; and 3) private. The public school system works like the sytem in the United States. Students are assigned the school that they go to by the neighborhood they live in. The private school system is completely money based, again as in the United States system. The consertado schools are a mixed of both and it is government subsidized. A percentage of the population of these schools have to come from the neighborhood kids. They still pay a reduced tuition to attend. Due to this, the parents believe they are entitled to treatment, which has become an issue.
On October 3, 1990, the Spanish government introduced a new educational law called “LOGSE” or the Organic Law for the General Order of the Educational System. It was meant to give only broad goals to each school as guidelines for them to build their own curriculum. It was build on the idea that freedom would allow for flexibility. It has instead created inequality and unfairness. Unfortunately, the wealtheir areas are getting more privileged education and the poorer areas are not getting any opportunity. This is becoming a real problem. The society is also turning against the schools as ‘the problem’. Violence against teachers has become more ranpid.
Teacher Education - Teachers receive two different kinds of training. If you want to teach K through 6, you attend University for 3 years and graduate with a degree called “Magisterio”. This includes teaching courses and student teaching. If you would like to teach a subject area in grades 7 through 12, then you attend University for 5 years and get a degree called “Licensiado”. Now, here is the interesting part. This degree is all in the subject area. But it has no teaching courses and the student teaching is extremely limited. Most of these graduates have little to no experience in the teaching world. Yet their salary scale is higher than their elementary counterparts. Most of them feel very fustrated when they begin teaching due to the lack of teaching strategies and tools they have to teach in the classroom. They feel they know lots about their subject area but know little about how to reach their students nor how to transmit their knowledge. It, then, becomes even harder to write a curriculum as this law was intended to do.
Another problem is that under the new law, these teachers are responsible for writing their own curriculum. Yet, the textbooks are provided for them. This is the way it works: as a fourth grade teacher in the Canary Islands or any other locality, I would call the publishing company in Madrid, tell them that I need textbooks for my classroom and they would write them, adjusting them to the local needs of my island and send them to me. So, someone, foreign to the needs of my the classroom, school, town or city and specially island, is writing my textbook. And they are including local customs that they assume exist. You can imagine the problems this can cause. It is normal to find many typos and erros in these textbooks. Then, as a teacher, I have to write a curriculum and adjust the textbooks to it. Quite an undertaking!
Budget is another issue. None of the teachers in any of these schools are given any budget. They are all given textbooks. The students in the public schools are asked to bring paper, pencils, etc. for the whole class. The consertado and private schools provide those materials for their students. Teachers are never given any extra money to buy science experiment materials or decorations for the walls. Many public schools even have computer labs that are never used because teachers are not given proper training.
The arts are still taught in the schools, fortunately. Grades 1-6 get 1 hour of music a week that consists of music reading, solfege and recorder. Older grades also get music but the amount of time is reduced.
Parents that can afford it take their children to private schools. There is a big push for bilingual schools right now. This is the latest fad. Learning a new language is in vogue, no matter how good or poor the education. These schools offer classes that are taught 50% in Spanish and 50% in another language such as English, Japanese, or German. The American School of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, is a good example. Even though it is not technically a bilingual school because it is taught solely in English, it does offer Spanish courses for those students that wish to continue their Spanish education as electives. This school’s system is solely based on the California-based curriculum theme of teaching. Unfortunately, for any Canarian student that attends this school, all education about local history and events is lost. This school also offers music and art education. It is based on the American education system.
There are many Universities in Spain. Once a student reaches twelve grade, everyone has to take a test called "Examenes de Selectividad". It is like our SAT's. This will decide not only which University they can go to but which career they can study. A student that does not reach a certain number is not allowed to study certain bachelors (ie. doctor, etc.)
There are many Universities in Spain. Among the most well known are: Universidad Pública de Navarra, Universidad de Salamanca, and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. There are two Universities in the Canary Islands. Universidad de La Laguna (1817) and Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1989). There are many other important Universities all over the country.
Social Security - Spain has a national health insurance plan that we call social security. It is similar to the Canadian OHIP system but not as good. Anyone that can afford it goes private.
Religion - Roman Catholic. Spain has had a long tradition of one church. Think back to the crusades. There are many other churches in Spain, but there are usually for the tourists or foreigners that live there.
Wealth of Culture - Spain is remarkable for its depth in culture. Many famous writers, painters, scultures, musicians, artists have come out of this relatively small country. Every city and town has museums to visit and cathedrals that are works of art.
Surfing - Due to the height of the waves, surfing is popular in many parts of Spain. The Canary Islands are known for their surfing. In fact, these islands are considered for experienced surfers.
Gastronomy - Spanish cooking is often confused with that of South America, but our cooking is not as rich in hot peppers and this type of spices. Some typical Spanish dishes are: “Paella a la Valenciana”, “Fabada”, “Tortilla Españolla”, “Merluza a la Gallega”, “Bacalao a la Vizcaína”, “Cocido Madrileño”, and in desserts such as “Torrijas”. As Spain is a very Catholic country, during the Christmas season the typical “Turrones” and “Mazapanes” are made. (See the Christmas site)
- Ávila = the wall city and church (where Saint Theresa was born)
- Baleares Islands = Mallorca or Majorca (visit Palma Cathedral, Drac Caves,
Trepucó Archeological Site), Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera (beaches:
Mitjorny and Tramuntana). These islands are known for their beach and nightlife.
