JANUARY 24 — To the English-speaking audience, like in Malaysia, it seemed as if Great Britain was the only colonial power which ruled over an empire where it was said the sun never set. Actually, Spain was there much earlier. She was the first world power in the late 15th century through the 16th century.

Spanish is the official language in some 20 countries, nine of which are in South America. Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico are thoroughbred Spanish-speaking nations. Closer to home, Philippines was a colony of Spain from 1521 to 1898, thus Spanish names abound.

Spain had a long period of tumultous and colourful history, mostly in the world theatre. More recently it was about the Civil War, which started in 1936 and ended in 1939 with Generalissimo Francisco Franco firmly "enthroned” both as head of state and government.

Franco, Adolph Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy were the three strongmen of Europe heading into the World War 2 era. However, Spain was never formally a part of the Axis powers.

Franco passed away in 1975. After nearly 40 years of the Francoist regime, the new Spanish Consitution adopted in December 1978 returned the country into democracy guided by the principles of parliamentary monarchy. I know Spaniards are utterly proud of their very throroughly screened constitution.

Their current head of state is King Felipe VI and head of government is Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Carlos Dominguez Diaz

Diaz, 51, was posted to Kuala Lumpur as the ambassador of Spain to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam in September 2014. As the embodiment of a family man, he goes to all overseas postings with the entire family in tow. With Maria Paz are sons Carlos, 18, Eduardo, 16, and Innigo, 13.

He had earlier served in Tel Aviv (2009-11), Montevido (2005-09) and Tokyo (1998-02).

From high school days Diaz was already fixated to serve his country as a diplomat. So his doting parents enrolled him in Academia JC, known to have the highest success rates year on year, in 1990 immediately after he acquired his law degree to prepare him for the gruelling diplomatic service exams.

Two years later, Diaz together with 500 candidates sat for the 40 available positions and he got in. He started his career in the diplomatic service in June 1992.

What amazes him most in Malaysia is the peace and goodwill that exist amongst the various ethnicities which briefings he received from his department, however well articulated isn’t quite the same as actually witnessing it first hand. And Maria’s face just lights up when discussing our "open houses.”

The family has visited the entire nation and find the seafood in Sabah and delicacies in Penang especially appealing. They love our tropical fruits with mangoes and rambutans being their favourites. No, they have not savoured our durians, and I decided not to ask why.

Spanish and Hispanic imprints

According to Diaz there are around 600 million Spanish speakers worldwide, rendering it possibly the second most widely spoken language presently. It is already the second language in the internet realm.

In the US, the Hispanics represent 12 per cent of all eligible voters.

The world has been charmed by actors Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, and as equally intimidated by the characters played by Xavier Bardem in No Country for Old Men and Skyfall.

And plausibly the single biggest export brand from later 20th century till the present is Julio Iglesias, who has sold over 300 million records in 14 languages. I was reminded by ambassador and Mrs Diaz that Iglesias was a goalkeeper in Real Madrid Castilla (reserve team) when a serious car crash made him immobile for two years — he wasn’t able to walk. A nurse gifted him a guitar to help with the flexibility of his fingers and that set him to discover that he also had other talents.

Then we have Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras among the more internationally-known in the world of opera.

The more visible Spanish retail presence in Malaysia is through the Zara outlets, Massimo Dutti apparel and footwear, Pull & Bear clothing accessories and Tous Jewelers.

In industries we have the bathroom specialists Johnson Suisse, acquired by Roca Corporation in 2006; Bahru Stainless which supplies stainless steel types and finishes throughout Malaysia and Asean — controlled by Acerinox; Indra Technology Solutions which provides IT systems for a variety of transportation and infrastructure services; and Dunlopillo which Pikolin, the second largest European sleep products group, bought over in 2011.

We mustn’t forget Melia Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

There are almost 600 Spanish nationals residing in Malaysia now.

In football, I believe Spain has qualified for every Fifa World Cup tournament from 1950 and was the champion in 2010. In the Uefa European Championships they have consistently been the major draw. Their football league La Liga is our local favourite together with EPL and Serie A.

In tennis, Rafael Nadal is almost as dominant as Roger Federer, but on clay in the French Open he’s just "indestructible”. David Ferrer, Carlos Moya and Conchita Martinez are the other big names.

And recently Spain captured the world headlines over separatist attempts by Catalonia. The issue appears far from being resolved even though there was a fresh parliamentary election and a warrant of arrest issued against pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont.

For the life of me, I cannot comprehend the actions of Puigdemont and his cohorts. Imagine, Catalonia has never ever been not part of Spain, plus the extensive autonomy that exists (with even their own police department) and the negative economic consequences which will follow, and yet they seek independence? Besides, where will FC Barcelona play?

Postscript

Once upon a time there was this libido enhancer called Spanish Fly. It’s good for men and women but I don’t think the former really need it.

I wonder if this magical potion is still as popular?

* Datuk Lee Yew Meng is CEO of Genovasi d.school

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.