21/04/2013

SUNSUNSUNSUNSUN

(I am so sunburnt)

(( I actually kind of forgot this blog existed for a few weeks. Whoops.))

It’s baaaaaack. The sun has reappeared with a vengeance and is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the entire population of Spanish señoras who are determined to continue wearing their fur coats until June 1^st. With the sun came the beginning of a constant stream of tour buses. The good people of Granada are in general pretty laid back about the ridiculous amount of photo snapping and fanny-pack wearing foreigners invading their town, partially because they really just don’t get riled up about anything unless it involves futbol, and partially because it allows them to participate in their second favorite pastime: gossiping about tourists. Being rather taller and blonder and less fashionable than the average Spaniard, people often play the “Guess Where That Girl’s From” game, assuming I can’t understand them.

Listening to people debate my ethnicity is a bit like being the horse on the auction block.

“!Mira! Inglaterra?

“Pues no! Look at her hair! German”

“Anda ya. . . Did you remember to buy olive oil? So pale. . . she could be a Russian.”

“Rusa? Que va, hombre. . . not skinny enough. She’s definitely German. And yes, I bought 26 litres, do you think we need more? Federico invited me to his communion next weekend in Sevilla.”

“In Sevilla! Madre mia, que cajones. . . Look how tall, maybe American? And only 26? What are you thinking? I’ll go by 39 more at Mercadona ASAP, vale? ‘Sta luego”

“Ciao!”

On a bus from Madrid this past week it suddenly hit me that I could now actually understand the gossiping of the people sitting around me. This was a double scoop of delightfulness as it served as a tangible piece of evidence that I was actually improving with my Spanish (much needed after the past few weeks of playing Subjunctive-Tense-Russian-Roulette in my homework) and also because I have always enjoyed listening to random snippets of peoples’ lives. Understanding is a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive. It gives me a dangerous amount of confidence in my Spanish abilities, which leads to me attempting to corral innocent Shwarma sellers and men who ask me to dance at my favorite salsa club into long, involved conversations, as well as attempting to explain the concept of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups to my host mom, who thinks I’m about as nutso as they come, but still nodded and smiled politely.

1 month left!! And so much gelato to eat, places to see, and bachata learn before I return to the real world. Until then, here are 5 cool pictures of the approximately 78,930 on my iPhoto that have never been uploaded.

1. Andalusia is kinda pretty

2. San Sebastian is also rather attractive

3. And so is Sevilla's Plaza de España

4. And their river/sunsets

5. Don Quijote's windmills are pretty swell as well! 

Semana Santa

 SPAIN IS SO COOL.

Yeah. . . . that basically sums up how I feel about Semana Santa.

Andalusia gets really into Holy Week processions, and I can't even handle how awesome they are. 

Some cool facts: (courtesy of a variety of sources including my host family, teacher, and some random people on the street during the processions)

1. Each of the processions costs around 25-30 THOUSAND euros to put on (paid for by the individual brotherhoods and the local government)

2. One of the hottest gossip topics in Granada during Semana Santa is what the Virgin Mary was wearing during the processions (They dress the idol with blankets and jewelry and veils)

3. It's really disturbing to meet a group of penitentes (the ones with the pointy hat) on the street at 3 am (personal experience)

4. Semana Santa is unofficially sponsored by baked potatoes and sunflower seeds, everyone is eating them constantly all week. YUM.

5. Each float can weigh up to 7000 pounds, and the processions last around 7 hours each.

The music is fabulous. It depends on the  procession (there are 20+ every year), but there are normally at least two bands in each procession. Some (like Silencio on Maundy Thursday) only have drum beats.  Others (like Cristo de los Gitanos (Christ of the Gypsies) ) have flamenco singers called Saetas who stand on the balconies and sing, others have the classic marches of Semana Santa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mPc6lSn14A. This is the procession I saw on Saturday (Easter Sunday was rained out sadly). It's very long. . .but if you skip around you can kinda get a feel for it. 

