Greatest Spanish contribution(s) to the world ?

There are different hypotheses about the origins of flamenco. It is relatively modern flamenco as we know it today, no doubt the Spanish Gypsies have brought their own style and are the first to professionalize the art of flamenco, but I personally do not see any other group from another country gypsy song and dance flamenco, if it was a purely gypsy art, other European gypsy flamenco dancer and sing, and I think not.

Flamenco art is a distinctly Andalusian building, genuine and unique, we make them our influences in a total symbiosis to purity, we are not obsessed like pure European center without influence.

The story of the man who accused Spielberg of plagiarism and died in the attempt.

E.T. allegedly was Spanish, but allegedly stole the idea.

Some will ask: And that's a Spanish contribution to the world? and the answer is that it is a contribution, as did many children happy and adults and moved a big industry around that dear being called ETpity that we stole the idea!, allegedly.

In October 1975 the Barcelona artist Joaquín Blázquez created, commissioned by the American publishing house 'Warren Magazines', a' Melvin ', star of the cartoon published the following year at number 49 of' Vampirella ', titled' Then one foggy Christmas Eve. " This personage is the one you see in the image above. It is very probable that I remember someone. Seven years later, a similar stupid, jumped to the big screen to end up becoming one of the most important icons of cinema: 'ET The Extra-Terrestrial. "

Blázquez became obsessed with prosecute Steven Spielberg. Without ever receiving any answer or explanation, suffering from a deep nervous breakdown, the artist died at forty years of a stroke caused by continued intake of drugs and alcohol.

The documentary 'against E. Melvin T. ', which will come the year in which twenty five world premiere of the film, Spielberg, whose trailer can be seen here, shows us the complex life history of Joaquín Blázquez.

Victor Sarabia directed a documentary about his neighbor in Premia de Mar, a town near Barcelona, where he lived in the 70s a group of artists, writers and editors momentous in the history of comics for adults in Spain. Conchita, the widow of Blázquez has had to move and has delivered all the material from her husband to Sarabi. Among the drawings, super 8 films, diaries, personal letters and newspaper clippings, are also letters to Spielberg, as follows:

http://www.blogdecine.com/historias...ia-del-hombre-que-acuso-a-spielberg-de-plagio






Bone already have: The radio, the helicopter, the submarine, the Talgo, ET, not bad at all

Priceless.

This thread have to go up... and up it goes.

Regards.

Another great contribution of Spain to the world is Atlantis.


MADRID, 14 Mar. (Reuters) -



Atlantis was in Doñana and the tsunami destroyed a


http://http://www.europapress.es/so...a-donana-destruyo-tsunami-20110314112536.html




An international research team led by an American scientist may have finally given the location of the lost city of Atlantis. The legendary civilization was destroyed by a tsunami thousands of years ago and was cibierta by banks of mud in southern Spain.

"This is the power of tsunamis," said Reuters chief investigator Richard Freund. "It's so hard to understand that they can reach more than 90 miles inland, and that's more or less what we're talking about," said Freund, University of Hartford, Connecticut, who led an international team of quest to find the location Atlantis real.

To solve the ancient mystery, the team used a satellite photo of an alleged sunken city to find the site just north of Cadiz. There, buried in the marshes of Doñana National Park, believe it stood the ancient city of Atlantis, consisting of several rings.

Throughout the years 2009 and 2010, the team of archaeologists and geologists used a combination of soil depth radar, digital mapping, and underwater technology to inspect the site.

The discovery of Freund within Spain of a bizarre series of "city monument, built in the image of Atlantis by refugees after the likely destruction of the city by a tsunami, researchers gave added evidence, he said. Atlantis residents that perished in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities, he added.

The team's findings were released Sunday in the documentary "Searching for Atlantis", a special National Geographic chain.

While it is difficult to ascertain the location of Atlantis was in Spain, Freund said the "spin" of their work was to find ruins of cities like the one that was buried in the marshes on the southern coast of Spain. "We found something that nobody else has seen before, which lends credibility, especially for archeology," said Freund.

