title: Tim Conway

text: A prime example of his ability to make his co-stars laugh uncontrollably involved Lyle Waggoner as a captured American airman, with Conway as a stereotypical blond-haired Gestapo agent charged with his interrogation. Stating that "the Fuhrer" had taken particular interest, Conway produced a small Hitler hand puppet. Conway suggested to the puppet that singing might relax Waggoner's character to the point he is willing to talk. In a long, drawn-out fashion, the Hitler puppet (Conway providing a falsetto voice, with German accent) sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad," and with each passing verse, Waggoner loses more of his composure, finally laughing hysterically when puppet-Hitler screeches, "FEE-FI-Fiddely-I-O!".


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway remained a regular cast member of "The Carol Burnett Show" until the program's run ended in 1978.


title: Tim Conway

text: In 1980, Conway again was given his own one-hour variety program, titled "The Tim Conway Show" (the title that was previously used for his 1970 sitcom). It aired on CBS, as his previous shows had, and debuted on March 22, 1980. It was originally a full hour but was reduced to half an hour in summer 1980. It lasted longer than any of his earlier self-titled series, ending in August 1981. The format was similar to that of "The Carol Burnett Show", with several regular cast members performing in comedy sketches, interspersed with the occasional musical performance by a guest musician. Among the regulars in the cast were Maggie Roswell, Miriam Flynn, Eric Boardman, Jack Riley, and Dick Orkin. Former "Burnett" cast member Harvey Korman also became a "Tim Conway Show" regular in late 1980, after having earlier made guest appearances on the show, as had Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence.


title: Tim Conway

text: In the spring of 1983, Conway starred in another situation comedy, "Ace Crawford, Private Eye"; a spoof of detective shows, it lasted only a month. In the summer of 1990, he starred in "Tim Conway's Funny America", playing pranks in disguise on unsuspecting passersby around the United States while hidden cameras recorded the results, which Conway presented to a studio audience; it, too, lasted only a few weeks.


title: Tim Conway

text: In the 1980s, Conway began appearing in a series of satirical how-to videos in which he played a diminutive, dark-haired Scandinavian known as Dorf (a variation on "dwarf"), reprising his goofy Mr. Tudball accent. The Dorf character first appeared on the January 3, 1986, episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". In that episode, he portrayed a horse jockey. Dorf also appeared in the 1987 film "Dorf on Golf" and later appeared in eight other films on a variety of sports from baseball to auto racing. "Dorf on Golf" was remastered for DVD in 2007. In 2010, all of the "Dorf" films were remastered in a DVD Collection featuring all eight films, a behind-the-scenes with Dorf, and a commentary track by Tim Conway on "The Legend of the Paddle: The Oldie Hollis Story." Dorf also appeared on an episode of "Tim Conways Funny America" in the summer of 1990, leading an aerobics class on his impossibly short legs.


title: Tim Conway

text: In 2009, Conway's Dorf character started "helping" Santa Claus on the website iSpotSanta. Each year, Dorf had three sketches; in 2009, he tried to give Santa his Christmas list, failing and accidentally hitting Santa with a golf ball. Then, in 2010, he tried to give all of the world's letters to Santa directly using jet rockets to fly to his sleigh, cannonballs, and more.


title: Tim Conway

text: In 1973, Conway guest-starred in "The New Scooby Doo Movies", voiced himself in the episode "The Spirited Spooked Sports Show". In 1999, Conway and his good friend Ernest Borgnine reunited to become the first guest stars of Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants", voicing the roles of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Series creator Stephen Hillenburg and creative director Derek Drymon visioned the voices of the characters with the two actors in mind from the very beginning, having been fans of their work in "McHale's Navy". Hillenberg and Drymon directly approached Borgnine and Conway, and the actors both accepted.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway lent his voice to other television shows including "The Simpsons", the Disney spin-off "Hercules", "Lloyd in Space", "The Wild Thornberrys", "Cybill", "The Proud Family", "The New Scooby-Doo Movies", "WordGirl", "Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!", "Caillou" and "What's with Andy?". He also narrated "The Secret Shortcut" in "Reading Rainbow" and hosted "The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration".


title: Tim Conway

text: From 2003 to 2010, Conway starred as Hermie in Max Lucado's animated video series, "Hermie and Friends" along side his co-star, Don Knotts as Wormie. His final voice acting role was one of the talking seagulls in "".


title: Tim Conway

text: In 1963, Conway guest-starred in "Channing" playing a job applicant. In 1968, he made two guest appearances on "That's Life". From 1970 to 1971, Conway made four appearances on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". In 1974, he was in the "ABC Afterschool Special" as a janitor in the episode: "The Crazy Comedy Concert". In 1987, Conway guest-starred in "Faerie Tale Theatre" as a mayoral candidate in the episode: "Rip Van Winkle". In 1990, he guest-starred in "Newhart" as himself in the episode: "Dick and Tim". In 1991, Conway made a cameo appearance in "Carol & Company" as an audience member in the episode "That Little Extra Something". From 1995 to 1996, he guest-starred in "Married... with Children" as Ephraim Wanker, the hillbilly father of Peg Bundy in four episodes. In 1996 and 1997, Conway guest-starred in ABC's "Coach", for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, playing Kenny Montague in the 1996 episode "The Gardener."


title: Tim Conway

text: In 1997, Conway guest-starred in "" as Tim Conrad in the episode: "" where he teamed back up with Dick Van Dyke and Harvey Korman where Conway and Korman (Harvey Huckaby) are former comedy partners. In the episode, a clip of the well-known dentist sketch from "The Carol Burnett Show" was used to illustrate their partnership. In 1998, Conway guest-starred in "Ellen" as a comedian in the episode: "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute, Part 1". In 1999, he guest-starred again in "Diagnosis: Murder" as Tim Conrad in the episode: "". From 2001 to 2005, Conway guest-starred in "Yes Dear" as Tom Warner, the father of Greg, with "Carol Burnett Show" co-star Vicki Lawrence playing his wife. He won another Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Bucky Bright in the "30 Rock" episode "Subway Hero," which initially aired on April 17, 2008. From 2010 to 2014, Conway guest-starred on "", "Hot in Cleveland", "WordGirl", "", "Wizards of Waverly Place", "Mike & Molly", "Major Crimes", "Two and a Half Men", and "Glee".


title: Tim Conway

text: On his 75th birthday in 2008, Conway was interviewed as a guest on "The Bonnie Hunt Show" and given a surprise cake by Bob Newhart. In 2018, Conway was seen promoting "The Carol Burnett Show" and other classic television series on the MeTV television network.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway starred in Disney films such as "The World's Greatest Athlete" (1973), "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), "Gus" (1976), and "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979), his work with the company earning him a Disney Legend award in 2004. He starred in the 1977 comedy film "The Billion Dollar Hobo". Conway also co-starred with Don Knotts in "The Prize Fighter" (1979) and "The Private Eyes" (1980). He starred in the 1986 equestrian comedy, "The Longshot". Conway also appeared with Dick Martin in "" (1998) as Fred Davis, the main announcer for the Timberwolves' final game, with Martin as his co-announcer, Phil Phil. He was postal employee Herman Dooly in the 1996 film, "Dear God".


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway and Harvey Korman created a Collector's Edition DVD of new comedy sketches, titled "Together Again"; it was produced by Pasquale Murena and sold through Conway's official website. Starting in 2003, Conway teamed up with good friend Don Knotts again to provide voices for the direct-to-video children's series "Hermie and Friends", which continued with both until Knotts died in 2006. Conway continued to do the series afterwards. In 2007, he hosted "Thou Shalt Laugh 2: The Deuce", a collection of Christian stand-up comedians. In 2012–13, he voiced the character Mulch in DreamWorks' "DreamWorks Dragons" subtitled Riders of Berk series. In 2016, he played Professor VanVanguard, a knowledgeable character of the lives, characteristics and treating of zombies in the award-winning feature film "Chip & Bernie's Zomance".


