From Orbis habitabilis oppida et vestitus, centenario numero complexa, summo studio collecta, atque in lucem edita à Carolo Allard, c. 1700

The Power of the Veil for Spanish Women

In sixteenth-century Spain, veiling allowed women to move freely through cities while keeping their identities private.
A Spanish Nobleman, 17th century

Nostalgia for Manly Men in Seventeenth-Century Spain

Moralists found it easy to criticize Spanish men, particularly the high-born among them, for all sorts of supposed failures of masculinity.
Getty

How the Fascists Rewrote Spanish National History

National origin stories can be the stuff of fancy. Francoist Spain also showed how quickly those stories could be rewritten.
A film still from The Frog

The Bizarre Marvels of Segundo de Chomón, Father of Spanish Cinema

Segundo de Chomón made “trick films” that experimented with color and temporality, influencing the surrealist work of Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.
An 18th century casta painting

The Paintings That Tried (and Failed) to Codify Race

Casta paintings of the eighteenth century tried to show who was who in New Spain. But reality was much more complicated.
El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent, 1882

What Did Franco’s Spain Do to Spanish Music?

Contemporary Spanish genres like flamenco and zarzuela still carry the weight of cultural associations with Franco’s fascist regime.
Glazed tiles wall of spanish province of Ciudad Real at Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

Is Don Quixote to Blame for Modern Movie Reboots?

The culture industry has long repackaged content from the past for the present. Just look at Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote.
enslaved women illustration

Two Women of the African Slave Resistance

African women, always a minority in the slave trade, often had to find their own ways of rebellion against slavery if they could.
Pregnant woman portrait

When C-Sections Were Performed to Save Dead Babies’ Souls

In 1804, Charles IV, King of Spain, issued a legal admonition telling officials not to bury any pregnant woman without giving her a C-section first.
Running of the Bulls

Who Runs the Running of the Bulls?

In Spain, peñas (male recreation associations) control the safety of the annual Running of the Bulls and are responsible for much of the rowdy behavior.