!!!!!!!!!!HOGUERASSSS 2011!!!!!!!!!!!
Ayyyy. Lo siento. Otra vez. Uffff.
I don’t even know how to begin to describe hogueras.
It is wild, wild, crazy, beautiful, loud, colorful, magical fun. Es la bomba. I feel like I’m in a dream. There is so much going on and so many people and things to see and eat and smell and hear. I basically walk around with my mouth hanging open in amazement. Not all the time. That’s gross.
But really, I don’t know how to tell you it all. I’ve been taking a million pictures and videos because I know I’m going to have the hardest time explaining everything when I go back. I really feel like I’m walking around in a dream sometimes.
Hogueras is like 4th of July and Disney World and the biggest party ever thrown and Wonderland and Mardi Gras and any festival/parade you’ve ever been to, multiplied by a million. Yeah. A million.
I have no time to sleep. I don’t want to sleep. Which is good cause a huge band comes around with drums and cymbals and horns and firecrackers every so often. Today they passed by at 08:30 and again at 11:00. La despertá. It’s so everyone is awake and they’re calling them all down to enjoy hogueras. Fiesta, fiesta!
But madre mia is it loud. And right outside the window.
At 14:00 every day there’s the mascletá. This is all so hard for me to explain. These words don’t translate. Hogueras, fallas, barracas, mascletá, petardos.
Anyway. It’s the loudest and most incredible thing you’ve ever experienced. Also right outside the window. We live in the main plaza of the city, remember? It’s like fireworks and firecrackers and smoke and noise and madness. 4th of July is sad and tiny compared to this. And it’s every day. The noise makes your chest thump and shakes the buildings and you’re smack in the middle of WWII. In a good way. That’s a bad comparison.
But every day it’s a different show because it’s also a competition between the pirotécnico who set it up. People flock to see this and the police and firemen have things blocked off for safety. Ok, but I could talk about this forever but I don’t have time to right now. I’m missing my siesta hour for this and today I need it most! Tonight the most people will be out on the streets of all of hogueras.
So I’m not going to upload a ton of pictures right now since it takes a long time. But don’t think I don’t have any. I have a billion.
Next. So now all the hogueras are placed in the streets and they’ve been judged and given prizes. Soon we burn them and turn over a new page in our lives. They’re amazing. And enormous. And ugh but I can’t put into words all that they are. I told you I felt like I was in a dream. Well the whole city is transformed for this. With the hogueras and barracas and all the places set up for food, parades, dancing, music, food, food, dancing, music, shopping, dancing, music.. it’s wild.
And you wouldn’t believe how quick they are to sweep through and clean up after the mascletá and parades and straight up partying in the streets. Right after the mascletá is over and the trucks are ready to come through and get up all the debris. One minute the roads and walkways are covered in trash and bottles and plastic bags and in the morning it’s like there weren’t a couple hundred people there going wild the night before.
Ok, here’s the deal. Now I’m going to siesta and late tonight or in the morning or tomorrow I’m going to write more. And add a ridiculous amount of pictures. Because I can’t explain this anymore.
I figure every pic I upload should save me around a thousand words. Sound about right?
Now I will go squeeze in a 55 minute siesta and then straight to another parade and hogueras night in Alicante. Ayyyy. 53 minute.
Pictures. Later. Promise.
Oh man, and I went to a bullfight on Tuesday!
Madre miiiiiiiiiiia, I have so much to say/show you still.
Hasta luego with a much more thorough update! Te prometoooo.
Un beso muuuuyyy fuerte,
Lena
