Culture

The culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. While there are Spanish and British influences, a result of the territory's status as a UK ' overseas territory' and its proximity to Spain, the ethnic origins of most Gibraltarians are a mix of Andalusian Spaniards, Genoese, Maltese, Portuguese and British. The main religion is Christianity, the majority group being the Roman Catholic Church, then the Church of England. There is a long established Jewish community, a number of Hindu Indians and a Moroccan Muslim population. Gibraltarians of Genoese origin came to the Rock in the 18th century, with the Maltese and Portuguese following in the 19th century, coming to work and trade in the British military base.

During the Second World War, the whole civilian population of the Rock was evacuated, in the interests of the British military, which decreed that 'the fortress comes first'. They were moved to the UK, particularly to Fulham and Kensington in London and Ballymena in Northern Ireland, as well as Jamaica and Madeira. This served to strengthen a Gibraltarian, as opposed to simply British, identity, and after the war, there was a successful campaign for repatriation.

Gibraltarians have historically been proud of their British heritage, and unlike the inhabitants of other territories, sought to strengthen, rather than loosen their ties with the UK and the British Crown, seeing themselves as 'more British than the British'. This sense of being British was particularly strong when the frontier with Spain was closed in 1969, and all communications links were severed. Until 16th December 2006, the only flights from Gibraltar's airport, were those to the UK.

Relations with Britain

British influence remains strong. Spanish may be widely spoken, but it is a vernacular language only, English being the language of government, commerce, education and the media. Gibraltarians going on to higher education attend university in the UK, not Spain, as indeed do those requiring medical treatment not available on the Rock. Many university graduates remain in the UK to pursue careers there. After the Second World War, most evacuees were repatriated, but some stayed on, while many also moved to the UK, thereby increasing family ties with the 'Mother Country'. While television from Spain is easily received and widely watched, the availability of British television via satellite, particularly Sky and the BBC, means that Gibraltarians are as familiar with British news and popular culture as people in the UK itself. Many Gibraltarians refer to British people with the pejorative term 'Guiris', which is Spanish slang for 'foreigner' or 'Northern European'.

Relations with Spain

Historically, cultural ties with Spain have been strong, Andalusian Spanish (or its Gibraltarian variant Yanito) being the vernacular language of the territory. Intermarriage between Gibraltarians and Spaniards resulted in many people having relatives on the other side of the frontier, known in Spanish as La Verja or 'the fence'. These people were badly affected by the closure of the frontier in 1969, which even saw telephone links severed, so that the only way that families could communicate was to shout across the border gates. Others took the more cumbersome and costly route of travelling by ferry via Morocco.

Since the frontier with Spain was reopened, ties with the hinterland, known as the 'Campo de Gibraltar', have increased, with many buying property in La Línea de la Concepción, Sotogrande and further afield, where prices are considerably lower. On the weekends, many flock across the frontier, with livelier nightclubs and bars than in Gibraltar. Younger Gibraltarians have considerable exposure to popular culture from Spain, and even vice versa, the pop group 'Taxi' having found success on the Spanish charts, virtually all of its songs being in Spanish. In addition, Gibraltarians of all ages are avid supporters of Spanish football teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid as well as teams like Manchester United and Arsenal.

However, the Gibraltar Football Association's application for membership of UEFA, which would enable it to participate in the European Football Championships and the Football World Cup, has met with strong opposition from the Spanish Football Federation. This is seen as yet another attempt to deny the existence of Gibraltar internationally.

While Gibraltarians have multiple identities, seeing themselves to varying degrees as Gibraltarian, British and European, they do not generally identify with the Spanish state. While some in Britain's Foreign Office would like to see this closening of ties result in an 'osmosis' between the Rock and the Campo, there is no prospect of Gibraltarians accepting absorption into Spain. A trip across the frontier, even to La Línea, is still described as 'going to Spain'.

Literature

There exists a small but interesting amount of literary writings by native Gibraltarians. The first prominent work of fiction was probably Héctor Licudi's 1929 novel Barbarita, written in Spanish. It is a largely autobiographical account of the adventures and misadventures of a young Gibraltarian man. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, several noteworthy anthologies of poetry were published by Leopoldo Sanguinetti, Albert Joseph Patron and Alberto Pizzarello. The 1960s were largely dominated by the theatrical works of Elio Cruz and his two highly acclaimed Spanish plays 'La Lola se va pá Londre' and 'Connie con cama camera en el comedor'. In the 1990s, the Gibraltarian man-of-letters Mario Arroyo published Profiles (1994), a series of bilingual meditations on love, loneliness and death. Of late there have been interesting works by the essayist Mary Chiappe such as her volume of essays Cabbages and Kings (2006) and by the UK-educated academic M. G. Sanchez, author of the hard-hitting novel Rock Black 0-10: A Gibraltar fiction (2006).

Religion

Most Gibraltarians are Roman Catholic, with the Diocese of Gibraltar being directly responsible to the Vatican. The Rock also forms part of the Church of England diocese covering mainland Europe, with a 'Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe'. There is also a Methodist Church and St Andrew's Church (part of the Church of Scotland).

There is a small (600 members) but very influential Jewish minority, active in business and politics, and five synagogues. Most Moroccans are Muslim, and there is a large mosque at Europa Point, the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque, paid for by Saudi Arabia. Most Indians are Hindu, with their own local temple.

Additionally there are two very active congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses sharing the same Kingdom Hall, one has meetings in English and the other in Spanish.