Spain: Fiestas Patronales

Every Spanish town, village, and city, has a fiesta patronales. Some of these are famous worldwide like la tomatina ,where in Buñol residents throw massive amounts of tomato at each other, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona. These traditions are originally a result of Spain's strong religious beliefs. Every town, village, and city has a patron saint. This includes everywhere from the tiniest villages in Spain to the capital of Madrid. However, in larger cities the different barrios (neighborhoods) usually celebrate different saints. On the day of this saint, the town will hold a fiesta (party). These have strong religious undertones with processions, masses and other pious activities, but they also have unique and questionably pious activities attached to them. All the activities are free and paid for by a combination of the government and local businesses. They can vary in length from one day in small villages to nearly two weeks in larger areas.

The running of the bulls in Pamplona is probably the most famous of these fiestas worldwide. Every July 7th the bulls run the streets of Pamplona, along with several hundred who are brave enough (or drunk enough) to run side by side. Every year there is a gruesome injury and sometimes even death. The news show replays of the carnage relentlessly and covers it as well as any world event. There are interviews with the friends of someone who nearly got mauled, multiple angles of a poor guy getting trampled, all with in depth analysis. Although people debate the sensibility of those running with the bulls, it's obvious that people enjoy it.

There is a strong bull motif in fiestas around Spain, several that make Pamplona's tradition pale in comparison. The 'running of the bulls' is emulated in several places, some with slight variations like in Peñiscula where villagers form a wall and take part in an activity called 'no pasa' where the objective is to prevent the bulls from passing. There is a town that mounts burning torches onto the bulls horns, let him go on the street, and run like hell. As you can see, people get very creative.

Bulls aren't the only animal to suffer during fiestas. One town has a tradition of throwing a live goat off the top of a church with the hopes of having a crowd of people holding a sheet catch it. As you can imagine, animal rights activists have fought against some of these activities. Catalonia even banned bulls from any events, though many say the decision was more an act of political protest since bulls are the national symbol of Spain with a large contingency in Catalonia requesting independence.

The events aren't limited to bulls and goats though. Live music and dances are a part of many fiestas and communal food can also be a huge part. There are villages that make bocatas (sandwiches) big enough for the whole town and other villages that cook a paella the size of a kiddie pool.

Many of the big cities get the publicity but the small towns traditions are equally entertaining. Unfortunately, many of these fiestas are dying in smaller areas, especially as many lose their population to larger urban areas. Because each town has their own unique customs and traditions, I dream of one day writing a book about all the different fiestas patronales that exist in Spain, that is, if I'm not gored by a bull during the process!

Roa (Castilla y Leon): Fiestas Patronales

About 15km from Gumiel de Mercado is a town called Roa which recently held their fiestas patronales. The fiesta is somewhat infamous in the area and runs for four days. There is live music and parties at night but the real attraction is in the morning. The town is no bigger than a few thousand at most but they hold their own version of the running of the bulls. Since human and animal rights have become more prominent in Spain, many of the fiestas patronales have become somewhat watered down, aka, safer and more responsible. However, traditions remain strong and authentic in rural areas where fiestas are less likely to be scrutinized and changed.

The first running takes place at 9AM, extremely early for the average Spanish person. This is a result of the festivities carrying on throughout the night. It is well known, accepted and even encouraged for the youth to stay up all night drinking and partying, followed by a running of the bulls. The town offers free soup before running, a rural specialty called sopa de ajo (garlic soup), a simple dish consisting of day-old stale bread, garlic,olive oil, red pepper and water, most commonly consumed in the winter. This acts as a replenishing meal of sorts for those planning on running. The meal is organized by the asociación de amas de casa, loosely translated to the housewives association, another clear indicator of how rural Roa is.

Free soup!

The main corridor is constructed through the city and although it is temporary, it is strong enough to withstand the bulls and thin enough that you can easily slide through the bars. As the time got closer to the running, those brave enough to run with the bulls congregated and stretched. Many continued drinking beer, wine and hard alcohol. Although I didn't stay up all night partying, I knew the familiar look in many of the people's eyes; intense alcohol consumption paired with sleep deprivation.

