Arte Regional

Paul Vernon's ever-expanding series on the history of roots recordings around the world gets to Spain.

Late nineteenth century Spain was a rural and underdeveloped country with very marked cultural differences between its regions. In 1891 a population of seventeen and a half million spread itself across an area of almost 198,000 square miles, producing a sparse average of 88 people to the square mile. Less than a quarter of those could read or write. Catalans and Basques saw themselves as separate then as they do today, jealously guarding their cultures. Aragonese and Andalusians produced significantly different musics. Mallorquins felt themselves to be just as special and different as did Castillians. Arguably, no single country other than the United States produced a wider range of regional styles. Yet for all that, the spirit that moved them all was essentially and unifyingly Iberian. Follow the complete article.