What was it like being a young woman in a Spanish culture?
This was part of my questioning. The “norm” attached to the role of women was quite determined and I felt a visceral opposition to this role. But Spain was not at all different from other places I have known in terms of assumptions about women. Unfortunately, my parents were particularly conventional in their understanding of my role in life: be married, have kids, no need to study, and the sort. How have things changed since Franco? Spain is a completely different country from the time of Franco’s dictatorship, which lasted almost 40 years. I was ten in 1975, when Franco died. I remember after his death a political and social effervescence. The move toward a modern, fully industrialized and democratic country was radical. Today visiting some areas of Spain is like moving into a futuristic, highly stylized landscape, which coexists with its more traditional, historical presence. I find the balance fortunate. However, I also feel that there is a “global” trend that makes people and coun
