🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Spaniards

Spaniards are the main population of Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic and Canary Islands. Their traditions are closely tied to place: flamenco to Andalusia, human towers to Catalonia, Fallas to Valencia, cider to Asturias. The wine and olive oil figures below refer to the whole country, not only to one people. ¹²³⁴

Flamenco. It joins song (cante), dance (baile) and guitar (toque); its heartland is Andalusia, with roots also in Murcia and Extremadura. Men and women sing, usually seated, and short, simple lines express grief, joy or fear. For many communities flamenco is a badge of identity, which is why UNESCO listed it in 2010. ¹

Festivals held up by the community. Catalan human towers, castells (2010), have six to ten levels: adults below, children on top, and anyone may join the crowd at the base, so the tower literally rests on the whole community. In Valencia the Fallas festivity (2016) runs from 14 to 19 March: local craftspeople build giant figures on current themes, which are burned at the end to mark the coming of spring. ²³

Wine and cider. According to the OIV, in 2025 Spain had the world's largest vineyards, 919,000 hectares, and made 28.7 million hectolitres of wine, third in the world; it exported 19.6 million. In the north the main drink differs: in Asturias it is natural cider from native apple varieties. UNESCO listed its culture in 2024 because knowledge of orchards, fermenting and pouring passes through families. ⁴⁵

Olive oil and cheese. In the 2024/25 season, on preliminary IOC figures, the country made 1,419,000 tonnes of olive oil, about 40 % of world output, and 533,000 tonnes of table olives. Its olive varieties include Picual and Arbequina. In the EU register Spain has 32 protected cheese names, among them Manchego and Cabrales. ⁶⁷

Why it matters to you. Spanish foods and traditions are closely linked to their region, so look on the label for the place name and the PDO mark: it shows where and under which rules a cheese or oil was made. ⁷