Andalusia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- For other uses, see Andalusia (disambiguation).
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Motto: Dominator Hercules Fundator Andalucía por sí, para España y la humanidad (Andalusia for herself, for Spain, and for humanity) |
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Capital | Seville | ||
Area – Total – % of Spain |
Ranked 2nd 87 268 km² 17,2% |
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Population – Total (2003) – % of Spain – Density |
Ranked 1st 7 478 432 17,9% 85,70/km² |
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Demonym – English – Spanish |
Andalusian andaluz, andaluza |
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Statute of Autonomy | January 11, 1982 | ||
Parliamentary representation – Congress seats – Senate seats |
62 8 |
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President | Manuel Chaves González (PSOE) | ||
Junta de Andalucía |
Andalusia (Spanish: Andalucía) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its capital is Seville. Andalusia is bounded on the north by Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha, on the east by Murcia, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and Gibraltar, and on the west by Portugal. Tartessos, the capital of a once great power, was located in Andalusia.
More information about this region can be found in the entry Hispania Baetica, the name of the Roman province that corresponds to the region. The Islamic history can be found in the entry al-Andalus. According to the scholar H. Helm, the name "Al-Andalus" is simply an Arabic rendition of the Visigothic name given to the Roman province of Baetica. The Visigoths, following the custom of their Germanic predecessors, parcelled out the conquered territories by drawing lots, and the allotments to anyone, with their corresponding land, were called "Sortes Gothicae". Contemporary texts, still written in Latin, refer to the Gothic kingdom as a whole as "Gothica sors" (singular). It is reasonable to suppose then that the corresponding Gothic designation "Landahlauts" (allotted, inherited, drawn land), in its phonetic form — "landalos" — became easily and spontaneously, to Arabic ears, "Al-Andalus".
The Spanish spoken in the Americas is largely descended from the Andalusian dialect of Castilian Spanish due to the role played by Seville as the gateway to Spain's American territories in the 16th and 17th centuries.
A lot of Moorish architecture is found in Andalusia, because it was the last stronghold of the Moors before the reconquista by the Catholic Monarchs completed in 1492. The most famous are the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba and the Torre del Oro and Giralda towers in Sevilla. Archaeological remains include Medina Azahara, near Córdoba.
Andalusia is divided into 8 provinces:
Major cities in Andalusia are (from West to East):
Other Andalusian towns are:
- Algeciras, Cádiz
- Jerez, Cádiz
- Marbella, Málaga
- Dos Hermanas, Sevilla
- Antequera, Málaga
Andalusia is the home of flamenco music. Andalusia has a national anthem written by Blas Infante:
- La bandera blanca y verde,
- vuelve tras siglos de guerra.
- A decir Paz y Esperanza,
- bajo el sol de nuestra tierra.
- ¡Andaluces, levantáos!
- ¡Pedid tierra y libertad!
- Sea por Andalucia libre,
- España y la Humanidad.
- Los andaluces queremos
- volver a ser lo que fuimos.
- Hombres de luz que a los hombres,
- Alma de hombres les dimos.
- ¡Andaluces, levantáos!
- ¡Pedid tierra y libertad!
- Sea por Andalucia libre,
- España y la Humanidad.
A translation follows:
- The green and white flag
- returns after centuries of war
- to tell of peace and hope
- under our land's sunshine.
- Andalusians, stand up!
- Claim for land and freedom
- May it be for a free Andalusia,
- Spain, and Mankind.
- We, Andalusians, want
- to be once again
- People of light who to mankind
- gave their human soul.
- Andalusians, stand up!
- Claim for land and freedom
- May it be for a free Andalusia,
- Spain, and Mankind.
The Macarena is an aspect of the Virgin Mary recognized in Andalusia, Spain. It is the title given to Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope), in Seville. It is also the name of a neighbourhood in Seville and a common first name for Andalusian women.
Andalusia is also referenced in the Pixies song 'Debaser': "Don't know about you, but I am un chien Andalusia" - referring to the 1928 Salvador Dalí & Luis Bunuel film 'Un Chien Andalou'.
External links
- Statute of Autonomy (in Spanish)
- Government of Andalusia (in Spanish)
- Parliament of Andalusia (in Spanish)
- Basic statistical data for Andalusia (in Spanish, .pdf format)
- Andalucia Info
- Blas Infante, father of Andalusia
- History of the Andalusian Flag
- Asamblea Nacional de Andalucia (in Spanish, interesting History and Andalusian dialect section)
Autonomous Communities of Spain | ![]() |
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Andalusia | Aragon | Asturias | Balearic Islands | Basque Country | Canary Islands | Cantabria | Castile–La Mancha | Castile–Leon | Catalonia | Extremadura | Galicia | Madrid | Murcia | Navarre | La Rioja | Valencia | Ceuta | Melilla | Plazas de soberanía |