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SPANISH HABITS

Why a mouse called Pérez is Spain’s tooth fairy

When a child loses a milk tooth in Spain, it’s not a magical fairy that comes to collect it in the night, but a little mouse instead.

Published: 13 January 2023 16:50 CET
Why a mouse called Pérez is Spain’s tooth fairy
In Spain, there's a tooth mouse instead of a tooth fairy. Photo: Robert Owen-Wahl / Pixabay

In countries such as the UK, the US and Australia when kids’ baby teeth fall out, it’s customary for them to put it under their pillow, hoping that a magical fairy will come in the night to take it away. 

The story goes that the fairy wants the tooth for her magic castle, all made out of teeth, and will pay children a reward by leaving a coin or two under the pillow instead. 

But in Spain, there is no fairy or a magic castle, instead, it’s a little mouse called Ratoncito Pérez who comes to collect it instead. Similarly, the mouse will leave a reward for the tooth such as a few coins, some sweets or small gifts. 

Sometimes you will spot toy shops in Spain that have built a tiny house for the Mouse Pérez outside their store. 

How did the story of Ratoncito Pérez come about?

The legend of the Mouse Pérez started out as a character in a story written by Luis Coloma. 

Coloma was commissioned to write the story by Queen María Cristina, for King Alfonso XIII (1886-1941), whom she affectionately called Buby, when he was eight years old and lost one of his milk teeth.

It is said that through the tale, the author wanted to teach the young king about the importance of brotherhood whether a person is rich or poor, good or bad so that he would become a great leader. 

The story goes that Ratoncito Pérez lived in a box of biscuits in a house in Madrid and every night would scour the city for teeth, visiting the homes of children who had recently lost them and leaving a coin under their pillow in exchange. 

READ ALSO: Why do Spanish parents pierce their babies’ ears? 

One night, the mouse meets King Buby when he loses a tooth and together they go on an adventure to meet Pérez’s family and help the poor people around the city. 

The original manuscript of the story was dedicated to D. Alfonso XIII and is dated 1894, but it was not until 1902 when the king was 16 that the story was first published in a book of short stories. 

Another edition was published in 1911, dedicated to the Prince of Asturias D. Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, King Alfonso XIII’s son. 

Although Ratoncito Pérez is the most well-known character who collects teeth in Spain, there are regional differences too.

In Catalonia there’s also Angelet or the little angel who comes to collect teeth, in the Basque Country there’s Maritxu Teilatukoa, a little ladybird who lives on the roof and comes down to fetch children’s teeth from under their pillows. And in Cantabria, there’s a tooth squirrel – L`Esquilu de los dientis. 

The concept of a little mouse who comes for kids’ teeth is in fact not so strange because in many other countries, it’s also a mouse and not a fairy that arrives in the middle of the night too. 

In France, parts of Belgium and Switzerland and some countries in Central and South America there’s also a tooth mouse.

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POLITICS

Which Catalans want independence from Spain?

Catalan separatist politicians have taken on kingmaker roles in Spanish politics in recent months, but Catalans themselves increasingly see independence as unlikely. Which Catalans still support independence and which don't?

Published: 10 May 2024 11:39 CEST
Which Catalans want independence from Spain?

Catalan separatists are playing an increasingly crucial role in politics at the national level in Spain, but the vast majority of Catalans themselves see the prospect of independence as increasingly unlikely.

This is according to annual survey data released by the Institute of Political and Social Sciences (ICPS) in Catalonia, which revealed that just 5 percent of Catalans polled believe that an independent Catalonia will ever become a reality. In 2015 that figure was 17 percent.

The survey also confirmed that support for independence (39.5 percent) remains well below support for staying within Spain (52.5 percent). Catalans will go to the polls in regional elections on May 12th in a vote many view as crucial for the stability of the national government.

Catalan pro-independence parties, namely Junts per Cataluyna and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, have essentially become kingmakers in Spanish politics following July 2023’s general election result and subsequent amnesty deal offered by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to cling onto power.

READ ALSO:

Often when the Catalan question is discussed, particularly in the context of national politics, broad strokes statements are made about the people and politics in the region. Catalans are all separatists, some say. Some even say they are terrorists, or that only far-left radicals want independence.

But who really still wants independence? What are the demographics behind Catalan separatism, and what does it tell us about the future of the movement?