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway collaborated with many notable performers and maintained long-term professional relationships with many of them.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway first pitched the idea of Ernie Anderson and himself doing a late night show together in Cleveland during the 1960s. That is where Rose Marie found Conway and got him a role on "The Steve Allen Show". Before that, the duo recorded two comedy albums together: "Are We On?" (1966) and "Bull" (1967). Anderson turned to doing voiceovers after Conway moved on, but their collaborations continued with Conway's string of shows and Anderson's career as "The Voice of ABC". Anderson performed on sketches and was the voiceover talent for "The Carol Burnett Show".


title: Tim Conway

text: Anderson become a cult icon in Cleveland as the character Ghoulardi during his own late night television show, where he showed horror B movies to viewers. In 2013, Conway went to the Ghoulardi Fest to promote his book and show his love for his friend Anderson.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway first met Harvey Korman in 1966 during the first of Conway's three appearances on "The Danny Kaye Show". Korman was a four-year series regular on Kaye's CBS variety hour. 1967 saw the end of the Kaye show and the debut of "The Carol Burnett Show". With Korman available, he stepped into a regular role there. Conway appeared as a guest during that first Burnett season and the two men immediately became friends starting a lifetime of working together until Korman's death in 2008. One of their most famous sketches was from "The Carol Burnett Show" called "The Dentist Sketch." In this sketch, Korman goes to the just-graduated dentist Conway for a toothache. Conway proceeds to remove Korman's tooth, but before he can inject the novocaine into Korman, he injects it into himself, causing his hand, leg, and head to go numb.


title: Tim Conway

text: Korman and Conway performed together for 10 years on "The Carol Burnett Show" before Korman left to pursue his own show. Korman joined Conway on Conway's shows and then later on in the 1986 film "The Longshot", which Conway wrote for the two men. Conway also wrote the direct-to-video films "Tim and Harvey in The Great Outdoors" and "Together Again with Tim and Harvey", which the comedy pair starred in together. The duo also toured the U.S. performing together. The DVD "Together Again with Tim and Harvey" is a recording of their touring stage show that ran over 10 years to sold out markets until Korman's death in 2008. When interviewed in 2004, Conway said of Korman, "We're friends; He's a bright guy; he can do The New York Times crossword puzzle in about five minutes, but he can't tie his shoes."


title: Tim Conway

text: When Conway was starting his career in Hollywood, so was Don Knotts. Both men were regulars on "The Steve Allen Show", though at different times. They didn't have the chance to work together until Disney Studios paired the two men on the Apple Dumpling Gang series of films, and their comedy clicked; Knotts's boisterous, Barney Fife-style bungling both contrasted and meshed with Conway's quieter form of physical comedy. The first film starred Bill Bixby and Susan Clark in 1975 and was called "The Apple Dumpling Gang". In it, Bixby is tricked into taking care of a trio of orphans as a pair of lovable holdup men named Amos Tucker (Conway) and Theodore Ogelvie (Knotts) attempts to steal a gold nugget the children find. The film was a commercial success and a sequel, starring the pair, was made in 1979, called "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again". The sequel did not have the other cast members but was hugely profitable for Disney.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway wrote two other films for the pair to star in together starting with "The Prize Fighter" in 1979 and "The Private Eyes" in 1980. Both were independently produced and the highest grossing independent films of those years. They had a cameo in the "Cannonball Run II" film together and in later years voiced the characters of Hermie and Wormie the caterpillars in numerous shows from Max Lucado's Christian children's series, "Hermie and Friends".


title: Tim Conway

text: In 2007, Conway met filmmaker Pasquale Murena when Murena was brought in to direct additional scenes and edit the direct-to-DVD film "Legend of the Paddle", starring Conway. The two men subsequently worked together on numerous productions, including Murena producing the DVD releases of "Together Again with Tim and Harvey", the re-releases of "Tim and Harvey in The Great Outdoors", "Dorf on Golf", and "Dorf Goes Fishing". Murena directed, produced and co-wrote with Conway six "Dorf" comedy sketches for the DVD release of "The Ultimate Dorf DVD Collection", which has sold over 3 million copies.


title: Tim Conway

text: Starting in 2009, the two men collaborated on their first sketches for the website iSpotSanta, where Dorf helps Santa deliver presents, and works at the North Pole as Santa's #1 elf. The two men did over 25 comedy sketches and three short films for the website, while garnering over 35 million viewers. Conway was quoted in an interview on the Disney Channel, stating that, "Pasquale has done more with Dorf than I ever imagined. We love making these films for kids." Continuing their success, Murena cast Conway as Professor VanVanGuard in his award-winning first feature film in 2014 called, "Chip & Bernie's Zomance", with Conway adding his unique humor to this zombie film.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978, and they had six children together. He was married to Charlene Fusco from May 18, 1984 until his death. Her daughter, Jacqueline "Jackie" Beatty, became Tim's stepdaughter, giving him seven children altogether.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway's memoir "What's So Funny?: My Hilarious Life" was on "The New York Times" Best Seller list its first week on sale.


title: Tim Conway

text: Tony Rossi interviewed Conway on November 20, 2013, on his podcast "Christopher Closeup" (on "Patheos"), and Conway revealed that he had converted to Catholicism. This was also reported in an interview with Raymond Arroyo on his EWTN program "The World Over".


title: Tim Conway

text: In June 2010, Conway returned to his hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, to put on fund-raising performances at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre to kick off its capital campaign.


title: Tim Conway

text: A fan of thoroughbred horse racing and an occasional racehorse owner, Conway was the co-founder and vice-president of the board of directors of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund.


title: Tim Conway

text: In September 2018, "SpongeBob SquarePants" showrunner Vincent Waller commented that during the time Conway was recording dialogue for the seagull in "" (which was released in 2015), he was having trouble recording due to health issues. These issues led to his retirement from playing Barnacle Boy and from acting as a whole in 2016.


title: Tim Conway

text: In 2018, Conway was diagnosed with dementia due to normal pressure hydrocephalus. He had surgery to have a ventricular shunt placed. His daughter Kelly and his wife Char both wanted sole conservatorship over his health and a suit was filed at the Superior Court of Los Angeles. Kelly wanted him to be in his home, not in a facility, for privacy reasons. Char was not allowing his daughter Kelly to visit him or talk to doctors and caregivers regarding his health. It was discovered that his care was being neglected by his wife Char and her daughter. Judge Robert Wada ruled against Kelly and in March 2019 his wife was granted conservatorship because she was named power of attorney. After a long legal battle, mediation was necessary to put rules in place to allow Kelly visitation.


title: Tim Conway

text: Conway died on May 14, 2019, at the age of 85 from complications of normal pressure hydrocephalus at a care facility in Los Angeles.


title: Tim Conway

text: Numerous actors and celebrities paid tribute to Conway following his death, including Dick Van Dyke, Patton Oswalt, Ben Stiller, Billy Gardell, Ed Asner, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Patrick Harris, Tom Kenny, Jamie Lee Curtis, Larry King, Judd Apatow, Wayne Brady, Marlee Matlin, Al Jean, John Scalzi, Richard Lewis, Marsha Warfield, Patricia Heaton, Tony Hale, Larry Wilmore, Vicki Lawrence, Yvette Nicole Brown, Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien.


title: J Balvin

text: José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He has been referred to as the "Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 35 million records. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to the United States to learn English, where he lived in both Oklahoma and New York. He then returned to Medellín and gained popularity performing at clubs in the city.


title: J Balvin

text: Throughout his career, Balvin has won eleven "Billboard" Latin Music Awards, six Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Latin American Music Awards and received four Grammy Award nominations. In 2017, the BMI Latin Awards named him the Contemporary Latin Songwriter of the Year for his contribution in the Latin music industry, and has won the first Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards, in recognition of his contribution to spread Latin music worldwide. He became the first Latino to headline world-musical events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza. The "Guinness World Records" acknowledged him as a "leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution".


title: J Balvin

text: His breakthrough came in 2014 with the single "6 AM" featuring Puerto Rican singer Farruko, which peaked at number 2 on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart, followed by "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza". In 2016, he released "Energia", which included the hit singles "Bobo", "Safari", and "Sigo Extrañándote". In June 2017, Balvin released the single "Mi Gente" with Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" topped the Global Top 50 on Spotify, and later reached one billion views on YouTube. In January 2018, he released the hit single "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anitta. He collaborated with Cardi B and Bad Bunny on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 number-one single "I Like It", which was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Balvin released his most recent album "José" in March 2021.


title: J Balvin

text: Though his music is primarily reggaeton, Balvin has experimented with a variety of musical genres in his work, including electronica, house music, trap, and R&B. His original musical inspirations included rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana, and reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee. He has collaborated with Latin American artists such as Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Alejandro Sanz, Bad Bunny and Pitbull. Despite working with many English-speaking artists such as Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Cardi B, Dua Lipa and Major Lazer, Balvin continues to sing almost exclusively in Spanish, and hopes to introduce Spanish-language music to a global audience. He is also noted for his eclectic and colorful fashion sense.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin received the Vision Award from the Latin heritage Awards in 2016, and in 2019 he won the Golden Artist of Latin Urban Music at the Premios Heat. In 2020 he was included on "Time" magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people of the world, and was called one of the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time by "Billboard". Balvin is the artist with the most number one songs on the "Billboard" Latin Airplay chart. He is also the only Latin artist to reach number one on the "Billboard" charts 174 times.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin was born in Medellín on 7 May 1985 into a middle-class family. His father was an economist and business owner, and he grew up in a large home in the hills outside the city. He grew up listening to rock groups such as Metallica and Nirvana, and states that he incorporates the grunge aesthetic into his personal style, having a Nirvana tattoo on his knee. He developed an interest in reggaeton after listening to Daddy Yankee. He recalls that "I was such a fan that I was copying his style, the way he moved onstage, his flows, his raps," comparing him to the reggaeton equivalent of Jay-Z. His father's business went bankrupt, and the family lost their home and car, requiring the family to move to a poorer neighborhood. During this period of his life, Balvin notes, "When I would go to the barrio, people saw me as a rich person, but when I'm around rich people they see me as someone from the ghetto. It's all perceptions. I like moving between worlds. I feel equally comfortable in both."


