What's Special About Spain? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tenor

Josep Maria Carreras i Coll was born on the 5th of December 1946 in Barcelona, Spain. He was interested in music from a very young age and first made a public performance at the age of 8. He starred in many operas over his long career, starting at age 11. He is also known for his work for various charities, such as his own leukemia foundation. Carreras recovered from the disease himself.

Jose Carreras first performed with Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo in 1990 to raise money for his foundation, shortly after Carreras had returned to the music world having recovered from leukemia. They were collectively known as the Three Tenors, as all three have that singing voice. Eventually they started performing more often together and went on several world tours.

Answer: Jamon, Jamon

Penelope Cruz Sanchez was born on the 28th of April 1974 in Alcobendas, near Madrid. She first studied ballet, but gradually developed a love for film after seeing movies by famous Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. Her film debut was in the 1992 movie "Jamon, Jamon" opposite Javier Bardem. She was only 18 at the time. Cruz plays a young girl in the movie who is pregnant. The mother of her lover disapproves and tries to sabotage the relation by having her seduced by another man. The title of the movie refers to the Spanish word for ham. A lot of food related puns appear in the movie, as a metaphor for lust and desire.

Penelope would have her international breakthrough in 2001 when she starred in movies such as "Vanilla Sky" (opposite Tom Cruise) and "Blow". In 2008 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". In this movie she played opposite Javier Bardem again. She married Bardem in 2010.

Answer: Clay

Rafael Nadal Perera was born on the 3rd of June 1986 in Manacor, on the Spanish island of Mallorca (one of the Balearic Islands). He started playing tennis at the age of 3 and his talent was soon recognised. In 2005 he won his first Grand Slam (the biggest four tennis events each year) in Paris at Roland Garros (also known as the French Open). He defeated Argentine Mariano Puerta in the final.

During his career Nadal managed to win all four of the Grand Slam tournaments and reach the number one position in the ATP rankings (ATP is the men's tennis official association). Early in his career he earned the nickname "The King of Clay", due to his prowess on that particular surface. He gradually developed into an allround player, with strong performances on all surfaces. In addition to his many titles he also won gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Answer: Christopher Columbus

Queen Isabella I was born on the 22nd of April 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres. She was the queen of the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Léon from 1474. In 1469 she married Ferdinand II, the King of Aragon. Ferdinand was born on the 10th of March 1452 in Sos del Rey Catolico. They managed to end the Muslim rule on the Iberian peninsula (this process is also known as the Reconquista), laying the groundwork for the modern day country of Spain as one country.

In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella sponsored the journey of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus to the Indies. He made a total of four voyages aided by the Crown of Castile (the kingdoms of Castile and Léon together). Columbus made many discoveries on the American continent. Eventually a long court battle over the promises made by the Crown of Castile to Columbus arose.

Answer: The Persistence of Memory

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech (commonly known as Salvador Dali) was born on the 11th of May 1904 in Figueres. He started drawing at a young age and studied at art school. His paintings are often considered surreal with titles like "The Apotheosis of Homer", "Basket of Bread" and "The Hallucinogenic Toreador". Dali isn't only known for his paintings. He worked in different fields such as architecture, photography and fashion. He died on the 23rd of January 1989, aged 84.

One of his best known works was the painting "The Persistence of Memory", created in 1931. In the center is a strange figure said to resemble Dali's own face. The landscape is that of Dali's childhood in Spain. The painting also features several melting pocket watches. There are many interpretations of the painting, most of them concerning the fact that we realize that we will eventually die and the fact we lose touch of reality while asleep. In 1954 Dali made a second version of the painting called "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory". The landscape shown in the original paiting is now flooded and a pattern of blocks is added.

Answer: Sagrada Familia

Antoni Gaudi i Cornet was born on June 25th 1852 in Reus (the exact location is disputed though due to the lack of precise records). He was creative from a young age and later studied architecture. He gradually earned more recognition with projects like Casa Vicens (now a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Park Guell (one of the projects for Eusebio Guell). In 1883 he was asked to help out on the project to build a cathedral in Barcelona, called the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (or Sagrada Familia as it is usually named in short).

Work on the Sagrada Familia had begun in 1882. Gaudi soon changed the project to give it his own style. The project turned out to be ambitious and at the time of Gaudi's death in 1926, it was still only partially completed. In the years to come construction has been slow to continue. It remains to be seen when the cathedral will ever be fully completed.

Answer: Sancho Panza

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born on the 29th of September 1547 in Alcala de Henares (as deduced from available registers). Not much is known about his childhood, but he eventually moved to Naples and joined the Spanish navy there. During his military career he was held captive in Algeria for five years. He held several jobs after returning to Spain, as his writings were not enough to earn a sufficient income. He gained international recognition when his novel "Don Quixote" was published in 1605.

The full name of his most famous novel is "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha". In this novel we follow Alonso Quixano, who has set himself the mission to bring chivalry back. He is assisted by a squire, the farmer Sancho Panza, whom he picks up en route. Alonso gives himself the name Don Quixote, his horse is called Rocinante and his love is given the name Dulcinea. In 1615 a second part came out following the adventures of Quixote all over Spain (including the Sierra Morena, a Spanish mountain range). The books were published by Juan de la Cuesta. One of the other characters to appear is Gines de Pasamonte, a thief that is freed by Don Quixote.

Answer: Aztec Empire

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro was born in 1485 in Medellin (precise date is unknown). He studied Latin for two years and also was trained in the notary business. He left for the Island of Hispaniola at age 18 and helped build Spanish colonies, mostly working as a notary on the island. He also helped out in the conquest of Cuba and earned a position as secretary to governor Diego Velazquez.

In 1518 Velazquez asked Cortes to lead the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Although Velazquez later revoked his permission, Cortes went on his journey anyway. He soon managed to overthrow the empire, but felt he was not given enough recognition, despite being named 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca. In his later years he returned to Spain and died there in 1547.

Answer: Valencia

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (nicknamed El Cid) was born around 1040 (exact details unknown) in Vivar del Cid. He came from a noble family and soon gained fame as a military leader, mainly serving Sancho II. After the death of Sancho in 1072, he served his brother Alfredo, eventually falling out of favour and being exiled. After fighting for the Muslim rulers in the area for some time, his position at the court was restored.

In 1094 El Cid managed to conquer the principality of Valencia. He ruled there as the Prince of Valencia, along with his wife Jimena Diaz. El Cid would die in the city in 1099, while the city was under siege by the Almoravids. His wife took over as ruler, but in 1102 the city was eventually taken over by the Almoravids. In Spain El Cid is seen as a national hero.

Answer: Guernica

Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born on the 25th of October 1881 in Malaga. Pablo started drawing at a young age and studied at art school. He did not much care about studying though, but continued training with his father, also an artist. He soon developed his own technique and went through various periods of styles (like the Blue Period and the Rose Period). With Georges Braque he created Cubism, a style known for showing all the elements of the objects depicted. Picasso's work "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is said to be an early cubist painting.

In 1937 he painted "Guernica". The subject of the painting is the bombing of the city of Guernica, located in the northern part of Spain (known as Basque country). The painting shows the horrors of the Civil War and the effect it has on the people involved. The same theme can for instance be found in his 1951 painting "Massacre in Korea".