The most popular sport in Spain is football. There are many famous teams, including the Spain national football team, which are the current World and European champions. Spain also has many football clubs, with Real Madrid and Barcelona being the most popular and successful ones.
Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid's Stadium
Spanish music has had an influence on many countries, including those in Latin America. Although Spain is known for the flamenco and the classical guitar, the styles of music change with each region. Madrid in particular favors the flamenco and chotis style. Aside from traditional music, Spain is becoming increasingly popular with its pop music from artists such as Enrique Iglesias and Alejandro Sanz. British and American rock and roll bands also had a large impact on styles of Spanish music.
Spanish artist Alejandro Sanz
As with Spanish music, the food varies with region. The most popular dishes that can be found in everywhere in Spain include potato omelette, paella, bean based dishes, and desserts such as flan and custard. Seafood also makes up a large part of Spanish cuisine due to the country being mostly surrounded by water.
Spanish paella
Roman Catholicism is the most popular religion in Spain. The country was first introduced to Christianity under the rule of the Roman Empire. After its collapse other religions like Islam and Judaism became more apparent. Currently, Catholicism dominates the country but younger generations are beginning to ignore its rules and moral doctrines. There are also a large number of Muslims, particularly in the southern regions.
With Catholicism being the most popular religion, most national holidays are derived from Catholic celebrations. A maximum of 14 holidays are allowed per municipality. Aside from religious holidays, Spaniards also celebrate internationally popular holidays such as New Year's Day and Labor Day. Regions also have their own local celebrations.
Popular TV Shows in the United States are also pretty popular in Spain, but they do have their own set of prevalent shows. The top three most watched shows are Polseres Vermelles, La rosa de Guadalupe, and El Barco, which are comedy, religious, and sci-fi shows respectively. Some of the top movies from Spain are The Orphanage, The Others, and The Big Adventure. One of the most notable celebrities from Spain is Antonio Banderas who is from the region of Andalucia.
Antonio Banderas
A popular online news source, specifically from Madrid, is 20minutos. It is an online newspaper that reports the current events taking place in Madrid. El País is the most widespread daily newspaper in Spain with El Mundo being the second most widespread. They focus on the news from the country as a whole rather than by region.
20minutos: http://www.20minutos.es/madrid/
El País: http://elpais.com/elpais/portada_america.html
El Mundo: http://www.elmundo.es/
- Online Forums for Expatriates
www.internations.org/spain-expats
spanish.internations.org
www.eyeonspain.com
The Government of Spain is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the king holds the head of state but has no executive role. He is also the Commander in Chief of the Spanish Armed forces. The current King of Spain is Juan Carlos I and his Heir apparent is Prince Felipe. A daughter of the king can rule if there are no sons born to him. The rest of the government is lead by three institutions: the general assembly of representatives, the assembly of senators, and the judicial branch.
Sources:
www.wikipedia.com
http://www.spain-directory.com/2012/06/01/the-most-popular-television-shows-in-spain/
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/news.html
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