title: J Balvin

text: When Balvin was 16, he participated in an English-exchange program in Oklahoma, but was disappointed by the experience, saying, "I was expecting the U.S. that everyone knows from Hollywood." Soon after the program, he moved to New York City to further study English and music, living with an aunt on Staten Island and working as a dog walker. During his time in New York, he became fascinated by the business savvy of New York rappers 50 Cent and P. Diddy. Balvin worked various jobs in New York, Miami, and Medellín, including working illegally in the United States as a roofer and house painter. He ultimately decided to return to Colombia and began performing at various urban clubs in Medellín and increasing his social media following. He enrolled at the prestigious EAFIT University in Medellín for seven semesters, studying international business. At age 19, he began to seriously pursue a career in music and adopted the stage name J Balvin "El Negocio", meaning "The Business" in English.


title: J Balvin

text: He met his DJ and business partner David Rivera Mazo in a freestyle battle on the street in Medellín. The two became fast friends and started producing and promoting their own music without a record label. Balvin's early songs were described as "basically poor imitations of commercial reggaeton from Puerto Rico," but he soon adopted a more relaxed, minimalist style in his music. In 2004, he released his first song titled "Panas". He signed to EMI Colombia in 2009 and soon after released the single "Ella Me Cautivó," which charted at number 35 on the "Billboard" Tropical Songs chart. He released his reissue of his mixtape, "Real", in 2009. In 2012, Balvin released a mixtape featuring many of his early hits in Colombia, including "En Lo Oscuro" and "Como un Animal". His first international hit was the one-night-stand-themed "Yo Te Lo Dije" and signed with Universal subsidiary Capitol Latin a year later.


title: J Balvin

text: In February 2014, Balvin released a new track entitled "6 AM," featuring Puerto Rican singer Farruko. Balvin described the lyrical content of the song as the "Latin version of "The Hangover"," where the two singers attempt to remember what happened during a night of partying. The song debuted at number 43 on the "Billboard" Latin Airplay chart in February and reached number one in May. His album "La Familia" reached number ten on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums chart, spending 122 weeks on the chart in total.


title: J Balvin

text: Shortly after, Balvin released his second track in the United States, "Ay Vamos," which solidified his mark in the Latin urban market. It won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song. This was a bonus track on the deluxe edition of Balvin's album "La Familia B-Sides" The music video is one of the most watched Latin music videos of all time, at over one billion views. and the song became the first 1 billion views in history by a reggaeton artist. Currently having 1.8 billion views on YouTube, the song is the most watched solo Latin urban artist video. The song went to number one on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart in 2015. The remix, featuring Nicky Jam and French Montana was used in the soundtrack to the film "Furious 7". Balvin performed the track at the 2015 Premios Lo Nuestro and the "Billboard" Latin Music Awards. Balvin has been featured on remixes of "Sorry" by Justin Bieber, "The Way" and "Problem" by Ariana Grande, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, "Maps" by Maroon 5, and "Stuck on a Feeling" by Prince Royce. Balvin was the first Colombian singer to record with "The Prince of Bachata" and establishing itself as an international artist.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin swept the urban category at the 2015 Premios Lo Nuestro, including Urban Artist of the Year, Urban Album of the Year, Urban Song of the Year, and Urban Collaboration of the Year. On 12 February, the nominees for the "Billboard" Latin Music Awards were announced, and Balvin was nominated 13 times, of these nominations, eight were in the same category twice "Ay Vamos" and "6 AM," being the most nominated Colombian and the first urban artist from Colombia. Balvin won New Artist, Latin Rhythm Song of the Year, and Latin Rhythm Song Artist of the Year, where he dedicated the award to his home country of Colombia.


title: J Balvin

text: In June 2015, it was announced that Balvin had cancelled his performance on Miss USA 2015 to protest Donald Trump's inflammatory comments insulting illegal immigrants, saying, "During [Trump's] presidential campaign kickoff speech last week [June 2015], Trump accused illegal immigrants of bringing drugs, crime and rapists to the U.S." His live performance had been scheduled for 12 July 2015 in Louisiana, which would have been Balvin's first performance on national mainstream television.


title: J Balvin

text: On 16 January 2016, Balvin premiered his new single "Ginza" from his upcoming album, at the Premios Juventud. Later that week, he premiered the music video on Vevo. The music video broke the record for the most views for a Latin music video in the first 24 hours, at over two million views. Since then, the video has racked up over 807 million views. The song reached number one on "Billboard"s Hot Latin Songs chart for the week of 17 October 2015. The song also set a new Guinness World Record for the longest stay at number one on the chart. Balvin became the first artist to receive a diamond certification in the Latin field from the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting digital sales of 600,000 units for his songs "6 AM" and "Ay Vamos". Andrew Casillas of "Rolling Stone" wrote that "with its deliciously liquid beat, ["Ginza"] among the finest three minutes in reggaetón history."


title: J Balvin

text: On 24 June 2016, Balvin released his third studio album "Energia". "Energia" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums chart, signifying his first time topping that chart. It had the third-best debut sales of any Latin artist in 2016, after Juan Gabriel's "Los Duo 2" and Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizarraga's "Que Bendicion". It also debuted at number 38 on the all-genre "Billboard" 200. The album features collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Juanes, Pharrell, and Yandel. He launched 3 hit singles from the album, "Bobo," "Safari," and "Sigo Extranandote," which all reached the top 10 of the Latin charts. "Bobo" spent a week at the top of the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart. Mario Prunes of Allmusic described "Energia" as "an album that knew it was going to be an international blockbuster almost a year before its release," due to the success of "Ginza". "Rolling Stone" ranked the album number four on the magazine's list of the 10 Best Latin Albums of 2016.


title: J Balvin

text: In promotion of the album, Balvin embarked on the "Energia" Tour, traveling with several special guests including French Montana, Zion & Lennox, Bad Bunny, and Steve Aoki, the latter of whom appeared as a surprise for fans during the last stop of the tour in Miami. That same year, Balvin featured on "Cuando Seas Grande" by Spanish musician Alejandro Sanz and American singer Sofia Carson´s "Love is the Name". He launched a partnership with SoundCloud and Buchanan's Whiskey in a project called Es Nuestro Momento, where fans can access Balvin's previously unreleased a capella vocals and create personalized remixes of his songs. Buchanan's Whisky also served as a sponsor for the "Energia" Tour in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.


title: J Balvin

text: On 30 June 2017, Balvin released his new single along with the official music video "Mi Gente" featuring Willy William. On 1 August 2017, "Mi Gente" became the number one song in the world according to Global Top 50 on Spotify. It soon reached 1 billion views on YouTube. In September 2017, the song was remixed with American artist Beyoncé. The remix reached number three in the United States, giving Balvin his first US top-ten single. Balvin and Willy William released six more "Mi Gente" remixes with Steve Aoki, Alesso, Cedric Gervais, Dillon Francis, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and Henry Fong. Despite the song's success, "Mi Gente" did not win any awards at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards, with many awards going to Luis Fonsi's hit "Despacito". At the ceremony, he performed "Mi Gente" as well as "Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola" alongside Bad Bunny and his remix of "Unforgettable" with French Montana.


title: J Balvin

text: On 19 January 2018, Balvin released his new single along with the official music video "Machika" featuring Jeon and Anitta. His collaboration with Nicky Jam, "X," was released on 1 March 2018, and the music video received 288 million views on YouTube in less than a month. Nicky Jam stated that he attributes the success of "X" to Balvin's contribution. He also appeared on Cardi B´s "Invasion of Privacy" album, with Bad Bunny on the song "I Like It". It became Balvin's first number one single on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and first Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin released the album "Vibras" on 25 May 2018. The two lead singles from the album were "Machika" and "Ahora". On 23 April 2018, Balvin announced the dates for his Vibras tour revealing the 27 cities where he will be performing. "Vibras" claimed the record for the most-streamed Latin album in 24 hours on the streaming platform for 2018. In the United States, it debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart for the issue dated 9 June 2018. According to Nielsen Music, the record sold 22,000 album-equivalent units and became Balvin's second number-one album on the chart, following "Energia" in 2016. Additionally, "Vibras" scored the largest streaming week ever for a Latin album by an artist; its songs were streamed 16.1 million times. Subsequently, it debuted at number 15 on the US "Billboard" 200 and became his highest-charting album on the chart.


title: J Balvin

text: In an interview with Ebro Darden for Beats 1 Radio on Apple Music in April 2018, Balvin described the sound of the record as 33% dancehall, 33% R&B, and 33% reggaeton. Balvin further elaborated that much love was put into the album's work and that contains different vibes, hence the name, "Vibras", "The real meaning of this album was what's going on with Spanish music that's going so global, the fact that we did an album that the beats are so amazing that you don't have to understand what we say, you just have to love the songs."


title: J Balvin

text: On 27 June 2019, Balvin released his new album in collaboration with Bad Bunny titled "Oasis". The record was released overnight and was deemed a "surprise" release. The two artists first met at a Balvin concert in Puerto Rico, when Bad Bunny was working on releasing music on SoundCloud, and then collaborated on the 2017 track "Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola". The chemistry between the two was so strong that they came up with the idea to release a joint album. "Oasis" peaked at number nine on the "Billboard" 200, and topped the "Billboard" US Latin Albums chart. The album was nominated for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards and was named one of "Rolling Stone"'s Best Latin Albums of 2019.


