So I have definitely been slacking way too much on keeping my blog updated. I have tons of updates for this blog since it has been more than two weeks since my last update! Last week was Las Fiestas de la Magdalena, the festival of Castellón de la Plana. It commemorates the origins of the city, after King James conquered the Moorish Kingdom of Valencia and was granted royal permission to relocate of the city from the hill of the Madeleine (Magdalena) to the fertile coastal plane in 1251. The festival takes place begins on the third Saturday of Lent and lasts for 9 days. According to folklore, the town was moved during the middle of the night, which is why one of the symbols of the celebration is a lantern (the other symbols are a round loaf of bread, the food that sustained them on their journey, and a cane, which helped support them as the walked from the hill to the plane)
The festival was nothing like I had ever seen before. To begin the festivities they have a “mascleta” which is basically a fireworks show during the day. The point of the show is not to show the fireworks but to make as much noise as possible. Every day (except Sunday and Monday) they had a show at one of the plazas in the city. After the show, everyone begins to celebrate throughout the city. Throughout the city there were various different places to celebrate the festivities where you could partake in food and beverages. There were three main “mesón” at various points in the city- mesón de vino, meson de tapas y cerveza and the mesón Asturiano. At the meson de vino you could order a bottle of wine, nothing else, but they along with the wine they would give you a plate of chorizo and peanuts. At the meson de tapas y cerveza you could buy a ticket that entitled you to a tapa and a beer or bottle of water. At the meson Asturiano you could buy a bottle of cider, which you had to pour distinctly so that you could add air to it, and you could also order different foods that are typically eaten in the region of Asturias, which is located in Northern Spain. They also had a "feria alternativa," which was an outdoor market where you could but different foods, mainly ethnic foods, and also handmade crafts and artesian cheeses and meats. On the first day everyone first goes to the wine. There are different vendor set up and they sell different bottles of wine but the kind that is most typically purchased is called Lambrusco, which is a sparkling red wine. If you go it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to buy a bottle of wine. Many people bring bottles with them and since they don’t serve food there, people also pack snacks to bring along with them to eat while they drink.
On Saturday they also started the different shows and concerts that would take place throughout the week. There was always something to do and somewhere to go. You could always find something happening at one of the plazas in town. There were also several parades that took place throughout the week.
Although Saturday was the start of the festivities, Sunday is the most important day of the festival. On Sunday after mass is over the entire city walked from the center of town, where everyone is given a cane, a hat and a ribbon, to the Magdalena, where there remains a church. Along the way it is almost obligatory to stop at Sant Roc de Canet, where people rest, have a snack and are supposed to say a prayer. Once the Magdalena is reached, everyone waits for their turn to ring the church bell. They have a giant paella waiting at the top and those that want to wait can have a plate. It is a day of tradition and a day that is meant to be celebrated with family.
I went up with my host family and their friends. We packed a lunch and walked up together. Even though the weather turned out to be not that great (it began raining) we still had a good time and I was able to see what it was like to be a real Spaniard, a real Castellonense. Afterwards, we went to the meson de vino and had a good time just hanging out and drinking wine. It was definitely easier to get around the second day, compared to the first, since most people went home after walking down from the hill.
Although the weather wasn’t that great throughout the week, everyone still went out and took part in the festivities. It was amazing to see the city completely transformed- it looked like a whole different city and just had a totally different vibe, especially at night when everyone was out on the streets at one of the various free concerts that they had set up throughout the city. One of the things that still caught me off guard was how people stay out so late with their little children. It would be 2 a.m. and people would still be on the streets walking with a baby stroller or a toddler in hand. The idea of children here is totally different from the U.S. and it is sill something that I am getting used to.
There were a couple of other things that surprised me during the week. One being how many fireworks there were and just seeing little kids lighting fireworks everywhere. You would walk down the street and see a group of small children lighting fireworks as if were an everyday occurrence. I mean, these little kids could use a lighter better than I could, that is how different they view pyrotechnics here.
