Our Favorite Barcelona Traditions

As our time in Barcelona is coming to a close, I can't help but take note of the things I have grown to love and appreciate here.  Every culture has certain traditions - some have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years... others, perhaps a generation or two.  One of the perks of living in Europe is that it's full of traditions, many of which are older than the United States itself.  As it's these traditions that make me smile (most days) as we go about our daily lives, I thought I'd share a few of them with you.

Random Festivals
Gracia, the neighborhood we live in, is known for being a bit of a party place.  When we tell people that we live in Gracia, they often ask if it's really loud because of all the partying.  In reality, it's not loud at all and we love the liveliness of where we live.

And what we also love are all the random moments where we are walking and there will be people swing dancing in one square, preparing areas for bonfires in another square, or setting off firecrackers in yet another.  And during certain times of the years, blocks will be blocked off so that a group can setup tables and bbq or have their own little mini festival.  It truly feels like a neighborhood even though we are in the heart of the city.

We also have the Festa de Gracia here where streets compete for the best decorated streets.  It's amazing and they spend the entire year gathering materials and prepping for the big reveal in August.  Seeing the streets truly come to life is breathtaking.

 http://www.megustatuzapatos.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/hanging-out-in-hood-festa-major-de.html

Ball de Baston and Bastoners
Speaking of random festivals, my friend Jodi and I were walking thru Gracia the other night and right smack in our "clock tower square" (otherwise known as the Placa de la Vila de Gracia) there was a festival of bastoners having a competition.  This is a square that we often find these random events.  So we stuck around to watch for a little bit.

While the Ball de Baston is known in other parts of Europe, it is especially popular here in Catalunya. The origins of this dance ritual dates back to 1150 - that's quite a tradition!!

A few videos of the bastoners...

http://youtu.be/4c5BfuJXaKo

http://youtu.be/4NSjFREJxNM

http://youtu.be/fWqyQkC8rUY

Caganer and Caga Tio
Caganer:   This little Christmas tradition does his "business" in Catalan mangers.  They range from traditional Catalan peasants to famous characters like the Queen, futbol players and even Darth Vader!  This tradition started around the 17th/18th century and he is known to bring good luck and good harvest with his poop!  Strange little tradition but one that we have some what strangely embraced, now owning at least 6-8 of these guys including traditional peasants, Darth Vader, Yoda, Bart Simpson and a Smurf.  You can have your own pooping Catalan tradition if you go to www.caganer.com!

Caga Tio:   Yet another pooping Christmas tradition.  What is it with Catalunya and poop??  I mean really!  The kids love them though!  The caga tio literally means poop (shit) log.  You feed him sweets starting on Immaculate Conception day and then on Christmas (we do it Christmas Eve) you sing this little song to him and then beat him with a stick til he poops presents for you.  I can't find how long this pooping log has been around but I suspect a very long time as it's only been in recent years that he's added the legs, hat and face - he literally was just a log before!!

 http://www.megustatuzapatos.blogspot.com.es/2010/12/our-new-catalan-christmas-traditions.html

These are our caga tios (the big logs in the back) and a few of our caganers (we have since added a few more since this picture).

El Amolador
I don't know how long this tradition has been going on, but I imagine it's been quite some time. Perhaps at one point he wasn't going around on his moto, but rather on foot, but the Amolador is a fixture in Barcelona.

The Amolador is the guy who sharpens your knives.  He walks around the city with his moto that has a grinder attached to the back of it and he blows his special whistle to let you know he's nearby if you need your knives sharpened.  This tradition just brings me back to a different time when you had your local blacksmith, knife sharpener and more.  Josh had no idea he existed til about a week ago... I guess when you are in an office 12 hours a day you miss this kind of stuff!

You can see the Amolador walking his moto bike along my street.  To hear his "whistle" click the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-1BNWMxjmA

Castellers
I think the castellers are one of my all time favorite traditions here in Barcelona.  We've seen them on countless occasions and each time I'm fascinated.  Castells are human towers (castellers are the people that make up the tower).  They originated in the area of Tarragona in the 18th century.

Per Wikipedia "A castell is considered a success when stages of its assembling and disassembling, can be done in complete succession. The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta climbs into place at the top and raises one hand with four fingers erect, in a gesture said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest-to-lowest order until all have reached safety."

