We've been a pretty homogeneous country for the last five centuries. Some people go around saying how peaceful and tolerant Spain was when jews and moors coexisted in the XIVth century. Whatever; that was till they got expelled.
I was waiting for something like this to get brought up. Those who say that Spain was peaceful and tolerant are only partially correct. Withe the advent of the Moorish invasion of 711, Spain's history would be forever altered. The concept of "Us vs. Them" was ushered in when the Almoravids crossed the Mediterranean.
While true that in some isolated communities in Spain coexistence was peaceful, all too often it was the exception not the rule. Oddly enough, it was the Muslim Moors who were historically more tolerant. Ah, how times have changed.
Even Spain's national hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, has his historic cheating of Raquel and Vidas [Jewish money lenders] immortalized in the Poema de mio Cid.
In 1391, Castilla and Aragon saw coordinated attacks against Jewish populations from community to community. Some cities were spared this bloodshed, but by the expulsion in 1492, whether groups coexisted or not, Jews were forced to convert or leave.
Why the history lesson? While not excusing the behavior, it is clear that xenophobia has deep roots in what we today call Spain. It goes underground for a while, but when the time is right [1391, 1492, 1937, etc.], it rears its ugly head. What is amazing to me is that this very sentiment has led to Spain being such an incredibly rich treasure trove of intermingling cultures.
Wars and strife have been Spain's lot since the Celtiberians...the fact that it is so strategic has led to its being taken and retaken on many occasions, each culture leaving a bit, and the next dominant culture many times assimilating the best of the last. [This constant groundswell of conflict makes it even more amazing to me that really the only major cultural "borrow" that the Basques have made is Christianity.]
The recent iflux of African immigrants is just the latest chapter in the novel that could very well be titled "Iberia: We've Been Expecting You; Take a Number, Have a Seat."
And Joselito: What do you have against those writing from Southern California???? Are you an anti-Californite? If you've got something against Californication, just say so...
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