What can be understood by Englishness? A Canarian person lying on the sun on Las Canteras beach in mid-January,drinking a Canarian bear peacifully, can he consider himself as an English person?
Can all of this be acceptable?
Millions of tourists come back to the Canary Islands every year. They complain that England or Germany are very boring,rainy and cold. But a lot of Canarian people are always thinking of their high-standard of living and the social events that always take place in the Archipelago: cultural,sports, and musical events. Other Canarian people say: My sunny island that I love so much. Never will I forget my paradise island..
The Canary Islands are small and they are far away from the industrial areas of the Mainland. The Canarian people depend on the European tourism, above all: the German and English visitors.It is logical to dream of how it would be to live in London or Brighton.
They pretending to be Briggitte Jones walking for London. Others pretend to be Charles Chaplin despited of the Big Ben.
I had a professor at University called Marrero, who held a curious theory. The thesis was as follows:
"If you read widely,that is,English books,newspapers, and you watch enough films, the news,and you listen to the words of the songs in English you will feel yourself like an English person. This teacher is married to a German woman,whom he first met in London.That is way they feel pity not to have lived in London longer. For this reason, he wants to support the intellectual theory that they can be as English people not living in England. He considers himself to be more English-like than an English person who does not know their own history and identity.
Can a Canarian person of Latin character, feel himself as an English person, out of watching the telly and read in English? Even though he reads the news in English and shares the English character, can he feel English, when that Canarian person is surrounded by Canarians. For example, an English person is used to complaining about public affairs to his political representatives. In the Canaries, this is not so. It is not normal here that you can speak with your political representative. This only ccurs when you wish that someone pull strings for you, when you want to find a better job. The typical go-better.
However, in the Canaries, the British life-style is very much-praised. All of this, has been favoured thanks to the American movies.
For example: all of the dogs in my neighbourdhood have English names that became Spanish (Excalibur,Thor,Merlin, Marla from Marlowe etc...). There is a nice discussion.
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Well, well, well...You have started a really good issue to talk about, I think that you are whatever you want, it doesn´t matter if you are Spanish, from Canary Islands, or Japan, or Russia. I want to say that if you have borned in Canary Islands, for example, and you know other languagues, as English, or French...It´s true that you learn many things about their cultures, but it depends on you if you want to feel or be part of their community. My theory is that you feel as one of them while you are in the process of meeting their extraordinary aspects of their history, architecture, identity in general. But you won´t be able to leave back your origins, like said Alicia "¿Y tu abuela onde está?
ResponderEliminarLarissa Ojos de Luna