title: J Balvin

text: In August 2019, Balvin and Bad Bunny headlined the Uforia Latino Mix Live concert series to raise money for victims of the shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. The concert series consisted of two performances in Texas, one in Dallas and one in Houston, and featured openers Wisin y Yandel, Reik, Sech, Ozuna, Natti Natasha, Pedro Capo, Sebastian Yatra, Tito El Bambino. Balvin's collaboration with Spanish singer Rosalía "Con altura" won Best Urban Song at the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards. The song received positive reviews from critics and "Billboard" ranked it 5th on their list of 100 Best Songs of 2019. Balvin was a guest performer in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show headlined by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. He also collaborated with Major Lazer and Dominican dembow singer El Alfa on the single "Que Calor" in September 2019.


title: J Balvin

text: In November 2019, Balvin released the music video for the single "Blanco", which introduced a "futuristic, all-white environment filled with hypnotic dancers and flying cats". On 20 March 2020, Balvin released the album "Colores", in which every song is named after a color except the song "Arcoíris" (the Spanish word for rainbow). The album contains influences from dancehall, R&B, and electronica, and features Nigerian afrobeats artist Mr Eazi on the song "Arcoíris". Suzy Exposito of "Rolling Stone" called the album "sophisticated show of Balvin's sonic palette". The album artwork was created by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Balvin collaborated with Murakami for the music videos and album and single artwork, which notably feature Murakami's flowers, as well as American clothing brand Guess on a capsule collection inspired by the album.


title: J Balvin

text: In 2021, Balvin released "José", his sixth studio album. Later that year Balvin released a new song in collaboration with Pokémon for their 25th anniversary. Balvin also contributed a remix of the Metallica song "Wherever I May Roam" to the charity tribute album "The Metallica Blacklist", released in September 2021. In December 2021, Balvin earned his 33rd No. 1 on the "Billboard" Latin Airplay Chart with "Una Nota", breaking the record for the most No. 1s on the chart.


title: J Balvin

text: In an interview with Colombian newspaper "El Tiempo", Balvin stated that he felt encouraged to pursue a career as a reggaeton artist after seeing that Daddy Yankee was of a lighter complexion and not Black, as he had assumed while listening to his music.


title: J Balvin

text: Critics have contrasted Balvin's musical style from the first internationally popular wave of reggaeton led by Daddy Yankee. Marlon Bishop of "The Fader" described his vocal delivery as a "gentle drawl", differing greatly from the rapid-fire, aggressive delivery of earlier reggaeton acts. He generally sings over his beats as opposed to rapping, and favors a more melodic, pop-influenced style. Describing his music's production, Bishop writes, "Instead of the hard-edged, maximalist beats of the first wave, Balvin's tracks are moody and spaced out". He frequently works with Medellín-based writer/producers Alejandro "Sky" Ramirez and Carlo Alejandro "Mosty" Patiño, whom he often name-drops in his songs. He has been credited with popularizing a new style of reggaeton based in Medellín, along with Maluma and Puerto Ricans who have relocated to the city to become involved in the reggaeton scene, such as Nicky Jam and Farruko.


title: J Balvin

text: Though he cites Daddy Yankee as his biggest musical inspiration, Balvin's earliest influences were rock bands such as Metallica and Nirvana, as well as salsa legend Hector Lavoe. He has covered Nirvana's hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in live performances. As a teenager, he listened to hip-hop artists such as 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Onyx. He also cites albums by Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd and Puerto Rican reggae band Cultura Profética as his "desert island albums". He has also described Ricky Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for him. In 2018, he referenced Martin's hit "Livin' la Vida Loca" on the song "Reggaetón" since Martin "gave as clear a depiction of his actualized artistic dreams".


title: J Balvin

text: The singer says his collaboration with Beyoncé on the remix of "Mi Gente" was a crucial step in his career: "I think it was a really good cultural move. People see me with Queen Bey, so they feel that if she's working with me, it's because I'm an important artist. She doesn't work with everyone. All the other collaborations are really helping me to continue to spread the Latin vibe that I want."


title: J Balvin

text: Puerto Rican singer Residente has criticized Balvin's musicianship. In a viral video post, he explained: “I have to admit from my heart that you have a talent, you have the talent of not having talent and make people believe that you do.” The remarks came after Balvin called for a boycott of the 2021 Latin Grammys due to the alleged lack of nominations for urban music artists. Colombian artist Lido Pimienta has also argued that Balvin is more of an entertainer than an artist. Balvin has also been accused of cultural appropriation, which noted reggaeton historian Katelina Eccleston references in an interview for Paper Mag, specifically the song, "In Da Getto." According to Eccleston, "This track highlights the issue of Black Latinos being spoken for without consideration of their plight."


title: J Balvin

text: His public image was described by Bishop by saying, "J Balvin's not a bad boy, he's a good guy with a well-tended naughty side." He often interacts with fans on social media sites such as Snapchat and Instagram, and cites these platforms as essential for his success. His musical partner Mazo explained, "We wanted to make music that was clean enough for your grandma to like, but sensual enough that the streets would like it too." His lyrics have been described as more vulnerable than typical reggaeton lyrics, discussing interpersonal relationships, exemplified by the single "Ay Vamos". For this reason, he has been compared to Canadian artist Drake, a comparison with which Balvin agrees.


title: J Balvin

text: On the issue of misogyny in reggaeton, Balvin notes, "[I] have mothers, sisters, relatives. Part of what we did is change that misconception that reggaetón is machista and misogynist. On the contrary, women are our biggest fans, and they inspire us." He also refrains from singing about his country's violent past, saying that doing that exacerbates stereotypes about Colombians and that the country has made vast improvements since the days of Pablo Escobar. Instead, he discusses everyday life in his songs. Luis Estrada of Universal Music Latino and Capitol Latin says of Balvin, "He breaks every rule of what people think reggaeton is, and they love him for that...He doesn't take himself too seriously." Balvin is unique also in that his dance crew on his videos and concerts are all male.


title: J Balvin

text: Despite being fluent in English and frequently collaborating with English-speaking artists, Balvin plans to only sing in Spanish. His goal is to make reggaeton a globally popular genre without having to sing in English to attain crossover success. He explains, "I want to keep making history in Spanish. I want to invite the mainstream into my world, and to my sound, and to what I'm doing. And I want mainstream artists to respect me, and accept Latino artists as equals, without us having to sing in English. I want them to know that I can compete globally with whomever, in Spanish." American artist Pharrell instead sings the hook in Spanish on "Safari", and Balvin described having more Non-Latino musicians singing in Spanish as one of his "biggest dreams". However, he recorded his first all-English song with Pitbull and Camila Cabello for the 2017 soundtrack to "The Fate of the Furious", known as "Hey Ma", and explained that he is open to the idea of singing in English if the opportunity presents itself.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin has often been criticized for his ambiguous support of mass uprisings in his native Colombia. He failed to explicitly condemn rampant police violence during the 2019 and 2021 national strikes in Colombia, leading in the latter case to a significant drop in streaming of his music within the country. but later on, Balvin called for help for his country from his Instagram and Twitter accounts and shared posts about many events in his country. He tagged world-famous artists such as Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry in the photos he shared to make the voice of his country and people heard in foreign media. In this way, many European and Asian followers of Balvin learned about the events in Colombia. During the 2021 national strike, Balvin was also accused of using images from the protests to promote his autobiographical documentary film, which was set to premiere later in the summer. Balvin's support for protests in Cuba via the hashtag #SOSCuba also drew criticism from Colombians who felt that Balvin had not commented on protests in Colombia in a timely fashion. Balvin's 2020 interview with journalist Vicky Dávila stirred controversy when he referred to current president Ivan Duque and former president Alvaro Uribe as "cool guys" despite both men being accused of significant human rights abuses. Balvin, who also gave an interview during the protests in Colombia. "I know what's going on in my country, people are right to beg for help on many issues, it's so painful but is it my fault? no it's not. I've never seen J Balvin's name on the ballot.”


title: J Balvin

text: In response to the widespread George Floyd protests, Balvin tweeted out #EveryLivesMatter and #LatinoLivesMatterToo. After the ensuing outrage Balvin stated, “After taking time to speak to those close with me, I am educating myself on the deep significance and horrifying history that is the root of the #blacklivesmatter movement.” However, Balvin would again face accusations of anti-black racism upon the release of the music video for his song, "Perra," which featured Balvin walking with two Black women on leashes. Balvin later made a lengthy statement in which he apologized. He apologized to all women, especially his mother, and said that this song is about sex and sexuality, and that sex slavery is a reality in the world. He deleted the song from YouTube, stating that he didn't want anyone to feel humiliated and bad because of this song. In yet another incident, Balvin accepted the award for "Afro-Latino Artist of the Year" from the 2021 African Entertainment Awards USA. The news provoked strong reactions on social media, including discussion around Balvin's global success as a non-black artist profiting off a genre of music primarily created by Black artists. The name of the award was changed to "Best Latin Artist of the Year" and Balvin, who is not black, deleted his original Instagram post. also on his Instagram story, "I'm so misunderstood about this, I'm not afro Latina but I have accepted this award for my contribution to the genre thanks to my collaborations with afro Latin artists". At the same time, many Balvin fans stated that lynching Balvin on this issue was ridiculous because the problem was not with Balvin but with the awards ceremony.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin has called fashion "his life's passion, on the same level as music." He appeared as an ambassador during the 2017 New York Fashion Week, and has called for greater representation of Latinos in the fashion world. He utilizes eccentric accessories such as cowboy hats, colorful tracksuits, and ripped jeans. Isabela Raygoza described his aesthetic at the 2017 Latin Grammys as a "Latin raver Eminem" due to his neon blonde hair and brightly colored athletic clothing. His style often combines streetwear traditionally associated with reggaeton artists and classic luxury brands. Balvin is influenced by musicians such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams who have made forays into fashion. Discussing Pharrell's influence, Balvin explained, "I don't dress exactly like him, but I want to be like him in the cultural way. He opens the doors for a lot of new fashion designers and creates his own style. It's all about love with him and he's the culture."


