Carnaval

This past weekend was Carnaval-- a really strange celebration in Spain. I've heard it compared to Mardi Gras. People basically dress up and go to concerts, parades, and parties. Officially, Carnaval lasts from February 11th to the 21st, but the biggest day was this past Saturday. I find it interesting that Carnaval is linked with religion-- it occurs right before Lent.

On Thursday night, I went with a group of people to a "parade." I googled it and checked the date and time on several websites, but I think we might have been the victims of a grand hoax. We wandered around the city for a few hours looking for it-- we even asked some locals and they had no idea what we were talking about.


On Friday night we went to a real parade. It was quaint. The parade did not last long, but the costumes were amazing. People really get into dressing up here-- so much better than our Halloween.

Saturday night was MUCH more crowded than any of the other nights. People were everywhere and they were all dressed up-- I felt pathetic sporting my 1 euro mask. I saw a group who was running with a make-shift bull (decorated grocery cart), some toilets, McDonalds french fries, and avatars (by far, my favorite!). To add to the shock-value of the evening, there was a significant lack of police officers patrolling the streets. I only saw a few and I know that an event like this at home would be swarming with them. After living in Spain for a month, I would bet that the police were out on the streets partying with everyone else.