Although drinking is viewed completely different here than in the states, it was still something that surprised me during the week, in particular the amount of drinking and also seeing teenagers drink on the street. All week long, everyone drank everywhere especially since there were designated areas to buy drinks. And when you weren’t there, you were at a bar drinking or at a café drinking coffee with rum or cognac. I am not trying to say that that’s all that went on during the week, but it was a big part of what took place. I was also surprised to see teenagers drinking out in public. They could just go up and buy a beer as if it were nothing. It definitely shocked me to see someone who clearly was no more than 15 go up and buy a beer with no problem. I think that that was just something that was harder for me to get used to seeing. I guess in a sense it is better that way, for them to drink out in public and not drink excessively in private, but it was just something that surprised me.
Another thing that I was surprised to see during the week was the amount of P.D.A. that I saw. Although people here greet one another with a kiss, I had not really seen any sort of affection between people here until that week. It was something that I had noticed a couple of weeks ago, the lack of public affection, so seeing it so much during the week made me take notice even more so.
One of the things that I most enjoyed about the week was seeing people dressed in traditional clothing. Wherever you walked you would see women and girls dressed in beautiful dresses and men dressed in amazing outfits. The outfits are amazing and they are all custom made, there are no two outfits that are the same. The women also wear beautiful jewelry and combs in their hair. Just looking at them was like stepping back in time. It was funny though to see these people dressed in traditional outfits talk on cell phones or smoke a cigarette since that is not something that you would have seen people do when they originally wore these outfits.
Another of the things that I enjoyed seeing was the royal court of the festival. There was a queen and her court and junior queen and her court. They would be at many of the parades and shows and every day would be dressed in a different outfit. They don’t really get to enjoy the festival, but they get the satisfaction of knowing that they were the queens of the festival. Being the queen is one of the ultimate social status symbols in the city since it takes so much money to afford the expensive dresses and their families host dinners every night throughout the festival for special guests. The queen is basically chosen based on who has the most money, which is unfortunate but that’s the way it goes.
All in all, it was just an amazing week. I was able to experience something like nothing I ever have since we have nothing that comes close to it back home. Although by the end of the week I was tired and thought that 9 days was a long time for the festival, I enjoyed myself and would not have traded my week for anything. I was able to experience another unique part of Spain and Castellon and will never forget it.
The festival was nothing like I had ever seen before. To begin the festivities they have a “mascleta” which is basically a fireworks show during the day. The point of the show is not to show the fireworks but to make as much noise as possible. Every day (except Sunday and Monday) they had a show at one of the plazas in the city. After the show, everyone begins to celebrate throughout the city. Throughout the city there were various different places to celebrate the festivities where you could partake in food and beverages. There were three main “mesón” at various points in the city- mesón de vino, meson de tapas y cerveza and the mesón Asturiano. At the meson de vino you could order a bottle of wine, nothing else, but they along with the wine they would give you a plate of chorizo and peanuts. At the meson de tapas y cerveza you could buy a ticket that entitled you to a tapa and a beer or bottle of water. At the meson Asturiano you could buy a bottle of cider, which you had to pour distinctly so that you could add air to it, and you could also order different foods that are typically eaten in the region of Asturias, which is located in Northern Spain. They also had a "feria alternativa," which was an outdoor market where you could but different foods, mainly ethnic foods, and also handmade crafts and artesian cheeses and meats. On the first day everyone first goes to the wine. There are different vendor set up and they sell different bottles of wine but the kind that is most typically purchased is called Lambrusco, which is a sparkling red wine. If you go it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to buy a bottle of wine. Many people bring bottles with them and since they don’t serve food there, people also pack snacks to bring along with them to eat while they drink.
On Saturday they also started the different shows and concerts that would take place throughout the week. There was always something to do and somewhere to go. You could always find something happening at one of the plazas in town. There were also several parades that took place throughout the week.
