Mexico is 47 times the size of the Netherlands. It is a beautiful country that you can travel through for months. Its rich history, many cultures, tropical waters, amazing food and deserts and volcanoes are several reasons to take a tour of Mexico.

Mexico is located in Latin America and the national language is Spanish. It is the beautiful land of the Aztecs and has great differences in geography, culture and climate. Travelers there can enjoy the sun, sea and beach as well as delicious food, national parks, tropical rainforest, colonial cities and pre-Columbian ruins.

Three world spots for your Mexico roundtrip

Chichen Itza (Mexico)

When you tour Mexico you will find various remnants of Mayan culture, including Chichen Itza. In fact, this was one of the most important cities of the Mayan empire, rising above the Mexican jungle like giant pyramids. Located on the Yucatán Peninsula, the city has many sacred structures on the edge of the ancient crater Chicxulub, including the Pyramid of Kukulcán. This pyramid is included in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

San Cristobal de las Casas

If you want to see a lot of culture and nature in a short time during your tour of Mexico and beaches are not at the top of your list, the South of Mexico comes highly recommended. Here you will find rainforest, mountains and ancient Mayan temples, such as those at Palenque. High in these southern mountains, close to the Guatemalan border is San Cristóbal de las Casas. For many people, a stay in this old colonial city is the highlight of their visit to this part of Mexico.

Oaxaca

If beaches are at the top of your list, then the pearly white sand beaches and clear blue waters of Oaxaca in Mexico are really worth a visit. You'll find turtle beaches, surf beaches, as well as small coves. But Oaxaca has more to offer, namely stunning mountain scenery, beautiful valleys, huge corn fields and one of the most important archaeological sites can be found here, namely the temple city ruins Monte Albán.

Many other travelers have also discovered the country's diversity. Indeed, in 2011, Mexico welcomed 22.67 international visitors. This broke the record set in 2008.

Have you been intrigued by this information and would you also like to travel to the amazingly diverse Mexico? Then check out the following travel sites now:

• Mexico tours - Koning Aap groepsreizen
• Mexico group travel -Shoestring group travel

False friends are every language learner’s nightmare. It takes a huge amount of linguistic competence, let alone confidence, to express yourself in a foreign language, and these tricky words don’t help. While hoping for the best and adding an o onto English words flukily works sometimes, false friends will stop your Spanglish becoming fully fledged español.

False friends are words that are similar to a word in your language, but mean something completely different.

Here are some false friends you want to be very wary of!

So I’m hoping everyone knows that once is the number 11, and not the number of times you should watch the Eurovision song contest (which is una vez, unless you’re a sadist). ¿Vale? Now then; while you’re enjoying your holiday to Honduras, or your vacation to Venezuela, and you’re out for dinner in un restaurante BE WARNED! If you ask the waiter for some tuna, you’ll be treated to a glee club or an edible cactus, instead of the atún you wanted.

If you’re unfortunate enough to need to see a doctor while away, you might want a dictionary consultation as well. Constipado doesn’t mean what you’d think it would; estreñido is that unfortunate ailment, whereas those suffering from a cold are (hilariously) constipado. But whatever your illness, don’t be embarrassed! If you tell the doctor that you’re embarazada, you will be offered all sorts of prenatal vitamins; avergonzado is the adjective you need to explain that you’re not actually pregnant, just victim to a false friend!

Now, for any argumentative readers, when making your point in español, make sure you’re saying what you mean. En absoluto confusingly means ‘abosolutely not’. Inconsecuente isn’t the best way to dismiss an argument, as it means ‘contradictory’; de poca importancia would be more effective. Don’t take offence if someone uses desgracia, as it simply means a ‘mistake’ or ‘misfortune’, unlike vergüenza or deshonra which mean disgrace. The word compromiso means a promise, obligation or commitment; it does not usually convey the sense that you have reached a mutually satisfactory conclusion, which the verb transigir implies. And for goodness sake, don’t get confused by this false friend or your argument could start up all over again; to apologise is disculparse, but apologia means defence!

If you find yourself in a police station in Peru, be careful what you confess to. Delito means a petty crime, which you shouldn’t take deleite (delight) in. The verb molestar may sound scary to the non-Spanish speaker, but it simply means to annoy. Decepción means disappointment, but for deception, use engaño or fraude. Misery in Spanish (conjugation jokes aside) is sufrimiento or tristeza, whereas miseria means poverty. Don’t let linguistic mistakes cause you tristeza (or miseria either, but that seems less likely)!