The float of the Virgin Mary is always covered in candles, and the people in the streets go nuts when she passes by. Wailing, crying, and cheering. The float is so heavy that the people carrying it stop every 100 feet or so and set her down and trade out. When they come out from under the float you can see the GIANT welts on their backs and necks from carrying her. All of the floats are accompanied by enough incense to choke a horse.  (photo courtesy of a photographically talented friend, because my camera could not capture the awesomeness)

Los Penitentes. There are hundreds of them, in all different colors according to the day of the week and their individual brotherhood. Look a little bit uncomfortably familiar to history class? The capirote (pointy hat) was adopted by the KKK. Apparently the first couple times they see them, spanish children are terrified. I can see why. . .

Santa Maria de la Alhambra/ Nuestra Senora de las Angustias (Our Lady of Anguish). For Holy Saturday, the Virgin holding Christ's body. This is the procession I attended. I was close enough to touch the float as it passed. WOWOWOWOW . It was something else.  

The mourners, in their traditionally black dresses and mantillas. These ladies accompany the Virgin for 7 hours in heels carrying rosaries and candles. (again, not my photo)

More colors of Penitentes. In the smaller pueblos many still practice self- flagellation, lashing their backs as they walk and/or giving themselves the stigmata. In Granada, since it is such a tourist attraction, the most they are allowed to do is walk on their knees (OW) or barefoot through the streets.  On Thursday they all wear shackles for Silencio. I am really sad I wasn't in town to see Silencio. They turn off every streetlight/business sign/light in the city and carry the idols through the dark to the sound of a solo drum beat. the only sound is the sound of the chains of the penitentes on the cobblestones and the drumbeat and people crying. My friend stayed in Granada all week and she told me that it was one of the eeriest experiences of her life and that there was not a dry eye in Granada.

I SPRINTED through town and up the hill to the Alhambra at 1:30 am to see the end of this procession. Worth the out of breath, sweaty spectacle I'm sure I was. I wish I had video (my camera has no microphone). The people were crying and the whole crowd sang to the idol as she was blessed and made her way the last 100 feet back into her home in the church (Santa Maria de la Alhambra). The Alhambra is illuminated at night and this night the bells of the churches rang the entire time to honor her. It was incredibly moving. 

One of the many bands (nope, not mine either- way too good of photography)

One of the Christ floats. 

The kids all have balls of wax they collect and add to from the candles of the procession participants as they go by.

19/03/2013

SEMANA SANTA IS WITHIN SIGHT. I am off to go galavant gleefully through the Guggenheim and then gawk at Gaudi's greatness. (also other places but they would have ruined that nice 'G' thing I had going). After I finish my midterms, that is. Until then- our latest excursion/weekend adventures. Since we went to learn about the life and death of one of Spain's most beloved poets, Federico Garcia Lorca, it seemed appropriate that the musical selection be a flamenco version of one of his most famous poems: Romance Sonambulo. 

'Verde que te quiero verde'

 

AND 

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." 

Except when it doesn't.  Granada looks a whole lot like the Pacific NW at the moment. 

also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVmU3iANbgk

Botellón! Spring Festival (and sunshine for a day or two!) Best thing about this festival? It marks the opening day of the ice cream parlors in Granada.

Us and a few thousand of our closest friends went to enjoy. 

This is Federico Garcia Lorca. Poet, playwright, artist, bff to Dali and Bañuelo and more,  Granaino.

This is how Dali thought he looked. Who needs enemies when you have surrealist friends?

We toured his childhood house in Fuentevaqueros. My favorite part was all the dried gourds/peppers/etc hanging from the ceilings. And I suppose all the educational stuff was okay. Just kidding, it was actually really interesting and I enjoyed learning about the life and influences of Lorca.

But also I just really want to cover my apartment ceiling in dried food now. and legs of ham.

