I hear the “easy American women” stereotype everywhere I travel in Spain. Not only do I hear it, but I get tired of fending off drunk, horny men in bars who are looking for a quick lay.

But considering that only 25 years ago birth control was illegal in Spain and women needed permits to hold jobs, I’m not surprised that the independence of American women makes us seem that we are as free with our bodies as we are with our opinions and actions.

Spain has advanced by incredible leaps and bounds in the 25 years since the dictator Francisco Franco died. It amazes me in fact, how quickly the country has been able to progress after being in the clutches of a dictatorship.

To say that Franco had an iron fist is an understatement – he reveled in his power and control. During his 35-year rule, all media were censored, Catholicism was strictly enforced, and any attempted coups resulted in mass executions.

When I ask Spanish people how their lives have changed now that Spain is a democracy, the response is usually a laugh.

People don’t even know where to begin in describing the complete 180 their lives have taken since then. But people who lived through his rule don’t like to talk too much about Franco, either – he was like a bad nightmare that they are collectively trying to forget.

The monument in which Franco is buried is a macabre cathedral built into the side of a mountain. Other Americans and foreigners have recommended that I visit it, but I’ve never heard a single Spanish person mention it.

From what I can tell, all that I think is good now about Spain was repressed during Franco’s regime. One of the best times I’ve had here was the celebration of Carnaval.

Considering “carnal” is derived from Carnaval, it’s pretty obvious that the celebration is not for the faint of heart. People wear costumes, drink a lot and play with fire to celebrate the week before Lent, when abstinence from meat is a Catholic must.

Valladolid, which isn’t even famous for its Carnaval celebration, was as I’ve never seen it before. On a Tuesday night, the streets were crowded as people sang, danced and lit fireworks.

To me, it was an indication of the enthusiasm for life that Spaniards have. Yet to Franco, the celebration was a subversive threat, and during his rule, celebrating Carnaval was prohibited.

After 30-some years without Carnaval, people didn’t really remember how to celebrate it.

As a measure of control, Franco had effectively stolen a part of the country’s culture. But Spain took no time reinventing the celebration, which it did with a vengeance.

Almost every other aspect of Spanish culture has flourished since 1975, including entertainment. When I first saw some Spanish movies that were made during Franco’s rule, I couldn’t help but think how horribly bad they were.

One movie, “The Big Family,” has the saccharine sweetness of the Brady Bunch multiplied by 10. Of course I hated it, but the directors had to film in codes in order to still get their subversive messages past the censors and to the Spanish people.

Many other Spanish artists, writers and intellectuals, though, took the first train out of Spain when Franco took over. Creativity isn’t exactly a valued asset during a dictatorship, and for those who stayed behind and criticized the government were soon executed.

It’s no surprise to me, then, that Spaniards abhor George W. Bush for his support of the death penalty. Thirty-five years of unfounded executions tend to have that effect.

As soon as Franco was out of the picture, Spaniards overdosed on revelry.

Some people didn’t care where the future was going, only that they could now do all the things they couldn’t before.

With censors gone, liberal newspapers materialized overnight, complete with half-naked women on the covers and opinionated rants scattered throughout. The bars and discotecas were packed as people exercised all their newfound freedoms.

Eventually, though, like a college freshman who goes through a rebellious phase after being released from the clutches of overly strict parents, Spaniards worked the partying out of their systems and concentrated on the task at hand – forming a democracy.

Today, it’s hard to even tell that in Spain’s recent history there was a repressive government.

I see it sometimes in the extremely conservative journalism or in the separatist groups who still don’t want to be a part of Spain.

But then the pornographic magazines hanging in store windows, occasional political protesters and graphic movies remind me of the freedoms Spain has now.

So the next time I get hit on by some sleaze ball in a bar, I just have to tell myself that this form of harassment was 60 years in the making.

And I just hope that I’ll take that advice instead of letting my American independence tell him where to stick his cultural misunderstandings.

Amie Van Overmeer is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Rock Rapids.