- Navarra
- Navarre
- navarro (navarra)
- of Navarre
- navarro (navarra)
- from Navarre
- cierzo
- North wind (in Aragon and Navarre)
- Estatuto/Estatut
- Spain's 1978 Constitution granted of areas of competence competencias to each of the autonomous regions it created. It also established that these could be modified by agreements, called estatutos de autonomía or just estatutos, between central government and each of the autonomous regions. The latter do not affect the competencias of central government which controls the army, etc. For example, Navarre, the Basque Country and Catalonia have their own police forces and health services, and collect taxes on behalf of central government. Navarre has its own civil law system, fueros, and can levy taxes which are different to those in the rest of Spain. In 2006, Andalusia, Valencia and Catalonia renegotiated their estatutos. The Catalan Estatut was particularly contentious.
- Opus Dei
- Opus Dei - Latin for "God's Work" - is a Catholic organization founded in Spain in 1928. The Opus became very influential in Spanish society, above all by founding schools and universities. The aim was to create an élite which would spread Christian ideals throughout society. The University of Navarre is one of its foremost institutions.
- euskera
- The language of the Basque Country and Navarre, spoken by around 750, 000 people; in Spanish vasco or vascuence. It is also spelled euskara. Basque is unrelated to the Indo-European languages and its origins are unclear.
Like Spain's other regional languages, Basque was banned under Franco. With the return of democracy, it became an official language alongside Spanish, in the regions where it is spoken. It is a compulsory school subject and is required for many official and administrative posts in the Basque Country. There is Basque language television and radio and a considerable number of books are published in Basque. See also lenguas cooficiales
- comunidad autónoma
- Spain has long been been a diverse country, made up of different kingdoms and territories with their own languages, political institutions and legal systems. Periods of central control and uniformity, such as the Franco era, nurtured nationalist and separatist feeling in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia. The 1978 Constitution changed Spain into a country consisting of 19 autonomous regions, known as comunidades autónomas or autonomías. These replaced the old regiones. Each of them has its own parliament and government, and its relationship with the central government is governed by an estatuto. Some have more autonomy than others.
The comunidades autónomas are: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country , the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre, La Rioja, Valencia and the North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Estatuto/Estatut
