John Culatto
A SOCIAL media video blogger is celebrating one year talking about the history of Gibraltar and the different spooky stories linked to different sites.
Ryan Asquez, aka the ‘Llanito History Doctor’ has already produced over 100 short videos on social media platforms, gaining 1,600 followers in the process.
What started as a hobby for friends and family soon became a celebrated cultural and historical tool for enthusiasts, and all in Gibraltar’s own native Llanito language.
Gibraltar Heritage Trust even gave him with a special commendation at its annual awards night.
He called the award ‘a massive honour’ on his social media account just after posting another video on starting his social media journey.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for your support,” Asquez said.
“Stay tuned because there is a lot more to come.”
But Asquez is more than just a history fan.
He has studied History of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Age at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
He followed that with a Masters at Oxford University but he has not stopped there, studying local and Spanish history since returning to Gibraltar.
“It was a friend who encouraged me to start this project,” he recalled.
“I remember the first video was about a 16th century aqueduct located on Rosia Road.
“It was well received and, then, another friend suggested I open a public platform.
“Thus ‘Llanito History Doctor’ was born.”
Asquez starts all his videos with a traditional Spanish and Gibraltarian greeting of ‘Que pasa?’ before code-switching throughout his video.
“I believe that the llanito is a key element of the Gibraltarian identity, and it is important that we maintain it,” he said.
“I use it a lot in my videos because it’s how I talk at home and with my friends, it’s a natural way of communicating.”
While Llanito is confusing to outsiders, British and Spanish academics have recently given it more credit and even presented it as a language in its own right.
The show runs in parallel with the Gibraltar’s ministry of culture that is trying to preserve Llanito on the Rock and promote its use and publication.
Apart from producing his videos, Asquez also gives talks to students at school.
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