title: J Balvin

text: The musician appeared in Ovadia and Sons' Spring 2017 catalogue. He debuted pieces that he designed in the Colombiamoda Fashion Week show in Medellín in July 2018, where he presented his collaboration with the clothing brand Gef France. The collection was inspired by the colorful, bright aesthetic of his 2018 album, "Vibras". While at Coachella festival in 2018, he met avant-garde stylist, designer and techno DJ Sita Abellán, who took him on as her sole styling client. In January 2019 Balvin launched another "Vibras"-inspired clothing campaign with the Guess x J Balvin clothing collection, becoming the first Latin man to collaborate with the brand. Balvin explained that he "grew up with the Guess brand" and "always respected and identified with the Marciano brothers' history of taking influence from the country and culture of their heritage, and fusing it with the spirit of the United States". In Spring 2020, Balvin co-curated 'GUESS x J Balvin "Colores'," with stylist Sita Abellán.


title: J Balvin

text: He was also the first Latin artist to be awarded the best stylist of the year by the J Balvin FNAA awards. however, since 2016, Balvin has been called the "style icon of reggaetón music" in Latin America, thanks to his hairstyles, dressing and different fashion ideas in the reggaetón genre. because no reggaetón artist has ever been ambitious and fashion-conscious before balvin. Collaborating with Nike in 2020, Balvin became the first Latin artist to collaborate with Nike. however, the shoe he designed was sold out within 1 minute, breaking the sales record on the official Nike website. Balvin, who later participated in events such as the Met gala and Paris fashion week. In 2022, he collaborated with Guess again and released a new collection called Amor. This new collaboration, which appeared in countries such as the United States, Japan and Italy, was highly appreciated. Balvin will receive the international style icon award at the ACE awards in August 2022.


title: J Balvin

text: Building on his partnership with Nike, Balvin looks to release his Air Jordan 2 collaboration sneaker in 2022 along with new apparel pieces from this forthcoming capsule. The Colombian crooner’s AJ 2 is expected to be embellished in cloud-like patterns, and its matching sweatsuit is designed to mimic the same motif.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin has spoken out about the Venezuelan economic crisis and the situation occurring at the country's border with Colombia, where thousands of Venezuelans have been forcibly deported. He called the situation "deplorable" and created the social media campaign #LatinosSomosFamilia (We Latinos are Family), encouraging fans to sign a petition to support the displaced victims. The petition was soon signed by other prominent Latin artists including Colombian singer Maluma. Balvin's campaign was launched shortly after cancelling his performance on Miss USA 2015 in protest of Donald Trump.


title: J Balvin

text: He supports LGBT rights, explaining "It's all about love. A lot of my closest friends are gay", and dyed his hair rainbow colors to show support for Pride 2019.


title: J Balvin

text: In August 2016, the singer was involved in a plane crash while leaving the Bahamas. While returning from a vacation with his family, the plane failed to take off properly and crash landed shortly after departing from the runway. He posted a photo on Instagram of the small private plane after having landed in the bushes. Nobody was injured in the accident, and Balvin called it "a miracle".


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin has experienced panic attacks and stated that "meditation saved [his] life". When his anxiety was at its worst, he recalled that "I forgot about my happiness. I forgot about José (his given name)." He is known for his tattoos and got his first tattoo when he was twelve years old. His mother suffers from the rare genetic condition acute intermittent porphyria, which causes seizures, chronic pain, and mental health difficulties. He has the word "Familia" tattooed on his chest in her honor.


title: J Balvin

text: Unlike many popular reggaeton singers who move to the United States upon gaining popularity, Balvin continues to live in his hometown of Medellín, explaining, "It keeps me real. I'm gonna be real everywhere I go, but I'm with my people, I'm connected to my roots – I'm in my country! I don't need to live somewhere else. I respect the ones who make it and leave their home base, but I'm good in Colombia." He declared he has a home in New York, but he lives mostly in Medellín.


title: J Balvin

text: Since 2018, Balvin has been in a relationship with the Argentine model and Miss Argentina 2014 Valentina Ferrer. On 27 June 2021, the couple's first child, a boy, was born in New York City.


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin's global success with his Spanish recordings has been praised by music critics. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) "he has pioneered Latin music's explosion onto the global stage". "Billboard" described him as "the biggest breakout act Latin music has seen in many years". Nicole Acevedo of NBC News said that although Latin artists such as Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira achieved crossover success by recording English-language albums, "Balvin is reinventing the way Latin music artists cross over to the U.S. music scene" with musical productions recorded entirely in Spanish. Similarly, August Brown of "Los Angeles Times" commented that "Balvin's ideas felt like an inevitable future" and is part of a new wave of several Latin artists representing the "future of Latin and global pop where language is less a barrier than a invitation".


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin's participation in the reggaeton scene has been noted, a genre previously associated primarily with Puerto Rican and Panamanian artists. He uses reggaeton as a vehicle to "expose ideas, identities" and other social messages, and is "perhaps the genre's most visible star" according to American journalist Jon Caramanica. Elias Leight of "Rolling Stone" included him along Karol G and Ozuna as "global hit-makers" with reggaeton and trap songs. When Joan Scutia from Mexican "Vogue" reviewed Balvin's career and success, noted that reggaeton is part of Simon Reynolds' theory about globalization in music: "Nothing is foreign in an internet age". Evan Lamberg, UMPG's president commented: "I consider J Balvin one of the greatest global contemporary songwriters/artists in any genre".


title: J Balvin

text: In a general perspective, Sofia Rocher from "Guinness World Records" stated Balvin became "leader of a second-generation reggaeton revolution propelling Urban music back to the forefront of Latin music worldwide". Univision presented him as "Latin Music's most popular and influential international artist". He was the first Latino to headline world-musical events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza. Iman Amrani from "The Guardian" felt that Balvin is "now arguably Colombia's biggest cultural export" and described him as example on "how embracing national pride can be a force for cultural good".


title: J Balvin

text: Balvin has won numerous awards and achievements. He became the first recipient of the Global Icon Award given by Lo Nuestro Awards, in recognition of his contribution to spread Latin music worldwide, and the first recipient of the inaugural Contemporary Song of the Year at the BMI Latin Awards with "Ay Vamos". Additionally, he received a "Guinness World Records" by the most Latin Grammy nominations in a single year, with 13 in 2020. They also recognized his single "Ginza" for the longest stay at number 1 on Hot Latin Songs chart ever by a single artist. Balvin is the second artist with the most number one on Latin Rhythm Airplay, behind only Daddy Yankee as of 2019.


title: J Balvin

text: His music videos have billions of views, and had a consecutive record-setting of 100 million views on VEVO with "Tranquila", 6 A.M.", "Ay Vamos" and "Ginza", which marked the most viewed Spanish video debut in history. "Ay Vamos" became the first reggaeton song to exceed one billion views on YouTube. In addition, VEVO named Balvin "most watched Latin artist of 2015" and he became the "most viewed artist on YouTube Global" as of 2019. Balvin has multiple streaming records. "Mi Gente" is the first Spanish-language song to be number one on Spotify's Global Top 50 Chart, and he became the most streamed artist on Spotify as of 2018, overtaking Drake's previous record. He remains in the Top 5 as of April 2020. With his album "Colores" set a new record with all his songs occupying the Top 10 on Spotify. Additionally, he became the first Latin artist to reach one billion streams on Apple Music. His other achievements include selling 35 million singles worldwide, and having 44,2 billion streams as of 2022, YouTube and Spotify