Our next trip was rather sobering. Lorca was part of  a dark period of Spanish history- The Civil War.  He had a lot of strikes against him: Poet, Republican leanings, friends and family involved in Republican movements, and he was homosexual. War broke out in July of 1936 and within three weeks the Falange had found Lorca and taken him into custody. Along with three others (a school teacher and two bullfighters) he was marched into the mountains and assassinated. One long dose of Francoism later the location of his grave, as well as the thousands of others who met the same fate is still unknown, but this is the best approximation of the site's location.

One of Spain's biggest controversies is the choice between choosing to forget the horrors of the Civil War and Franco or digging up (literally in the case of the many mass graves) the past and facing it. 

And since that seems like a depressing note to end on, (all of these seem to end so seriously.  You'd think I wasn't having any fun at all), here is a picture of Federico Garcia Lorca doing the same happy dance that I am going to be doing all across northern Spain. 

13/03/2013

Los Pintores de los Paredes

A few days ago at lunch, my señora put a pot of lentils on the table with a sigh and proceeded to tell us how Carmen (her granddaughter, age: a very precocious one-and-a-half) had gone over to a friend's house and when left alone for about 5 seconds with a marker had covered the whole wall in her artwork (my binder is also full of Carmen's art. It's very abstract and linear. I think she has a future in surrealism). With a shake of her head she lamented: "Que mala es Carmen", and dished us out enough lentils to feed the Spanish Army.

But as I looked through the pictures on my computer and iPod this evening, I couldn't help but think that Carmen may not be entirely to blame for her blossoming graffiti artist skills. Granada is a veritable Museo del Prado of graffiti- from the incredibly beautiful, to the vulgar, to the mind-bogglingly weird, to the political activists . So here's a shout-out to all the spray-paint armed, 3 am artistas of Granada's streets.

I appreciate you.

And so does Carmen.

And a door. For Nicole, who missed them in my last post.  This is Camborio, the only discoteca I have ever been to that is in a cave. 

"Capitalism is murder."  Complete with the sickle and hammer and the circle-A of anarchy.

"Tienes una respuesta?"  

A more peaceful correction

"Aquí ya no se fabrica las sueños" -- Here no dreams are fabricated.

I'd love to know what the arabic on this one says. Those eyes watch me every time I pass by.

In a café, so not technically graffiti, but still. .  . John Lennon's 'Imagine' is universal.
You may say that I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you will join us,
and the world will live as one.

"And this love is blue like the sea. Blue" (it's a song)

"You are the reason why my poetry exists" Awww. . .

Amelia and her "I might need an exorcism" eyes stare into my soul every time I walk  to school. Who is she? Who is Amelia?

"Ayer la vi, bailando por ahí, con sus amigas en la calle de Madrid. . ."
^This dancing lady reminds me of this song. (Ayer la vi- Juan Magan)

You can't tell me this isn't art.

"Franco has not died, I have seen him on patrol" Anti-police graffiti. . .  oye.  A bit strong. Spain's relationship with the legacy and memory of  Franco is interesting. . .

Why so blue? This is the alley beside our apartment building

Points for rhyming

Most of the stores have garage doors that they pull down when closed, and most of them are painted with fantastic pictures, including Mr. Hitchcock himself.

And last, but not least- although not graffiti either- the billboard on the hill that makes me sad everytime I see it while running along the river: "Boabdil vuelve a llorar, esta vez por Nazaría."
"Boabdil returned to cry, this time for Nazaría". Boabdil was the last Muslim ruler of Granada, defeated and exiled by Los Reyes Catolicos. Nazaria was his kingdom, destroyed and converted after the conquest.
Isabel and Ferdinand got fancy titles from the pope for erasing Nazaria from the map.
According to legend/history Boabdil was never allowed back in Granada.
But now, 700ish years later, someone's words have finally brought him back to mourn his lost kingdom and people.
I'd love to know who paid for this billboard.

04/03/2013

Madrid, Toledo, Segovia! 

