Already planning what to do in Easter? Don't miss this...

The days are going by and Easter is approaching, which means that you are surely preparing your vacations and your trips!

As Paco always tells you, Spain is a secular country, our Constitution says so, but the Catholic tradition has a lot of weight in our culture, even for non-believers. During Holy Week (mainly  from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday), all cities continue to celebrate "processions": some spectacular parades where believers carry very heavy thrones called "pasos" on their shoulders, with statues of Jesus Christ, the Virgin, some saints...representing the passion of Christ. 

The most famous processions are those in Andalusia, where people in the street sing breathtaking songs called "saetas", but there are others which are also very special, for example in Cuenca (in Madrid they are more humble, but they also have their charm). And it's not all religion and spirituality, there is also a festive mood and good food without meat involved as well ("torrijas", "pestiños", "buñuelos de bacalao", "patatas a la importancia", "sopa de ajo", and "potaje de garbanzos", for instance).

Two pieces of advice: First, if you don't like crowds, don't go, it can be very overwhelming (check out the video below). But if if you want to experience it (and I promise it is worth it), book your train tickets and hotels as soon as possible, because many people want to go.

Finally, don't be scared by the clothes of the hooded people that appear in the video: No, they are not from the Ku Kux Klan :-) Most of people say the origin of that hat (the "capirote") dates back to the 15th century during the time of the Holy Inquisition, when similar hats (the "corozas") were placed on people convicted by the Holy Court. However, there are mentions of hats with the same shape in previous documents. Anyway, it has a strong penitential meaning and the religious brotherhoods of Seville decided to adopt it around the 17th century for their processions. The hood serves to hide the face and keep the identity of the penitent, who feels honored carrying the "paso" and suffering as Jesus Christ. Please check out the video, it is really impressive!

Good week and good luck with the last exams!

The Photography Contest Already Has Winners!

The jury made up of Paco, Kike, Elena, Isabel, and Patricia voted for their three favorite photos and... there was a triple tie! The winners, as you can see in the following Padlet, are the authors of photos 4, 10, and 24: Ben Bennett, Fiona Goe, and Emily Campbell, respectively.

Please, stop by Isabel and Eva's office to receive your prizes starting Thursday, February 23rd.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you all for participating! There will be more contests, don't give up!

Carnivals and Gastronomy

 

You have probably heard of the Carnivals in Venice or in Rio de Janeiro, but there are also famous ones in Spain, such as those in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and those in Cádiz. What is the origin of this party? Although it seems to have its origin in certain pagan festivals from Roman times, the carnivals themselves are born in the Middle Ages, with the expansion of Christianity. The festival took the name of carnival, which comes from carnem levare in latin, which means "give up meat". This is so because this event was celebrated days before Ash Wednesday, the start date of  Lent until Resurrection Sunday, a period of abstinence and fasting. In that festival, absolutely everything was allowed and people covered their faces or went in disguise, so as not to be recognized.

Carnivals do not have a fixed date of celebration. As with Holy Week, Carnival is celebrated according to the lunar calendar, which means that the days change from one year to the next. Specifically, Carnival is set 40 days before Holy Thursday, which this year is Thursday April 6. Therefore, in 2023 the Carnival began on Thursday February 16 and will last until Wednesday February 22.

The "Burial of the Sardine" is a ceremony that announces the end of Carnival in various parts of Spain and Latin America. It usually consists of a carnival parade that parodies a funeral procession and ends with the burning of some symbolic figure, generally representing a sardine. The carnivalesque burial of the sardine is traditionally celebrated on Ash Wednesday. The Past is symbolically buried, so that people and society can be reborn with greater force. The Madrid Carnival will end with this popular burial and a parade, starting in San Antonio de la Florida and ending in la Fuente de los Pajaritos. A new edition of the gastronomic route 'We're going for sardines!' returns.

Starting Thursday February 16, more than a hundred establishments, distributed among market stalls, pastry shops, restaurants and hotels are taking part in a gastronomic route that is already in its fourth edition. It bears the name of "We're going for sardines!". Some dishes have this fish as the main ingredient, but others are sweets imitating the shape of the fish. Here you can find the list of establishments that participate in this gastronomic route: https://masinteresmadrid.com/adjuntos/19227/Ruta_gastronomica_Sardina_Carnaval_2023_programa.pdf

A Secret Park in Madrid

The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda once wrote: "I want to do with you what Spring does with the cherry trees." I don't know if his lover flourished as he expected, but Madrid does every spring, and even a little earlier. At this point in February you will already be able to see almond trees in blossom, soon some types of plum trees, and the expected cherry trees, at the real beginning of spring (the end of March).