I always get mixed up with false friends, especially since salida = exit, yet éxito = success, and suceso = an event or happening! Learning languages can be very extraño, and you have to be bizarro to keep it up! (extraño means bizarre, and bizarro means brave in case you’re wondering!) So keep calm, carry on and learn from your mistakes!

Summer in Spain varies, inland it can get very hot while on the coast it can be a pleasant temperature. The weather is determined by the altitude and the surrounding sea. Spain borders three seas that determine the summer in Spain these are the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Sea and the Cantabrian Sea. These seas are important for wind flow to and from the Iberian Peninsula.

It can also rain heavily during the summer in Spain. The chance of rain is less in the south than in the north, where sometimes large showers occur. In the south an average of 10 mm falls where in the northeast sometimes hundreds of millimeters fall. The Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca are therefore very popular vacation destinations. The wettest area in summer is San Sebastian, where about 300 mm of summer rain falls. The record summer rainfall in Spain is 720 mm in Gandia in Valencia, this was on November 3, 1987.

Spring is also a perfect time to go to Spain for a vacation or to work in Spain. Some advantages are that the days get longer then, the weather is more stable and there is a gentle breeze. In spring the temperature is around 20 degrees while in summer it is around 30 degrees. On average, in summer in Spain, the sun shines 11-12 hours per day.

Summers in Spain can be very hot, this is especially true inland. Nights can also be cool inland where temperatures can fall below 10 degrees. Compared to the Netherlands, summer in Spain is warmer, but the differences between day and night are great. The temperature by the sea can sometimes stay 30 degrees all night. In the summer of Spain, daytime temperatures can run around 21 degrees on the north coast and around 33 degrees in Madrid and even 36 degrees in Cordoba. The highest temperature ever recorded in Spain is 47.8 degrees in Murcia on July 29, 1976. During summer in Spain, some places see the sun 300 to 370 hours per month. In our small country, this average is around 200 hours per month (our sunniest month). The area with the most sun in Spain and Europe is the Gulf of Cadiz in southern Spain. Here the sun shines annually over 3000 hours and the north coast, on the other hand, only 1700 hours.

Especially the east coast and the islands are crowded in the summer by both tourists and students as seasonal workers. Many students go to work in Spain during the summer vacations. These are usually temporary jobs in Spain in the hospitality industry or in the tourism sector, for example, in a hotel or at a campsite. Many families also enjoy their summer vacations in Spain.

Spain is a perfect country to enjoy your vacation or to work in the summer. Spain is one of the busiest vacation countries in Europe. Many tourists stay in Spain during the summer to enjoy the wonderful weather, among other things. I don't blame them!

Cuba, also called the land of rum, salsa and cigars, is located in Latin America. The mainly Spanish-speaking country has a pleasant climate, great beaches, varied nature, ancient buildings and colorful bustling cities. Those who love music and dancing have come to the right place in Cuba. The variety of festivals, the vibrant city of Havana and the musical Santiago de Cuba will have you swinging.

Cubans can party like no other. On festival days between the crowds and the heat, Cubans enjoy the food and drink and music with each other and with tourists. They forget all the daily problems and dance day and night!

Festivals in Cuba
Swinging and enjoying Cuba during your vacation? Visit one of the events or festivals:

Semana Cultural
Once a year, culture week is celebrated in all Cuban provinces. Music, dance, arts, crafts and local cooking take center stage during this week.

Noche Plaza
Every month, usually on the third Saturday, the Noche Plaza festival takes place. Musicians from all over Cuba get you swinging in Havana's Plaza de la Catedral.

Romerías de Mayo
Every May, this traditional celebration is held in Cuba. It is a gathering of intellectuals and various cultural representatives from many countries. The capital of modern art, Holguín, is the site of this event every year.

Carnival Havana & Santiago de Cuba
Carnival is the biggest swinging festival in Havana. Nowadays, it is celebrated every August. In Santiago de Cuba, the lively Carnival festival is celebrated in late July. Central to the celebration are the colorful comparsas (street dances) and the overwhelming floats during the Cuban carnival. Not to be missed if you take a group trip to Cuba.

