1. Essay
I going talk about 3 spanish spreking countries. First up is Spain where
everything stated. Spanish culture is widely known for Flamenco music and dance,
bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine. But what is Spain known for? It has
much more to offer than that. It is one of the cultural centers of Europe. Spain has been a
heavily agrarian, pastoral, and mercantile nation. As of the middle of the twentieth
century the nation was principally rural. Today, industry is more highly developed, and
Spain is a member of the European Economic Community and participates substantially
in the global economy. Farmers' voluntary reorganization of the land base and the
mechanization of agriculture have combined to modernize farming in much of the nation;
these developments have in turn promoted migration from rural areas into Spain's cities,
which grew significantly in the twentieth century. With the development of industry
following World War II, cities offer industrial and other blue and white collar
employment to the descendants of farm families. Spain has been a profoundly Catholic
country for centuries, and Catholicism was the official religion for most of recent history
until after the death of Franco. Church and state were separated briefly under both the
First and Second Republics, but their lasting separation did not begin until the 1978
constitution took effect. Even though their numbers have grown, non-Catholics in Spain
today probably number less than 2 percent of the populace. Under Franco, regulations
concerning the practice of other religions relegated them to near invisibility even while
they were not outlawed. Today non-Catholics practice openly. Spain occupies about 85
percent of the Iberian peninsula, with Portugal on its western border. Other entities in
Iberia are the Principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees and Gibraltar, which is under
British sovereignty and is located on the south coast. The Pyrenees range separates Spain
from France. The Atlantic Ocean washes Spain's north coast, the far northwest corner
adjacent to Portugal, and the far southwestern zone between the Portuguese border and
the Strait of Gibraltar. Spain is separated from North Africa on the south by the Strait of
Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea, which also washes Spain's entire east coast. The
Balearic Islands lie in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, off the
coast of Africa. Spain also holds two cities, Ceuta and Melilla, on the Mediterranean
coast of Morocco. Spain's perimeter is mountainous, the mountains generally rising from
relatively narrow coastal plains. The country's interior, while transected by various
mountain ranges, is high plateau, or meseta, generally divided into the northern and
southern mesetas.
Now let talk about Mexico. Much of modern-day Mexican culture is deeply
influenced by the Catholic Church. Nearly 88% of Mexicans belong to the Church, but,
unlike some other Latin American countries, the Mexican Constitution strictly enforces
the concept of separation of church and state. Still, Catholic Church teachings, including
its stances on birth control and abortion, have strong support in the Mexican culture and
in the Mexican-American culture in the United States as well. Mexican culture is
generally traditional, with Mexican men in particular holding onto old-fashioned ideas
about gender roles and family. In the Mexican household, the father/husband or oldest

2. male remains the primary authority figure, making most of the family decisions, while
the mother/wife continues to bear the majority of the responsibility when it comes to
raising children and maintaining the home. Mexican children are expected to be well-
behaved, obedient and respectful of their elders. Older family members often live with
their children and grandchildren and are a valued part of Mexican culture. These cultural
traditions are also found in Mexican-American culture in the U.S. The gross national
product (GNP) of the manufacturing industry in 1998 amounted to almost $82 billion
(U.S.). The major manufactured goods were motor vehicles, consumer durables, food,
beverages, tobacco, chemicals, textiles, and clothing. After Mexico City, the most
important industrial center is Monterrey in the north. Much of recent industry is
organized in so-called maquiladoras (labor-intensive assembly plants). All sorts of
maquiladoras were originally introduced only in a narrow zone along the U.S. border, but
they are now allowed throughout Mexico. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in
Mexico. After the conquest by the Spanish, Mexico's indigenous peoples readily accepted
Catholic beliefs and practices, but they did so on the basis of their pre-Hispanic religious
beliefs. The Virgin of Guadalupe, for example, was associated with the pagan goddess
Tonantzin. As a result, Mexican folk Catholicism is frequently described as syncretic.
Catholic beliefs pervade the life of ordinary Mexicans. Because the Catholic Church has
been a very powerful institution in Mexican history, its relationship with the state has at
times been tense and sometimes openly hostile. In recent decades, Protestant missionaries
have been particularly active in southern Mexico and among the urban poor. Mexico is
situated in North America, although culturally, it is identified more closely with Central
and South American countries. It borders the United States in the north, Guatemala and
Belize in the south, the Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The
national territory measures more than 750,000 square miles (nearly two million square
kilometers) and contains a wide range of physical environments and natural resources.
Two huge mountain chains—the Western Sierra Madre and the Eastern Sierra Madre—
run from north to south and meet in central Mexico. East and west of the mountain chains
are strips of humid coastal plains. The entirely flat Yucatán peninsula in the southeast is
an exception in mountainous Mexico. The possibilities and limitations of this topographic
and climatic system have had a strong influence on Mexico's social, economic, and
cultural organization.
Now let talk about peru last but not the least. Peru has a large variety of arts and
crafts. The diversity, color and creativity of Peru's folk art has made it a fundamental
activity not just for Peru's cultural identity, but also as a way of life for thousands of
families and even entire communities, such as Sarhua and Quinua in Ayacucho. Peru is
traditionally portrayed as a country with a developing economy dependent upon the
export of raw materials and the import of manufactured goods. It is also one of the
leading fishing countries in the world and ranks among the largest producers of bismuth,
silver, and copper. Traditionally, Peru has also been an agricultural-based society with
almost a third of its workforce involved in farm labor. Until the 1980s, Peru had been
able to be more or less self-sufficient in terms of food; since then, however, the nation
began the large-level importation of wheat, corn, rice, vegetable oils, dairy products, and
meat to feed its population. Since the 1980s there also has been a concerted effort, with
limited success, to create nontraditional export industries (such as fish meal, shrimp,

3. minerals, and oil) and to manufacture certain consumer goods rather than importing them.
Peru prides itself on being a Catholic country since the late 1500s. At present, about 90
percent of the population are Catholics while the other 10 percent belong to Protestant
faiths, the most important being Evangelists, Adventists, and Mormons. Indigenous
communities have also created a symbiotic form of religion not really recognized with
any other name than a popular form of Catholicism. Indian groups have mixed Catholic
saints with pre-Hispanic traditions, thus allowing them to maintain ancient forms of
worship under the guise of Catholic rituals. For example, the indigenous feast of the Inti
Raymi (summer solstice) is celebrated in many communities as the feast days of Saints
Peter and Paul. Peru has an approximate land area of 496,225 square miles (1,285,223
square kilometers) and is located in the central western section of the South American
continent. It borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east,
Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Peru's capital, Lima, is located on
the coast, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean. Lima is home to almost a
third of Peru's total population, with a total of two-thirds of the country's population
living in the coastal region.
BY: UTSAV PATEL

4. Although the vast majority of Spaniards are Catholics, there is great variance in the
degree to which baptized Spaniards are observant and in the style of their devotions. The
economic and political powers of the Church have promoted deep anticlericalism among
many believing Catholics, often setting regions, smaller localities, or households, as well
as different social classes, against one another. The differing politics of Spanish
Catholicism give different sectors of the population different profiles even when basic
religiosity itself is not at issue. The complex Catholic tradition admits private forms of
devotion along with the more public and collective forms, so that even small populations
see and tolerate some internal diversity in religious practice.