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
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