You may want to purchase the “Majorica Pearls.”
- Barcelona = Las Ramblas de Cataluña; La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family);
Catedral de Barcelona (Cathedral); Parque y Palacio Guell (Park and Palace Guell);
Casa Milá (Gaudí’s masterpiece, known as “Pedrera”);
El teatro del Liseo (Liseo Theatre); El Pueblo Olímpico (The Olympic
Village); Monjuit (international exposition of 1929 with lighted fountain, Palacio
Real (Royal Palace), y el Pueblo Catalán (and Catalonian Village); El
Palacio de Pedralbels en La Diagonal (the Pedralbels Palace in the Diagonal);
La Casa/Museo Picasso (Picasso’s house and museum); La Plaza de Monte
Tibidabo (Monte Tibidabo’s Plaza); Monasterio de Montserrat (Montserrat’s
Monastery); El Palacio de la Música (Music’s Palace); La Estatua
de Colón (Columbus’ Statue); La Plaza de Cataluña (Catalonian’s
Plaza - historical centre of Barcelona); La Costa Brava (beach); Casa/Museo
Gaudi (Gaudi’s house and museum); Fundación Miró (Miro’s
foundation)
- Bilbao = Guggenhiam Museum (great desserts)
- Burgos = Cathedral
- Canary Islands (Lanzarote; La Palma; La Gomera; Tenerife, Gran Canaria, El
Hierro; Fuerteventura) = each island is known for its specific beauty and natural
wonders
- Córdoba = Mezquita
- Girona = Dali’s Museum (in the Barcelona area)
- Granada = the Alhambra
- Huelva = Parque Nacional de Doñada (Doñada National Park)
- Jérez de la Frontera = wines
- Madrid = Museo del Prado (Prado’s Museum); El Retiro; El Monasterio
y sitio de El Escorial; Palacio de Oriente (Oriente’s Palace); El Museo
Reina Sofía de Arte Moderno (Modern Art Museum of Queen Sofia); Museo
de Thynsem (Thynsem’s Museum); Palacio de la Zarzuela (Zarzuela’s
Museum); Catedral de la Almudena (Almudena’s Cathedral); La Casita del
Príncipe (The Prince’s House); El Valle de los Caidos (The Fallen’s
Valley); Los Jardines de Aranjuez (Aranjuez’s Gardens); Parque del Retiro
(Retired’s Park); Casa de Campo; La Puerta del Sol (The sun’s door
– historical centre of Madrid); The Royal Palace
- Málaga = Marbella beach
- Pamplona = Running of the Bulls during the San Fermín Celebration (July
7th)
- San Sebastián = Beach
- Santander = Cueva de Altamira (Altamira’s Cave - http://www.turcantabria.com/Datos/Historia-Arte/Cuevas/Cuevas%20Altamira/altamira-i.htm)
- Santander, Oviedo, and León = Picos de Europa (European’s Mountains)
- Santiago de Compostela = Cathedral (in Galicia)
- Pilgrimage – Romeria del Rosio – Huelva al Monte o Santiago de
Compostela (to the cathedral)
- Pirineos = great for skiing
- Segovia = Acueduct
- Sevilla = April Fairs; La Plaza Mayor; Cathedral; El Alcázar; Santa
Cruz Neighborhood; Maria Luisa Park; La Giralda; Holy Week
- Toledo = Cathedral; El Greco, Painter’s House and Museum
- Valencia = Lladró Museum (ceramic figurines); San José’s
Fallas Celebration (fireworks)
- Zaragosa = Pilar’s Cathedral
Links - The World Factbook
- Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Department of Education, Culture, and Sports)
- Spanish Consulate in New York - Consulado General de España en Nueva York
- Embassy of Spain in the United States
- Christmas Holidays/Fiestas Navideñas
News - keeping up with the latest news in Spain and the Canary Islands (click here)
Spanish Idioms - (proverbios)
"Si las barbas del vecino ves quemar, pon las tuyas a remojar"
"Pan para hoy y hambre para mañana"
"Abril lluvioso, Mayo florido y hermoso"
"Hasta el 40 de mayo, no te quites el sayo"
"No es talento poco hacerse alguna vez el loco"
"Traz abril que sale lloviendo, entra mayo sonriendo"
"Las mujeres corren delante de los ratones y detrás de los hombres"
"Un abogado listo te hará creer lo nunca visto"
"Pica más los celos que las pulgas"
"Trabajar cuando haya ganas, que lo que no se hace hoy se hará mañana"
"Cuando un hombre retrocede es para retirarse. Cuando lo hace una mujer es para coger carretilla"
"Da limosna, oye misa, y lo demás, tómalo a risa"
"Amor que como entra sale, nada vale"
"Ni amigo reconcialado, ni cafe recalentado"
"La mejor medicina es la buena cocina"
Regions and Provincies of Spain - Regiones y Provincias de España
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008 6:07 PM
© 2008 Emma Rodríguez Suárez