We have seen competitions during La Merce and festivals where Castellers participate as well.  And to us, the best is when we just hang out in our favorite square and find that there is a practice session or a little competition going on.  Totally unexpected and so much fun to watch.  We were there once when a tower fell and it was both scary and fascinating.  All you can do is watch and hope everyone is ok.  I should also mention that the enxaneta is always a small child so you can imagine what it's like when you see a small child fall from the top of the tower!

What I would consider a "mid size" tower in our favorite square.

A huge tower during La Merce

http://megustatuzapatos.blogspot.com.es/2011/11/rise-and-fall-of-human-tower-castellers.html

Mercado
When we first moved here, I found it difficult to adjust to going to 50 different markets for all my shopping needs.  Ok, maybe 50 is a stretch.  But even still, it was tough trying to navigate and figure out who sells the best (cheese, meat, veggies, etc) of their specialized items.  However, over time, I've come to not only streamline the process, in part because I've found the vendors I prefer for each of my needs, but also because I love that they truly specialize in those areas.

And it also feels very much like a small neighborhood like we used to have growing up.  And yet, I'm in a decently sized city.  But my meat/cheese guy and I chat all the time.  I know he's from Argentina and has 3 kids.  I know he's a runner like me.  And every time I go in, he says, "300 g of turkey"?  So I've gotten to know these people and it makes this city feel more like home.

So while I'd like to say I don't practice my Spanish much, I actually do with each and every one of these people.  Sure, saying 300 grams of turkey is easy.  But getting to know each of these vendors (admittedly, I don't know any of their names) means talking daily in Spanish with them.  And I do.  So that's a bonus on top of getting all my shopping done!

I also love that because of the mercado and specialty shops, I can get something from someone who is an expert in that item.  If I were to be able to ask questions (and there have been times where I can muster up the Spanish), I know that they can tell me everything I want to know about their items and what makes ham A better than ham B or where this cheese came from and how it's made and if it's strong or smooth.

And the fruits and vegetables, items primarily only in season.  I can't get raspberries in December.  I can't get blueberries in the off season ever.  There are moments where things like this are annoying, like when I decided that I wasn't going to eat baked potatoes anymore but instead I was going to eat sweet potatoes.... only sweet potatoes weren't in season.  Who knew sweet potatoes had a season?  But like everything else, they do.  And so when you wait all year for those special items to come in season, it makes you appreciate them just a little bit more.

Correfoc
Last but certainly not least on my list is the correfoc.  Correfoc literally means - fire run.  I'm thinking hands down probably our favorite tradition here in Barcelona!  This is the most insane tradition that I have ever experienced.  That doesn't mean there aren't more wild ones out there, I'm sure there are.  But this one involves fire, sparklers, a lot of people in crowds and relatively narrow streets.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this event would NOT fly in the US.

The correfoc starts with the opening of the gates of hell.  But before the gates open there are massive fireworks set off right in the middle of the street. This is right next to buildings and trees.  Not to mention people standing in crowds right next to them as well.

After the gates of hell open, the devils start to run thru with their pitchforks of fire/sparklers.  These aren't just any sparklers like you would have on the 4th of July but winding, wild sparklers that can in fact, cause significant injury.  And I have no doubt that it must.

There is also a kids correfoc.  Aidan went last year with a friend.  My cousin Meghan was in town and she and I arrived early to the adult correfoc and caught the tail end of the kid one.  Yeah, it's exactly the same as the adult one only it's set during daylight hours.  Aidan came home with his shirt singed from all the sparks.  Thank goodness the kid wears glasses!!

Interestingly this is not an ancient tradition, while it certainly appears to be.  Apparently this is only just barely 30 years old, having been started in the post Franco era.  But unless someone outlaws it (and I just can't see that here), I can see this wild and crazy tradition continuing on for many more years to come!

http://megustatuzapatos.blogspot.com.es/2013/09/gegantes-castellers-and-fire-oh-my-la.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/jediknightsmarcus#p/a/u/2/aDOPRxvzm7A 

This is part of the opening ceremony before the Gates of Hell are opened for the devils to run thru!

http://www.youtube.com/user/jediknightsmarcus#p/a/u/1/6VdWY5xnSio

This is when the Gates of Hell have opened and the parade of running devils begins!

http://www.youtube.com/user/jediknightsmarcus#p/a/u/0/kyxXSIb6FCI

Devils running into the crowds with fire!