Varadero International Music Festival Cuba
In November, during this festival, opera companies, choirs and the National Symphony Orchestra give concerts along with visiting ensembles.

Havana International Jazz Festival
The Havana International Jazz Fesitval gives all jazz lovers the chance to see and hear the best jazz in the world. This Jazz tour is the best way to get acquainted with Cuban music, dance and culture.

Latin American international film festival
This film festival is one of the most highly regarded film festivals in the world. The festival showcases a wide assortment of audiovisual productions from across the continent.

Everywhere on Cuban streets, music is heard and salsa is danced. The combination of beach, culture and nature make Cuba the perfect destination for a trip or vacation.

Would you also like to swing in Cuba?
check out the Cuba group tours of SHOESTRING festival tours.
Create your own Cuba trip? Check out the travel site Cuba2GO.nl

The Bank of Spain also called Banco de España is the central bank of Spain. This Savings Bank is part of the European System of Central Banks. The main building of Banco de España is in Madrid. The nearby metro station in Madrid is named after the bank and is also called Banco de España.

The bank was founded by French-Spanish banker Francisco Cabarrús and King Carlos III in 1782 under the name Banco Nacional de San Carlos. After the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the Spanish state had accumulated a debt of more than 300 million Real. To pay this debt, in 1829 the finance minister established a fund of about 40 million Real that allowed the bank to issue its own banknotes within Madrid. Along with this new asset, again the name changed, this time to Banco Español de San Fernando.

A few months after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, almost most of the gold reserves were taken to Moscow to pay for weapons (Moskougoud). This totaled about 510 tons of gold taken away from the bank.

In 1844, another bank called Banco de Isabel II established itself. After three years, the Banco Español de San Fernando merged with Banco de Isabel II, in the process retaining its name. In 1856, the name was changed to the current name of the Spanish savings bank, Banco de España. Almost 20 years later, the Banco de España was given the sole right to issue Spanish banknotes. In 1962, the Banco de España was officially nationalized by General Franco. The Spanish central bank also has another large art collection with paintings by Picasso and Goya, among others.

Outside the central bank of Spain you also have regional banks, the two largest being Santander Central Hispano and the BBVA. Outside these regional banks, you will find about 30 other banks that only operate nationwide.

Since the bank is no longer responsible for Spain's monetary policy, today it provides economic and monetary advice to the Spanish government. Beyond this, the Bank of Spain also issues euro bills and coins. The Bank of Spain oversees the Spanish banking system and manages its own valuation and precious metal reserves. Monetary policy is in the hands of the European Central Bank along with the EMU (Economic and Monetary Union). Since 2006, the bank's governor has been Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez. Miguel is an economist and politician appointed to this position by the Spanish government.

Spain has an area of about 506,000 square kilometers with many natural parks scattered throughout the country. There are many natural parks in Spain that have been declared national parks. These parks in Spain are protected by the government who want to keep the flora and fauna intact with as little human interference as possible. All Spain's national parks are public. In total there are 14 national parks in Spain. There are 9 parks in the peninsula of Spain, 4 in the Canary Islands and 1 in the Balearic Islands. Below they are all briefly discussed one by one.

National Park in the Balearic Islands

The National Park del Archipiélago de Cabrera

The island of Cabrera is the only natural park in the Balearic Islands. This entire island is a national park. The peculiarity of this park is that most of it is underwater. An underwater world with beautiful corals, fish and sea turtles. 

National Parks in the Canary Islands

The Timanfaya National Park (Lanzarote)

Once in the natural park of Lanzarote, you imagine yourself in a ´moon´ landscape. The former lava allows the cultivation of special wine with a special taste. Parts of the movie Lord of the Rings were shot here. Walking through this national park is not allowed. 

The Garajonay National Park

Spain's national park called Garajonay covers an area of just under 4,000 hectares and is located on the island of La Gomera. The characteristics of this national park are its rare animal species and dense forests. There are 150 different insects alone that live only on this island.

The National Park de la Caldere de Taburiente (La Palma)

This national park is located on the island of La Palma. In this park you will find mountains, volcanoes and beautiful waterfalls and it has an area of 4,690 hectares.

The National Park del Teide (Tenerife)

The only national park created by a volcanic eruption. The island is surrounded by a volcanic landscape, and from a path among the volcanic rocks you have a beautiful view of the island.