A volunteer medic and excited runner get ready.

Before the bulls were let loose there were two cannon-like firecracker signals to let everyone get prepared, and another when they were released. While the bulls weren't very large and there weren't as many as I expected, they were running fast with throngs of people in front of and behind them. I was a bit disappointed there weren't more people in the thick of it, though unbeknown to me at the time, there was more.

A sign of a village developing into a town is the presence of a 'plaza de toros'. These plazas are found throughout cities in Spain and are typically constructed for these very types of events. Sometimes they will host concerts or other events, but their main purpose is for the once a year event of the bulls, specifically for corridas de toros (bull fighting and killing the bull).

The bulls run through the streets ended at the plaza de toros. T̈he same canon-like signal is broadcast to let everyone know the bulls had reached. After the last bull had run, the crowd filled into the stadium. There were two doors, one labeled 'sol' (sun) and one 'sombra' (shade), and each took you to the respective side of the stadium. The signs were ornate and permanent, indicating that these events always took place at the same time of the day (afternoon).

As people filled the stadium the buzz was contagious. People were anxious in anticipation for the first bull to be let out. A group of people had set up two props: a kind of hollow box, resembling an empty foosball table, and a small elevated stand with an iron pole-like structure in the middle. I was initially confused by the presence of these objects but soon found out their utility.

After everything was set up, they let the first bull out in the ring. I was shocked as the ring was full of two dozen or so young men, all of them completely amateurs and the majority obviously drunk. Meanwhile the bull ran wild and their provocations only further angered him. Most of the guys only provoked the bull until it turned their direction, at which point they scampered to the nearest wall and desperately flung themselves over it. The walls were just high enough that one needed to have some athletic ability to clear it resulting in some people flipping over the wall, much to the delight of the crowd. Occasionally there were brave souls that stood the bull head on and dodged the horns at the last minute. When well executed they received a collective audible gasp of breath from the crowd and a raucous applause. It was as close to Roman games at the Colosseum than I think I'll ever get.

Dodging the bulls.

The bull is released and immediately goes for those along the wall.

The loudest cheer of the morning came when an over-zealous and drunk guy finally got what was coming to him. He was showing off a little too dramatically and reveling in crowd glory before the bull had moved onto another target. He was narrowly gored a few times and on one pass he was finally caught and pinned to the ground by the bull. He quickly recovered, pounced on his feet, faced the bull head on, and when the bull charged he leaped over the bull, using his head as a kind of stepping stone. It was something out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the fact that seconds earlier he had been pinned under the bull made it all the more spectacular. The crowd ate it up and he received a thundering ovation. Drunk with glory, he attempted to provoke the bull again, only to realize that he had sustained an injury and was limping.

Showdown.

There were a total of three bulls, each of them getting progressively more aggressive and in turn, the boldness of the participants decreased. Spain is traditionally an extremely masculine culture and these events used to have a major role in the display of locals bravery. Although this aspect might still be part of the event, I doubt these men get the glory of those in years past. It was still fun to watch and there were certainly some very good moments, especially with the props. When people jumped inside the hollow fooseball table, they thought they were safe, but the bull attempted several times to overturn the structure. The bull also managed to frighten a guy up the iron pole, making him appear something like a cat stuck in a tree.

I bet they didn't count on the bull stepping on the platform.

The whole thing was equally entertaining as it was shocking. I mean, to put people in a ring with bulls is dangerous enough. The fact that these guys were amateurs almost guaranteed something would go wrong and add in the fact that they were drunk, well, I am shocked no one died. When I asked about the danger of someone dying it was explained that usually people will come and distract the bull if they have pinned someone. And although no one wants to see anyone get killed, there is a certain longing for disaster that no one vocalizes but everyone hopes for. In fact, a few years back there was a bull that killed someone and all the other small villages with events with bulls wanted to rent the bull. It was some kind of celebrity killer bull for fiestas across Spain.

