JOAN SERRA MINGOT

 

When one thinks about the typical Aragonese, the first thing that comes to mind is this image:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This nice gentleman on the left is Marianico el Corto (the Short) and the one on the right is Paco Martínez Soria, el 'Tontaina' (the Silly). Both represent the prototype that many Spaniards of other regions have about Aragon’s people: shepherds, farmers, uneducated, with an Aragonese accent that pulls you back... Overall, almost illiterate village people who know absolutely nothing about technology. Although they can hardly read, at the same time are very stubborn and they insist on being right. Moreover, every 12th of October they shut themselves in Zaragoza’s Cathedral of the Virgin of Pilar and do not leave until their patroness forgives them for being so peasant. And we cannot ommit the endings of each and every one of the words they pronounce: librico, jamoncico, huertico, etc. Nobody knows how this curious linguistic tradition started, nor the origin of the nickname of the Aragonese, known as 'maños'. Well, another of the mysteries of this ‘wise’ region. However, in their favor, we must add that they are considered sincere and noble, very noble, which is a clear euphemism for 'silly', because if we add :

 

village hick + noble = silly

 

As 2 plus 2 equals 5... Oops sorry, 4 (I hope not be turning into Aragonese...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But behind every stereotype lies a hidden truth. And it is that the Aragonese are not as silly as many Spaniards think. More than half of them live in the capital, not in the field. Although Marianico and Paco seem so, nobody wants to be a shepherd, nor a farmer or cattle rancher. That is why many families have to leave their business, as young people prefer living in the city. Also, any village kid has a mobile with Android, uses Facebook and watches football matches on giant plasma TVs . Even some of the most recognized names in Spain come from this community, such as Santiago Ramón y Cajal (the only Spanish who won the Nobel Prize in science) and the painter Francisco de Goya. Of course, this change from a rural society to another more industrial has made Aragon an increasingly depopulated and aged territory.

 

From WOW Spain we encourage everyone to visit Aragon, enjoy Zaragoza, skiing in Huesca, discover Teruel... and meet its people, noble and stubborn people without a hint of boobies.