Fireworks!

Saturday 6/25 - Monday 6/27

Saturday

After sleeping late I met up with everyone to go to San Juan.  Unfortunately it was busier and dirtier than I had ever seen it, but I still enjoyed playing some v-ball, Frisbee (everyone think Frisbee is super weird here because you never see it), swimming to the buoys, and body surfing the larger-than-normal waves.

The night began with a huge fireworks display on the beach at 12 that started a competition that would span the next 5 nights with different fireworks companies (even one from Italy) trying to outdo each other.  It was funny that all of the sudden our spot on the rocks was covered with people and we could barely find a spot.  It seemed like the whole town had come out to watch the fireworks and people blanketed, the beach, sidewalk, and seaside rocks.  Afterwards the night was highlighted by our visit to the bar that has a Mizzou shirt hanging in it from previous study abroad sessions and our trip to the beach around 6 am for an early morning swim.  I could tell this was my first true Spanish late-night because as I walked home I could see the horizon was streaked with the first rays of daylight.

Sunday

Today I stuck around the house until 5 when we met to go to this really cool upscale restaurant/bar called “IslaMarina” that our friends had raved about that was right on the sea.  We had gotten bracelets to get in for free today from promoters on the beach a while back.  It was mostly outside and all the staff were dressed in white to match the tables and lounge furniture.  There was a nice wide open view of the seaside.  There were several island/tiki styled huts where you could get food and drink and there was even a small pool you could lay around.  The whole thing reminded me of a movie scene.  It was definitely nice and it was definitely pricey (4E beer for instance).  I was happy with a  delicious NA apple slushy.  We hung around and talked for a while as the place gradually filled up and seats became scarce as it neared midnight.  I don’t really know what it was but after the initial charm of the place I got tired of it pretty quick.  Maybe it was because it was obviously a place for people with a lot of money who liked to use it on partying and alcohol (of which I am neither).  Of course that’s their prerogative and I’m sure they enjoy it, but I prefer to spend money on things I value (either experiences or something with long-term).  I’m definitely not saying that I haven’t enjoyed some drinks while here, but I’m not going to spend 80E of my money on “bottle service” (which gets you a bottle of vodka and a sofa for you and your friends to share).  I decided to take my leave when my friends took that option. 

On my walk home I ran into a parade in honor of Corpus Christi that was just entering the church and I followed that in and observed the crowded service.  Also, since I left early I got to have dinner at home instead of eating out.  Some of my friends tell me how they eat out all the time, but I just can’t justify passing up the free meals at home (especially when they are almost always delicious)!

Later that night I went to watch the beautiful fireworks and had a rare treat of ice cream (toffee, I think) at a small cafe on the way home.

Monday

I started my last week of work somewhat reluctantly, but was cheered by the thought that I would only have a 3-day week because I move to the university and start phase 2 on Thursday.  I think Jose still being on vacation in Germany made the day seem extra long.  At least I had work to do: researching sites to buy stock footage, creating a database of translation companies in the US, writing a letter requesting their partnership. 

After work I went for a run to the train station to try to sort out an extra $80 charge that shouldn’t be on my account.  I hate that place!  No one speaks English so I am left to vent in broken Spanish.  They said the money wouldn’t be credited back to me until the end of July since I used a credit card (which was the only one that worked).  They charged me a 9E service fee for cancelling my $80 ticket seconds after I bought it because the guy who sold me my ticket told me the wrong information.  He also told me that if I bought a ticket at the station with my card it would be authorized to work online, which the guy today said was completely wrong.  Their online system is apparently from the Stone Age and doesn’t accept foreign cards.  Although it never tells you this vital little tidbit on the site!  If I want to buy a ticket I have to buy it at the station and in some cases will pay up to double the price I see it selling for online.  This was my 3^rd trip to the train station, and everyone leaves me more frustrated than the last and apparently the only thing I can do is file a complaint online.  

Tonight I am going to watch the fireworks for the 3^rd time out on the rocks.  Hopefully I’ll meet some of my friends there.  I love all fireworks and can’t help staring at them in awe the whole show.  They bring back lots of good memories, and I’m glad I will at least get my fill of fireworks displays since I’m missing 4^th of July.

