12th October: Unraveling the Historical Significance of Spain's National Day...

...and the Shadows of Spanish neocolonialism in Hispanic Latin America: A Personal Perspective.

Key concepts:

• Colonialism: Political and economic regime in which a State controls and exploits a territory foreign to its own.

• Neocolonialism: Determining predominance and influence, especially in the field of economics, by former colonial powers, powerful nations, and international companies over decolonized or developing countries

• Hispanic Latin America: set of American countries whose language and culture are primarily Latin. In this case it refers to the former Spanish colonies on the American continent.

HISTORY OF 12th OCTOBER AS SPANISH NATIONAL DAY (Garcia Jimenez, 2022)

The establishment of Spain's National Day can be traced back four centuries from 1892, commemorating the discovery of America. At that time, the Spanish Government officially approved this celebration as a commemoration of Columbus's arrival in the "New World." The consultation with the United States and Spanish-American republics, who largely supported this initiative, further emphasized the historical and international significance of the date.

Over time, sensitivities surrounding this celebration evolved. In 1918, at the request of Ibero-American countries, Spain officially declared October 12th as a national holiday. This transformation signified a shift in perception, making it a non-working day.

In Spain, with the establishment of democracy, the celebration of 12th October was renamed in 1987 as the National Holiday of Spain. A few years later, in 1992, the V centennial of Columbus's arrival in America was celebrated. By that time sensitivity had changed and the word “discovery” was no longer used as it was in 1892. Now the “Meeting of Two Worlds” began to be celebrated.

STOP TALKING ABOUT HISTORY AS A JUSTIFICATION OF CURRENT ISSUES

Whenever I asked my Spanish friends how they would feel if Tunisia (alluding to Ifriqiya, the base of the governor Musa ibn Nusair) celebrated their National Day on the 27th of April (Biblioteca, n.d.), commemorating the start of the Muslim conquest in 711 A.D. (and the foundations of Al-Andalus) by Tariq ibn Ziyad, lieutenant of Musa, I received the same answer: that it is History, something that happened too long ago to dwell upon.

We all understand that every aspect of history carries consequences for the present. However, when I mentioned how colonialism significantly damaged the cultural, religious, and societal diversity in Latin America, I often encountered a similar response: 'You can't solely blame Spain for the current state of former Spanish colonies in Latin American countries.' Therefore, as I firmly believe that understanding societal issues can be facilitated by exploring the cause-and-effect relationship within a closer time frame, I would like to reflect on some neocolonialist behaviors I have observed while living in Costa Rica and during my travels throughout Hispanic Latin America.

To avoid boring you reading long narratives, I will primarily focus on reflecting upon my perceptions of the impacts of neocolonialism's behaviors and policies:

• Politicians with a European background are perceived as more prestigious than local, especially indigenous representatives. In Costa Rica, we could observe, as of 2023, that out of the six surnames used by the three presidents (President, First Vice President, and Second Vice President), three are of German origin (Brunner, Neibig, Anermüller) (Presidencia de Costa Rica, 2023). Even though this is not solely a Spain-Latin America issue, my reflection on this point centers on whether these three German surnames in the highest executive office in Costa Rica truly represent the entire population of Costa Rican with German background ( Do 50% of Costa Ricans have German surnames? Hint: they don’t).

• Linguistic colonization. Linguistic diversity is not generally enhanced, neither in the Hispanic Latin American region nor in Spain. While there have been some empowering cases in recent years, such as in Peru and Argentina with the first radio program in Quechua, 'Mana Saywayuq' (Sin fronteras) (Canal jpe, 2019), these cases alone do not suffice to illustrate thriving language diversity. On the other hand, significant controversy arose when the use of co-official languages internally in the Spanish Congress was approved this year (Cadena Ser, 2023). In the case of Costa Rica, the reality is more complex. For instance, the Boruca language, spoken by the Brunka indigenous group, was declared extinct in 2003 when the last Boruca speaker passed away (Quesada, 2007). This leads to the question of why both regions are not investing in the preservation of their diverse language heritages. During my time in Catalonia (Spain), I was told that preserving Catalan is not considered useful. To me, this raises the question of why culture and diversity must be useful, and for whom it should be useful.

• Mainstreaming neocolonizing systems, be they corporate or institutional, as the successful ones. This is a vast concept, so I will provide some general and distinct personal reflections: why is Costa Rica's corporate tax 15% for foreign companies and 30% for local ones? Is it more beneficial for Costa Ricans to open a Pizza Hut franchise rather than a local 'soda'? Why does the Costa Rica government persist in promoting nature-based solutions to combat the climate crisis, rather than by consulting Northern European countries, by consulting local indigenous populations? (Cordero Parra, 2023).

SEEN THE IMPACTS, WHAT DO WE DO AS “SIBLING NATIONS”?

Addressing neocolonization requires critical thinking and recognition of its impacts. As societies, we also need to deconstruct the ideal of a single history culturally and educationally. Moreover, we need governments and empathetic citizens who are willing to listen and employ diplomacy without hierarchies to deconstruct that ideal, breaking traditional power dynamics.

My specific solution for this Spanish National Day is to separate the celebrations and maintain October 12th as a commemoration of the relationships among nations. I propose, as well, to change the Spanish National Day to the 15th of June, commemorating the day in 1977 when the first democratic elections took place after more than 40 years of dictatorship. This would represent a true celebration day when Spain demonstrated empathy and unity through the exercise of collective rights.

And as Miguel de Unamuno already wrote in 1922, "Hay algo muy peligroso en lo de hablar de nación madre y nación hija. Mejor será hablar de naciones hermanas” (Unamuno, 1922).

Hablémonos pues de hermanas a hermanas.

References

1. Biblioteca . (n.d.). Biblioteca virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Retrieved from La invasión árabe. Los árabes y el elemento árabe en español: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/la-invasin-rabe-los-rabes-y-el-elemento-rabe-en-espaol-0/html/00b64db8-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html

2. Cadena Ser. (2023, September 21). Cadena Ser. Retrieved from El Congreso aprueba de forma definitiva del uso de las lenguas cooficiales en el hemiciclo: https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2023/09/21/directo-el-congreso-debate-el-uso-de-las-lenguas-cooficiales-cadena-ser/

3. Canal jpe. (2019, October 24). Canal jpe. Retrieved from Sin Fronteras: el primer programa de radio en quechua coproducido por Perú y Argentina: https://www.canalipe.tv/noticias/identidad/sin-fronteras-el-primer-programa-de-radio-en-quechua-coproducido-por-peru-y#:~:text=Sin%20Fronteras%3A%20el%20primer%20programa%20de%20radio%20en%20quechua

4. Cordero Parra, M. (2023, October 4). Semanario Universidad. Retrieved from Gobierno pide apoyo a Noruega para “cuantificar” reservas de gas natural y petróleo existente en el país: https://semanariouniversidad.com/pais/gobierno-pide-apoyo-a-noruega-para-cuantificar-reservas-de-gas-natural-y-petroleo-existente-en-el-pais/

5. Presidencia de Costa Rica. (2023). Presidencia de la Republica. Gobierno de Costa Rica. Retrieved from Poder Ejecutivo: https://www.presidencia.go.cr/sobre-casa-presidencial/poder-ejecutivo/

6. Quesada, J. (2007). Las lenguas indígenas de la Costa Rica actual. Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, 4.

7. Unamuno, M. d. (1922, October 13). En el dia de la Raza: Un discurso de Unamuno. El Liberal, p. 1.