p. 342Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter. His work reflects his great ability to capture effects of the light. In this painting of Granada, Sorolla y Bastida captures the majesty of the Alhambra y de la Nevada Mountain using the contrast between the light and the shadow

p. 344-345“My friends and I went on a trip to Spain. We visited the cities of Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla and learned a lot about history. It is interest that jews, muslims, Christians have lived there. The influence of eac culture can be seen in the architecture of the buildings and other constructions. The mix of culture is fascinating!”

Century III AC – V DCThe Roman empire dominated the peninsula. The Romans brought to Spain unity, politics, roads, aqueducts, bridges and the Christian religion

711The Arabs came from Africa, invaded Spain, and conquered a large part of the peninsula. They occupied it for almost 800 years.

785The Arabs brought the Muslim religion to Spain. During the conquest, they constructed impressive mosques, like the one of Cordoba.

1248When the Christians reconquered Sevilla, they constructed the Cathedral of Sevilla, where before there was a Muslim mosque. The only part of the original construction that still exists today is the tower, that is named the Giralda

1315The synagogue of Cordoba was constructed, from where one can observe how the Jews assimilated the Arab art and combined it with their own decorations.

1377The Christians continued the Reconquest. Granada was the last city that the Arabs occupied. At the end of this era, the Patio of the Lions in the Alhambra in Granada was constructed, that is a marvel.

1492The Christians expelled the Arabs from Spain. Isabel of Castilla and Fernando of Aragon, the Catholic rulers, governed Spain. Christopher Columbus came to America.

p. 346-347SevillaIn the province of Andalucia and its capital, Sevilla, the Romans and the Arabs, among other groups, left their mark on the architecture. Also they left it on the people and the language, to which they assimilated numerous Arab words. In Sevilla, the Alcazar Real is a construction of Mudejar style, a mix of the Christian and Islamic influence. It has arches with marvelous tile decorations. In the neighborhood of Triana, many of the houses have adorned balconies with beautiful railings of iron. The old neighborhood of Santa Cruz was a Jewish neighborhood.

BarcelonaAn example of how they integrate the cultures of the modern era is the city of Barcelona, capital of Cataluna. By being near France the population of Cataluna has various forms of expression of French influence. One is the catalan language, that has taken many French words. The other is the food, with dishes like the butifarra (pork sausage) similar to the saucisson French

ToledoThe city of Toledo is an example of the collaboration between different ethnic groups. In 1085, the king Alfonso VI met in Toledo with the most important Arabic, Jewish, and Christian scientists and philosophers of the era. In this period, the famous School of Translators of Toledo was founded. In it they translated to Latin the books that had high demand in Europe. Later, in the century XIII, the city was the cultural center of Spain and all of Europe

p. 349218 aCRomans: Conquer of Spain, construction of bridges and aqueducts

711Arrival of the Muslims from Africa; contributions in math, science, paper, numbers that we use today; integration of many ethnic groups in Spain

1085 Christians: reconquer of Toledo

1492Catholic rulers: reconquer and occupation of Grenada; expulsion of the last Muslim king Boabdil; expulsion of the Jews from Spain

Arabic wordsDuring the 800 years that the Arabs were in Spain, many Arabic words passed to form part of Spanish. Many of them entered also in other European languages, including English.

p. 350Buenos AiresSince Buenos Aires was founded in 1536, there have mixed distinct cultures, religions, and traditions. Although the official language of Argentina is Spanish, in the city there are neighborhoods in which the language that is most spoken is Italian, English, Yiddish, Russian, or Arabic and where one can se mosques, synagogues, and churches. Before, the majority of the immigrants that arrived to Buenos Aires came from Europe, but in the last times the majority has arrived from other Latin American countries, especially Bolivia.

This immigration of different ethnic groups has made Buenos Aires a multicultural and cosmopolitan city. In some cases the immigrants have assimilated to the way of living of the place. For example, although many speak their own languages, the majority can speak Spanish also.

Also you can find that in the same neighborhood people practice Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and they eat dishes that came from many places, like the pasta from Italy or the stews of Spain

Buenos Aires is not the only city of South America with this mix of marvelous cultures but is one of the most known for its variety.

p. 352The last year your friend participated in the Ruta Quetzal, a trip that many young people make throughout Spain and Latin America

p. 355During the era that the Arabs occupied Spain, Europe received many instruments and musical concepts from these people.