And the musical entertainment: "Y Viva Espana" by Los Paquitos. Viva Espana! Viva!

Toro! Toro! Nothing says roadtrip through Spain like the giant  bull silhouettes along the highway. 5 hours to Madrid from Granada. . . so many olive trees, so little leg room on the bus.

Starbucks!!! I hadn't realized how much I really did miss my massive American-size chai until we saw that wonderful green logo in Madrid. Not sure what happened with my name, but mmmmmmm. 

Museo del Prado. Home to the masterpieces of El Greco,  Goya, Velazquez, Caravaggio, etc. SO much art. My favorite would have to be El Greco; the colors and the sheer size of his paintings was a sight to behold. We had about 3-4 hours to wander through the Prado and we honestly probably only saw about half of its contents. It's MASSIVE, you could spend days in there. As you can tell from the picture, we were a little museum-ed out by the time we got through. And this was only the first day and the first museum haha. . . 

Our next museum was La Reina Sofia, housing more modern Spanish artists such as Picasso, Dali, Miro, etc.  Their huge claim to fame is of course Guernica, depicting the aftermath of the bombing of Guernica by the Germans for "target practice". Definitely not supposed to photograph this one, but I couldn't resist a sneaky photo just to give a scale of the size of it. . . I never realized from pictures how big it was! Picasso was born about an hour from Granada, so I may have to sneak down for a weekend and check out the museum in Malaga.

Apparently we have been secretly housing a work of art worthy of La Reina Sofia in our barn this whole time. . .  

"Tri-unicorn". HAHA 

Don Quijote y Sancho en Madrid

Parque Felipe Pio (Phillip the Pious), Madrid. The park has a history of violence and death, from the Fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo- the execution of the citizens of  Madrid who rebelled against Napoleon's troops when they invaded Spain  (the subject of one of my favorite paintings in the Prado by Goya http://6bsociynatu.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/fusilamientos-del-3-de-mayo/ ) and then later as the site of fighting during the Civil War.  This sculpture is a memorial to all those whose blood was shed on the site.

With hopes of a happier, more peaceful future for the park Egypt gave the city of Madrid a genuine Egyptian temple.

This building. .  . had something to do with mines. . . . oh no. . . .  this blog post is really failing at the historical/descriptive side of things. In my defense: this walk through Madrid was absolutely miserable. It was raining/snowing/windy and freezing cold. It was hard to focus on what our guide was saying because we were all shivering and soaked.

La Catedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena. Across the street from the Palacio Real and the official seat of the Archdiocese of Madrid

Monument and church in memory of the victims of a bombing at the wedding of the Spanish monarchs in 1906. Spain has experienced every type of terrorism throughout it's history, the most recent being the train bombings in Madrid and the ETA

Puerta del Sol- the most well known central plaza of Madrid

Plaza Mayor

Puerta del Sol at night. Madrid is a city of the night with all it's flashing neon signboards, theater signs and discotecas. 

Santiago Bernebau, home stadium of Real Madrid! Spain is divided by a fierce rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. We were fortunate enough to be in Madrid for the Clasico, the game between the two teams so a group of us decided to take the bus over to the stadium to experience the atmosphere and excitement. One of the girls' boyfriend back home is a huge Barca fan, so she bought a scarf and we posed with it. Unfortunately, we grossly underestimated how seriously Spain takes it's futbol. Within 5 minutes the scarf had to be hidden underneath a jacket because of all the heckling she got from Madrid fans. Some guys from our program who are also Barcelona fans wore jerseys to the stadium and were attacked by a group of drunk Madrid fans. Luckily the only injuries were some bruises and a bloody lip, but they left quickly to avoid further problems, and we decided to be Madrid fans for the rest of the day at least. . .

We watched the game at a bar a block from the stadium PACKED with people including a group of guys who let us pose with their Real Madrid flag. The atmosphere was great, full of drinking, singing, yelling, and chants of  "Christianooo Ronaldoooo!". Madrid fans aren't the politest, so a lot of the chants and yelling was pretty obscene/creative/death threats hahaha but it was definitely an experience. After the game the streets were packed with people celebrating.  

