You may have heard of the article recently published by The Sunday Times titled How to be Spanish. (To see and download full article, click here) Different media in Spain have echoed the article, incensed by the collection of clichés it features.
A British contributor to El País, Simon Hunter, has replied to the Sunday Times' chief travel writer by giving his own view of the matter. READ IT HERE.
What's your stand? Are you outraged, offended, disgusted, or on the contrary, have you been amused by it all? Are the clichés true (or partially true)? Is the tone of the article derisive or simply taunting/frank/amusing/you-name-it?
I wanna hear your thoughts about the issue!!
PS. Here's Murcia Today's article commenting on the matter.
PS. Here's Murcia Today's article commenting on the matter.
4 comments:
In my humble opinion, I think than British people are not an example to speak badly about Spanish people. When they come to Spain, they are known for their reputation for drinking and jumping on balconies. This article is not fair!
In my opinion, it seems that Chris Haslam has never been to Spain. His article is disrespectful and full of false stereotypes.
If I were like him, I could define British as:
“Be arrogant and believe your country is the most important in the world. Get drunk at every opportunity. Get in to a fight over nothing. Eat 3 courses, all of which are hugely unhealthy and must include chips. Wash said meal down with at least one bottle of wine. Blame all of eastern European for all the lack of jobs which doesn't exist. Sign on and take benefits because you can't be bothered working. Etc. Etc.”
All around the world is the same, all the countries have some stereotypes that they want to get rid of.
To really know a culture, you should spend time there, hanging out time with the locals (not a weekend in Benidorm), going to a non-touristic places… all of this is felt in Simon Hunter’s article. His experience living in Spain allows him to speak properly about our culture from another point of view.
Did you really take Chris Haslam´s article at face value? I have to admit I had a laugh and didn't feel aggravated. I think there's a lot of irony and sense of humor, and yes, some arrogance as well, but who cares? (And some of the clichès are quite true, aren't they?)
That’s the thing, what annoys me is their arrogance. Some of the facts he wrote are not false at all. It’s just an exaggeration of our way of life.
I found this article in El País (https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/11/inenglish/1502446342_130118.html), it’s funny in the same way, some thighs are accurate, other are completely false, but I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you do so.
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a comment! It will published shortly.