Galicia (Spain)
Galicia (also
Galiza in
Galician) is an
autonomous community in the northwest of
Spain. It borders
Portugal from the north.
Galiza and
Galicia are the two officially recognized spellings of the name in
Galician, both deriving from the
Latin name
Gallaecia.
Galiza is the older form and is found in the earliest texts written in the
Galician-Portuguese language, while
Galicia gained currency after the region came under the control of the kingdoms of
León and later
Castile. For this reason, many Galician speakers consider "Galiza" to be the only correct form, and it is the only form used by some nationalist parties and other organizations nationwide (such as
BNG,
Partido Galeguista or
Esquerda Unida (EU)).
The name Galicia comes from the Latin name
Gallaecia, associated with the name of the ancient Celtic tribe that resided above the
Douro river, the
Gallaeci or
Callaeci in Latin, and
Kallaikoi in Greek (these tribes were mentioned by
Herodotus).
Before the Roman invasion, a series of tribes lived in the region, having — according to
Strabo,
Pliny,
Herodotus and others — a similar culture and customs. These tribes appear to have had
Celtic culture; there is evidence that the last Galician Celtic speaker died in the 15th century.
The region was first entered by the Roman legions under
Decimus Junius Brutus in
137–
136 BC. (Livy lv., lvi.,
Epitome); but the province was only superficially Romanized by the time of
Augustus.
In the
5th century AD invasions, Galicia fell to the
Suevi in
411, who formed a kingdom. In
584, the Visigothic King Leovigild invaded the Suebic kingdom of Galicia and defeated it, bringing it under Visigoth control. During the Moorish invasion of Spain (
711-
718), the Moors garrisoned Galicia, until driven out in
739 by
Alfonso I of Asturias.
During the
9th and
10th centuries, the counts of Galicia gave fluctuating obedience to their nominal sovereign, and Normans/Vikings occasionally raided the coasts. The Towers of
Catoira (see also Viking Festival) (Pontevedra) were built as a system of fortifications to stop Viking raids of
Santiago de Compostela.
In
1063,
Ferdinand I of Castile and León divided his kingdom among his sons. Galicia was allotted to
Garcia II of Galicia. In
1072, it was forcibly reannexed by Garcia's brother
Alphonso VI of Castile, and from that time Galicia remained part of the kingdom of Castile and Leon, although under differing degrees of self-government.
The final episode of Galician independence, up to today, was the dynastic conflict between
Isabella of Castile and Xoana, called "a beltranexa" ("Daugther of Beltrán", and not to be confused with
Juana the Crazy (Joanna of Castile)). Queen Isabella, during her reign as queen of Castilla, made (the historically unproven) accusations upon her niece (Xoana) of being a bastard of Beltrán and the former queen (hence the name Beltranexa). A political fight ensued, and the Xoana-supporting nobles (most of the Galician aristocracy) lost; thus giving Isabel a free ticket to initiate the process she called "Doma y Castración del Reino de Galicia" ("Taming and Castration of the Kingdom of Galicia" (sic)(Court Historian,
Zurita).
Galician
nationalist and federalist movements arose in the nineteenth century, and after the second Spanish Republic was declared in
1931, Galicia became an autonomous region following a referendum. During the 1936–75 dictatorship of General
Francisco Franco — himself a Galician from
Ferrol — Galicia's autonomy statute was annulled (in common with those of Catalonia and the Basque provinces). Franco's regime also suppressed any official promotion of the Galician language, although its everyday use was never proscribed. During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a renewal of nationalist feeling in Galicia.
Following the transition to democracy after Franco's death in
1975, Galicia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain. Varying degrees of nationalist or separatist sentiment are evident at the political level. The only nationalist party of any electoral significance, the
Bloque Nacionalista Galego or BNG, is a conglomerate of left-wing and radical left wing parties and individuals that advocate total independence from Spain. However, the nationalist parties such as those have hitherto obtained only minority electoral support at election times.
From 1990 to 2005, the region's government and parliament, the
Xunta de Galicia, was presided over by the
Partido Popular ('People's Party', Spain's main national conservative party) under
Manuel Fraga, a former minister and ambassador under the Franco regime. In 2002, when The Prestige sank and covered the Galician coast in oil, Fraga is said to have been unwilling to react. However, in the 2005 Galician elections, the People's Party lost its overall majority, while just remaining the largest party in the parliament. As a result, power passed to a coalition between the
Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia (PSdeG) ('Galician Socialists' Party'), a regional sister-party of Spain's main socialdemocratic party, the
Partido Socialista Obrero Español ('Spanish Socialist Workers Party') and the BNG. As the senior partner in the new coalition, the PSdeG nominated its leader,
Emilio Perez Touriño, to serve as Galicia's new president.