Hasta Luego,

Cóle

"When there's nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire"

On Tuesday and Wednesday the young women from all over town in their traditional dresses brought hundreds of flower bouquets to form this tribute to the Virgin Mary in front of the main church.  It was incredible and covered on all sides!  This is on Friday, so they are a bit old.

Thursday 6/23- Friday 6/24

Thursday. 

Since I didn’t have work I slept late and eventually made my way to the beach for the normal volleyball and lounging.  Afterwards they had a traditional dance at the Ayuntamiento that I watched.  It was very repetitive and rhythmic as they moved in synchronicity around the hoguera.  Then they made the girls in the beauty pageant with their huge traditional dresses join in and it was funny to watch them try to pick up the dance.  After a quick dinner I went right back out to the international parade that was going on.  I actually managed to watch the whole 2-hour ordeal.  It was pretty interesting since they had people, dresses, floats, dancers, and musicians from all different regions of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries.  It was funny observing and listening to the old ladies sitting in the chairs in front of me that lined the street and thinking how they were totally in their element and prolly lived for this stuff.  I’m sure they got there plenty early to get their seats and the whole time they were commenting to each other, yelling ‘Guapa, guapa!’ (pretty) and laughing as the guys in the parade would come up to dance in front of them or pass bottles of wine throughout the crowd and they would all sample it with their little cups (E).

The parade on Thursday night had a small regiment of giants.

These were called the bellezas (beauties).  I have no idea how the pageant worked, but I think their were bellezas competing from many different neighborhoods and the one who wins is a big deal and gets her face everywhere and makes lots of public appearances.

I think these were bellezas from another town.  The first half of the parade was 95% women with several more floats like this.  They like showing off their ladies!

Shaking his tail-feathers for those old ladies in front of me.

feathers galore! 

Snow white made it!  I think Popeye has his back to us, and the dwarves, porky, and Minnie are distinguishable as well.

The horses marched in fancy prances and synchronized patterns.

These guys walked behind and got the loudest applause out of anyone.

passionate dancing 

calculated dancing

the North African float

the Mexican float with the Mariachi band 

dancers from Peru

dancers from Bulgaria

primitives from Venezuela?  The one barely had little circles to cover her nipples... quite brave for a parade.

Dancers from Chile (M)

dancers from a volcano? I dk.

Once the parade had finished and we had finally pushed through the complete gridlock of the crowd Quinten and I went to stop by the baracca of one of his co-workers that he had been invited to.  We were only going to stay for around 30 minutes and then go to the beach or possibly the baracca of my friend.  We left 4 hours later!  It was really cool to be part of a traditional Spanish baracca.  The girl and a group of around 10 of her friends had rented a table and just chilled there every night wining and dining, listening to music and dancing.  It was lots of fun to just chat with Lia and Sergio and they were very hospitable and kept refilling our drinks as soon as we were finished.  We even learned a new party trick called the Fran, courtesy of Fran.

This is more or less what a typical baracca looks like.  Set up in the street, fenced in, lots of tables piled with food, seats full of friends, and loud music from a DJ with a dance area at one end.

It was around 3:30 when  we left to their disappointment, but we didn’t want to overstay our welcome and we had heard there were some interesting things going on at the beach.  When we go there it was still packed, but our friends had left. The tradition of that night where people built fires on the beach (the only day of the year they can), threw three wishes into them, jumped over it, ran into the ocean, and jumped over 6 waves to purify themselves from the bad stuff of the previous year was over.  I don’t know if they get ‘’purified” from sins or bad luck or it’s like New Year’s Resolutions or what, but it kinda sounds a bit like some strange VooDoo ritual.  I even heard they burned some big figure and there were devils dancing around it or something.  I was quite disappointed that we missed the fire jumping, but I think spending time with our new Spanish friends at their baracca was worth it.  We turned in early after seeing we had missed the fun and I had rough night of sleep.

The beach was still packed around 3:30 Thursday night.  This doesn't even give you the full scope, but it's a start.