Kike will take you to several breathtaking parks with the start of the long-awaited good weather, and we are sure you are going to love them. However, there is one very little known even by the people of Madrid and to which he will not take you (time is limited! 😊). This is La Quinta de los Molinos, a 1925 mansion with orchards, flowers, and vegetable gardens. Its name refers to the hydraulic windmills in the place. Admission is free.

Although it has olive, pine and eucalyptus trees, the most characteristic and numerous of this park are the almond trees, which have blossomed these days, so the park now looks very beautiful colored with its white and pink flowers.

It is located at Callé Alcalá, 527. You can get there by Metro Suances (line 5) or with buses 77, 104, 105, L5. It is true it is far from the center, but you can spend a nice day there and leave in the afternoon, for instance. It is worth it!

The park is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (all year round) and inside there is a cafeteria open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., but you cannot book and it fills up quickly (I would not risk it). You can take some sandwiches from home and picnic in the park or go to nearby off-site restaurants (Tripadvisor will help you😜 ).

Don't let it pass you by, the almond trees are only in bloom for a couple of weeks and the place is worth it!!!

Map of the park

Curtain Up!

In case you did not dare to join us in the theater last week, or if you liked the theater experience but it was too intense (or if you liked it and you want to repeat, period 😉), this week I'm posting a suggestion for you.

In Madrid there are many small alternative theaters (El teatro del Barrio, La Sala Triángulo, La Escalera de Jacob, El Montacargas, Las Naves del Español, and more!). In particular, in the heart of Madrid (Calle del Pez 17; Metro Noviciado, close to Plaza de España), you will find the Teatro Victoria, which we want to recommend you today: Great classics adapted into 30-minute shows! They are perfect for students who feel overwhelmed by longer plays, but I can tell you that we native speakers and theater lovers enjoy them too. You will find these shows in their website under the name "Microclassics". 

Currently, they are performing La Casa de Bernarda Alba, a classic drama by Federico García Lorca, with which you will learn a lot about the role of women before democracy in Spain. In rural Spain at the beginning of the 20th century, Bernarda Alba, widowed for the second time, forces her five daughters to maintain a rigorous and prolonged mourning that isolates them from the outside world. 

Dare to get out of your comfort zone and choose the theater! Buy the tickets on their website (https://www.teatrovictoria.net/) and you will have a discount: it only costs 10 euros!

Next week, I will write about trees and flowers in Madrid (Spring is in the air, it is almost there 😍). 

About the Play "Historia de una Maestra"

😮 What is this? Why is the AU Spain Team writing a second entry this week? Here comes the explanation: Some of us were lucky enough to attend a play last Tuesday: Historia de una maestra. For some students, the level of Spanish was (for the moment 😊) too difficult, for others it was only a bit of a challenge, and for several it was just perfect. In any case, it was an incredible sensory and cultural experience.

However, the historical context was probably difficult for everyone. In addition, those students who attend Paco's class will be able to talk about it in class, but others will not have that opportunity. Hence the idea of ​​writing this short text.

Just think of a Spain at the beginning of the 20th century shaken by many decades of political, economic, and social difficulties, in which some people saw the education as the only way to change society from its roots. The teacher "we met" yesterday is a good example of this. On Netflix, you can watch the award-winning documentary The Teachers of the Republic (in Spanish, with English subtitles), which introduces us the profile of these brave women.

Just in case you don't have Netflix, I recommend you watch this other documentary on YouTube (also with English subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYmfcvXqUBM This one is not only about the women teachers, but about some men and women who participated in the so-called "Pedagogical Missions" (a kind of itinerant schools promoted by the government of the Republic that tried to reach the most remote towns and the most helpless people in the Spanish geography). It is truly inspiring to see what a group of dreamers managed to do for that superstitious Spain without access to culture.

You can also see something related to this topic in the film La lengua de las mariposas (this time it is a fictional film, not a documentary, but I can only offer it to you with Spanish subtitles, I am sorry): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PkFtwvNUNC3QemSGJ8xfrS7s-UzYweQj/view?usp=share_link

Please, take a moment to check these materials, it will help you better understand these crazy Spaniards 😊. And if you want to learn more about the author of the book on which the play is based, you can go to the English Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josefina_Aldecoa Or even read her book, if you dare!