Carnaval/Carnival!!!

Hola todos!

So, this last weekend was absolutely crazy. I had no idea that it was even a holiday in Spain until a friend invited me to join her and some friends in costume at a party in Sitges, a small town about 40 minutes south of Barcelona by train. The holiday is called Carnival... (Karneval, Carnivale, Carnevale and Carnaval in German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages) and it is a time of partying and fun before Lent begins. It is basically the European/Brazilian equivalent of Marti Gras. If you want more info about Carnival, check this Wikipedia link out:

Carnival - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival#Spain

Anyways, I didn't have anything going on that Saturday night and I always love dressing up (especially since I wasn't able to this last Halloween!), so I agreed to go. I went to a thrift store and found the coolest dress (neon pink with a neon yellow tutu frill at the bottom) for super cheap, so I got it and then later decided what my costume would be called... with the help of my friends, we decided that I was 80's Barbie. Anyways, the night started out pretty tame at the apartment of my friend's friend. Slowly our group grew to about 20 people, and after having some pizza and drinks, we headed off to the train station. The train station was absolutely filled with people decked out in the most creative and fun costumes. We all piled into the train and the party had already started with Spaniards and other people singing tons of popular songs. Many of which were in English (and they looked to me for most of the words) like "Hey Jude", "Yellow Submarine", and some more recent songs.

When we arrived in Sitges, it became apparent to me that this was going to be a lot more crowded and crazy than I expected. The police lined the station and the streets, ready for any sorts of problems from the huge drunk mob. My friend's group and I weaved and pushed our way through the crowd that was packed shoulder to shoulder in the fairly wide streets. I didn't know where we were headed, but I assumed we were going to a party somewhere with another group of friends somewhere in Sitges... however, I soon found out that our final destination was the beach, where a huge dance party was happening.

It was absolutely packed on the beach and everyone was dancing and drinking to the Spanish music, which I found incredibly hard to dance to, especially in the sand. It was definitely not the type of Spanish music I expected. I think that I and many other people associate Spain with flamenco music and basically everything that encapsulates the culture of Southern Spain (Cadiz, Sevilla, Granada). However, the northern cities, especially Barcelona, are much more European. Therefore, I think this may be why the "Spanish music" at the beach sounded pretty much like techno music in Spanish. It wasn't exactly like techno music, but the beat was way too fast to keep up with in the sand. Even though I had close to no alcohol in me, I felt the clumsiest I've ever been in my life. :) Haha.

That night was the first time that I truly followed the Spanish example of partying until the sun comes up. I made it back home at around 7:30 AM after leaving Sitges around 5:00 AM with the group. I forgot to set my alarm when I got home and ended up waking up at 5:00 PM on Sunday. That's probably one of the worst feelings: that I've wasted an entire day of sun because I stayed up too late the night before. Anyways, it was a fun and interesting experience for sure. However, one time is enough for me. It was definitely not my scene: too many people, too loud of music (and bad music too!), too far away from home (I couldn't get home when I wanted to), and too many drunks. I'm glad I had the experience though and it was really fun to dress up, meet new people, talk in Spanish the whole night with a ton a people from everywhere (Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, USA), and see first hand a very important and popular fiesta in Spain. Though, apparently I missed the actual amazing and famous parade that happened on Sunday night. I would have rather have seen that.

I've been told that Carnival is most popular and celebrated in Brazil with a spectacular parade. From the pictures I've seen, it looks amazing! One day, I would love to see it in person. Also, my host grandma (grandma of the kids I take care of) sent some pictures to me of Carnival in Italy and it looks absolutely amazing as well... though a lot more conservative and less flashy than Brazil. I would love to see this display as well.

I find this holiday to be incredibly hilarious and such a joke. The basic gist of the fiesta, if people realize it or not, is to drink, party, and go crazy before they are supposed to crack down and be good during the Holy Lenten season (the 40 days before Easter). It seems to completely contradict the actual message of Lent and Easter. I definitely do realize that it is all in fun and most of the people aren't actually practicing Christians or Catholics... and probably most of them don't even know the origins of Carnival, but I just wonder how this came to be such a huge festival. Like, who was the first person to say, "Hey, we're going to need to be good for Lent. We should get the most out of these last few weeks before Lent and party, drink, and be merry."? Haha, but I also realize that Carnival isn't just about partying and drinking. There are many family and kid friendly aspects to the holiday as well. I just only experienced the drunken and crazy part of the holiday.

Okay, it's bedtime for me. Pictures to follow.

Take care,
Linnell