Friday

It was prolly because of my irregular sleep that I didn’t wake up until 2:30 the next day.  I was woken up by the mezclata!  I never thought I could sleep that late, but I guess all the late nights finally caught up to me.  At the beach that afternoon I was playing this really popular paddleball game (you just hit this plastic ball back and forth) with Hamid in the shallows when I lunged for the ball and felt something sharp on my foot.  I yanked my foot up right away and reached down to find a piece of glass the size of my palm no doubt left from the night before.  Even though I wasn’t cut, it was quite scary that anyone could’ve stepped on that at anytime.  I am lucky my feet have gotten so tough from all the walking on sand. 

Tonight is the big night where they burn all the hogueras.  It all starts at midnight with the giant hoguera at Ayuntamiento, so we went there at 11 to try and get a spot to see it.  We immediately got separated from half our group, but I was still with Quinten, Allan, Hamid, Marianne, and Catherine.  Even though we got there at 11 it was incredibly packed and we could barely see half the hoguera from our angle.  They had the whole town square blocked off for safety and firefighters were inside with their hoses ready.  When 12 hit there was a giant explosion and we saw a massive ‘palmero’ (willow tree type firework) explode above the castle and that was the signal.  Hogueras had begun! 

The one at Ayuntamiento was giant!

Next we heard a series of firecrackers explode and the hoguera infantile was the first set aflame.  As the blaze of that one burned down the huge one in the middle was torched as the strings of fireworks wrapped around it went off and set off the gasoline soaking the outside.  The heat was incredible even at our distance and in the center of the crowd.  As the huge branches of the hoguera were consumed the embers started to fly into the sky faster than the firefighters could spray them down.  Before I knew it the sky above me was filled with floating embers like stars in the Wyoming sky.  People started to panic and began rushing past us away from the fire.  That was perfectly fine with me because amidst the hubbub we moved up to take their spots and got a great view.  With the fair-weather spectators gone and in our front row position I was able to get several great pictures before the firefighters’ spray forced me to stuff my camera and phone in my back pockets and hope for the best.  Just then the insults to the firefighters intensified and the chants of ‘agua’ grew louder so the firefighters really gave us some face-fulls of the wonderfully refreshing water.  The speakers were blasting the hoguera song made about the festival and everyone was jumping around like mad and loving getting completely soaked.  Soon we left to hunt down the next hoguera since they were all getting lit up throughout the city now, but not having the schedule made it a lot tougher. 

The crowd watching Ayuntamiento begin to burn as it is lit up by fireworks!

You can see the spray of firefighters cutting through the air.  It fell on us in blankets.

After a Gofre break we made our way in and out of the streets seeing hogueras in various stages of incineration.  When we came upon the fountain at La Plaza de Luceros we decided we had to join the crowd that was splashing around inside it.  We finally found a hoguera that was just about to be burned and this time we were up front from the beginning.  From there I left the group to try to meet up with my Spanish friend, but that ended in a big fail when her phone died and no one had heard of her neighborhood.  I just ended up watching four other hogueras burn in much the same fashion and with much the same result.  The excitement of the night was contagious and I was definitely sorry to see it end in the early hours of the morning.

Hasta Luego,
Cóle

I went around Friday afternoon capturing as many hogueras as I could find before they were burned.  Enjoy the tour of Hogueras!

This was the hoguera the won first prize and it was right down the street from my house!  Nobody else I know even tried to see it because it was so far away.

Harry Potter (E)

They love this image of Christ crying.  It was drawn above an entrance at the Castle and they claim it was the image he left in the cloth that a lady wiped his face with on the way to the cross.

The devils found a nice home.

Just lit up

Not just lit up

The heat was INTENSE!

The witch's butt is on fire.

People and parties a plenty

Monday 6/20 – Wed. 6/22

Monday

Today was another unproductive day at work, but I feel like I’ve done everything possible to try and get the boss to give me stuff to do.  He keep says he’ll keep getting me the revisions so I keep waiting.  I know he’s really busy with a ton of stuff on his plate and I don’t wanna bother him because as an intern I know I’m not on the top of his priority list.  On the flip side though everything I’ve been working on (brochures and English website) is urgent and needs to get out as soon as possible.  He’s the only person I speak English to because I feel like when I talk to him it needs to be as quick an succinct as possible (He’s also the only one in the company who speaks very fluent English).  At least I was personally productive because I had some time to write my blog posts from the weekend! 

