Now here is my SILLY question......
Are there many redheads in Spain?

I have no excuse for asking such a frivolous question......
it's just that my curiousity has gotten the best of me. My imagination is going wild in the last days before my trip to Madrid, and all sorts of questions are buzzing around in my head.
Wondering just how much I will be standing out as a tourist!!!

I don't think I have ever seen a true redheaded Spaniard, nope. Anyone else?

Long, long ago I was escorting a 'peliroja' of the Irish persuasion (very fair skin and green eyes) around Madrid for a few days. She was quite tall (about 5'9") and I she drew many curious glances from Spanish ladies and the men. That's the sort of reaction you may expect. They don't see many pelirojas in Spain - mostly visitors from northern Europe.

For native Spaniards, it is rare, but not non-existant.

i have a very good friend in valencia who has reddish hair. not red red. but still red enough. but it is quite a rarity. :o
i like these moving gremlins.

Say Kim, when will you be in Spain? I will be arriving on May 20th in Madrid and wouldn't mind seeing a redhead in Spain whether she is espanola or not. Hehe.

I've actaully seen quite a few redheads in Spain, although it's always a sandy red rather than full-on copper. Strangely enough I think red hair is a sign of gypsy ancestry in Spain - in any case, you certainly see more red heads in Andalucia than elsewhere.

Well, I definitely know a spaniard who is a redhead - my father! As James has said, it's not a copper red, more of a sandy red. But my father is from Galicia, a long ways away from Andalucia. In fact, I would think that there would be more redheads in northern Spain. When the King of Spain came to visit Canada, he asked my father if he was from Asturias... maybe because he was a redhead?

SusiLaGallega

Oh how I love this forum!
Thanks for all of your replies, now I know that I will be I will be one of the few 'pelirojos' in Madrid this weekend.
So, if anyone one else is in Madrid, and you see an American (won't be able to mistake that part!) with long, red, curly hair, PLEASE introduce yourself!
Eddie- thanks for teaching me "pelirojo", never occured to me to look up that translation!
Azboarder- I'll be in Madrid from the 16th to the 23rd, where are we going? I'll be checking this site periodically while we are there, so when are you going to be in Madrid?

Here I go, less than 24 hours until my departure!!!

So tall people stand out too? If the girl that was 5'9 stood out, then I'm in trouble. I'm 5'll and I have a tendency to wear platform shoes putting me over 6 ft. Oh well, I don't look Spanish anyway!

Kim:
I think the adjective (and noun) change with the gender (i.e. Kim would be una peliroja - but for a male it would be pelirojo). It's the way I have always used it anyway.