National Parks on the Iberian Peninsula

The Picos de Europa National Park (Asturias, Castile and León and Cantabria)

Picos de Europa was Spain's first national park and is located in northern Spain. The park has long been characterized for its stunning landscapes of high mountains, deep valleys and dense forests. Since 1995, the park has expanded to 64,660 hectares and named “Picos de Europa,” this also because it is part of the Cantabrian Mountains. To this day, wild brown bears can still be found living in a unique flora and fauna.

The Coto de Doñana National Park (Andalusia)

This National Spanish Natural Park is located on the Atlantic Ocean in two provinces (Huelva and Seville) and at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. No roads run through the natural park; the people who live here live naturally without modern amenities such as electricity. The park has an area of 50,720 hectares.

Sierra Nevada National Park (Granada)

This is the largest national park in Spain with an area of about 86,200 hectares. The name Sierra Nevada is also for the mountain range with mountains over 3,000 meters high. Because it is so southern, the flora and fauna is unique and you will find animal and plant species that are found nowhere else but in the Sierra Nevada.

Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park (Lerida-Cataluña)

The national park is located in the province of Lerida in northern Spain in the Pyrenees. This natural park in Spain is characterized by its many small mountain rivers and mountain lakes.

The Monfragüe National Park

Its name comes from the Latin Mons Fragorum and means “hollow mountain.” Park Monfragüe is the only national park in the region of Extremadura with an area of about 18,120 hectares. The Monfragüe park has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2003.

The National Park de las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia (Galicia)

This national park in Spain is the only one in the region of Galicia. It is a national park for all the islands lying off the Galician coast such as Ons, Cie, Cortegada and Sálvora. The park has a total area of about 8,500 hectares of which 1,200 are on land and 7,300 are in the sea.

Ordese y Monte Perdido National Park (Pyrenees)

This National Park in Spain has an area of 15,610 hectares. This park located in the Spanish part of the Pyrenees and has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1997. Important features of this natural park are its snowy peaks and deep valleys, the highest peak is 3350 meters (Monte Perdido).

The Tablas de Damiel National Park (La Mancha)

With its nearly 2,000 hectares, this natural park of Spain located in the La Mancha region is a protected area for 180 different species of birds that rest here before migrating to warm places. In fact, the area is characterized as wet and rainy, perfect for waterfowl.

The Cabañeros National Park (Castilla la Mancha)

The Cabañeros Natural Park is surrounded by the mountains of Toledo in the regions of Ciudad Real and Toledo. The park has a mild Mediterranean climate (summers are dry and autumn precipitation is plentiful, winter will never be cold).

Well, how long is a piece of string?! While this is a very common question amongst Spanish learners (the regional differences, not the string one I hope!), there really is no definite answer. Do Americans not understand Aussies?! Can Canadians and Brits not communicate?! It’s the same principal with Spanish; yes there are differences, but linguistic variety is the spice of life!

Good grammar is the foundation to understanding. The basic structure of the language doesn’t really change whether you’re from Europe or the deepest depths of the Amazon. So which ever variety of Spanish you learn, you can still read another! And while you may not understand every single word, by looking at the context, tone of voice, and body language of a speaker, you’ll easily be able to pick up the jist of what’s being said.

And I’m sorry to have to break this to you, but even within countries, language changes. For example, Catalan influences the Spanish spoken in Barcelona, but this doesn’t mean people will look at you like you’ve grown two heads when you speak with a Madrileña accent (unless El Clásico is on. In that case, run for your life). Furthermore, 'Latin American Spanish’ is a complete misnomer. There are a huge number of Latin American dialects, each of which are fairly different from one another. And yet, at the Ibero-American summit, everyone can still understand each other!

Accents are everywhere, and are part of learning a language. Spanish is no different. And while any language tapes you may have used to help you learn will enunciate in a voice that the Real Academia Española would be proud of, Joe Bloggs on the streets of Buenos Aires probably won’t talk the same way. Lazy speech is a fault we are all guilty of; in Spanish, debuccalization (where you ‘swallow’ the s sound, so esta and eta sound the same) and vowel reduction (homogenizing the pronunciation of pesos [money], pesas [weights], and peces [fish]) are common. It happens almost everywhere, especially with really quick speech, so learn to love it!