Although Saturday was the start of the festivities, Sunday is the most important day of the festival. On Sunday after mass is over the entire city walked from the center of town, where everyone is given a cane, a hat and a ribbon, to the Magdalena, where there remains a church. Along the way it is almost obligatory to stop at Sant Roc de Canet, where people rest, have a snack and are supposed to say a prayer. Once the Magdalena is reached, everyone waits for their turn to ring the church bell. They have a giant paella waiting at the top and those that want to wait can have a plate. It is a day of tradition and a day that is meant to be celebrated with family.
I went up with my host family and their friends. We packed a lunch and walked up together. Even though the weather turned out to be not that great (it began raining) we still had a good time and I was able to see what it was like to be a real Spaniard, a real Castellonense. Afterwards, we went to the meson de vino and had a good time just hanging out and drinking wine. It was definitely easier to get around the second day, compared to the first, since most people went home after walking down from the hill.Although the weather wasn’t that great throughout the week, everyone still went out and took part in the festivities. It was amazing to see the city completely transformed- it looked like a whole different city and just had a totally different vibe, especially at night when everyone was out on the streets at one of the various free concerts that they had set up throughout the city. One of the things that still caught me off guard was how people stay out so late with their little children. It would be 2 a.m. and people would still be on the streets walking with a baby stroller or a toddler in hand. The idea of children here is totally different from the U.S. and it is sill something that I am getting used to.
There were a couple of other things that surprised me during the week. One being how many fireworks there were and just seeing little kids lighting fireworks everywhere. You would walk down the street and see a group of small children lighting fireworks as if were an everyday occurrence. I mean, these little kids could use a lighter better than I could, that is how different they view pyrotechnics here.
Although drinking is viewed completely different here than in the states, it was still something that surprised me during the week, in particular the amount of drinking and also seeing teenagers drink on the street. All week long, everyone drank everywhere especially since there were designated areas to buy drinks. And when you weren’t there, you were at a bar drinking or at a café drinking coffee with rum or cognac. I am not trying to say that that’s all that went on during the week, but it was a big part of what took place. I was also surprised to see teenagers drinking out in public. They could just go up and buy a beer as if it were nothing. It definitely shocked me to see someone who clearly was no more than 15 go up and buy a beer with no problem. I think that that was just something that was harder for me to get used to seeing. I guess in a sense it is better that way, for them to drink out in public and not drink excessively in private, but it was just something that surprised me.
Another thing that I was surprised to see during the week was the amount of P.D.A. that I saw. Although people here greet one another with a kiss, I had not really seen any sort of affection between people here until that week. It was something that I had noticed a couple of weeks ago, the lack of public affection, so seeing it so much during the week made me take notice even more so.
One of the things that I most enjoyed about the week was seeing people dressed in traditional clothing. Wherever you walked you would see women and girls dressed in beautiful dresses and men dressed in amazing outfits. The outfits are amazing and they are all custom made, there are no two outfits that are the same. The women also wear beautiful jewelry and combs in their hair. Just looking at them was like stepping back in time. It was funny though to see these people dressed in traditional outfits talk on cell phones or smoke a cigarette since that is not something that you would have seen people do when they originally wore these outfits.
Another of the things that I enjoyed seeing was the royal court of the festival. There was a queen and her court and junior queen and her court. They would be at many of the parades and shows and every day would be dressed in a different outfit. They don’t really get to enjoy the festival, but they get the satisfaction of knowing that they were the queens of the festival. Being the queen is one of the ultimate social status symbols in the city since it takes so much money to afford the expensive dresses and their families host dinners every night throughout the festival for special guests. The queen is basically chosen based on who has the most money, which is unfortunate but that’s the way it goes.
All in all, it was just an amazing week. I was able to experience something like nothing I ever have since we have nothing that comes close to it back home. Although by the end of the week I was tired and thought that 9 days was a long time for the festival, I enjoyed myself and would not have traded my week for anything. I was able to experience another unique part of Spain and Castellon and will never forget it.
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