Famous Spanish Artists
Despite being well known for its sun holidays, sangria and siestas, there's much more to Spanish culture. In fact, the country is a leader in the arts from architecture to music, and we've rounded up some of Spain's best artistic contributions to society.
The official Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games featured a moment where the Spanish team made an entrance sporting tracksuits with unusual prints. (To be fair, you may have some difficult recalling them, as S comes towards the end of the alphabet and that part of the ceremony took a long, long time). To most of us, they appeared to be an entirely random whim of a designer with too much time on their hands, but to anyone who has visited Barcelona, they were instantly recognisable as a homage to the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
Responsible for designing a large majority of the city's most renowned structures, Gaudi is a pioneer in Spanish art as well as architecture. From his ceramic pieces at Park Guell to the incomplete Segrada Familia, a project he worked on up until his death, Barcelona's skyline celebrates his genius visions and creations. Not only is he famous for his contributions to Spain, but he's also world famous for his inspiring works and today remains a major part of the city's tourist attractions.
Today we have Michael Buble, Bruno Mars and Paul Anka, but back in the 1970s and 80s, crooning was all about the Spanish heart-throb Julio Iglesias. Although he has spent much of the latter part of his career in Miami, Iglesias was born in Madrid, where lived until 1981.
Releasing plenty of autobiographies, the singer has had quite the life story to tell and even played professional football for Real Madrid before finding his feet in the music industry. If that's not enough , it's no wonder that Iglesias's younger son, Enrique, inherited his show-stopping good looks and star quality, and after being the best-selling Spanish musician of the 1990s, has gone on to international stardom. Quite a family and another victory for Spain!
The official Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games featured a moment where the Spanish team made an entrance sporting tracksuits with unusual prints. (To be fair, you may have some difficult recalling them, as S comes towards the end of the alphabet and that part of the ceremony took a long, long time). To most of us, they appeared to be an entirely random whim of a designer with too much time on their hands, but to anyone who has visited Barcelona, they were instantly recognisable as a homage to the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
Responsible for designing a large majority of the city's most renowned structures, Gaudi is a pioneer in Spanish art as well as architecture. From his ceramic pieces at Park Guell to the incomplete Segrada Familia, a project he worked on up until his death, Barcelona's skyline celebrates his genius visions and creations. Not only is he famous for his contributions to Spain, but he's also world famous for his inspiring works and today remains a major part of the city's tourist attractions.
Today we have Michael Buble, Bruno Mars and Paul Anka, but back in the 1970s and 80s, crooning was all about the Spanish heart-throb Julio Iglesias. Although he has spent much of the latter part of his career in Miami, Iglesias was born in Madrid, where lived until 1981.
Releasing plenty of autobiographies, the singer has had quite the life story to tell and even played professional football for Real Madrid before finding his feet in the music industry. If that's not enough , it's no wonder that Iglesias's younger son, Enrique, inherited his show-stopping good looks and star quality, and after being the best-selling Spanish musician of the 1990s, has gone on to international stardom. Quite a family and another victory for Spain!
About the Author:
Catherine McCulloch is a travel writer who often goes on trips to Spain. For great deals on places to stay and flights, click here.