Tickets were around 1000 euros, but the stadium and surrounding streets were PACKED. 

We took a day trip to Segovia, about 1 1/2 hours northwest of Madrid, famous for its Roman aqueduct, Alcazar, and Cathedral. I loved Segovia- it's a small town with a completely different feel from the buzz and people of modern Madrid, it's like stepping back in time with it's cobblestone streets, stone buildings and towering cathedrals. I'd love to spend more time there.

Cathedrals cathedrals cathedrals. Spain has more than its fair share, but they're all magnificent.

View of the city from the tower of the Alcazar

The Alcazar! Segovia is on a hill surrounded by some of the most gorgeous Spanish countryside I have seen yet, all on the meseta, the high plains  (and yep, it did rain on the plain of Spain while were there ha) The Alcazar (castle) was built more for aesthetic appeal than for actual defensive purposes so it looked EXACTLY like a Disney castle. In fact, it is a Disney castle. The castle in Snow White was designed to look like the Alcazar of Segovia.

Surprise! More churches.

The Roman Aqueduct!! Built over 2000 years ago without any cement holding it together, just physics and some serious stoneworking skills, to transport water up the hill to the city of Segovia. It's incredibly tall (as you can tell from the people/cars in front of it) and so impressive to stand next to.

The Aqueduct is the subject of many local legends, including one that claims that the devil himself was tricked into building it in a bet with a local woman who promised him her soul if he could build it in one night. She prayed all night and God heard her and shortened the night by one hour so that the devil would fail at his task, Segovia would get an aqueduct, and the clever woman would keep her soul. I don't doubt it. Spanish women are a force to be reckoned with, the devil himself is no match for them.

Shout out to my mother and her fabulous crocheting skills which kept me warm the entire trip to Segovia and Madrid.

The city of Segovia from the edge of the city walls

El Escorial- the largest building in Spain, monastery/library/royal palace/pantheon/basilica/etc. of Felipe II

El Escorial from the courtyard. No pictures allowed inside the actual building. It was MASSIVE. It's official name is San Lorenzo del Escorial, dedicated to San Lorenzo because Felipe II won his first victory against France on San Lorenzo's feast day in August.  San Lorenzo was martyred for his faith by grilling (no joke) so the whole thing is designed to resemble the pattern of a grill. . . . We only toured a quarter of it and it still took 3 hours. My favorite part of what we saw was definitely the library, least favorite was El Panteon de los Reyes, the burial place of all the Spanish monarchs (minus Los Reyes Catolicos who are in Granada) . That place was, well . . . .tomb like. . . . it's a bit disturbing to be surrounded by so many deceased monarchs and family members (some of whom are recent enough to still be in the 'decomposing chamber' awaiting their final enterrment into their elaborately decorated coffins). It's even more unsettling to think of the living monarchs who had their bedrooms right over the tombs of all their ancestors. And of course, the modern addition of a gift shop right outside the chamber was a nice touch haha.

Toledo! About 2 hours south of Madrid, we hung out here for a day on our way back to Granada. The city is a medieval labyrinth, once the capital of Spain and still the religious and cultural capital. I really enjoyed Toledo as well, it has a very relaxed feel to it and the architecture and streets are so beautiful. It also is famous for its delicious marzipan. Yum!

Toledo= swords. SO many swords. For all those times you just need to duel someone medieval style.

The Cathedral of Segovia is a stunning giant of a gothic cathedral. Wow.

The whole ILACA group! All from the northwest-  about 12 from University of Portland, 10 from Willamette, 6 from Puget Sound, 7 from PLU, 3 from Gonzaga, and 3 from Seattle U! Plus our wonderful director, Mark and the visiting professor from Willamette and her adorable daughter who is attending school here and picking up Spanish at a rate that blows my mind. Great weekend!