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pauc1988 In reply to engineerboy93 [2014-06-01 11:33:15 +0000 UTC]

I got this one at the park. In Madrid there are a lot of pines in gardens and parks.

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engineerboy93 In reply to pauc1988 [2014-06-01 14:14:50 +0000 UTC]

The photos of Madrid are beautiful. In Hemingway's book, The Sun Also Rises, his depiction of Spain is generally pretty good except for the bull fighting thing, but culture and traditions... Anyways, yup, pinecone. When I lived in the northern areas of the US pine cones would hit us in the head, because there were just so many pine trees. You should put some more pictures of Madrid up and some pictures of the areas of Spain most people do not get to see. I am curious!

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pauc1988 In reply to engineerboy93 [2014-06-03 09:20:30 +0000 UTC]

I also hate bull fighting, and most of young people do, too. And I must say that bull fighting is banned in Catalonia, so I think it's a matter of years until it disappear. However, in San Isidro fair (which is one of the most important bull events in Spain) there were no locations left -I want to believe that almost everyone in the plaza were 40 years old or more-. It's also important to understand that usually people with left-wing ideas (who vote for the socialist and communist parties) are against bull fighting and people with right-wing ideas (who vote for conservative and christian parties) are the main defenders. But this is just a simplification, the matter is quite complicated, I guess. Anyway, I think it's sad to be known as a country for this cruel spectacle, specially when the majority of people are not into it. Here you have a map of bull fighting around the country. 

I think Spain has a very rich culture, but it's not well-known worldwide. I mean, I believe that foreign people know flamenco and they associate our country to sunny days. But that only happens in the South, and this is what people don't know. It's difficult to find a foreigner who is well-informed about northern Spain regions and their cultural heritage. I'll try to give an explanation of my next photos to help people to know Spain as an aggregate of different traditions and not as a whole-flamenco-bulls-sunny country. 

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engineerboy93 In reply to pauc1988 [2014-06-03 14:34:59 +0000 UTC]

I understand. I too am against the bull fights as well as cock-fights, and any acts of animal cruelty. Until I read Hemingway's book I never had any knowledge of Spain, or the bull fights. From reading his book I was able to ascertain that the bull fights were mostly about tradition and money making more than it actually being a sport. I'm surprised that the Christian parties would be in support of bull fighting... I guess Christians are differ on geographical location.

I never thought of Spain much as a flamenco thing... Maybe Cuba, but I am not sure. Since I never knew much, and still do not know much I do not think anything about Spain. I'm neutral. I would much rather learn about. Spain before making my mind. Anyways, Hemingway's book talked allot about Northern Spain, and mostly Northern Spain with the Cajun people I think it is? French-Spanish. The one thing I remember distinctively from the book is that they liked their wine. Is it true that wine is the traditional drink of the people of Northern Spain?

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pauc1988 In reply to engineerboy93 [2014-06-04 16:08:44 +0000 UTC]

I think the novel takes place in Basque Country. It is an historical region placed half in Spain, half in France, but that doesn't make it a mix of the two countries. They have they own culture, represented by the Basque language, which is a non-indoeuropean language (like Finnish or Stonian) and one of the most ancient languages of the world. 
I think wine is traditional in every region, I think Spain has been producing (and drinking) wine since Middle Ages. However, La Rioja (which is next to Basque Country) is the main producer of Spain, and their wines are considered the finest of the country.

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engineerboy93 In reply to pauc1988 [2014-06-04 23:28:29 +0000 UTC]

Yup Basque Country. That rings a bell in my memory. Do you come from a traditional family or are you more progressive? I imagine you yourself are very progressive, because you are against bull fighting.

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pauc1988 In reply to engineerboy93 [2014-06-05 20:30:36 +0000 UTC]

I am against animal cruelty and against the destruction of nature, but I'm also an atheist and I don't want any religion to be funded with money from the state. I believe in a public system of health and public education, I support LGBT people, even when I'm not one of them and I want a world where everyone could have the same opportunities. For me, these ideas are simply normal, but generally people think that are very very progressive so... yes, I think I am progressive, and my family too.

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engineerboy93 In reply to pauc1988 [2014-06-05 21:18:17 +0000 UTC]

You have your head on straight And are progressive. The fact that you say you are atheist is showing that you are partially progressive, as from my understanding many of the Spanish people are religious. So, are you still going to engineering school or did you change majors?

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pauc1988 In reply to engineerboy93 [2014-06-06 12:37:59 +0000 UTC]

I'm still going, but I don't like to talk about it.

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engineerboy93 In reply to pauc1988 [2014-06-06 13:12:01 +0000 UTC]

oh ok... well just stay in school no matter what it is you want to learn just stay in school and don't drop out.

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