Bull Fighting History

Bull fighting can be traces back to 711 A.D. That was when the very first bullfight took place in the celebration of the crowning of King Alfonso VIII. Now a days it is said that the total number of people watching bullfights in Spain reaches one million every year. Originally bullfighting was a sport for the aristocracy and took place on horseback. But King Felipe the fifth took charge and banned the aristocracy from taking part, believing in to be a bad example to the public. After the ban players accepted the sport as their own and since they could not afford horses, developed the practice of dodging the bulls on foot, unarmed. This transformation took place around 1724.

I really believe bullfighting is a dangerous sport. I cant believe people would want to involve themselves in such a harmful sport. Everytime they walk out into the arena they are putting their lives at risk. If something were to go wrong and the bull starting attacking the fighter, they would be toast. I wonder how much money these professionals get payed compared to an NBA basketball player here in the United States. I bet it would be a lot since the risk factor is so high.

http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullfighting.htm

Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias was born on May 8, 1975. He is a Spanish-Filipino-American pop music singer. He was 8 years old when he moved to the US. When he turned 15 he secretly began writing music. On September 25th, 1995 he released his first album. His second album, which was recorded in Spanish was released on January 29th, 1997. Other albums include: "Vivir", "Cosas Del Amor", "Enrique", "Escape" and "Quizas" All together, Enrique has sold over 15 million albums worldwide!

Here is a video of Enrique's hit song "I like it."

I'm very glad Enrique came to America or else we wouldn't have been able to hear any of his songs. His music has impacted many people's lives. He also has many fans. I am sure they are grateful that he began secretly writing music or else he wouldn't be the musician he is today. I wonder what made him and his family move to the United States from Spain. I believe he is the most inspiring Spanish musician to move to America from Spain, because I think that he has such a wide range of musical talents. I hope I can keep learning more about Español so that I can understand more of his songs that are written in spanish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_iglesias

Spanish Fairy Tale... The Wounded Lion

I read an old Spanish fairy tale. It was about a poor girl who herded cows. One day, she heard a moan, and found a lion with a thorn in its paw. She decided to tend to it and the lion was very thankful. But she couldn't find her cows. Her master beat her and made her herd donkeys instead. A year later, she found the same lion wounded again. As soon as she healed the lion, the donkeys vanished. Her master beat her again and forced her to herd pigs. Of course the lion appeared for a third time. She healed him again and the pigs vanished. But this time she decided to wait and see if she could find them. She climbed a tree and saw a man coming down a path and vanished behind a rock at sunset. She stayed until she saw him come out. At dawn, a lion came out. She went down and behind the rock a beautiful house stood there. She tidied it up and ate a meal before coming out to climb the same tree. The man came at the same time, and the next morning, the lion looked about before going on. After three days of this, she could not discover his secret, so she left her tree and asked him. He told her that he was cursed by a giant into that form by day and was the lion she had helped; furthermore, the giant had stolen the cows, donkeys, and pigs in revenge for her aid. She wanted to free him. He told her that the only way was to get a lock of hair from the king's daughter and make a cloak from it for the giant. So she did just that and was hired as a scullion for the princess. Once she earned the princess's trust she received a lock of her hair, but only if the girl promised to find the princess someone to marry. The girl went to the giant and gave him the cloak. He told her in order to turn the lion back into a man she had to kill the lion, cut him into pieces, burn them, and throw the ash into water. Then the prince would arise from it a man. She went away crying, afraid that the giant had lied and she would kill the prince. The prince comforted her and told her to do it, and it worked. He said he would marry her. The girl told him she had promised the princess that she had found her a husband. They went back to the princess, and her parents, the king and queen, knew him for their own son. So he married the girl who had saved him. And they lived happily ever after. The End!

I think the girl in this story deserved to marry the prince. When she tended to the lion she had no idea that it was really the prince in disguise. She is also very tough. Her master beat her several times, but everytime the lion showed up she put her own problems aside and cared for him. The moral of this tale is that good things come to good people!

http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/pink25.htm

How the Spanish Celebrate Christmas

The beginning of December marks the start of the Christmas celebration for Spain. Towns and cities all over the country are decorated with Christmas trees, lights, and nativity displays (naciemento/belen). In some villages children sing Christmas carols outside their neighbor's homes or by nativity scenes. They receive sweets or a few coins for their singing. This is an old tradition known as "aguinaldo". December 22nd is the day when school children start their winter holidays, and also the day when the winning numbers in the Christmas lottery (El Gordo), one of the largest lotteries in the world, are announced. The lottery was set up in 1763 by Carlos III and has run every year since then. On New Year's Eve (Nochevieja) there are street parties and firework displays, and at midnight people gather in plazas and church bells ring 12 times. One grape is eaten for each ring of the bell. The Spanish believe this brings 12 months of prosperity in the New Year. The day before Three King's Day (Los Reyes) on the 6th of January, there are steps to marking the arrival of the three kings. Before going to bed, kids leave their shoes somewhere visible in their house or balcony and fill them with straw and carrots for the king's horse. The following morning the shoes are filled with presents. A large ring-shaped cake decorated with candied fruit and known as the "Roscón de los Reyes" is eaten by many people on January 6th. Those who find a hidden charm in the cake are crowned king or queen for the rest of the day!

There are many differences between the Spanish culture and American culture when it comes to Christmas. I think it's interesting how they have a "Christmas lottery" and how big it is! It must be a big deal though, if there's a special day for it. Another difference between Spain's Christmas and our US Christmas is that they don't have a Santa. Instead of feeding Santa's reindeer like we do in America, Spanish children fill their shoes with straw and carrots for the King's horse. There's one thing that stays the same between these 2 cultures and that is presents! The people of Spain exchange presents just as we do in the US.

http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/spanish-festivals/christmas-in-spain.htm

Top 10 Most Wealthiest People of Spain

Amancio Ortega was born on March 8th, 1936. He is a Spanish fashion entrepreneur. In 2011 he was ranked by Forbes as Spain's richest man; Europe’s second richest man; and the seventh richest man in the world! He currently lives with his second wife in a discreet apartment building in the centre of A Coruña, Spain. He moved here at the age of 14 due to the job of his father, a railway worker.  Starting as a gofer in multiple shirt stores in 1972 he founded Confecciones Goa (his initials spelled backwards) which made bathrobes. Then in 1975 he opened the first store in what would grow into the enormously popular chain of fashion stores called Zara. He owns 59.28% of the Inditex group (industrias de Deseño Textil Soceidad Anónima) which includes the brands Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Zara Home, Kiddy's Class, Tempe, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear/Often and Bershka and has more than 92,000 employees. Ortega keeps a very low profile and there are no particular pictures of him. He refuses to wear a tie, and likes to dress in blue jeans and T-shirts. He is said to take a very active part in the production and design process in the company. In 2011 he made a public appearance in 2000 as part of the warm-up prior to placing his company on the stock market in 2001. It ended up making Spanish financial headlines, but he was never given an interview. This secrecy has led authors to publish books on him such as Amancio Ortega: De Cero a Zara ( From Zero to Zara).

http://www.famouswhy.com/List/Top_10_Spain's_Richest_People/754.html
http://www.spain-holiday.com/blog/spains-richest-people.php