I went back for another round on the last day and I found they had gotten rid of the props. The wannabe matadors were fewer in number and not as bold (or drunk) as the first day. The crowd was a bit restless and several murmurs of 'this isn't very exciting' and 'all these guys are cowards' could be heard all around. This was only accentuated by the fact that the bull was now standing in the middle, leisurely peeing after surveying the empty arena. The wannabe matadors must have felt the same because they soon stepped up their performance. A couple of guys ended up getting mauled, one of them getting pinned against the wall and coming up with a torn shirt (which the crowd loved).

This guy bit off more than he could chew.

A big highlight and the most serious injury came when a young guy drinking a cup of wine was inside the arena and got caught unexpectedly off guard. He was on the opposite side of the bull and was enjoying himself, taunting the bull and joking with friends. Suddenly, the bull came full steam from across the arena and it took the guy a second to realize he was too far from the wall. He immediately turned and bolted for the wall, throwing his cup of wine in the air in dramatic fashion. He nearly escaped but obviously had trouble climbing the wall and as he pushed himself over the bull caught up to him and shoved him even further in the air. The resulting flight of the poor guy was something out of a cartoon as he shot high in the air and subsequently disappeared behind the wall falling face first. Because of the way the wall is positioned, people often jump over the wall and from the seats above it's unclear if they landed properly. Well, it was obvious to everyone right away that this guy wasn't going to pop right up. A crowd rushed over and the medics were standing by so he received immediate attention. After a minute or two he popped up and received a nice ovation from the crowd.

The fiesta up to this point had been fantastic and a great introduction to the prominence of bulls in Spanish culture. I was satisfied and could have gone home happy. Then, a rare, exciting, and dangerous event occurred.

The bull jumped the first wall. How an animal that big jumps a wall that more adept and agile humans struggle with is beyond me, but it did it. And pandemonium ensued.

The bull being directed back to the interior. He received pats on the back and butt slaps like a professional athlete.

I had been told that the bulls occasionally jump the walls, but that it was rare. And luckily there was another wall that separated the tiered spectator seating but there were still a lot of people in the area the bull jumped into. Some of them were among those that would provoke the bulls, but the majority were just those who wanted to be close to the action but not actually get their hands dirty. All those standing in the area immediately tried to jump over the fence and enter in to the main ring as the bull, suddenly panicked by the confined space, moved through the narrow area.

The bull was eventually led back into the ring but the crowd remained on their feet. I couldn't help but smile as I looked over towards the two elderly gentlemen who had earlier been sitting with their arms crossed complaining about the lack of action, now grinning ear to ear, apparently now satisfied with the amount of action.

Parque Natural Lagunas Glaciares de Neila (Castilla y Leon): Hiking

View from the highest point of the hike. 

The park of Lagunas Glaciares de Neila (glacial lakes of Neila) is located in the Neila mountains, surrounded by peaks that can reach higher than 2,000m. The area has an astounding variety of landscapes with moss and lichen filled forests, clustered pine forests, open pastures for cows to graze, gorges, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Located about a two hour drive from Gumiel de Mercado, a day trip was in order to investigate the park.

Coming from the relative plains of Castilla y Leon, the drive east towards the park gradually transforms with fields of wheat and sunflowers giving way to massive rocky hills and plateaus. The roads become very narrow and switchbacks are common. The park's headquarters are located in the tiny town of Neila, a historical pastoral community. In fact, the park has only recently been created (since 2009) and much of the park is sculpted by the pastoral history. The residents have a history of practicing“ganadería trashumante”, which basically means taking letting the animals free range in the mountains during the summer and then moving them into enclosures in the winter. This practice still continues today, evidenced by frequent encounters on the trails with cows, as well as open pastures resulting from seasonal grazing. We even encountered a pilón, a traditional water source for animals. The pilón is a spring fed reservoir that provides a constant source of water for the animals.

Pilón full of water. I was tempted to swim in this thing. 

