Quick Examen

On the first day of class in Culture, Economy, and Politics in Contemporary Spanish Society we had a test. Not a true test, it wasn't graded. It was just to test how much we know about Spanish Society already. So get ready to have your Spanish history and knowledge tested! Here are a few of the questions and I'll post the answers at the bottom.

1)  What Spanish Cyclist won the Tour de France 5 times in a row?

2) What King and Queen financed Christopher Columbus' trip?

3) Why do the Spanish not work on the 6th of December?

4) What do Spaniards do at midnight on New Years?

5) If you are on the Iberian Peninsula can you be in a British Territory?

6) What is the Guernica and what does it represent? And where can you see it?

7) How many official languages are spoken in Spain?

8) Who brings gifts to Spanish children on Christmas? When?

9) The Spanish flag has three colors? Which?

10) What is the name of the president?



Here are the answers....
1) Miguel Indurain
2) Ferdinand and Isabel
3) Constitution day. On December 6, 1978 the constitution was officially put into place.
4) For every bell chime at Midnight they eat a grape for good luck.
5) Yes, Gibraltar is a tiny British territory on the peninsula along the Mediterranean. 
6) Guernica is a famous painting by Picasso which is located in Madrid in the Queen Sofia Museum. It represents the bombing of the town, Gurenica, during the Spanish Civil War which took place 1936 to 1939.
7) 4 official languages are spoken, Spanish, Catalan, Gallego, and Euskera. Euskera is spoken in the Basque country in Northern Spain which is where I'm studying. You see it written on all the road signs, but everyone also speaks Spanish too. It is completely different from Spanish. Also, it is a younger generation language because Franco banned it during his dictatorship. So my host mom doesn't even know it.
8) The 3 Magical Kings on January 6th visit the Spanish children and bring them gifts for Christmas. Although with influences from the world, some children are also visited by Papa Noel on Christmas day.
9) No, the Spain's flag has only 2 colors, red and yellow.
10) Jose Luiz Rodriquez Zapatero


Hope you had fun with my Spain trivia questions and I hope you learned something!