Carnaval and Vuelta de Murcia

For the past week or so it has been Carnaval time in Spain.  Carnaval takes place just before Lent, which is a period of fasting for religious purposes.  I have read that participants in the past would normally fast for forty days, the last day being the day before Easter.  Although, apparently this has changed and most people will now only fast for two days: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Carnaval was prohibited during the Franco era, but since 1975 has been restored and is now back in full force!

Festivals and celebrations are held all across Spain, and last weekend I was fortunate enough to go attend one.  On Saturday a couple of friends and I took the bus to Cartagena – a city about an hour away from Murcia.  We arrived fairly early so we had some time to explore the city.  We saw the sea and took a walk down to the port where it was flooded with very nice boats.  We also so an old theatre and it was beautiful.  It looked as if it was from a scene from the movie Gladiator... or something!  It was secured all around so you could not just walk right into it without going through security, but we found a high point right next to it where we could admire from a pretty close distance and get some pictures.  After a couple hours of walking around I started to question why the city seemed so quiet when there was supposed to be a festival going on!  So, after we sat down for lunch and a couple cervezas we walked back towards the city centre and all of a sudden it was flooded with people.  There were parade floats, speakers set up all over the streets, and people dressed up in costumes everywhere!  Clearly everyone was just napping until the main event.  I could tell by the environment that this was a big deal for everyone around me.  Families who weren’t even in the parade were fully dressed up and looked extremely happy and excited.  My mood instantly changed from being in a fine mood to an extremely amazing feeling.  There were colours everywhere!  People were dressed in the craziest costumes and they looked like they had taken months to prepare.  There were people marching in the parade who were of all ages and diversities– I saw both a two year old girl and seventy year old man dance down the street in high heels that I myself could never wear.  When the parade started the people in it were strutting and dancing down the main streets of Caragena and people polluted the sidelines with their families and friends watching, dancing, and singing along.  I was upset after my camera died within 10 minutes of the parade beginning, but it was still incredible.

CARNAVAL

CARNAVAL

CARNAVAL

THEATRE

The next day, back in Murcia, my flatmates and I walked down to Gran Via to see the finish line of Vuelta de Murcia.  Vuelta de Murcia is basically like Tour de France (which is only a few months away), but a little different and not as popular.  The cyclists ended their journey in the heart of Murcia and we were able to see the finalists complete the race.  The overall winner was a Spanish man, Alberto Contador, and was also a Tour de France champion.  Last year Contador tested positive for a band drug but was eventually cleared by the Spanish Cycling Union.  The city was more than thrilled to see Spain take first in the race, and it was a lot of fun to be there when it happened. 

VUELTA DE MURCIA