On the two Galicias: from Lesser Poland to the outskirts of Europe, from the Atlantic to the Vistula river
On the two Galicias: from Lesser Poland to the outskirts of Europe, from the Atlantic to the Vistula river

Summary/Abstract: The article is aiming to compare the two European Galicias: the Spanish one, being one of the autonomous communities of Spain and the historical-cultural region located in the East-Central part of Europe. Is there, apart from the coincidence of names which may serve as a good starting point for the play of words and anecdotes on ‘national characters’, something more which links these two distant geographic territories? From the socio-cultural perspective it is worth to have a look at the sphere of social ideas and myths which accompany discussions on the two Galicias. Is there in the complicated and quite elusive (in the sense of uncountable, changing and subjective) matter of local traditions, daily life patterns and customs, any link between the two European Galicias? In this short article, I will try to refer to certain stereotypes, cultural myths and anecdotes came to being in the sphere of social concepts. They were created, on one hand, by the media (in particular in the context of the unification of the richer Europe with its poorer part), on the other – by individual human experiences, in whose lives dual Galician adventures entwined.

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