15 M, A Year After

So today is the first anniversary of 15 M, a movement created here in Spain by people who call themselves "indignados". At first I was excited by this movement who seemed to act in pacifistic ways to acknowledge there is something wrong going on in this country. But then there were government elections and I thought something would happen in the urns, but lo and behold, the PP (right wing, conservatist group) won. WTF?? So it seems this movement had no effect in the voting and is once again gathering in Sol (Madrid) and other important Spanish cities, but what for? I don't get it...

Spain's Forecast: No Work in the Horizon

My once unconditional love for Spain is slowly dying. As I read the newspaper headlines saying that 5,640 million Spaniards are now out of work, I can't help but feel disgust. Today and tomorrow Spain is on a long holiday or puente celebrating Labor Day. Isn't it ironic?

Unemployment rises 6.9% to 5.6 million in first quarter of 2012

Spain's Version of Valentine's Day

As I had stated in an earlier post, Valentine’s Day is not a traditional Spanish celebration, but in my opinion, Spain actually has a better version of lovers’ day. Today is Sant Jordi (Saint George), the patron saint of Catalonia. Legend says that after Sant Jordi killed the dragon in a town called Montblanc, a red rose grew up from the ground where the dragon’s blood was spilt. Thus the tradition of giving your loved one a red rose began in medieval times. In the 20^th century a bookseller decided to add giving a book in exchange for a rose since both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes shared this day as their death date. This tradition inspired UNESCO to declare April 23rd the International Day of the Book. Eventhough this started in Catalonia, most of Spain’s cities and towns carry on with the tradition and you can spot book shop stalls on the main streets or squares filled with books and roses of any color. So today if you're lucky, you get roses, or books or both. Just my kind of day!

Holy Schmoly Week

Forget about decorating eggs and egg hunts for Easter. We are in Spain and Easter is not celebrated like this. As a matter of fact, the week before Easter is more important than Easter itself.

Holy Week or "Semana Santa" is a really big deal in Spain. It is so popular that hotels are sold out months or some as much as a year in advance. People that own a balcony from which to view the processions, rent them out in exorbitant amounts. It is an outdoor event, so people take to the streets.

The scene is very difficult to describe. You have to actually experience one. During the week, a series of parades or processions take place. In these processions there is always a band performing a march that adds to the solemn mood in the air. The cities or town's various religious fraternities and brotherhoods "costaleros" carry ornate floats or "pasos" through the "barrios" or neighborhoods, and back to its originating church. These massive platforms are topped with scenes from the life of Jesus. The "nazarenos" who march in front wear a "capirote", a tall conical hood which conceals the face reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan.

At the end of the procession, which can last hours, people go out for an "aperitivo" or snack (remember this is Spain!)

Of course there are no Easter baskets full of chocolate covered bunnies and eggs (although some are slowly making their way into the supermarkets), but it seems something more captivating and meaningful takes over the Spanish streets.

Happy Easter! 

Finding Goya in Madrid

One of the true joys of living in Spain is the opportunity to see some of the world’s greatest works of art in their original settings. On a day like today, Francisco de Goya, one of Spain's greatest painters, was born. Most tourists who come to Spain, visit El Prado Museum where you can find a whole section dedicated to Goya, but few decide to trace his footsteps through Madrid.
Every time I go to Madrid, I try to find something I haven't visited before. So on this trip I decided to find Goya in other places besides El Prado.

I took a train to Principe Pio Station and walked down an avenue called Paseo de la Florida. There on the right were two identical chapels or hermitages called "Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida" (Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of la Florida). Goya's tomb is inside one of them, now a museum. This hermitage not only houses Goya's remains, but one of his least known masterpieces. The dome and ceiling are painted with his frescoes sometimes referred to as "Goya's Sistine Chapel".

I was surprised to see that there were very few tourists, eventhough the admission was free. They were probably all standing in line at El Prado.


Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida & Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

Don’t Cast a Clout ‘till May is Out

The English saying: "Don't cast a clout till May is out" means do not take off your winter coat untill the May flowers are out. In the past people in autumn sewed themselves into their heavy winter underwear and wore it until the following spring when the flowers appeared on the May bushes (Yuck!)
Well, there is a similar Spanish proverb that says: "Hasta el cuarenta de mayo, no te quites el sayo", which means "Until the 40th of may, don't take your coat off". Last week we went straight from winter weather to summer weather, no spring weather in between. Yesterday was the beginning of spring, but it snowed, back to the winter weather, showing that the people who invented the proverb were right, you can’t bet on non-stop good weather in Spain until June.

The rain in Spain stays mainly NOT in the plain

I’m sure most of us remember Professor Higgins teaching Eliza Doolittle the lyrics: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain". Of course it was a language exercise for Eliza to learn how to pronounce correctly, but do the lyrics hold true? Certainly not. I can assure you that the rain in Spain stays mainly NOT in the plain. I happen to live in the plain and it hardly rains here. As a matter of fact, Spain has faced its driest winter ever recorded. Is it because of climate change? Probably… As a result, Spain is in the grip of facing its worst drought this summer. As water reserves start to shrink, "Water Wars" (Cities or whole regions import water from other areas in Spain) from past years will soon unfold again. This week we have gone straight from winter to summer, no spring weather in between and it makes me wonder when will the water cuts begin?