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In Spain, an autonomous community () is the first-level political and administrative division, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Spain is not a federation, but a decentralised unitary country. While sovereignty is vested in the nation as a whole, represented in the central institutions of government, the nation has, in variable degrees, devolved power to the communities, which, in turn, exercise their right to self-government within the limits set forth in the constitution and their autonomous statutes. Each community has its own set of devolved powers; typically those communities with stronger local nationalism have more powers, and this type of devolution has been called "asymmetrical". Some scholars have referred to the resulting system as a federal system in all but name, or a "federation without federalism".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: There are 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities that are collectively known as "autonomies". The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet exercised it. This unique framework of territorial administration is known as the "State of Autonomies".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, which define the powers that they assume. Since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of powers () varies for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure; in fact, despite the Constitution not setting a mandatory legislative chamber framework, all autonomous communities have chosen unicameralism.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Spain is a diverse country made up of several different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages and historical, political and cultural traditions. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown in 1479 this was not a process of national homogenization or amalgamation. The constituent territories—be they crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of local customs, laws, languages and currencies until the mid 19th century.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime. Leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 (now 50) provinces, which served mostly as transmission belts for policies developed in Madrid.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Spanish history since the late 19th century has been shaped by a dialectical struggle between Spanish nationalism and peripheral nationalisms, mostly in Catalonia and the Basque Country, and to a lesser degree in Galicia.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to the Commonwealth of Catalonia in 1914, only to be abolished in 1925. It was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonia's mediaeval institution of government, was restored. The constitution of 1931 envisaged a territorial division for all Spain in "autonomous regions", which was never fully attained—only Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia had approved "Statutes of Autonomy"—the process being thwarted by the Spanish Civil War that broke out in 1936, and the victory of the rebel Nationalist forces under Francisco Franco.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: During General Franco's dictatorial regime, centralism was vigorously enforced as a way of preserving the "unity of the Spanish nation". Peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. His attempts to fight separatism with heavy-handed but sporadic repression, and his often severe suppression of language and regional identities backfired: the demands for democracy became intertwined with demands for the recognition of a pluralistic vision of the Spanish nationhood.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy. The most difficult task of the newly democratically elected Cortes Generales (the Spanish Parliament) in 1977 acting as a Constituent Assembly was to transition from a unitary centralized state into a decentralized state in a way that would satisfy the demands of the peripheral nationalists. The then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. Shortly after, the government allowed the creation of "assemblies of members of parliament" integrated by deputies and senators of the different territories of Spain, so that they could constitute "pre-autonomic regimes" for their regions as well.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Fathers of the Constitution had to strike a balance between the opposing views of Spain—on the one hand, the centralist view inherited from monarchist and nationalist elements of Spanish society, and on the other hand federalism and a pluralistic view of Spain as a "nation of nations"; between a uniform decentralization of entities with the same competencies and an asymmetrical structure that would distinguish the nationalities. Peripheral nationalist parties wanted a multinational state with a federal or confederal model, whereas the governing Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) and the People's Alliance (AP) wanted minimum decentralization; the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was sympathetic to a federal system.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1978, found a balance in recognizing the existence of "nationalities and regions" in Spain, within the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation". In order to manage the tensions present in the Spanish transition to democracy, the drafters of the current Spanish constitution avoided giving labels such as 'federal' to the territorial arrangements, while enshrining in the constitution the right to autonomy or self-government of the "nationalities and regions", through a process of asymmetric devolution of power to the "autonomous communities" that were to be created.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The starting point in the territorial organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution, which reads:


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The constitution was rather ambiguous on how this was to take place. It does not define, detail, or impose the structure of the state; it does not tell the difference between "nation" and "nationality"; and it does not specify which are the "nationalities" and which are the "regions", or the territories they comprise. Rather than imposing, it "enables" a process towards a decentralized structure based on the exercise that these "nationalities and regions" would make of the right to self-government that they were granted. As such, the outcome of this exercise was not predictable and its construction was deliberately open-ended; the constitution only created a process for an eventual devolution, but it was voluntary in nature: the "nationalities and regions" themselves had the option of choosing to attain self-government or not.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In order to exercise this right, the constitution established an open process whereby the "nationalities and regions" could be constituted as "autonomous communities". First, it recognized the pre-existing 50 provinces of Spain, a territorial division of the liberal centralizing regime of the 19th century created for purely administrative purposes (it also recognized the municipalities that integrated the provinces). These provinces would serve as the building blocks and constituent parts of the autonomous communities. The constitution stipulated that the following could be constituted as autonomous communities:


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The constitution also established two "routes" to accede to autonomy. The "fast route" or "fast track", also called the "exception", was established in article 151, and was implicitly reserved for the three "historical nationalities"—the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia—in that the very strict requirements to opt for this route were waived via the second transitory disposition for those territories that had approved a "Statute of Autonomy" during the Second Spanish Republic (otherwise, the constitution required the approval of three-fourths of the municipalities involved whose population would sum up at least the majority of the electoral census of each province, and required the ratification through a referendum with the affirmative vote of the absolute majority of the electoral census of each province—that is, of all registered citizens, not only of those who would vote).


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The constitution also explicitly established that the institutional framework for these communities would be a parliamentary system, with a Legislative Assembly elected by universal suffrage, a cabinet or "council of government", a president of such a council, elected by the Assembly, and a High Court of Justice. They were also granted a maximum level of devolved competencies.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The "slow route" or "slow track", also called the "norm", was established in article 143. This route could be taken—via the first transitory disposition—by the "pre-autonomic regimes" that had been constituted in 1978, while the constitution was still being drafted, if approved by two-thirds of all municipalities involved whose population would sum up to at least the majority of the electoral census of each province or insular territory. These communities would assume limited powers () during a provisional period of 5 years, after which they could assume further powers, upon negotiation with the central government. However, the constitution did not explicitly establish an institutional framework for these communities. They could have established a parliamentary system like the "historical nationalities", or they could have not assumed any legislative powers and simply established mechanisms for the administration of the powers they were granted.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Once the autonomous communities were created, Article 145 prohibits the "federation of autonomous communities". This was understood as any agreement between communities that would produce an alteration to the political and territorial equilibrium that would cause a confrontation between different blocks of communities, an action incompatible with the principle of solidarity and the unity of the nation.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The so-called "additional" and "transitory" dispositions of the constitution allowed for some exceptions to the above-mentioned framework. In terms of territorial organization, the fifth transitory disposition established that the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish exclaves located on the northern coast of Africa, could be constituted as "autonomous communities" if the absolute majority of the members of their city councils would agree on such a motion, and with the approval of the Spanish Parliament, which would exercise its prerogatives to grant autonomy to other entities besides provinces.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In terms of the scope of powers, the first additional disposition recognized the historical rights of the "chartered" territories, namely the Basque-speaking provinces, which were to be updated in accordance with the constitution. This recognition would allow them to establish a financial "chartered regime" whereby they would not only have independence to manage their own finances, like all other communities, but to have their own public financial ministries with the ability to levy and collect all taxes. In the rest of the communities, all taxes are levied and collected by or for the central government and then redistributed among all.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Statutes of Autonomy of the Basque Country and Catalonia were sanctioned by the Spanish Parliament on 18 December 1979. The position of the party in government, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), was that only the three "historical nationalities" would assume full powers, while the rest would accede to autonomy via article 143, assuming fewer powers and perhaps not even establishing institutions of government. This was firmly opposed by the representatives of Andalusia, who demanded for their region the maximum level of powers granted to the "nationalities".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: After a massive rally in support of autonomy, a referendum was organized for Andalusia to attain autonomy through the strict requirements of article 151, or the "fast route"—with UCD calling for abstention, and the main party in opposition in Parliament, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) calling for a vote in favour. These requirements were not met, as in one of the eight provinces, Almería, votes in favour — although the plurality — did not amount to half of the electoral census as required. Yet, in general, the results of the referendum had been clear and unequivocal.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: After several months of discussion, the then prime minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez and the leader of the opposition, Felipe González, reached an agreement to resolve the Andalusian issue, whereby the Parliament approved an amendment to the law that regulated referendums, and used a prerogative of article 144c of the constitution, both actions which combined would allow Andalusia to take the fast route. They also agreed that no other region would take the "fast route", but that all regions would establish a parliamentary system with all institutions of government. This opened a phase that was dubbed as "café para todos", "coffee for all". This agreement was eventually put into writing in July 1981 in what has been called the "first autonomic pacts".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: These "autonomic pacts" filled in the gap left by the open character of the constitution. Among other things:


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Special provisions were made for the Valencian Community and the Canary Islands in that, although they took the "slow route", through the subsequent approval of specific organic laws, they were to assume full autonomy in less than 5 years, since they had started a process towards the "fast route" prior to the approval of the "autonomic pacts".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: On the other hand, Cantabria and La Rioja, although originally part of Old Castile—and both originally included in the "pre-autonomic regime" of Castile and León—were granted autonomy as single provinces with historical identity, a move supported by the majority of their populations. The "autonomic pacts" give both Cantabria and La Rioja the option of being incorporated into Castile and León in the future, and required that the Statutes of Autonomy of all three communities include such a provision. León, a historical kingdom and historical region of Spain, once joined to Old Castile to form Castile and León, was denied secession to be constituted as an autonomous community on its own right.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: During the second half of the 1980s, the central government seemed reluctant to transfer all powers to the "slow route" communities. After the five years set up by the constitution, all "slow route" communities demanded the maximum transfer guaranteed by the constitution. This led to what has been called the "second autonomic pacts" of 1992, between the then prime minister of Spain Felipe González from PSOE and the leader of the opposition, José María Aznar from the newly created People's Party (PP) successor of the People's Alliance party. Through these agreements new powers were transferred, with the reforms to many Statutes of Autonomy of the "slow-route" communities with the aim of equalizing them to the "fast route" communities. In 1995, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla were constituted as "autonomous cities" without legislative powers, but with an autonomous assembly not subordinated to any other province or community.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The creation of the autonomous communities was a diverse process, that started with the constitution, was normalized with the autonomic pacts and was completed with the Statutes of Autonomy. It is, however, an ongoing process; further devolution—or even the return of transferred powers—is always a possibility. This has been evidenced in the 2000s, at the beginning with a wave of approval of new Statutes of Autonomy for many communities, and more recently with many considering the recentralization of some powers in the wake of the economic and financial crisis of 2008. Nonetheless Spain is now a decentralized country with a structure unlike any other, similar but not equal to a federation, even though in many respects the country can be compared to countries which are undeniably federal. The unique resulting system is referred to as "Autonomous state", or more precisely "State of Autonomies".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: With the implementation of the Autonomous Communities, Spain went from being one of the most centralized countries in the OECD to being one of the most decentralized; in particular, it has been the country where the incomes and outcomes of the decentralized bodies (the Autonomous Communities) has grown the most, leading this rank in Europe by 2015 and being fifth among OECD countries in tax devolution (after Canada, Switzerland, the United States and Austria). By means of the State of Autonomies implemented after the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Spain has been quoted to be "remarkable for the extent of the powers peacefully devolved over the past 30 years" and "an extraordinarily decentralized country", with the central government accounting for just 18% of public spending, 38% by the regional governments, 13% by the local councils, and the remaining 31% by the social security system.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In terms of personnel, by 2010 almost 1,350,000 people or 50.3% of the total civil servants in Spain were employed by the autonomous communities; city and provincial councils accounted for 23.6% and those employees working for the central administration (police and military included) represented 22.2% of the total.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Peripheral nationalism continues to play a key role in Spanish politics. Some peripheral nationalists view that there is a vanishing practical distinction between the terms "nationalities" and "regions", as more powers are transferred to all communities in roughly the same degree and as other communities have chosen to identify themselves as "nationalities". In fact, it has been argued that the establishment of the State of Autonomies "has led to the creation of "new regional identities", and "invented communities".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Many in Galicia, the Basque Country, and Catalonia view their communities as "nations", not just "nationalities", and Spain as a "plurinational state" or a "nation of nations", and they have made demands for further devolution or secession.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In 2004 the Basque Parliament approved the Ibarretxe Plan, whereby the Basque Country would approve a new Statute of Autonomy containing key provisions such as shared sovereignty with Spain, full independence of the judiciary, and the right to self-determination, and assuming all powers except that of the Spanish nationality law, defense, and monetary policy. The plan was rejected by the Spanish Parliament in 2005 and the situation has remained largely stable in that front so far.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: A particularly contentious point – especially in Catalonia – has been the one of fiscal tensions, with Catalan nationalists intensifying their demand for further financing during the 2010s. In this regard, the new rules for fiscal decentralisation in force since 2011 already make Spain one of the most decentralised countries in the world also in budgetary and fiscal matters, with the base for income tax split at 50/50 between the Spanish government and the regions (something unheard of in much bigger federal states such as Germany or the United States, which retain the income tax as an exclusively or primarily federal one). Besides, each region can also decide to set its own income tax bands and its own additional rates, higher or lower than the federal rates, with the corresponding income accruing to the region which no longer has to share it with other regions. This current level of fiscal decentralisation has been regarded by economists such as Thomas Piketty as troublesome since, in his view, "challenges the very idea of solidarity within the country and comes down to playing the regions against each other, which is particularly problematic when the issue is one of income tax as this is supposed to enable the reduction of inequalities between the richest and the poorest, over and above regional or professional identities".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The severe economic crisis in Spain that started in 2008 produced different reactions in the different communities. On one hand, some began to consider a return of some responsibilities to the central government while, on the other hand, in Catalonia debate on the fiscal deficit—Catalonia being one of the largest net contributors in taxes—led many to support secession. In September 2012, Artur Mas, then Catalonia's president, requested from the central government a new "fiscal agreement", with the possibility of giving his community powers of fiscal autonomy equal to those of the chartered communities, but prime minister Mariano Rajoy refused. Mas dissolved the Catalan Parliament, called for new elections, and promised to conduct a referendum on independence within the next four years.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Rajoy's government declared that they would use all "legal instruments"—current legislation requires the central executive government or the Congress of Deputies to call for or sanction a binding referendum— to block any such attempt. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its counterpart in Catalonia proposed to reopen the debate on the territorial organization of Spain, changing the constitution to create a true federal system to "better reflect the singularities" of Catalonia, as well as to modify the current taxation system.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: On Friday 27 October 2017 the Catalan Parliament voted on the independence of Catalonia; the result was 70 in favor, 10 against, 2 neither, with 53 representatives not present in protest. In the following days, the members of the Catalan government either fled or were imprisoned.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: the autonomous state appears to have come full circle, with reproaches from all sides. According to some, it has not gone far enough and has failed to satisfy their aspirations for improved self-government. For others it has gone too far, fostering inefficiency or reprehensible linguistic policies.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The State of Autonomies, as established in Article 2 of the constitution, has been argued to be based on four principles: willingness to accede to autonomy, unity in diversity, autonomy but not sovereignty of the communities, and solidarity among them all. The structure of the autonomous communities is determined both by the devolution allowed by the constitution and the powers assumed in their respective Statutes of Autonomy. While the autonomic agreements and other laws have allowed for an "equalization" of all communities, differences still remain.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Statute of Autonomy is the basic institutional law of the autonomous community or city, recognized by the Spanish constitution in article 147. It is approved by a parliamentary assembly representing the community, and then approved by the Cortes Generales, the Spanish Parliament, through an "Organic Law", requiring the favourable vote of the absolute majority of the Congress of Deputies.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: For communities that acceded to autonomy through the "fast route", a referendum is required before it can be sanctioned by the Parliament. The Statutes of Autonomy must contain, at least, the name of the community, its territorial limits, the names, organization and seat of the institutions of government, the powers they assume and the principles for their bilingual policy, if applicable.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The constitution establishes that all powers not explicitly assumed by the State (the central government) in the constitution, can be assumed by the autonomous community in their Statutes of Autonomy; but also, all powers not explicitly assumed by the autonomous community in their Statutes of Autonomy are automatically assumed by the State. In case of conflict, the constitution prevails. In case of disagreement, any administration can bring the case before the Constitutional Court of Spain.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The majority of the communities have approved regional electoral laws within the limits set up by the laws for the entire country. Despite minor differences, all communities use proportional representation following D'Hondt method; all members of regional parliaments are elected for four-year terms, but the president of the community has the faculty to dissolve the legislature and call for early elections. Nonetheless in all communities except for the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia elections are held the last Sunday of May every four years, concurrent with municipal elections in all Spain.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The names of the Council of Government and the Legislative Assembly vary between communities. In some autonomous communities, these institutions are restored historical bodies of government or representation of the previous kingdoms or regional entities within the Spanish Crown—like the Generalitat of Catalonia—while others are entirely new creations.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In some, both the executive and the legislature, though constituting two separate institutions, are collectively identified with a single specific name. A specific denomination may not refer to the same branch of government in all communities; for example, "junta" may refer to the executive office in some communities, to the legislature in others, or to the collective name of all branches of government in others.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Given the ambiguity in the constitution that did not specify which territories were nationalities and which were regions, other territories, besides the implicit three "historical nationalities", have also chosen to identify themselves as nationalities, in accordance with their historical regional identity, such as Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, and the Valencian Community.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The two autonomous cities have more limited powers than autonomous communities, but more than other municipalities. The executive is exercised by a president, who is also the mayor of the city. In the same way, limited legislative power is vested in a local assembly in which the deputies are also the city councillors.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The autonomic agreements of 1982 and 1992 tried to equalize powers () devolved to the 17 autonomous communities, within the limits of the constitution and the differences guaranteed by it. This has led to an "asymmetrical homogeneity". In the words of the Constitutional Court of Spain in its ruling of August 5, 1983, the autonomous communities are characterized by their "homogeneity and diversity...equal in their subordination to the constitutional order, in the principles of their representation in the Senate, in their legitimation before the Constitutional Court, and in that the differences between the distinct Statutes [of Autonomy] cannot imply economic or social privileges; however, they can be unequal with respect to the process to accede to autonomy and the concrete determination of the autonomic content of their Statute, and therefore, in their scope of powers. The autonomic regime is characterized by an equilibrium between homogeneity and diversity ... Without the former there will be no unity or integration in the state's ensemble; without the latter, there would not be [a] true plurality and the capacity of self-government".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The asymmetrical devolution is a unique characteristic of the territorial structure of Spain, in that the autonomous communities have a different range of devolved powers. These were based on what has been called in Spanish as "hechos diferenciales", "differential facts" or "differential traits".