The spoken languages are
Galician (Galician:
Galego or Gallego), the local language derived from Latin, closely related to
Portuguese, both being
Galician-Portuguese languages, and
Spanish, the only official language for more than four centuries. Since the end of the
20th century, the Galician language also has an official status, and both languages are taught in Galician schools. There is a broad consensus of support within the region for efforts to preserve the Galician language.
The Galician and
Portuguese languages are derived from the early
Galician-Portuguese (
Galego-Português) language, and are still considered by some to be two dialects of the same Galician-Portuguese language. In the Middle Ages, the Galician and Portuguese languages began to diverge, a development hastened by political separation. There remain many similarities between Portuguese and Galician. Orally, these differences are comparable in scope to those between
Flemish — a type of
Dutch spoken in
Belgium — and standard Dutch.
A distinct
Galician Literature emerged after the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, important contributions were made to the romance canon in Galician-Portuguese. The most notable was by the
troubadour Martín Codax and by
King Alfonso X of Castile, called
El Sabio (The Wise). During this period, Galician-Portuguese was considered the language of love poetry in the Iberian
Romance linguistic culture.
From the
15th Century till
1833 Galicia was divided in seven administrative
provinces:
*
A Coruña*
Santiago*
Betanzos*
Mondoñedo*
Lugo*
Ourense*
TuiFrom
1833 onwards, the seven original provinces of the
15th Century have been limited to just four:
*
A Coruña,
*
Ourense,
*
Pontevedra, and
*
Lugo.
The main cities are
Vigo,
A Coruña,
Pontevedra,
Lugo,
Ferrol,
Ourense, and
Santiago de Compostela, the region's capital and archiepiscopal seat, and home of the shrine which gave rise to medieval Europe's most famous
pilgrimage route, The
Way of St James.
|
Finisterre on the Atlantic coast of Galicia |
Geographically, an important feature of Galicia is the presence of many fjord-like indentations on the coast,
estuaries that were drowned with rising sea levels after the
ice age. These are called
rías and are divided into the
Rías Altas, the
Rías Medias, and the
Rías Baixas. Most of the population live near the Rías Baixas, where several large urban centers including
Vigo and
Pontevedra are located. The
rias are important for fishing, and make the coast an important fishing area. The spectacular landscapes and wildness of the coast attract great numbers of tourists.
The weather is Atlantic, with mild temperatures throughout the year. Santiago de Compostela has an average 100 days of rain a year. The interior, specifically the more mountainous parts of Ourense and Lugo, receive significant freezes and snowfall during the winter months.
Galicia has preserved much of its dense Atlantic forests where wildlife is commonly found. It is scarcely polluted, and its landscape composed of green hills, cliffs and
rias is very different to what is commonly understood as Spanish landscape.
Inland, the region is less populated and suffers from migration to the coast and the major cities of Spain. There are few small cities (
Ourense,
Lugo,
Verín,
Monforte de Lemos,
A Rua), and there are many small villages. The terrain is made up of several low mountain ranges crossed by many small rivers that are not navigable but have provided hydroelectric power from the many dams. Galicia has so many small rivers that it has been called the "land of the thousand rivers". The most important of the rivers are the
Miño and the
Sil, which has a spectacular canyon.
The mountains in Galicia are not high but have served to isolate the rural population and discourage development in the interior. There is a ski resort in
Cabeza de Manzaneda (1700 m) in
Ourense Province. The highest mountain is
Trevinca (
2 100 m) on the eastern border with León and Zamora provinces (
Castilla y León).
Although the region is filled with extensive natural areas, Galicia has had environmental problems in the modern age. Deforestation is a problem in many areas, as is the continual spread of the invasive
eucalyptus tree, imported for the paper industry, which is causing imbalances in the indigenous ecosystem. Fauna, most notably the
European Wolf, have suffered from livestock owners and farmers. The native deer species have declined because of hunting and development. Recently, oil spills have become a major issue, especially with the
Mar Egeo disaster in
A Coruña and the infamous
Prestige oil spill in 2002, a crude oil spill larger than the
Exxon Valdez disaster in
Alaska. Other environmental issues include gas flushing by maritime traffic, pollution from fish hatcheries on the coast, overfishing, and the highest incidence of
forest fires in Spain, in spite of the wetter Galician climate.
Galicia is a land of economic contrast. While the western coast, with its major population centers and its fishing and manufacturing industries, is prosperous and increasing in population, the rural hinterland—the provinces of
Ourense and
Lugo—are economically dependent on traditional agriculture, based on small landholdings called
minifundios. However, the rise of tourism, sustainable forestry and organic and traditional agriculture are bringing other possibilities to the Galician economy without compromising the preservation of the natural resources and the local culture.
