The most famous people from each region in Spain
One of the best ways to prove that you're integrating in Spain is to know some interesting Spanish trivia. Knowing where some of the most influential and famous Spaniards hail from originally is one such way. Who's famous in your region?
Andalusia
Spain’s southernmost region seems to produce artists of various kinds. The most famous would be Pablo Picasso, born in Málaga in 1881, but there’s also a couple of honourable mentions: the iconic poet and playwright Federico García Lorca (Granada 1989) who was assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, Paco de Lucia, probably the famous flamenco guitarist and artist of all time (Algeciras 1947), and then of course the queen of flamenco - singer, dancer and actress Lola Flores (Jerez 1923). Oh, did we mention Antonio Banderas is from Málaga (1960)?
Galicia
The northwest region the other hand, produces politicians. Obviously, the most prominent and controversial of these is dictator Francisco Franco (Ferrol 1892) but former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (Santiago de Compostela 1955) and Spain’s current Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz (Fene 1971) are also Galicians, as well as Manuel Fraga (Vilalba 1922) whose long career saw him serve as both as minister in the dictatorship, where he pushed the Spain is different! tourism campaign, but also founded the Partido Popular during the transition to democracy and served as President of Galicia between 1990 and 2005.
Asturias
Asturianos seem to be sportsmen, whether it be Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso (Oviedo 1981) or footballer and former Barca coach Luis Enrique (Gijón 1970), or historical religious figures like Don Pelayo, a nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias in 718 and is widely believed to have kickstarted the Reconquista of Islamic Spain.
Cantabria
Similarly, legendary golfer Seve Ballesteros was born in the tiny Cantabrian town of Pedreña in 1957. He is regarded as one of the greatest golf players in history. There's also the president of Banco de Santander, Ana Botín (1960), who was born in the Cantrabian capital that the huge global banks gets its name from.
Basque Country
Famous Basques include Miguel de Unamuno (Bilbao 1864) who was one of the most famous writers of the influential ‘Generation of ‘98’. Honourable mention must go to Ignacio de Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who was born in Azpeitia in 1491. There's also Juan Sebastían El Cano (Getaria 1526), the first person to go around or circumnavigate the globe.
Navarre
In neighbouring Navarre, another top Spanish sportsman, Miguel Induráin (Villava 1964) dominated the world of cycling in the 1990s, winning five Tour de Frances and the only man to win five consecutively.
La Rioja
Goya award winning actor Javier Cámara (Albelda de Iregua 1967) is probably the most famous riojano in recent years. Less known is Gonzalo de Berceo (La Rioja 1190), considered to be the first known poet in the Spanish language.
Castilla y León
Isabel la Católica (Madrigal de las Altas Torres 1451) stands out as arguably the most consequential Spanish queen ever. Honourable mention goes to Spanish TV legend Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (Poza de la Sal 1928) known for the highly successful series El Hombre y la Tierra, the Spanish David Attemborough if you will.
Catalonia
The northern region also seems to produce iconic artists, whether it be Antonio Gaudí (Reus 1852) or Salvador Dalí, originally from Figueres (born 1904). Current pop megastar Rosalía is also Catalan (Sant Cugat del Vallès 1992).
Aragón
Another of the most important Spanish painters of all time, Francisco de Goya (1746, Fuendetodos) was from Zaragoza, influential filmmaker Luis Buñuel, part of the surrealist movement of the 1920s, was born in the Aragonese town of Calanda in 1900, and Ferdidand I, the Catholic king that united Spain, was born in the region in 1452.
Valencia
Pope Alexander VI, who was born in Xàtiva in 1431, and, more recently, the famous but controversial architect Santiago Calatrava (the man behind Valencia capital’s futuristic Arts & Sciences complex) was born in the city in 1951.
Balearic Islands
Arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, Rafa Nadal, was born in Manacor in Mallorca in 1986.
Murcia
Keeping on tennis, the new face of Spanish and world tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, was born in El Palmar in 2003. Honourable mentions include Bárbara Rey (Totana 1950), the famous actress who had an affair with the then King Juan Carlos, as well as legendary Real Madrid player Chendo (Totana 1961).
Castilla-La Mancha
World renowned film director Pedro Almodóvar (Calzada de Calatrava 1949) put his home community of Castilla-La Mancha on the map, while a notable mention should probably got to Queen Juana I of Castile - known as Juana La Loca- from Toledo (1479).
Madrid
There’s an argument for any number of of Madrileños chosen here, but it has to be Miguel de Cervantes, born (allegedly, it must be said) in Alcalá de Henares in 1547 who has had the most influence around the world for writing Don Quixote, widely considered the first modern novel.
Other worthwhile mentions are Spanish singers Julio and Enquire Iglesias and Hollywood actress Penélope Cruz.
Extremadura
The most famous Extremeños tend to be conquistadores such as Francisco Pizarro (Trujillo, 1478) and Hernán Cortés (Medellín, Badajoz 1485), both of whom played a key role in the Conquest of America, more specifically causing the fall of the Inca Empire (Pizarro) and the Aztec Empire (Cortés).
Canary Islands
The most famous Canario is probably artist and sculptor César Manrique (1919 Arrecife). There's also novelist Benito Pérez Galdós (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1843) and iconic luxury shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (Santa Cruz de la Palma 1942), made famous by hit series Sex and the City.
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