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: This expression refers to the idea that some communities have particular traits, with respect to Spain as a whole. In practice these traits are a native "language proper to their own territories" separate from Spanish, a particular financial regime or special civil rights expressed in a code, which generate a distinct political personality. These "hechos diferenciales" of their distinct political and historical personality are constitutionally and statutorily (i. e., in their Statutes of Autonomy) recognized in the exceptions granted to some of them and the additional powers they assume.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The powers to be exercised can be divided into three groups: exclusive to the State or central government, shared powers, and devolved powers exclusive to the communities. Article 149 states which powers are exclusive to the central government: international relations, defense, administration of justice, commercial, criminal, civil, and labour legislation, customs, general finances and state debt, public health, basic legislation, and general coordination. All autonomous communities have the power to manage their own finances in the way they see fit, and are responsible for the administration of education—school and universities—health and social services and cultural and urban development. Yet there are differences as stipulated in their Statutes and the constitution:


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: How the communities are financed has been one of the most contentious aspects in their relationship with the central government. The constitution gave all communities significant control over spending, but the central government retained effective control of their revenue supply. That is, the central government is still charge of levying and collecting most taxes, which it then redistributes to the autonomous communities with the aim of producing "fiscal equalization". This applies to all communities, with the exception of the Basque Country and Navarre.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: This financial scheme is known as the "common regime". In essence, fiscal equalization implies that richer communities become net contributors to the system, while poorer communities become net recipients. The two largest net contributors to the system are the Balearic Islands and the Community of Madrid, in percentage terms, or the Community of Madrid and Catalonia in absolute terms.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Central government funding is the main source of revenue for the communities of "common regime". Redistribution, or transfer payments, are given to the communities of common regime to manage the responsibilities they have assumed. The amount they receive is based upon several calculations which include a consideration for population, land area, administrative units, dispersal of population, relative poverty, fiscal pressure and insularity. The central government is committed to returning a specific percentage of taxes to all communities with common regime, within the differences allowed for fiscal equalization. The communities of common regime have the ability to add a surcharge to the so-called "ceded taxes"—taxes set at the central level, but collected locally—and they can lower or raise personal income taxes up to a limit.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Basque Country and Navarre were granted an exception in the fiscal and financial system through the first additional disposition of the constitution that recognizes their historical "charters" —hence they are known as "communities of chartered regime" or "foral regime". Through their "chartered regime", these communities are allowed to levy and collect all so-called "contracted taxes", including income tax and corporate tax, and they have much more flexibility to lower or raise them. This "chartered" or "foral" contract entails true financial autonomy.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Since they collect almost all taxes, they send to the central government a pre-arranged amount known as "cupo", "quota" or "aportación", "contribution", and the treaty whereby this system is recognized is known as "concierto", "treaty", or "convenio", "pact". Hence they are also said to have "concierto económico", an "economic treaty". Since they collect all taxes themselves and only send a prearranged amount to the central government for the powers exclusive to the State, they do not participate in "fiscal equalization", in that they do not receive any money back.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: As more responsibilities have been assumed by the autonomous communities in areas such as social welfare, health, and education, public expenditure patterns have seen a shift from the central government towards the communities since the 1980s. In the late 2000s, autonomous communities accounted for 35% of all public expenditure in Spain, a percentage that is even higher than that of states within a federation. With no legal constraints to balance budgets, and since the central government retains control over fiscal revenue in the communities of common regime, these are in a way encouraged to build up debt.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Council on Fiscal and Financial Policy, which includes representatives of the central government and of the autonomous communities, has become one of the most efficient institutions of coordination in matters of public expenditures and revenue. Through the Council several agreements of financing have been agreed, as well as limits to the communities' public debt. The Organic Law of the Financing of Autonomous Communities of 1988 requires that the communities obtain the authorization of the central Ministry of Finance to issue public debt.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The preamble to the constitution explicitly stated that it is the nation's will to protect "all Spaniards and the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions". This is a significant recognition not only in that it differed drastically from the restrictive linguistic policies during the Franco era, but also because part of the distinctiveness of the "historical nationalities" lies on their own regional languages. The nation is thus openly multilingual, in which Castilian—that is, Spanish—is the official language in all territories, but the "other Spanish languages" can also be official in their respective communities, in accordance with their Statutes of Autonomy.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Article 3 of the constitution ends up declaring that the "richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represents a patrimony which will be the object of special respect and protection". Spanish remains the only official language of the State; other languages are only co-official with Spanish in the communities that have so regulated. In addition, knowledge of the Spanish language was declared a right and an obligation of all Spaniards.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Spanish legislation, most notably in the Statutes of Autonomy of the bilingual communities, use the term "own language", or "language proper to a community", to refer to a language other than Spanish that originated or had historical roots in that particular territory. The Statutes of Autonomy of the respective autonomous communities have declared Basque the language proper to the Basque Country and Navarre, Catalan the language proper to Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community—where it is historically, traditionally and officially known as Valencian—and Galician to be the language proper to Galicia. There are other protected regional languages in other autonomous communities. As a percentage of total population in Spain, Basque is spoken by 2%, Catalan/Valencian by 17%, and Galician by 7% of all Spaniards. A 2016 Basque Government census revealed 700,000 fluent speakers in Spain (51,000 in Basque counties in France) and 1,185.000 total when passive speakers are included.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The Spanish constitution recognizes the municipalities and guarantees their autonomy, meaning the right to manage their own affairs through freely elected assemblies. Municipal, or city, councils are in charge of the municipalities' government and administration, and they are led by a mayor and councillors, the latter elected by universal suffrage, and the former elected either by the councillors or by suffrage.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: Provinces are recognized by the constitution as groups of municipalities. Their powers and institutions of government vary greatly among communities. In all communities which have more than one province, provinces are governed by a provincial council, with a limited scope of administrative powers.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In the Basque Country, the provinces, renamed as "historical territories", are governed by "chartered councils"—which assume the powers of a provincial council as well as the fiscal powers of their "chartered community"—and "General Juntas" —parliaments with legislative powers.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, each major island is governed by an "island council". In Catalonia, the provincial councils have very little power, as another territorial subdivision called the "comarques" has been created.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: In those seven autonomous communities formed by a single province, the provincial councils have been replaced by the communities' institutions of government; in fact, the provinces themselves are not only coterminous with the communities, but correspond in essence to the communities themselves. The two-tier territorial organization common to most communities—first province, then municipalities—is therefore non-existent in these "uniprovincial" communities.


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The constitution also allows the creation of other territorial entities formed by groups of municipalities. One of such territorial subdivision is the "comarca" (equivalent of a "district", "shire", or "county"). While all communities have unofficial historical, cultural, or natural "comarcas", only in Aragon and Catalonia, they have been legally recognized as territorial entities with administrative powers (see comarcal councils).


title: Autonomous communities of Spain

text: The powers of the autonomous communities are not homogeneous. Broadly the powers are divided into "Exclusive", "Shared", and "Executive" ("partial"). In some cases, the autonomous community may have exclusive responsibility for the administration of a policy area but may only have executive (i. e., carries out) powers as far as the policy itself is concerned, meaning it must enforce policy and laws decided at the national level.


title: Dim sum

text: Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisines. In the tenth century, when the city of Canton (Guangzhou) began to experience an increase in commercial travel, many frequented teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called "yum cha", or "drink tea" meals. "Yum cha" includes two related concepts. The first is "jat zung loeng gin" (), which translates literally as "one cup, two pieces". This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two pieces of delicately made food items, savory or sweet, to complement their tea. The second is "dim sum" () and translates literally to "touching heart", the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the tea drinking.


title: Dim sum

text: Teahouse owners gradually added various snacks called "dim sum" to their offerings. The practice of having tea with dim sum eventually evolved into the modern "yum cha" (brunch). Cantonese dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Guangzhou. Cantonese dim sum was based originally on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China. Cantonese dim sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles and ingredients, and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, travel-friendly, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late night snacks.


title: Dim sum

text: There are over one thousand dim sum dishes originating from Guangdong province alone, a total that no other area in China comes even close to matching. In fact, the cookbooks of most Chinese food cultures tend to lump their own variations on the dim sum theme with other local snacks. But that is not the case with Cantonese dim sum, which has developed into a separate branch of cuisine. Some estimates claim that there are at least two thousand types of dim sum in total across China, though only about forty to fifty types are commonly sold outside of China.


title: Dim sum

text: Dim sum restaurants typically have a wide variety of dishes, usually totaling several dozen. The tea is very important, just as important as the food. Many Cantonese restaurants serve dim sum as early as five in the morning, while more traditional restaurants typically serve dim sum until mid-afternoon. Dim sum restaurants have a unique serving method where servers offer dishes to customers from steam-heated carts. It is now commonplace for restaurants to serve dim sum at dinner time and sell various dim sum items a la carte for takeout. In addition to traditional dim sum, some chefs also create and prepare new fusion-based dim sum dishes. There are variations designed for visual appeal on social media, such as dumplings and buns made to resemble animals, that also exist.


title: Dim sum

text: The original meaning of the term "dim sum" remains unclear and contested. Some references state that the term originated in the Eastern Jin dynasty (317 AD–420 AD). According to one legend, to show soldiers gratitude after battles, a general had civilians make buns and cakes to send to the front lines. "Gratitude", or , later shortened to diǎn xīn, of which is the Cantonese pronunciation, came to represent dishes made in a similar fashion.