The Greek philosopher Plato, Atlantis dates back some 2,600 years ago, and described it as "an island opposite the strait known as the Pillars of Hercules, the Straits of Gibraltar today. Using the detailed reference to Plato's Atlantis like a map, searches have focused on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and the best possible sites for the city.

Tsunamis in the region have been documented for centuries, says Freund. One of the biggest was a 10-story high wave that hit Lisbon in November 1755.

The debate over whether Atlantis really existed has lasted thousands of years. The 'Dialogues' of Plato about 360 BC are the only known historical source of information about the emblematic city. Plato said the island called Atlantis "in a single day and night ... disappeared in the depths of the sea."

Experts plan new excavations at the site creeen found Atlantis and the mysterious "city" about 250 miles inland from Spain to study more closely the geological formations and to date the remains.

Stop insulting and lets get serious about that. Spain has brought a lot to humankind. People who say bad words or tries to offend do not know nothing about Spain, its culture or its history. Corridas and Inquisition? someone who goes to Spain and think thats all that it has brought to humankind do not know NOTHING, they do not read nothing about its culture or history. What about literature and poetry?, i saw the british post, literature and poetry are mentioned so why not here? lets see:

Literature and Poetry: Cervantes, Calderon de la Barca, Perez Galdos, Alberti, Miguel de Unamuno, Lope de Vega, Antonio Machado, here you have some examples but theres a lot of more.

I would not mention arts, too obvious

You mentioned fashion in the british, lets take a look what we have in Spain

Fashion: Amaya Arzuaga, Roberto Berino, Victorio y Lucchino, Custo Barcelona, Balenciaga, Pertegaz, Zara Inditex

Dont use wikipedia, it lies a lot, almost anyone can put anything there, remember when someone write that a famous actor (i would not say who) died and was alive?. But look what it says about Narcis Monturiol: "He was the inventor of the first combustion engine-driven submarine. Someone told that wasnt true?"

What about famous architects? Someone knows "a guy" called Gaudi? Rafael Guastavino i Moreno (the one who design the grand central station in manhattan and many many others around all the States), bofill, calatrava

What about the language? The spanish is the second language by numers of native speakers (329 million).

Theres many more things but i dont have enough time now, im busy. Greetings.

loco_aullador said:

Stop insulting and lets get serious about that. Spain has brought a lot to humankind. People who say bad words or tries to offend do not know nothing about Spain, its culture or its history. Corridas and Inquisition? someone who goes to Spain and think thats all that it has brought to humankind do not know NOTHING, they do not read nothing about its culture or history. What about literature and poetry?, i saw the british post, literature and poetry are mentioned so why not here? lets see:

Literature and Poetry: Cervantes, Calderon de la Barca, Perez Galdos, Alberti, Miguel de Unamuno, Lope de Vega, Antonio Machado, here you have some examples but theres a lot of more.

I would not mention arts, too obvious

You mentioned fashion in the british, lets take a look what we have in Spain

Fashion: Amaya Arzuaga, Roberto Berino, Victorio y Lucchino, Custo Barcelona, Balenciaga, Pertegaz, Zara Inditex

Dont use wikipedia, it lies a lot, almost anyone can put anything there, remember when someone write that a famous actor (i would not say who) died and was alive?. But look what it says about Narcis Monturiol: "He was the inventor of the first combustion engine-driven submarine. Someone told that wasnt true?"

What about famous architects? Someone knows "a guy" called Gaudi? Rafael Guastavino i Moreno (the one who design the grand central station in manhattan and many many others around all the States), bofill, calatrava

What about the language? The spanish is the second language by numers of native speakers (329 million).

Theres many more things but i dont have enough time now, im busy. Greetings.

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I agree. For example, in other "polls" they got recreational contributions, like Tarot cards, comic books, games (snooker, bridge, etc.), yet you would think that the remarkable achievement (because it's not only "recreational" but actually a technological achievement as well) of making the world's first computer game (a multi-billion dollar industry today) would be featured in such a poll, but it did not. Somehow I think that if its inventor had been from Britain or Germany it would have made the "polls".