I have no doubt I'm missing a ton of things on this entry - after 4 1/2 years things that were once completely unique to Barcelona or Spain have become a part of my every day life.  It doesn't mean they aren't special, just that I might not remember to put them on here!!  So you may very well see another entry with more reasons why I love Barcelona!!

Besos,
Julie

Shopping day!

It’s Saturday. A day to do some exploring. Damn these blackout shades are amazing – it’s 9AM and we all just woke up. Hopefully everyone is back on schedule now from the time change. We wake up and as I make the beds, I hear Josh yell from downstairs “you need to learn to use the washing machine!”. I say, “No, not til Tues”. He tells me that Sailor has puked on the couch (not our couch BTW, included in rental) and on the blanket on the couch. Shit, what a way to start the day.

As with the dishwasher, I’m intimidated by this washing machine. So I come downstairs, get the instructions and flip to the English page. No biggie – that was easy. But now I must choose a programme (spelled in the European English) – there are 11 of them. Oh and a temp – they just don’t have cold, warm, hot – they have 8 different temperature choices as well. Then I must choose a cycle – depending on what types of garments are in there. Several meet my needs but I finally choose cycle 11 which is for all washes (though not as fast as cycle 10 which is for everyday but I figure it’s got puke on it and may need some extra time). I choose cold because I don’t want to waste my precious hot water that I need for a shower – I don’t do extreme cold of 30, but choose 40. Odd that these temps are in F while everything else here is in C. There are also spin cycle choices – ranging from 200-800. Looks like perhaps rotations??? I have no idea. But it looks like most common is 800 and that is what it was already set to. Now finally detergent. It doesn’t state on the instructions for the washer how much I should put in and it makes sense that that is determined by the brand of detergent we have. Our brand is Colada Mixta – pretty simple – Mixed Colors. You can wash whites and colors together. Sweet. On the back it has a chart that shows one cap = 40ml. Then it shows Agua blanda, agua media and agua dura. I’m guessing light, medium, heavy. I didn’t have my laptop on at the time so I was just guessing and chose medium – 90ml. Of course it had another column next to it with an identical picture that states 160ml. I have no idea the difference between the two and so I go with the lesser because what if I use too much and have to manage to get the extra soap out of the blanket right? So I think I’m all set – so I push the go button. Then I see a time delay light up – there is a menu of them ranging from 2 hrs to 9 hrs. I don’t want a time delay, I want it to start now! So back to my trusty booklet and it says to push the timer up to 5 times but if the programme is already set you may only be able to go to less time delay not more – that works for me. But nothing is happening when I press that button. I don’t want it to delay 4 hrs! So I turn it off and turn it on and try again… same thing. I do it again and again. Now I’m getting frustrated and Josh and the kids come in to see how I’m doing… “go away, I’m working!”.

Finally I open the door to the washer and close it. The wash starts. Hmmm… no where did it say to open the door to start. But it did the trick and now my wash is going. Liam is fascinated by it since it’s at his eye level.

Off we go to the big market. It’s kind of like a farmers market and each neighborhood has their own. It was a very cool experience – there were several aisles and each aisle had little kiosks, kind of similar to Fanueil Hall except that each kiosk is open on all four sides. There were fruit stands, veggies, fish, meats of all kinds, candy, cheese, breads, pasta and more. There were even some prepared food stands that had bar stools so you could sit and eat your purchases. And this was the small local open market. The largest one in Barcelona is La Boqueria http://www.boqueria.info/Eng/index.php. I’m looking forward to that one as I hear it is amazing. We didn’t purchase much today, but no joke, I paid 3.80euro (need to find euro symbol on my computer) for 4 clementines, a large container of strawberries and 3 bananas. Normally the strawberries alone would have cost that at home. We also bought fresh bread coming out of the oven which was fabulous!!!

Went to little store to get kids some looney toon action figures – you’ve never seen happier kids. This is all Aidan wanted for his birthday and Xmas. If only I’d known I just had to move to Spain to find them!!! 3 little guys (made by Schleich – the same company that makes those realistic looking animal figurines and smurfs) cost me 13.50 euro – so about $20.00. Yes, $20 for 3 guys – we paid less for the food! But they are happy kids.