Age breakdown

A study by the Generalitat revealed that younger voters, between 16- 42, generally show less enthusiasm for independence than older voters. Young people are more likely to show preference for the current model (of Catalonia as a region within Spain) rather than full independence, according to a survey by the Catalan Centre for Opinion Studies (CEO) cited by El País.

CEO polling groups respondents by age, the ‘silent generation’ (over 78); ‘baby boomers’ (between 59 and 77); ‘generation X’ (between 43 and 58); ‘millennials’ (between 27 and 42) and ‘generation Z’ (between 16 and 26).

The results were stark. When asked “what should be the relationship between Catalonia and Spain” the preference for independence only exceeded 30 percent among baby boomers (34 percent) and generation X (32 percent). But even within these age groups, the most pro-independence, a fully-independent Catalonia barely convinced more than a quarter to a third of respondents.

Among younger people, however, regional autonomy was the preferred option for millennials (28 percent) and generation Z (29 percent), ahead of an independent Catalonia, which appealed to 26 percent and 23 percent respectively. Interestingly, in this sense young people are closer to their grandparents’ views than to their parents’ generation on the question of independence. Among the silent generation, regional autonomy within Spain had 33 percent support, and 27 percent supported an independent Catalonia.

A demonstrator waves a half-Spanish and half-Senyera flag during a protest by far-right party Vox against the government in Barcelona in 2020. (Photo by Pau Barrena / AFP)

Young men

Furthermore, delving further into the graphics, it becomes clear that young men are some of the least likely people to support Catalan independence. A survey published by Òmnium points to “a marked conservative movement and a move away from the fundamental values of sovereignty among the country’s youth” more generally but specifically among young men.

Young men, the study demonstrates, are the most ‘espanyolistas’ in the region, in other words, the least favourable towards Catalan independence and most likely to be pro-centralisation and Spanish. They are also the ones who view using the Catalan language as a lesser priority. However, this isn’t an isolated policy issue, and young men in the region are also more likely to be sceptical about climate change, the least in favour of paying taxes, the least feminist, and those who perceive the threat of the extreme right as the least relevant.

The study termed this the ‘derechización‘ (what we might call the ‘right-wingisation’ in English) of young men, a trend across the rest of the country and the world in recent years.

Class and income

Income and social class also play a role in pro-separatist politics, and the data suggests that separatism is more popular among people self-describing as ‘comfortably off’.

According to data from the CEO cited by El País in 2017, the real flashpoint of separatist politics in Catalonia, around a third (32 percent) of Catalans earning less than €900 were in favour of independence. However, over half (53 percent) of respondents earning €1,800 or more per month were pro-independence, while 54 percent of the wealthy (monthly income of €4,000 or more per month) wanted to see an independent Catalonia.

This also ties into educational level and class. Data compiled by the London School of Economics shows that independence is most popular among the highly educated (secondary and university levels), something that makes higher incomes levels more attainable and upward social mobility more likely.

Catalan origins

Interestingly, it seems that Catalans born outside Catalonia are more likely to be on lower incomes and therefore less likely to hold pro-separatist views. There also seems to be evidence that having a multi-generational Catalan background makes you more likely to be pro-independence.

As El País states, “even more glaring is the relationship between background and pro-independence sentiment. Among third generation Catalans – those with both parents and all four grandparents born in Catalonia – support for independence rises to 75 percent.”

“But this figure drops drastically when it comes to families with more varied backgrounds. Support for independence stands at 49 percent among those with one parent from outside the region and drops to 29 percent among children of immigrants.”

Geography

Geography also plays a role. As these municipality map breakdowns by RTVE show, if the population living in each area is taken into account, as in the second map, you can see that in the largest municipalities, such as Barcelona and its surrounding metropolitan area, the non-nationalist bloc holds the greatest electoral weight.

The maps are stark, but population even things even out: in municipalities where there was a nationalist or pro-independence majority in 2021, found largely in the country and smaller towns, slightly over 3 million Catalans live; but in the big cities, where people are more likely to be sceptical, that figure is almost 5 million.

As the Royal Elcano Institute put it in its analysis of the post-2017 political chaos, Catalan independence bucks the traditional rural/urban split: “While Scottish independence is viewed more favourably in big cities, in Catalonia the territorial divide is the reverse: rural areas register a majority in favour of independence, with urban areas having a majority against.”

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