One of the best known regional differences is the Spanish lisp, which Spaniards prefer to call el distinción. In most parts of the Iberian peninsular, there is a distinction between the sounds /s/ and /θ/, which means there is a phonemic contrast between casa "house" and caza "hunt" (most Spaniards would pronounce the former as catha). But, the popularity of telenovelas in Spain, and success of the Spanish cinema in Latin America, means that mutual comprehension is still live and kicking.

For the second person formal pronoun, virtually all Spanish dialects of Spain and the Americas use usted and ustedes (singular and plural respectively). But for the second person familiar, there is regional variation—between tú and vosotros in Spain, and vos and ustedes in some parts of Latin America. The use of vos (and its corresponding verb forms) rather than tú is called voseo.

The vocabulary varies as well. But that’s true everywhere, not just Spanish (I couldn’t stop giggling the first time I heard an Australian refer to their flip flips!) . So yes, in Mexico you say carro, in Spain you say coche, and in Argentina you say auto, but if you point at the thing with four wheels driving along the road, any misunderstandings will be long gone. Just a word of warning though, for any Spaniards who need to coger el tren, in Latin America coger generally means something completely different, and you definitely wouldn’t do that to a train!

So really, do no worry. Do not panic. Do not avoid all speakers of a different dialect for fear of ridicule. Embrace the variety! It means learning Spanish is always an interesting challenge wherever you go, and if you do happen to have a complete linguistic nightmare, a smile is universally understood, and there’ll always be a funny story to tell afterwards!

Spanish people love to use expressions in their daily life and if you have just started learning Spanish it may create some funny moments when you talk with native people.

During the first days of my stay in Spain one of my friends said to me “No se te ve el pelo”, I thought there was something wrong with my hair. I was wearing a beret so I took it off. Then everyone started to laugh and at this very moment I realized that it is an expression used when you haven’t seen someone for a while.

Spanish people love to use idioms during their conversations.There is a long list and not surprisingly they have sayings for every situation, so I picked some examples that can cause funny misunderstandings.

Yo me lavo las manos: When you hear this phrase, don’t think someone’s going to wash his hands, this a common phrase when one discards an issue or tries to get rid of any responsibility, which might be a reference used in ancient times that washing hands before the people to prove himself innocent of a crime attributed to him.
Ver los cielos abiertos: It is used for a favorable opportunity that is on the way.
Bajar la guardia: It means relax, worry, do not pay attention to what lies ahead
Hacerse la boca agua: Imagine you are going the way home with a tremendous hunger after a hard day of work or college class. Imagine that you pass in front of a bakery which gives off a pleasant smell of fresh bread. Imagine having a full showcase of various cakes and pies of all possible flavours and here is the expression used for describing this appetite.
Mal de muchos, consuelo de tontos: The phrase is used for even though bad fortune or evil comes to us, there are others who are involved in this misfortune as well.

In Spain it is known that almost everyone loves drinking so there are lots of expressions for saying that you're drunk such as: Estar borracho. Llevar un buen pedo or ir pedo perdido. Pillar una tajada or ir con la tajá. Llevar un buen melocotón.

Spanish is such an enriched language with lots of meanings and without doubt a lyrical one when you get used to hear and use. It is a matter of time to understand all the idioms and of course spend some time with native people to hear new words!

Spain has many different Spanish music festivals. Most music festivals in Spain are well known among Spaniards as well as most Europeans. Below are some of the best known music festivals in Spain such as the Primavera Sound, Sónar, FIB, Festimad, Rock in Rio and the WOMAD!

The Primavera Sound is a music festival, held annually in Barcelona. The Primavera Sound features many different styles of music; noise rock, indie rock, alternative rock and electronic music. The 2012 music festival will be held from May 30 to June 3 in Barcelona at the Parc del Fórum, on the seafront and next to the port.

Another well-known music festival in Spain is Sónar. This festival is also held in Barcelona. The first Sónar festival was held in 1994 and is always held in the middle of June. The music played is Electro, Techno, House and HipHop. The peculiarity of Sónar is the duration of the music festival, 3 days and 3 nights (2012 from June 13 to 17). At night and during the day the festival has several locations. Especially in the evening the locations differ, making for an unforgettable 3 days and 3 nights.

