Andalucía: A Prideful Region Teeming with Underlying Hypocrisy

February 27, 2017

The Iberian Peninsula has played host to a truly wide assortment of cultural traditions: from the ancient Roman legions, to medieval Muslim conquerors, to the European crusaders that famously established a “Reconquista” of the land. The diversity of Spanish development has culminated into a series of regions prideful of their unique mixes of culture, language dialect (or complete separate language as in Basque country and Catalonia), and historical claims. No region demonstrates this peculiar mixing quite like Andalusia (Andalucía), the southern region home to the great cities of Seville, Granada, and Cordoba.


Andalucía, and Seville in particular, is famed for its historical mix of the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All their influences are unmistakably present throughout the city and region, despite an official absence of the non-Christian faiths since 1492. These impacts are bountiful and play a huge role in the formation of an Andalusian’s identity, which is distinct from that of an average Spaniard.

Andalucía has played a remarkable role in the Jewish faith, as exhibited in its role as home of the great rabbinical voice of Maimonides. More overtly, the Juderia neighborhood of Seville has maintained its Jewish heritage through namesake. To this day, many Jewish communities trace their ancestry back to expelled Jews who flourished in the Golden Age of the region.

It is hard to imagine Spain as not officially Christian, but the Muslim religion also went through a cultural renaissance in Spain, with the seat of power for the caliphate sitting in Cordoba. Today, Muslim influence is largely present in the design and architecture of the Alcazar in Seville, an ancient palace redesigned for the Christian kings who took over, and the Alhambra, an ancient fortress perched above Granada. In addition, the Muslim community’s effects on the gene pool of southern Spain is undeniable, when the south’s population is compared to that of the north; it is a display of the enduring effects of the North Africans’ rule.

Finally, the Christian religion is dominating. After all, this is Spain. Few places, save maybe Italy, can serve as a more synonymous epitome of Catholic heritage. Seville has, arguably, the largest gothic cathedral on Earth, and Semana Santa is a Catholic religious festival that shuts down the region every year for a week, persisting as a remnant of the Inquisition. There are few blocks that do not have either a Christian-based name (my block's is Virgen de Montes) or the physical manifestation of Christianity in the form of a Church. Needless to say, Christianity is an important part of Andalusian identity.

However, the legacy of the Jewish and Muslim populations that once flourished hand-in-hand with the Christian community, as demonstrated in the surprisingly whimsical medieval literature of Al-Andaluz, is just that: a legacy. Save for a few traditions that somehow persevered through the stringent centuries of Inquisitorial trials and those new non-Christians bring as a result of modern day immigration, the obvious signs of Judaism and Islam are gone. It is odd that Andalusians simultaneously joyfully brag of their cultural richness, which they can trace back to the influences of their former “heathen” neighbors, and do little to confront the lack of the contemporary existence and practice of these traditions in the region.

It is hypocritical. However, I am in Europe, a land laden with hypocrisy. Few European nations have done much to acknowledge the terrible effects that their colonization has wreaked on many modern nations. It is especially peculiar in Andalucía, as so much of their identity stems from populations that they officially expelled nearly half a millennium before. It is odd to say the least.

Ultimately, it is a reality. Preserving and recognizing the rich history that the Muslims and Jews have historically provided is at least a testament to the great impacts they have had on European history. One day, I hope that Spain confronts this history more directly by addressing the specific roles it played during the Inquisition and how its actions as a nation affected modern society.
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