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Introducing Spain
Some clichés hold true. Spain, stretching sun-drenched and untamed to the south of the wild and majestic Pyrenees, is a passionate nation littered with glittering beaches where beach lovers soak up pitchers of sangria over steaming paella (at its tasty best in Valencia). Flamenco bailaors (dancers) stamp and swirl in flounces of colour, while toreros flaunt their bravado in the bullrings. Scratch this surface and a vast, unexpected panorama unfolds before you. It is extraordinary what splendours remain off the beaten track: the green hills and ocean coves of the north; proud, solitary castles and medieval towns, like Toledo, across the interior; the white villages of Andalucía; and mountain ranges such as the Gredos and Sierra Nevada (Europe's southernmost ski resort).
Few know that Spain has four official languages. Its regions differ vastly from one another but are held together by a national passion for drama, contrast and a noisy, live-for-today hedonism. If there is one thing all Spaniards love, it is to eat, drink and be merry, whether enjoying tapas over fine wine in Madrid, Seville or Barcelona, or the elaborate Basque Country equivalent, pintxos, over cider in the north. A day hardly goes by without one town or another celebrating a fiesta.
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Latest headlines for Spain
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Bull gores man to death in Spain
10 July 2009 2:18PM
A young Spanish man is fatally gored at Spain's Pamplona bull run - the first such death at the event for 14 years.
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Blues captain vows to clear name
6 July 2009 7:15PM
A Belfast footballer charged with counterfeit currency offences in Spain, says he will fight to clear his name.
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Spain spy chief quits in cash row
2 July 2009 4:24PM
Spain's spy chief, Alberto Saiz, resigns amid allegations he used government funds for hunting and fishing trips.

