The Arabs founded music schools in Spain. Musical instruments like the guitar, the organ, and the lute where not known in Europe until the Arabs brought them to Spain. But maybe the contribution most important was the concept of harmony, that changed the history of European music.

The Paraguayan harp was born when they assimilated the two cultures, the Spanishhad the guarani natives of the territory that would become Paraguay. The harp is originally of Europe and is one of the oldest instruments that is known. The Spanish explorers that traveled through the Plata River in 1526 were accompanied by a man that played the harp. The guaranies, that loved music, adopted the harp, changed it to their way, and made it part of their everyday life. The result was marvelous: a light instrument made of American wood, and frequently, with strings of different colors

The guaranies taught their kids to play with their own technique that passed from fathers to sons. The music that resulted from this instrument, that arrived with the Spanish and had been integrated into the native culture, is special and beautiful.

p. 356 With the arrival of the Spanish and other European explorers to the Americas at the end of the 15th century, a meeting was produced that was to change forever the life in the two hemispheres

The arrival: the Aztecs and Hernan Cortes1. In the 13th century a group of natives named the Aztecs arrived in he region

of central Mexico. These natives, later named Mexicas, established between two lakes the city of Tenochtitlan, which came to be the capital of their empire. In this land grew the Aztec empire that dominated the center and south of Mexico to the end of the 15th century. The Aztec empire was based on agriculture, commerce, religion, and war.

2. In 1519, the Spaniard Hernan Cortes arrived to the coast of Mexico near Veracruz. From their he left for Tenochtitlan with a group of soldiers mounted on horse and with weapons of fire. The Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish, with whom they confronted and fought in numerous battles. In 1521, Hernan Cortes achieved conquest of the powerful Aztec empire and its emperor, Moctezuma. Thus, the Spanish government in the Americas was created, named virreinato. This lasted until 1821, the year in which Mexico won their independence from Spain.

3. Upon arriving, the Spanish established a colony with the power of Spain that was named New Spain. After a bit of time, they started an exchange of merchandise between Europe and the Americas. The Spanish brought coffee, chocolate, corn, until then unknown in Europe and brought to New Spain horses, chicken, and rice.

4. The Spanish changed many aspects of the life of the natives. They wanted that the natives adopted their religion, their language, and their culture. Many religious people of various orders, like the Dominicans and the Franciscans, arrived to the colony. These missionaries constructed missions in order to teach he natives their religion. The Spanish also brought their architecture, their food, and their traditions. With the few similarities between the Spanish culture with the natives, the meeting between the two worlds changed forever the history of the Americas.

p. 358The fusionDuring the colonial era (1521-1821) they mixed different races, religions, and costums. Not only were there people of European descent, but also native and African. As a result of this mix, there are a great variety of traditions and cultures in America.

1. The natives influenced the religious Christian practices brought by the Spanish. In the celebration of the Day of the Dead, that takes place on the 2nd of November in order to remember the relatives that have died, they combine elements of Catholic and native religions.

2. ON of the things in which the Spanish influence can be seen was the food. During the colonial era, the food of the natives changed due to the products brought by the Spanish. It is in this era that many of the Mexican dishes of today appeared. For example, the mole poblano, a salsa typical of the Mexican kitchen, was created by the nuns of a mission using Mexican, Asian, and European products.

p. 370-371The missions of CaliforniaDuring the 18th century, the Spanish colonized the territory of California. In 1767, the Spanish govt and the Catholic Church gave the work to the Franciscan fathers of building missions and being in charge of them.

The missions were created not only to teach the Christian religion to the natives but also to teach work that they could do in the new Spanish society. Likewise, they had the function of receiving and feeding the people that traveled through the territory unknown of California

The mission included a church, rooms for priests, deposits, houses for the single women, barracks for the soldiers, dining rooms, and work shops. The married natives lived in a small town near the mission.

Fray Junipero Serra was chosen by the Spanish to found the missions. Serra founded 9 missions in California. They can be found on the Royal Road, a route that goes from San Diego, through the San Francisco Bay. Many people travel around today the Royal Road in order to visit the missions and learn about their history.