´We all suffer,` said Dr Fernando. ´The Spanish, not just the Sevillanos, rise above their problems through… la fiesta. We talk, we sing, we dance, we drink, we laugh and party night after night. This is our way of dealing with the pain. Our next-door neighbours, the Portuguese, are very different.´
´Their natural condition is to be depressed,` said Falcón. ´They’ve given into the human condition.´
´I don’t think so. They’re melancholic by nature, like our Galicians. They have the Atlantic to confront every day, after all. But they are great sensualist, too. There’s a country that would commit suicide if you cancelled lunch. They love to eat and drink and enjoy the beauty of things.´
´Yes,´ said Javier, getting interested. ´And what about the British? My father so admired the British. How do they cope with life? They’re so reserved and inhibited.´
´Well, to us they are, but amongst themselves… I believe they have this expression: “to take the piss”.´
´That’s right,´ said Javier, ´they never take things too seriously. They make fun of everything. Nothing is sacrosanct. The famous British sense of humour. And the French? ´
´Sex. Love. And all that leads up to it. La Table.´
´The Germans? ´
´Ordnung.´
´The Italians? ´
´La Moda.´
´The Belgians? ´
´Mussels.´ said Dr. Fernando, and they both laughed. ´I don’t know any Belgians.´
´And the Americans?´
´They are more complicated.´
´They all have their own personal analysts.´
´Yes, well, it’s not so easy to be the leaders of the modern world with the right to the pursuit of happiness written into the constitution,´ said Dr Fernando. ´And they’re a mixture: Northern Europeans, Hispanics, Blacks, Orientals. And maybe that’s it, they’ve lost touch with their traditional safety values.´
´It’s a good theory. You should write a thesis.´


The Blind Man of Seville, Robert Wilson