Carnaval

Spain is crazy about their festivals and parties. Spain is also predominantly Catholic. So, when the chance to celebrate a Christian event (the beginning of Lent) arises, Spaniards go all out. CARNAVAL is the weekend leading up to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. It's basically the last time for Catholics to go crazy until after Easter.

Thursday's procession of drums and devils carrying fire and dancing was the beginning of the festival. I was at work at Austin's (an outside bar in the barrio, an old neighborhood with lots of fun bars, restaurants and clubs) during the parade. It was a little scary, actually; I looked down the street and saw firecrackers and heard drums. Then I noticed it was all coming striaight toward us, led by about a dozen devils waving torches and sparklers. We had to quickly move some of the outside tables and chairs to make room for the parade to pass. So just imagine: a dozen head-to-toe devils waving and dancing with fire, drums, a mass of people following, and firecrackers going off all down the street. It was insane.

Friday night there was a parade, and then a live band outside our apartment. Here's a few photos. Check out the view of the castle from our living room, too!






Saturday night was the biggest night, where everybody dresses up in costumes and dances in the street. It's kind of a cross between a masquerade and Halloween. Most costumes are homemade and pretty elaborate, but there are also stores that specifically sell Carnaval costumes (the lines were out the door for these stores). Everybody from age 5 to 95 dances in the streets (which have multiple stages set up) until 6 or 7 in the morning. It's crazy. Here are some photos of me and some of my friends. I was a pirate--and, might I say, a pretty darn good one for throwing the costume together an hour beforehand.






Since that night, there's been other processions, including Entierra del Pescado (Burial of the Fish...a giant paper fish led a parade through the streets, then it was burned and buried), but I'm not really sure what they all mean. It's to the point where I don't even blink twice when I hear drums and see a group of people marching down the street. But, Semana Santa (Holy Week) will be the next huge event in Alicante, with many more parades and parties.

On Saturday I'm off to Amsterdam for a couple of days. The following weekend I'm meeting two of my best friends from Mizzou in Paris. After that, I'll be taking a break for a few weeks from traveling to actually work so I don't lose my job, and to play host to my aunt and uncle--I'm so excited to have visitors and show off my wonderful city!

Hasta luego,
Hannah