1936: The values and traditions of rural society remain strong in Spain, despite the influence of various modernizing forces.

Today: While rural communities survive, in Spain and elsewhere traditional ways of life have largely disappeared. As populations migrate to urban areas to seek work, television and other media bring urban issues back to rural areas in ways that were not possible before.

1936: The rights of women are highly circumscribed, and their economic dependence upon men holds them in traditionally subordinate gender roles.

Today: Women, in Spain and elsewhere, have achieved important rights but many still continue to struggle against perceptions of their "proper" role in society, which often does not include success in a professional realm.

1936: Spain is in the throes of a civil conflict brought about by economic inequalities which are felt more acutely in a depressed economy.

Today: Spain has diversified and strengthened...