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In the Meseta there is dry sunny weather throughout the whole year. Most of Spain has hot summers and cold winters.  In the Meseta summer and winter droughts are common.  Sometimes there are rainstorms but it isn’t likely.  In the upper meseta there are snow covered mountain slopes during the winter time.   In the coastal plains and the balearic islands there are mild rainy winters and hot dry summers.  There are commonly short rainstorms during the winter.  In the summer droughts can last up to 3 months.  Most tourists come during the summer for the nice weather.  In the northern mountains there are lots of winds.  They come from the Atlantic ocean and bring mild and wet weather to the northern mountains year round.  This part of Spain has the heaviest rain.  Rain falls most of the year.  There are mainly cloudy humid days, and lots of fog and mist from the sea.

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Spain is in in the world’s top manufacturers.  Spain produces automobiles.  Barcelona makes chemicals, electronics, metal products, processed foods and textiles, and clothing.  Madrid makes chemicals, electronics, processed food, and other products.  Spanish companies lead in construction and engineering.  Spain also develops dams, highways and high speed trains.Spain developed renewable energy too.  Around half of land in Spain is used for farming.  It’s hard to raise crops because of poor soil and dry climate.  Most people own their farms  SPain is a leading producer of lettuce, olives, oranges, tangerines, and wine. Grain crops are grown in the northern parts of Spain.  They grow bananas on the canary islands.  Farm animals include beef, cattle, chicken, goats, pigs, and sheep. Spain is famous for their ham too.  Spain is one of europe’s leading fishing companies.  Most of the fish caught are blue whiting, cod, hake, mackerel, octopus, sardines, squid, swordfish, and tuna.  Lots of fish is caught off of Spain’s northern coast.  Aquaculture is a growing industry in Spain.

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Much like the USA the government provides schooling for all children.  Kids get free education from age 6-16.  There are other Catholic and non-religious private private schools too.  At the age of 12 kids switch from primary to secondary schools.  Children have a chance to further their educations at university.  Some universities in Spain are University of Madrid and the University of Barcelona.

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Music is a big part of Spain’s culture.  Some Spanish instruments are guitars, castanets, and tambourines.  Flamenco music and dance has become famous all over the world but originated from Spain.  Another type of music is singing.  Spain has many folk songs.  In the 1700’s a light type of opera called zarzuela was created.  Montserrat Caballé and the tenors Alfredo Kraus and Plácido Domingo they were named the world’s best opera singers.  Spain also made many films in the 1900’s Some of the films made were An Andalusian Dog (1929) and The Golden Age (1930) by Luis bunuel. Carlos Saura films won many prizes from the 1960’s - 1980’s Carlos Saura was the leading spanish filmmaker of his time.

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The golden age of Spanish art was from the 15-1600s.  Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote (1695, 1615). Pedro Calderón de la Barca wrote the play Life is a dream in 1635 The 1900s was another great time for Spanish art.  Spain’s most famous painter was Pablo Picasso.  Some other painters in the 1900’s were  Salvador Dalí, Juan Gris, and Joan Miró.  Antonio tapies created abstract paintings and was famous for them in the late 1900’s.  Other art in Spain includes architecture.  Spain is famous for it’s hundreds of palaces and castles.  Another palace called the escorial is about 30 miles long which is a combination of church, college, monastery, and palace.  The escorial is west of the capitol. Madrid, and is one of the largest buildings.  The valley of the fallen is where 70,000 soldiers are buried.  It was built inside a mountain which is another way to express art.

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Lots of people live in big cities in Spain.  Most people who live in the city live in and own their apartments.  The majority of families have tv’s computers, and other electronics.  Most people have cars even though the public transportation in Spain is quite efficient.  Like most big cities, cities in spain struggle with pollution and traffic.  In the countryside of Spain there aren’t many people (just like many other country sides).  In the 1900s many people left the countryside to go find jobs in big cities such as Madrid.  The people who stayed in the country mostly became farmers and live in small towns or villages.  Farmers travel roads between  their homes and fields everyday.

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Food and drinks are a big part of daily life in Japan.  Most of Spain produces wine.  People in Spain drink wine for lunch and dinner.  Other popular drinks in Spain include Sangria.  Sangria is wine, soda water, fruit, and fruit juice.  Other drinks are thick hot chocolate, and strong dark coffee.  Seafood is also popular in spain.  Common types of seafood include crab, sardines, snapper, and squid.  People also enjoys stews.  A food that is often eaten in spain is called paella.  Paella can have tomatoes beans snails vegetables chicken rabbit pork and seafood mixed with rice and saffron.  There is also a food called gazpacho which is basically cold soup.  Gazpacho can be eaten for dinner or lunch but is not commonly eaten for breakfast.

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The Holy week is a holiday that is celebrated for a week.  The week that it is celebrated is the week before Easter.  It is celebrated by christians.  There are parades festivals and other local events.  It is to honor the local guardian saints.  People build bonfires and decorate streets.  They dance and sing and set off fireworks.  Bulls are set into the streets.  The bulls in the streets lead to bull fights which is a big sport in Spain.

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Most people in Spain are Roman Catholics but do not normally practice their religion.  There are also some Muslims and Jew and other religions.  It wasn’t always this way though.  From 1851-1978 the state religion was catholic.  For the people who weren’t catholic there were many restrictions.  For example non-catholic marriages were not legal.  In 1978 Spain’s constitution changed.  It said that there was no state religion and that anyone was allowed to practice whatever religion that they wanted to practice.

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World war 2 started 5 months after the spanish civil war ended.  In WWII Spain stayed neutral.  The Spanish civil war gave Spain much attention.  Germany and Italy supported franco’s side even though they said that they wouldn’t get involved in the war.  In the war Mexico aided Spain.  France the UK and the USA joined international brigades to fight in Spain.

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5,000 years ago the Iberians took up most of Spain.  It took the romans 200 years but they eventually gained  control of every region of Spain.  Spain produced food for the Roman empire.  The Romans built roads and towns in every region of Spain.  Then the visigoths ruled until the 700s.  The muslims  invaded the country in 711 and had taken almost all of the visigothic kingdom by 718.

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Spain does not have many natural resources which makes it hard to farm.  Spain also doesn’t have many of the key materials for industry which makes it hard for them to produce goods.  Even so Spain still manages to make products.  Three fourths of Spain’s employment comes from services and not agriculture or farming.

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In Spain the main job used to be agriculture.  In the 1950-60s Spain transformed itself into a modern industrial nation.  Half of Spain’s workers did fishing, forestry or agriculture.  Currently 75% of jobs are in the service business.  Services can include cleaning, cooking, and other around the house jobs.  Other services include things like the fire department, the police station, and park district.  There are also online services.

20 percent of workers are in industry, and the other 5 percent are in agriculture.

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The parliamentary system  makes most of the country’s decisions. The congress has 300-400 members.  The senate has 200 members.  Congress has more power than the senate does.  The people of the country elect all of the deputies, and people in both houses run or 4 years.

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Juan Carlos is not the current king of Spain, but played a big part in changing the government.  For Spain the king is the country’s head of state but does not have a direct role in the government operation.  Juan Carlos reigned from 1975-2014 and changed the country of Spain from a dictatorship to a democracy.