Well we the spanish are very good in forgetting our history and remembering only the worst things we did in the past (it is more remembered the Armada Invencible incident-great spanish loss against Britain-than the Jenkin's ear war-spanish win against british for example). Also we dont do anything to let the world (not even Spain) know our achivements and great personalities, we always wait other countries to give their oppinions and later we start complaining. Like said a spanish-american philosopher and novelist, George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

loco_aullador said:

Literature and Poetry: Cervantes, Calderon de la Barca, Perez Galdos, Alberti, Miguel de Unamuno, Lope de Vega, Antonio Machado, here you have some examples but theres a lot of more.

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Are they supposed to be famous outside the Spanish-speaking community (apart from Cervantes for one book, Don Quixote) ?

loco_aullador said:

You mentioned fashion in the british, lets take a look what we have in Spain

Fashion: Amaya Arzuaga, Roberto Berino, Victorio y Lucchino, Custo Barcelona, Balenciaga, Pertegaz, Zara Inditex

Click to expand...

Famous worldwide ? I only know Zara...

loco_aullador said:

What about the language? The spanish is the second language by numers of native speakers (329 million).

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The number of native speakers is irrelevant as a contribution to the world. What matters is how many non-native speakers decide to learn the language. I only listed the English language in the list of contributions to the world (and ignored even my native French language) because it is a fact that English is the only dominant international language nowadays, especially for sciences, technology, business, travel and diplomacy. English is unavoidable nowadays. Other languages aren't.

I voted other. I think Spanish/Iberian culture in general would be their greatest contribution. A bit of a wooly answer, but I think as global cultures go it is very rich.

^ lynx ^ said:

If France would have not created Inquisition there would have not been spanish inquisition either. And the spanish inquisition barely acted in Spain's colonies, btw.

Regards.

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I think that the forced conversions carried on by Spanish (and Portuguese) missionaries can be seen as an extension of the Spanish Inquisition. The purpose of the inquisition is to subdue the biggest part of the world population as possible to Roman Catholicism. It is a sort of Christian Jihad, if you will.

Drac said:

Besides the Gypsy influence, that's a bit hard to believe, considering that Flamenco is only about 200 years old.

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Why would it matter how old Flamenco is to be influenced by other, older traditions ? Ancient Greece and Rome disappeared long ago but we are still influenced by them. I don't know who created Flamenco (I never said they were Gypsies), but the ones who did certainly got their inspiration from various sources, including Sephardic Jewish, Moorish/Arabic, folkloric Spanish and Gypsy music.

edao said:

I voted other. I think Spanish/Iberian culture in general would be their greatest contribution. A bit of a wooly answer, but I think as global cultures go it is very rich.

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It would be nice to elaborate. Cultures usually refers mostly to the arts (including literature, music, painting, architecture and fashion), food, language and customs. I already listed food, painting and the guitar for music. I don't think that Spanish literature or fashion had a big impact on other cultures or is among the most widely acclaimed worldwide. Surely every major country has had its share of fashion designers or writers, but I am only interested in those that are really noteworthy and influential on a global scale. That's why I also didn't list fashion for Germany (despite Hugo Boss or Escada) or Japan (despite Kenzo and Issey Miyake), or literature for most countries besides Britain, France and Italy, despite their respective merits.

Maciamo said:

Are they supposed to be famous outside the Spanish-speaking community (apart from Cervantes for one book, Don Quixote) ?



Famous worldwide ? I only know Zara...

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Well if you have the cultural level of a bean is your problem.

Maciamo said:

Why would it matter how old Flamenco is to be influenced by other, older traditions ? Ancient Greece and Rome disappeared long ago but we are still influenced by them. I don't know who created Flamenco (I never said they were Gypsies), but the ones who did certainly got their inspiration from various sources, including Sephardic Jewish, Moorish/Arabic, folkloric Spanish and Gypsy music.