We chose a hike that was about 10km, called “PRC-BU 205 Sendero Las Nilsas”. The hike was very hilly and provided exquisite vistas of the mountains. There was a refugio, or small communal camping shed, located in a valley about halfway through the hike. Apparently these used to be very popular in Spain, though they are becoming a bit more scarce. The camping shed is very basic, though the people who have come before appear to have had the 'pay it forward' mentality leaving firewood, matches, hiking sticks and other essentials. Upon further study of our map, there are about six refugios in the park. Even though it was Sunday, we only saw two other people our entire hike, and that was only at the trail head as we finished. The hike was demanding with extreme climbs but the views were worth it. Maybe next time we can plan a longer trip with overnight stays at refugios!

Moss and lichen were everywhere in this section of the trail.

Wild horses. Not just the Rolling Stones song but literally. 

Pine forests had an amazing smell!

Refugio from a distance with free ranging cows.

Refugio for camping.

River running through the landscape.

Gumiel de Mercado: El Castillo and Bodegas

A view of Gumiel de Mercado and surroundings form Cuesta del Viso. You can see the hill (el Castillo) on the left side of the picture.

Gumiel de Mercado has a huge hill in the middle of town with several bodegas (wineries) built into the hillside. Apparently there used to be a castle built on the hill, but there are no longer any physical remains (though the place is still referred to as "El Castillo").  I'm not sure many of these bodegas still function and many of them have fallen into disrepair. The ventilation chimney is a beautiful remnant on the hill, but in many places these have crumbled leaving unmarked holes dotting the hill.

A chimney with Iglesia de San Pedro in the background

There is a path you can follow to the top of the hill, a short 10-15 minute climb. You can see all of Gumiel de Mercado and with the elevation, nearly all of the surrounding farmland. This view is only surpassed by taking a short half hour trek to the top of a nearby hill overlooking Gumiel de Mercado, known locally as Cuesta del Viso.

View of Gumiel de Mercado from el Castillo. 

The area surrounding Gumiel de Mercado is generally flat and used for agriculture, mainly wheat and grapes. There are a few small hills in the area and even a walking circuit connecting the nearest towns within 10km. You can get a beautiful view of the surrounding area and the spaces are wide open and calm. When taking a walk, it is not uncommon to run into one of the local shepherds with there flock of sheep and trusty dog, usually a bull mastiff. The shepherds are always chatty, probably a result of spending the majority of the day with only their animals.  

Bodega, chimney, and storks nest. 

View of the Iglesia de Santa Maria from the top of el Castillo.

Alcossebre (Comunidad de Valencia): The Beach

The beach with Alcossebre in the background.

Like the majority of Spaniards, I found myself spending some weeks of the summer at the beach. Normally I wouldn't be attracted to a town like Alcossebre, but we had a house on the outskirts of town, away from the tourists and overcrowded streets. The house was about a ten minute bike ride from the beach and completely surrounded by fields of almond trees. Close enough to the city and beach but without the noise and hustle, in other words, perfect!

Alcossebre is a typical Spanish Mediterranean beach town; completely overrun by tourists and packed with chic shops and restaurants. Though the majority of tourists are Spanish, there are also a large amount of French and German tourists in the town. Alcossebre is located between Barçelona and Castellón and about a ten minute drive south of a major tourist hotspot, Peñíscola (known for it's castle). Although stereotypical beach towns dominate the coast, there are also a variety of outdoor activities in the area. Alcosesebre has two large nature reserves to the north and south, as well as mountains a short drive inland (home to Montenejos and Cerrat). The unique swampy area of Delta del Ebro is a bird watching haven (I spotted some flamingos feeding) and the rice fields make a lush landscape. The area is very bike friendly and the road along the sea provides a beautiful backdrop.

Famous castle of Peñíscola 

Bird watching at Delta del Ebro

Delta del Ebro swamps.

Being from the middle of America, I am more accustomed to going to a lake than to the beach. And although I lived in Jamaica for some years, I was never a habitual beach goer so I wasn't fully prepared for the seriousness that Europeans take with la playa.

The beach. 

The first thing I was shocked by was the vast quantity of people. Although I never felt claustrophobic or cramped, it always felt like the beach was brimming with people, which was obviously great people watching. Muscle men in thongs, old ladies with skin so bronze it bordered on comical, topless women, and wholesome families all intermingled. Adding a little spice to this were the always entrepreneurial immigrants, mostly Africans and Latin Americans, weaving their way through the crowds hustling a variety of items from sunglasses to designer purses. Some people preferred an umbrella and read or slept (which I preferred) while others chose to bake to a crisp in the sun. The temperature of the sea was warm, though cool enough to be a refreshing escape from the heat.