Galicia's inhabitants are called "
Galicians" (in Portuguese & Galician
galegos; in Spanish
gallegos). There was significant Galician emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries to other parts of Spain and to Latin America. In fact, the city with the second greatest number of Galician people is
Buenos Aires,
Argentina, where immigration from Galicia was so massive that all Spaniards are now called
gallegos.
Galician cuisine often uses fish and shellfish. One of its dishes,
empanadas, is a meat or fish pie. It has Celtic influence.
Caldo Galego is a hearty soup whose main ingredients are potatoes and a local vegetable named
grelo.
Centolla is the equivalent of King
Crab. It is prepared by being boiled alive, having its main body opened like a shell, and then having its innards mixed vigorously. Centolla is served in water. Another popular dish is
octopus, which is boiled whole and then its tentacles are cut into small pieces and it is served in olive oil. Pimenton, a spanish variant of Paprika, is usually dashed on it for extra flavor. It has a regional type of cheese, too:
tetilla. It is triangularly shaped and is white, and takes the name from the similarity in shape to a woman's breast.
*
Literature (in Galician):
**
Rosalía de Castro**
Manuel Curros Enríquez**
Eduardo Pondal**
Castelao**
Celso Emilio Ferreiro**
Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín**
Álvaro Cunqueiro*Literature (others):
**
Camilo José Cela (
Nobel Prize for Literature,
1989)
**
Emilia Pardo-Bazán**
Gonzalo Torrente Ballester**
Ramón del Valle-Inclán**
Ignacio Ramonet*Photography:
**
Manuel Ferrol**
Mariano Grueiro**
Xurxo Lobato*Music:
**
Carlos Núñez**
Juan Pardo**
Luar na Lubre**
Milladoiro**
Manu Chao**
Julio Iglesias**
Marta Sanchez*Film:
**
Mariano Grueiro**
Javier Ozores Marchesi*Artist:
**
Castelao*Architecture:
**
Cesar Portela**
Mestre Mateo*Design:
**
Aduaneiros sem Fronteiras*Politics:
**
Ángel Castro y Argiz**
Julián Besteiro**
Manuel Fraga**
Francisco Franco**
Pablo Iglesias**
Xosé Manuel Beiras**
Anxo Quintana**
Emilio Pérez Touriño**
Santiago Casares Quiroga**
Antoño Oyarzabal Marchesi*Sports:
**
Luis Suárez**
Amancio**
Michel Salgado**
Fran Vázquez**
Paco Buyo*
O Fiadeiro traditional dancing, singing and tunes, from
Vigo*
SonDeSeu modern orchestra with traditional instruments (harps, hurdy-gurdies, tambourines, flutes, violins and bagpipes) and repertoire
*
Mercedes Peón singer and musician who draws heavily upon tradition to produce very modern music
*
Xosé Manuel Budiño bagpiper who plays modern music with a traditional stroke
*
Xistra de Coruxo traditional group and association
*
Xacarandaina traditional dancing, singing and tunes, from
A Coruña*
Berrogüetto group which manages a perfect, balanced, virtuoso combination of tradition and modernity
*
Os Cempés traditional quintet from
Trasancos with spicy and joyful lyrics and rhythm
*
Quempallou traditional music full of joy and energy from
O Morrazo e
O Incio*
Xiradela female singers and players of tambourine and traditional percussion from
Arteixo*
Susana Seivane possible the best female bagpiper from
Cambre*
Luar na Lubre wonderful traditional group
*
Carlos Nuñez musician who plays the
gaita, the regional version of the
bagpipe*
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña One of Spain's most successful football teams in recent years, from
A Coruña*
Real Club Celta de Vigo Other team of Spain's most successful football teams in recent years, from
Vigo*
Racing de Ferrol Play in Spain's Segunda División, from
Ferrol*
Club Deportivo Lugo from
Lugo*
Pontevedra Club de Fútbol from
Pontevedra*
CD Ourense from
Ourense*
SD Compostela from
Santiago de Compostela*
Other teams*
Selección Galega in Galician; defeated Uruguay 3-2 in late 2005.
*
Día das Letras Galegas ("Galician Literature Day") on
May 17*
Día da Pátria Galega (Galicia’ Day) on
July 25*
Partido Popular Galego (PPdeG) - Galician People's Party
*
Partido dos Socialistas de Galicia-
PSOE (PSdeG-PSOE) - Socialist Party of Galicia-Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
*
Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) - Galician Nationalist Bloc
*
Partido Galeguista (PG) - The Galician Party
*
Esquerda Unida-
Izquierda Unida (EU-IU) - United Left
*
Frente Popular Galega (FPG) - Galician Popular Front
*
Nós-Unidade Popular (Nós-UP) - People United (Galician Independist Party)
*
Way of St. James (Camiño de Santiago)
*
Galician music