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I don't see how people like Jews and "Moors", who were no longer present in Spain 200 years ago, have anything to do with a music/dance style that was "born" around that time. The Gypsy influence is perfectly understandable because the Gypsy minority had not been expelled and was (and still is) present in Andalusia at the time.

Maciamo said:

Are they supposed to be famous outside the Spanish-speaking community (apart from Cervantes for one book, Don Quixote) ?

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You have never heard of Lope de Vega, Francisco Quevedo or Calderon de la Barca (this last one was translated into German many times and was much admired by Goethe)?

Besides Shakespeare, are most of the British writers you listed famous outside the English-speaking community? The only reason I have heard of some of them is because I studied in the United States.

Maciamo said:

I think that the forced conversions carried on by Spanish (and Portuguese) missionaries can be seen as an extension of the Spanish Inquisition. The purpose of the inquisition is to subdue the biggest part of the world population as possible to Roman Catholicism. It is a sort of Christian Jihad, if you will.

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Ridiculous. The missionaries weren't members of the inquisition. Being part of the Catholic Church does not automatically turn you into an evil Inquisitor.

The spanish inquisition only stablished in the cities of Lima, Mexico and Cartagena de Indias.

Sorry, but you seems to have a very stereotyped vision on Catholicism.

Regards.

Drac said:

Besides Shakespeare, are most of the British writers you listed famous outside the English-speaking community? The only reason I have heard of some of them is because I studied in the United States.

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Many British writers are famous world-wide thanks to adaptations of their work by Hollywood (many Dickens, like Oliver Twist or Great Expectations, but also 20th-century writers like J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter) or Disney (notably Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, or Winnie the Pooh). Don't tell me that these names are unfamiliar to you. British literature had a tremendous influence on modern American, European and Japanese culture. Spanish literature just didn't.

^ lynx ^ said:

Ridiculous. The missionaries weren't members of the inquisition. Being part of the Catholic Church does not automatically turn you into an evil Inquisitor.
The spanish inquisition only stablished in the cities of Lima, Mexico and Cartagena de Indias.
Sorry, but you seems to have a very stereotyped vision on Catholicism.
Regards.

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Missionaries were generally Jesuits. The Jesuits were an army-like order founded during the Spanish Inquisition with the purpose to fight the rise of Protestantism and other heretic faiths. In other words they were the Pope's spiritual army, the pillars of the Inquisition. Amazing that a Spaniard shouldn't know that. But perhaps you were not educated at a Jesuit college.

Maciamo said:

Many British writers are famous world-wide thanks to adaptations of their work by Hollywood (many Dickens, like Oliver Twist or Great Expectations, but also 20th-century writers like J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter) or Disney (notably Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, or Winnie the Pooh). Don't tell me that these names are unfamiliar to you. British literature had a tremendous influence on modern American, European and Japanese culture. Spanish literature just didn't.

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If you have to rely on movies for people to have heard of your writings then you couldn't possibly have been that influential. The writers we are talking about achieved their well-recognized fame in an age where such audio-visual means of mass communication did not exist. The works of these people were actually read and translated for audiences other than their fellow countrymen.

Most people who watch Disney movies haven't got the slightest idea of who the authors behind those tales are.

Somehow I think that the above mentioned Spanish playwrights and writers are way more influential in the history of literature than authors of children's tales. I don't see many PhD dissertations and theses being written about "Winnie the Pooh", but plenty on Quevedo's, Lope de Vega's and Calderon de la Barca's works.

Maciamo said:

Missionaries were generally Jesuits. The Jesuits were an army-like order founded during the Spanish Inquisition with the purpose to fight the rise of Protestantism and other heretic faiths. In other words they were the Pope's spiritual army, the pillars of the Inquisition. Amazing that a Spaniard shouldn't know that. But perhaps you were not educated at a Jesuit college.

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Since there were no protestantism in America by then you may understand that their activies were (in most cases) quite different from those that made the Inquisition so infamous. Jesuit missions in Latin America were very controversial in Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal where they were seen as interfering with the proper colonial enterprises of the royal governments. The Jesuits were often the only force standing between the Native Americans and slavery.

Regards.