The beach cleared out for lunch, which in Spain is around 2-3pm. After lunch many returned for a siesta but the amount of people was usually less than the mornings. A popular activity for people at the beach is “tomar algo”, which is means to go for a drink and tapa.  This bridges the gap between siesta and dinner time. As I said before, beach routines are taken very seriously in Europe!

Desserted shoreline.

Fisherman looking for a catch.

Freshmountin springs for your water!

Cirat, Provincia Castellon: Hiking

Hiking in the mountains!

Salto de la Novia from above

Ana had some memories of hiking a child in the mountains of Cirat. After some research online, we found a guy who had detailed descriptions and pictures of the beautiful surroundings of Cirat. Even though there were GPS points and detailed descriptions, it was still unclear if all the trails were marked. That paired with the fact that neither of us had a GPS or smart phones, we decided to copy down some notes and figure it out when we got there.

We initially followed a dirt road out of town till we reached a point that was on the hiking "trail". We stopped at an area called "Salto de la novia", a beautiful swimming hole with a nice waterfall. Apparently there is some folklore surrounding this site; it's a said that during the Spanish Civil war, a man fought on the Republican side and was recruited to go fight in a different area of Spain. He left behind his novia (bride) and when he never returned, she lept to her death from the top of the waterfall.

 

Salto de la novia

The area was beautiful and although the trails were poorly marked, it was easy enough to walk freely. We reached the top of a mountain that provided a beautiful vista of Cirat though due to poor trail marking, we had to return the way we came (in theory there was a loop). On our way back we stopped for a swim in Salto de la novia. And although the water was absolutely freezing, it was perfect after a long hike!

View of Cirat from above.

Epic swimming.

The water was very clear and cold!

Spain: Drinking Apparatus- The Porron

As soon as I met Antonio, I immediately liked him. An extremely laid back and friendly man, Antonio and his wife, Mercedes, we're joining us for almuerzo (mid morning eating). Before eating, Antonio was telling stories and he eventually brought up a porron. He exclaimed that he had previously brought out a porron to the delight of a group of Japanese workers that he knew.

He was surprised when I didn't know what a porron was and explained the design. He said it was very useful for drinking wine if you don't have a lot of cups and want to share. I was pretty confused at his description and my level of Spanish can't accurately decipher the use of something as foreign to me as a porron. From what I grasped, it was some kind of pitcher that you put wine in, and then pour it from a distance into your mouth, kind of like one of those waiters trying to impress you by pouring water a far distance from your cup.

As the others struggled to help me understand I received good news; we actually had a porron in the house! Antonio is in his mid 50's and explained that porrones were once commonplace, especially in rural areas, though these days it's more of a novelty among the youth of Spain. Someone else explained that when people would have large harvests in rural areas and hold a massive barbecue, everyone would gather with their porron to take wine straight from the vat, bypassing the whole bottle system.

While the porron we had actually was made for champagne (with a carved out area for ice), it would still suffice. We loaded the wine up and took turns drinking. As mentioned before, all the older people drank it naturally, demonstrating technique that showed years of practice. When it was my turn, I struggled to get it all in my mouth and even more-so to simultaneously swallow while pouring. The spout of the porron is very small so the stream of wine is thin but the force is strong.

Since trying the porron I have started to see it everywhere, especially in the small town I live in which is appropriately in the middle of wine country. And now that I know how convenient (some Spanish may say essential) a porron can be, I will keep my eyes out for a good deal and try to purchase my first porron. 

Look carefully at the design of the curtain on the right...a porron!

Montanejos: Swimming

I was spending a few weeks at the coast in Alcossebre and during that time I took a short day trip to the nearby mountain village of Montanejos. Montanejos is known for it's nearby springs, crystal clear swimming holes, and mineral water. There are numerous spas and although the village is probably only about 500 people, there are a large amount of tourists and tourist attractions.