After work I went with David to see the Hoguera Museum, but we found out that Monday was the only day it was closed.  Then we just walked around to view some Hogueras.  I went home kinda early because my contacts were killing me.  They regularly give me a lot of hassle so I have utilized my glasses whenever I can.  That night I finished my Long Knife book.  It was actually a bit depressing to hear of the tragic end to the life of George Rogers Clark.

I was planning on staying in that night, but was convinced to join some friends at the beach (partially by mamá who said I need to go out because that’s what all the young people do).  On my walk there I passed by tons of neighborhood parties (the baraccas of the Festival de Hogueras) with people crowded around tables eating drinking and making merry.  Some parties were exclusive and some were open, but all had a fence containing the guests, a bar, and a DJ blasting music.  Here and there you would see people dancing, but most of that did not come until much later in the night.  Everywhere in the streets you would see and here little kids lighting off firecrackers.  These days I don’t even flinch when you here the explosion of a firecracker like a gunshot in the street below.

When I got to the beach I was amazed by the teeming mass of people spread over the sand.  Everyone was tightly clustered in their groups from the boardwalk right up to the sea and spanning a good half of the beach’s length.  Luckily I was able to pick out my friends and we had a nice sandy party until it was time to move out to the clubs and see where the night would take us or leave us.  It wasn’t just the beach that was packed.  Everywhere you went there were hundreds of people all going in different directions, and this is a Monday night! 

Tuesday

At work I finally got the corrections I needed so I quickly churned out the final versions by the end of the day.  I took an extended lunch in order to see the mazclata over in the Plaza de Luceros.  Every day of the week during Hogueras at 2 pm there is something called a mazclata where hundreds of fireworks are set off in the center of the city specifically to make as much noise as possible.  I watched it on the tv the day before and they have a little gauge in the corner that moves up and down with the number of decibels.  The finale topped out at 130!  It’s funny that I can hear the sound from my house across town, but because of the distance I actually hear it first on tv.   So I wanted to go and check the show out firsthand.  As usual, there was a huge crowd and I maneuvered myself up near the front to see better.  It turned out the view wasn’t that important since the explosions started on our end of the plaza and smoke obscured the whole plaza within 2 minutes.  The noise was incredible!  I felt like a pansy, but I definitely preferred covering my ears.  I don’t know how the people around me didn’t have their eardrums turned to mush after being so exposed.  My ears ached for several hours afterwards from the time I didn’t have them covered to take pictures.  They definitely are pros at making bangs and booms around here!

The crowd at the mezclata before they got their ears blown off.

Getting their ears blown off.

The smoke obscured everything.

That afternoon I went straight from work to go see a free documentary about the history of Alicante that they showed for free in some mall every Tuesday.  It turned out the movie theater was actually just a tv screen in some café and the documentary was actually about the classic rock band “The Doors.”  Did you know Jim Morrison (lead singer) was a published poet and quite intellectual and “The Doors” name is from a poem by William Blake?  Morrison was also a huge alcoholic who died at 27, so he couldn’t have been that smart.

When the night rolled around I went to the beach a little later and left a little earlier.  But it was definitely the same scene with widespread debauchery, dealing and consuming of various substances, and a lot of partying.  One interesting point was when someone stuck a big firework in the sand quite near where we were sitting.  When it shot off it definitely stayed stuck in place and then exploded showering the crowd with green sparks.  Fortunately I only got hit in the hand and to no consequence.  From there several more were lit off in the crater in the crowd the firework had caused.  When I went home around 3 all of the parties were still in full swing.  I fell asleep to songs of Barbara Streisand and the like floating through my window.  The next day I woke up at 8 am to the wake-up calls of fireworks and bands playing in the streets.