Benicassim International Festival (FIB) is a music festival for Rock, Pop and Electric music together with internationael artists. At the first edition of the Benicassim Music Festival, 8,000 young people per day attended this four-day music festival in Spain. Now after more than 15 years later, the FIB has become one of Europe´s largest and most exciting music festivals. The festival is held on the coast near the town of Benicassim between Valencia and Barcelona, about 92 kilometers from Valencia airport. In 2012, the festival will be held from July 12 to July 15.

Festimad is a two-day music festival of alternative music in Spain. Aside from the fact that a lot of alternative music is played, Festimad is also a cultural festival. Along with the FIB, macro festival and rock festival, Festimad is one of the oldest music festivals in Spain. The festival is often held in the last week of May. With more than 14 successful editions and 40,000 visitors, it is safe to say that Festimad is a true phenomenon in both Spain and Europe.

Rock in Rio in Madrid is a major music festival in Spain that is also celebrated in Brazil and Portugal. The first edition in Madrid was in 2008 and this music festival is for both international and national artists. The goal of Rock in Rio is to achieve a better world with music as a universal language of peace and harmony. This year in 2012, the Rock in Rio festival will be held June 29 and 30 and July 5,6 and 7. About a million people are expected to attend.

WOMAD or World of Music, Arts & Dance,is held all over the world but as a festival in Spain in two different places (Cáceres and in Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands). These festivals in Spain are unique because they are held in cities with UNESCO World Heritage listed buildings.

The WOMAD festival of Cáceres has been organized since 1992. This festival is different from the others because it also offers workshops and other activities. All workshops and other activities are held outdoors or in buildings of monumental value. It has undoubtedly become one of the most important cultural events of the Extremadura region and is a popular cultural and music festival in Spain. The number of visitors has increased in recent years to more than 100,000 people.

Then we also have the annual WOMAD festival in the Canary Islands in the city of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria that has been organized since 1993. The festival in Gran Canaria focuses more on African art and music. However, this does not mean that there are no other global artists or performers. Music from all over the world floats over the walls of city!

Soccer in Spain, as in the Netherlands, is a true phenomenon. Within Spanish soccer, there are many different Spanish soccer teams with many different leagues as well.

Soccer is a national sport and is played throughout the country. In fact, there are thousands of Spanish soccer teams all competing in a league. Surely the clubs in the Primerá División (premier league) receive the most interest. Surely the top five clubs in Spanish soccer are Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia CF, Levante and Athletic Bilbao.

In the beginning of Spanish soccer, Spanish soccer clubs could not hire foreign footballers. However, this changed after 2003, but to this day a maximum of 3 foreign footballers are allowed to play per club. This is because Spain wants to play Spanish soccer with Spanish footballers as much as possible.

Many Dutch people can still remember the 2010 World Cup final on July 11. It was the Netherlands against Spain, in which the Netherlands lost in the extension due to a goal by the Spanish soccer player Andrés Iniesta. While most Dutch people drifted home, there was a big party in Spain.

Spain's national team is known by the names La Furia Roja (the Red Furie) and La Selección (the Selection). Spain has participated in a total of 11 World Championships, but has only been World Champion once (July 11, 2010). Furthermore, Spain was European Champion twice (1964 (very first time in European Championship history) and 2008).

In general, Spain's youth teams perform better than the first team. These have multiple titles at the global and European level. There is also women's soccer, these play in the Liga Femenina.

The Spanish league is played in every region in Spain. There are a total of five different leagues. The highest and national league is the Primera División. The winner of this gets to call himself national champion, the three worst get relegated. Furthermore, you have the Segunda División A, Segunda División B, Tercera División and the Spanish amateur divisions (also called Preferente). You cannot play more than one team in a given division. Outside the Spanish league, there are also cup tournaments. The biggest is the Copa del Rey and is held among the Primera División, Segunda A and Segunda B. Then you also have the Supercopa de España, which is played between the cup winner and the national champion of that year. In 2000, the final of the UEFA Champions League (soccer tournament among all European soccer clubs) had a first, for the first time in history two soccer clubs (Real Madrid and Valencia CF) from the same country faced each other.

Some famous Spanish soccer players are: Andoni Zubizarreta (goalkeeper with most international matches, 126, retired), David Villa (top scorer and active player with FC Barcelona), Iker Casillas (goalkeeper with Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (defender with FC Barcelona), Carles Puyol (defender and captain of FC Barcelona). All famous and infamous among the Dutch.