The most famous attraction is probably the river flowing the town. There is a pedestrian walkway for about a kilometer (1/2 mile) that is littered with people having picnics, swimming, and relaxing. Although there is a larger swimming area at the far point of the river, there are no shortages of uncrowded swimming spots. There is also a fuente (water fountain), which is very typical in Spain, but this one contains unique and healthy minerals. The water contains large amounts of sulfur compounds and has some type of magnetism in the river that creates a weak attraction among the rocks in the bed of the river. If you pick up a rock underwater you can feel it pulling back towards the other rocks. Very weird stuff.

My favorite part was swimming through the gorge in the photo above. The river winds through steep rock walls with warm springs intermittently trickling in, some forming waterfalls down the sides. You can't climb out until you reach the end and it gets quite deep for a ways before it gets shallow.

Apparently this place gets pretty busy in August (the holiday month of Spain) and is a hot spot in the winter for an older crowd. All in all, an excellent visit to a beautiful river!

Barcelona: Music - Open jam at Jazz Si

I’m a great lover of music, especially when I return from living abroad. Listening to live music is one of my favorite things to do and I’m lucky to have come from a place (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) with a decent music scene. I was excited to be in Barcelona, though the only place that seemed to be offering live music on a Tuesday night was Jazz Si. For €4 (about $5.25)  they were having a, “rock and blues jam session”. The music was said to be from 7:45-10PM, which I thought was pretty early in Spain. Apparently Barcelona has recently passed noise ordinance laws that make live music difficult to have late in the evening.

Finding the venue was a bit difficult but I was a little late so I could hear the music while approaching. When I paid for my entry I was pleased to see it came with a drink, so I ordered a beer. The place was pretty full with a few tables in the back and chair style seating in front of the stage. I took a seat in the back and took in the scene.

The house band was a drummer, bassist, keyboard player and guitarist. They were tight, well practiced, and fed off the crowd well. The venue had a second floor balcony, which quickly filled up and people even sat on the ground on the balcony with their legs dangling off the side.

Most of the musicians who came appeared to be frequent attendees. They usually had practiced arrangements with the house band guys. However, there was a lot of variety and spontaneity in the night from a Spanish guitar folk singer to a heavy metal ensemble.

The only awkward moment of the night came when some guy came up to do “beat boxing”. I’ve seen somepretty sweet beatboxing so I wasn’t about to write this guy off, even though the title of the act seemed out of place and ill timed amid the set of rock standards. The guy got up and did a beat with no variation while the bass, guitar and keyboard player played a funky, yet repetitive line. Eventually the band came to several vamp endings, though the beatboxer was oblivious. Finally the guitar player gave the “hook” signal and the guy stopped. I found it all amusing and even though the beatboxing was less than stellar, the guy was really into it and he looked stereotypically European with a designer haircut and fashionable clothes.

There was a blues guitar player, who was obviously a professional. He played off the crowd and the crowd loved it. In between his songs he said that he toured a lot in America and Canada and people were always asking him about Spain and the economy and he would say it’s not so bad. He then said that people should thank the Jazz Si owner because he is one of the only merchants in Barcelona supporting live music.

The night then culminated with a group of metalheads taking the stage to give a Broadway worthy version of Steppenwolf’s classic, “Born to Wild”. The metal guys were nearly as out of place as the beatboxer but that did not stop them from rocking out with all the classic metal theatrics including head banging, hip gyration, tongue wagging, and all the tricks. It was certainly a great group to end with and the club won me over for it’s nightly music, upbeat crowd, and schedule. I enjoyed the music ending at 10PM, though it was a bit early, it’s then the perfect time to have dinner in Spain!

I was so impressed with Jazz Si that I returned the next night for jazz night. The music was even better and I was pleased to see they had gotten an upright piano for the gig. The crowd was much smaller, though it was a Wednesday night. There were several musicians that showed up throughout the night, including two excellent alto Sax players, an amazing vocalist, a trombone player and a tenor sax player. Whenever I am in Barcelona, I will certainly always be going to Jazz Si!