I made a trip to the grocery store on my own. It was nice to just take a look around and be able to focus without yelling “don’t touch” “walking feet” or “no” to the kids. Not much had changed from the other day as far as selection unfortunately – still going to have to suck it up at some point and start eating some Spanish food. I do find it interesting that they are focused on being “green”. They do it slightly in reverse from home – instead of getting money off for bringing your own bag – you pay for any bags that you need! Most people bring their own and leave them at the front of the store. When you are at the register, you put your groceries on the belt and then go get your granny bag to put your stuff in – no bags necessary. It’s very trusting that you leave your bag at the front of the store – there is huge pickpocketing issues here and yet people tend to be good about not taking things like your shopping cart.

Josh went out in the ‘hood looking for a printer this afternoon but the computer store was closed. So we decided around 5ish to head to Passeig La Gracia to go to FNAC (pronounced exactly as it looked). Side note, as I write this, Sailor just started drinking Josh’s Jack n Coke… that sneaky puppy!!! So we met Josh down at the Joanic metro station – about a 5 min walk from our flat. 2 stops later we were at Passeig de Gracia. Another 5 min walk and we were by FNAC but the kids needed supper at this point so yes, once again we went with an all-American treat…this time McDonalds. The kids RARELY eat fast food at home and now they have had it 2 times this week. Lucky kids. This McDonalds on a Sat night was hoppin’!! Overwhelming even!!

Ok, so enough about McD’s. We went to FNAC. It’s in a shopping plaza (that also houses Sephora!!). We had no idea where the entry to the actual store was but it turned out the 2nd floor is FNAC (could have also been the 3rd but we didn’t venture up there). We found the printers and then had to figure out where to pay. We saw lines galore. Looked like possibly a self pay area – but nah…what if it’s all in Spanish. And actually, this place looked like everything was written in Catalan which I really can’t interpret as well as Spanish. So we get in line, hand over the printer, hand over the credit card, hand over the ID (whenever you use a credit card/debit card they ALWAYS ask for ID). Josh shows his US license and she starts speaking rapidly in Spanish. Josh just nods his head. We finally understand that the license is not enough – we need a passport. Now I’ve only been here a few days and only have used my debit card 2x and at the same place but they took my license. Josh was here for 3 weeks before me and did not have this issue at all. So I say, “dinero” (cash)? She said “si” and Josh goes off to hunt for an ATM while I sit with the kids. Finally, after about 15 minutes Josh returns and we pay cash for our printer and head back to the metro.

On the way to the metro I just want to point out the fashion here. Everyone tells me how fashionable the people of Barcelona are… I’m just not seeing it. Either that or I missed it by 20 years because these people LOVE the 80s. Maybe the 80s are making a comeback? In FNAC I actually saw someone with crimped hair. I saw someone wearing purple ankle boots. I saw skin tight jeans…some that were shiny! I saw gold sequins tank tops in stores. I even saw someone with a banana clip in her hair (remember those?). Anyways, I’m going to have to find some tighter jeans, some sequins tops and some ankle boots to fit in here apparently!

Ok, so our round trip to FNAC took us about 2 ½ hrs. Can I just mention here that at home, Staples is less than ½ mile from my house and if I were home, it would have taken about 10 minutes round trip to buy the printer? Oh and I almost forgot, on our way getting on the metro to come home, there was a turnstile (I don’t remember that before) and I got stuck in it with Liam in the stroller. I managed to push his stroller under it because the handle was caught on the wrong side. A very nice woman behind me helped me and told me to go under – she said I needed to be faster… like I didn’t know that. The wheel got caught and that’s why I wasn’t fast enough. But it was an experience just the same. Shortly after, Liam got out of the stroller and I was carrying it down the stairs and a nice guy held his hand going down the stairs. You would NEVER see anyone, much less a man (he was probably late 20s early 30s) holding a small child’s hand to go down the stairs of a T station. Hell, at home they might have pushed him down the stairs!! Sorry, but it’s true – I remember getting pushed up the stairs at Back Bay before!!

Off to chill out for the night. We are thinking of hitting this place for brunch tomorrow – we heard it’s great. Will let you know. http://www.milkbarcelona.com/indexFlash.html#

Have a great night!

Julie