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It is difficult to delimit when a generation begins and when it ends because the separation between one and the other does not respond to an exact science, but in recent Spanish history at least four can be distinguished by their social, political and cultural references. And in the Beyond section, the very long history of misgivings that preceded the construction of the tunnel under the English Channel.
Four generations. The political scientist Oriol Bartomeus describes today's Spain as the sum of four generations, defined by the events that have marked them: that of the Civil War, that of developmentalism, that of democracy and that of the 2008 crisis. Each of them It has its own priorities and values. It is a scheme very similar to the one popularized in his day by the electoral analyst Jaime Miquel and that shapes today's society.
Myths and legends. The first of these generations lived through the Civil War and the immediate post-war period, a traumatic time, with its own myths and even urban legends. For example, what did Himmler really come to do on his 1940 visit? Or was Manolete a murderer as was rumored at the time? Regarding the bullfighter, the reality is that no (he was the victim of a hoax) although the bulls, if they had been able to express his opinion, would probably have responded affirmatively.
The years of developmentalism. In the 50s and especially in the 60s, after the rigors of the first post-war period, the slogan of Franco's regime was to promote the economic development of the country at all costs. Those who lived through that era will be familiar with iconic concepts such as the 600, property ownership and the start of tourism, although in the latter case not everyone welcomed it with open arms. Like today.
The complexity of the Transition. Another of the current generations is the one that lived through the times of the Transition and the first democracy. The arrival of the autonomies was received with hope by one part of the population but with fears by another. The unity of Spain was at stake, the latter believed, according to this article based on studies by the Sociological Research Center of the time.
History of a tunnel. The tunnel under the English Channel became a reality at the end of the 20th century, but the idea dates back much earlier. The first known project dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, during the Napoleonic era, when it was thought that a road could be excavated for cars to travel on. This and other subsequent plans always clashed, regardless of technical impediments, with British isolationism (as the image above illustrates). In The Public Domain Review. (in English)
When there was only NO-DO. Historians Jaume Claret and Ricard Rosich publish this review of the history of NO-DO, the news program that the youngest will not remember but that marked four decades of Spanish society. Read in the Spanish version of The Conversation. And for those who want to take a dive, you can find the digitized collection here.
What the toilets tell. A few days ago, La Vanguardia's Vivo channel published an article by French researchers Anthony Goreau-Ponceaud and Alice Corbet about what public toilets say about social hierarchy. According to the authors, who have studied the use of this type of facilities around the world, defining who cleans them or who uses them speaks “about the relations of domination and reproduction of gender roles.” Access to these spaces and their characteristics are not identical for all social classes.
A look back in time shows that it has always been this way. In the Roman world, held as an example of engineering and sanitation works, toilets were a way of marking social differences. Those who have visited certain sites corresponding to that period will have noticed the existence of some characteristic – and shocking – collective toilets with a large capacity of users. However, although this type of facility ensured access for many people, social differences were evident.
In her latest book (Emperor of Rome, Criticism) Mary Beard remembers regarding the excavations of Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli that “sometimes these chambers lead to more important conclusions than one might expect. The arrangement of single-seat toilets versus multi-seat toilets (…) has helped distinguish the areas used by the emperor and his elite guests from those used by workers.”
However, there are exceptions to everything. In the ostentatious Versailles, not only because of its decoration or its architectural style but also because of its colossal measurements, the number of toilets was not at all proportional to its enormous size. The result was that members of the court were often forced to relieve themselves almost anywhere. Of course, those who cleaned were the usual ones.