Wednesday

Work was unremarkable.  I made progress on several of the new projects I was assigned that morning.  I went straight from work to the bullfight (corridas de los toros) at 7.  It was an amazing experience!  The stands were packed, the bleachers were very close together, and we were quite hot because of all the people and we had gotten the cheaper seats in the sun.  There are about six bullfights each summer and the event consists of three bullfighters (toreros) who each fight two bulls.  I found that I couldn’t take my eyes off the ring.  The anticipation is really exciting and you never know what the bull is going to do.  For each of the 6 bulls the process was the same, but it was never really boring because the bulls kept it lively and I could vaguely perceive differences in the styles of the toreros.  The next paragraph will describe the gruesome fight and death of the bulls. so that’s a fair warning if you don’t like hearing about animals dying, skip it.

First, the bull was let into the ring to meet the various toreros with bright pink capes.  There are 4 or 5 of them and they each take turns enticing the bull to run at them before they slip behind these barricades against the wall of the ring.  At first the bull is running around really fast.  I think they stick a small barb in his back before he goes into the ring to make him mad and run fast.  Sometimes the toreros make it run at their pink cape and dodge it, but they are really just meant to wear the bull out a bit in the preliminary stage of the fight.  After a bit a guy on a horse with a long spear comes out as the toreros distract the bull.  Eventually the bull sees the horse and charges at him (the horse is protected with armor) and the horseman gives him a sharp jab with the spear in the back until he backs off.  Now several toreros have gotten these dart things and they get the bulls attention by raising his arms high and stepping towards him and the two charge at each other.  At the last second the guy steps to the side and jabs the decorated darts in his back where they stick and flop around. This happens three times.  Then when the bull is worn out enough and bloodied a bit the main torero comes out with his red cape and sword (I think it’s just for self defense at this point).  He dances with the bull a bit and does all the dodging and spinning with the bull that you have prolly seen in movies.  The torero does allow the bull to run right by him and sometimes even leads him in a complete circle before the bull bucks up at the cape as it passes over his head (this always gets big cheers and olés).  I wish the bull was smarter and didn’t go straight for the cape every time when he jiggles it.  The bull won’t ever charge at the person even when his back is turned unless enticed.  Eventually the torero faces off with the bull and draws back his sword dramatically.  At this point everyone knows the climax is coming and the whole crowd makes shushing noises.  As the anticipation builds and the two stare each other down the torero suddenly rushes at the bull and the bull charges back.  At the last second the torero sidesteps and thrusts the sword straight into his back (sometimes it doesn’t go in and they have to do it again, but usually it’s driven in up to the hilt of the approx. 75 cm blade).  Now the pink cape toreros come back and crowd around the bull waving their capes and disorienting it as the victorious torero struts around proudly.  Finally, the bull gives up and lays down.  One of the pink cape toreros takes out a dagger and stabs it into the brain of the bull to kill it within seconds.  One of the most exciting parts of the night was when the guy went to stab in the dagger and the bull reared his head, knocked away the knife, got up, caught the guy with his horns, and flipped him around before the other toreros could help out.  Once dead, the great beast is then dragged off by two horses and the crowd cheers and waves white handkerchiefs. 

It’s a tragic one-sided battle and I found myself routing for the bulls to win.  The best torero was definitely the one who went last, Palazón.  He was dressed in a fabulous light blue suit and was very smooth and seemed to always stand and walk with his pelvis dramatically thrust forward.  Being a torero doesn’t really seem all that hard, honestly.  All you need is guts and the ability to squeeze into ridiculously small pants that make your butt look great.

The first stage of the bull fight when the bull is running wild.

There are several people in the ring at once at first.

The horseman is spearing the back of the bull.

This guy just stuck the darts in his back and is running away.

The aides are waiting behind their shields in case anything happens.  The torero doesn't wear a hat.  Sometimes he leaves it on the ground in the ring for good luck.

Dragging off the poor loser.

The victor with his bull ear in hand.

Cheering the victory of the torero.  Many people would throw things into the ring as the torero walked around celebrating and he was supposed to pick them up and toss them back.

The crowd around us, though very close, was also very nice.  People bring in entire dishes of food and coolers of alcohol.  Then they share it with all the people around them to create a fun, communal atmosphere.

Later that night we once again visited the beach and then moved on to the University baracca, which was really just hundreds of young people filling the median of one of the main streets and dancing to blaring music.  The cool thing about the baracca as opposed to the clubs is that they play actual Spanish music instead of the same 5 popular American songs.

Hasta Luego,

Cóle