Spanish Fiestas, The Wild, the Wonderful and the Downright Weird

By Dave Murphy

Enjoy a visit to the spectacular, and sometimes crazy, world of the Spanish Fiesta
You will be amazed to learn of;
A Baby Jumping festival with real babies!
Why running with the bulls in Pamplona is for wimps!
The world's biggest food fight and a multitude of smaller ones!
Being carried in an open coffin while still alive!
You will be shocked to hear of;
Turkeys being thrown from church steeples!
A Rat throwing fiesta!
Goats being thrown from church steeples!
Geese being decapitated!
Bulls on fire!
Bulls chased into the sea!
You will be impressed by
Spectacular Semana Santa celebrations!
Amazing human towers 10 people high!
Spectacular Moors and Christians re-enactments!
The amazing hidden patios of Córdoba!
Enjoy a fascinating journey into the world of the Spanish Fiesta

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Murphy
• Release date: Nov 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463846773

Dave Murphy

Born in Dublin, Ireland, in the dim and distant 1950's, Dave Murphy has enjoyed a life in a variety business ventures.Travel Agency, Restaurant, Sandwich Bar Chain, Catering Company, Coffee Company and more recently as a Writer and Web Developer.A regular visitor to Spain for over forty years, he now enjoys indulging in and writing about his favorite passions; food, particularly the food of Spain, coffee and the cities of Europe.

Book preview

Spanish Fiestas

The Wild, the Wonderful and the Downright Weird

Dave Murphy

Copyright 2016 Dave Murphy

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1539969730

First published November 2016

Smashwords Edition November 2018

www.davemurphyauthor.com

DEDICATION

Dedicated to my two Wonderful Daughters,

Aisling and Bonita

A NOTE ON PLACE NAMES

Place names can be more than a little confusing in Spain!

I have tried to keep to the local spelling of names of towns and villages.

In some areas, particularly in the Basque Country, where the local name in Euskara, (Basque Language) and that in Spanish can sometimes be completely different, I have given both.

For example, San Sebastian(Spanish) or Donostia(Basque)

In the case of Autonomous Regions, I have used what I consider to be the most commonly used version. So, for example, I have used the English spelling Catalonia for what Catalans would consider to be Catalunya, and I use the Canary Islands for Islas Canarias. In the case of Andalucía however, I have used the Spanish spelling rather than the English Andalusia.

Because of this, for example, you will find the island of Menorca (Catalan and Spanish) rather than Minorca (English) in the Balearic Islands (English)

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Christmas is different in Spain

2. Carnival

3. Semana Santa

4. Let’s have a food fight

5. Hidden gems in Cordoba

6. Running with the bulls in Pamplona is for wimps!

7. The mystery of Elche

8. Fighting over a Virgin for 500 years

9. Let’s get soaked in wine, or would you prefer Cava

10. Attending your own funeral can be fun

11. Never let the facts ruin a good story

12. Fun with horses and some smaller animals

13. Building castles in Catalonia

14. Baby Jumping

15. Something for everyone

Conclusion (of sorts)

INTRODUCTION

My first visit to Spain was in 1976. Like many, my first visits were to the holiday resorts which dot the coastline of this history rich country. They were nice but nothing to get too excited about.

My first discovery of the 'real Spain' was in the city of Málaga. I had arrived with a companion by boat from Tangiers, late at night, and had checked into a cheap and extremely basic ‘hostal’ near the port area. We ventured forth through the dark backstreets seeking some food and drink. On coming across a small local bar, I must admit that it required more than a little courage to go in. We were strangers in a strange land and far away from the brash holiday resorts of the Costas and their English-speaking waiters.

We suffered the stares and approached the counter. On the counter was a large array of different foods, none of which we could identify. In my finest Spanish I asked vino, por favor. This, I hasten to add, was not the only Spanish I knew. I also knew cerveza, por favor, although I couldn't pronounce 'cerveza' properly. This being the limit of my Spanish and in urgent need of food I could but point at the food and then my mouth. The message was received, and I figured from the response that I had to choose. I pointed at the nearest dish which might well have been intestines, tripe or octopus for all I knew, and soon it was served up to us in two small earthenware dishes. It was octopus!

Despite our apprehension we ate, and it was delicious. More pointing towards the unknown provided a variety of small dishes, each more enjoyable than the one before. We were too ignorant to realize it at the time, but we were eating tapas.

As the wine went down, we relaxed and were soon in conversation with some of the locals. The fact that none of them could speak English, nor we Spanish, was no obstacle whatsoever and a really great night ensued. We were made both welcome and fun of in equal measure!

On my way back to our accommodation I thought to myself that there's more to Spain than meets the eye!

Since that night I have learned so much more. More about the history, the culture, the language and my great love, the food of Spain.

I have also enjoyed and been fascinated by the many festivals, or fiestas, of this most fascinating country. And many there are! Even the smallest village has at least one fiesta every year and I hope in this book to give you a flavour of the best, as well as the strangest. Be warned though. You might not like or approve of everything you read. Some fiestas are quite wonderful. Some are incredibly wild. Some are just downright weird!

You must form your own conclusions. I will share mine with you at the end of the book.

Enjoy reading and I'll see you there!

1. CHRISTMAS IS DIFFERENT IN SPAIN

Let's start by having a look at how Christmas is somewhat different in Spain.

To date, Spain has, to a very large extent, been protected from the mad commercialism which marks the holiday in so many countries and which seems to start earlier and earlier each year.

In Spain, Christmas has the decency to wait until the 8th of December before slowly getting going. December the 8th is a holiday in Spain to mark the Feast of the Immaculate Conception or ‘La Immaculada’. Only then will Christmas trees and Nativity cribs begin to make an appearance.

Belénes

The crib takes on a whole new meaning for Spaniards, particularly so for those living in Catalonia. Cribs can be very elaborate affairs showing much more than just the manger. Whole village scenes can be built around the traditional manger with many people adding a few extra features each year. Many towns and villages produce nativity scenes each year in public plazas and squares and each year they get more and more elaborate. These nativity scenes called 'belénes' have given rise to a whole industry producing features such as trees, streams and animals for the belénes. These are sold in the many Christmas markets which spring up at this time of year.

El Caganer

In Catalonia they take things a little further! A feature of the traditional nativity scene here is the addition of a character called ‘el Caganer’.

Now there is simply no way of explaining this politely, but I shall do my best. El Caganer