Posted by Chris Showers on July 12th, 2010.
 A large screen was put up in the Plaza Mayor of Burgos this afternoon so that soccer fans could watch the final match of the World Cup. Right now as I’m writing this, the Queen song “We are the Champions” is blasting from speakers on the street below my house. No, Spaniards don’t just really like Queen — the song is being played over and over again because Spain won the World Cup this evening. It goes without saying that, since the win, there has been some massive celebrating going on here in Burgos. It’s safe to say that these Spaniards really know the meaning of the phrase ”party hearty.”
The afternoon started peacefully enough with almost everyone in the city heading to the Plaza Mayor to watch the final match of the World Cup on a large screen that had been set up just for today. As you can see from the picture above, there was a big turnout of red-clad, Spain-supporting, Burgos-dwelling people. The afternoon turned out to be a tense one: it was a really close game. Still, Spain won in the end.
When Spain won, what did those watching the game in the Plaza Mayor do? They went to the Plaza España, of course. Why? To jump in the fountain and celebrate the victory. Now, I’m no soccer expert and I could be missing something, but I don’t really see the connection between “victory” and “jumping in a city fountain full of cold water to celebrate.” Of course, that’s just me. In any event, the celebration started about two hours ago and it’s now 1:00 a.m. and still going strong. I have a feeling it will last well into the night.
In any case, I send my congrats to Spain’s team. This is the first World Cup that Spain has won and it deserves the victory. ¡Enhorabuena España! Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on June 8th, 2010.
 A headless, umbrella-wielding street performer does his thing in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. After living in Spain for more or less two years now, I thought I’d seen everything… I was wrong. Just the other day I was in Madrid and happened upon this “headless” street performer out to please the crowd of people who were passing through the Puerta del Sol. Seeing him made me reflect a bit on some of the acts that I’ve seen on the streets of Spain – not only in Madrid but also in other cities.
Indeed, the streets of many of the Spanish cities in which I’ve lived have, at times, looked like the audition line for American Idol. I’ve seen singers, dancers, musicians, clowns, jugglers, acrobats, and –today– a headless man. Some of these acts really are quite impressive — especially those on the streets of Madrid — but there are always a few “duds” as well. You know, the typical homeless guy banging a bongo drum to no recognizable rhythm and trying to earn a few céntimos in the process. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on June 6th, 2010.
 The butcher shops here in Spain come complete with hanging "legs of ham" to entice customers to buy (especially look where the red arrow is pointing). Have you ever woken up in the morning and had a hankering for ham? If you answered affirmatively to that question and you live in Spain, you’re in luck: a nice “leg of ham” is waiting for you just around the corner at your neighborhood deli. Yes, you heard right… here in Spain “ham legs” like the ones pictured above are suspended from the air and sold in places like grocery stores and delicatessens.
As an American, I was a little put off the first time I saw one of these ham legs literally “hanging around” in a grocery store. In fact, I remember asking myself how these things don’t go bad after being stuck in the middle of the store with no refrigeration whatsoever for days (or even months) on end. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on January 12th, 2010.
 A shop window is decorated to advertise the "rebajas" (sales) in Spain, which began on January 7th. Here in Spain there are two major sales per year (known as rebajas in Spanish): one is set in January and another is set in July/August. During these sales, people pretty much go crazy trying to buy up anything and everything that they could possibly need — at a bargain price, of course. Think of it as a month-long version of the USA’s well-known “Black Friday.” Long lines, shot nerves, and more than one overwhelmed, crying store employee are all common traits of the rebajas of Spain.
As a foreigner I don’t really understand where Spaniards get the money to buy things during these sales. You see, the winter sales begin on January 7th, which just so happens to be the day after the infamous Three Wise Men visit children’s homes to bring them presents (like Santa Claus in the States). In the USA, most people are pretty much broke after Christmas from buying all the gifts. In Spain, on the contrary, people go out and “shop till they drop” the day after Wise Men Day, their biggest gift-giving holiday. Logical from an economic standpoint? Not for me, at least.
In any event, if you’re Spanish and you’re looking for a deal during these rebajas, I wish you the best of luck. If you’re not Spanish, well, I guess you can save your money this January. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on January 5th, 2010.
 Visitors view the humongous Nativity of the Burgos Cathedral. I have memories from when I was a child of helping my mother set up the Christmas tree and the Nativity set in our home. I never really liked doing the task that much because there were always so many lights to put on the tree and so many little figures to put into the Nativity set. In fact, I’m sure my mother would tell you that I complained quite a bit about having to do the chore.
It turns out that I probably shouldn’t have complained so much. Why? My mother’s Nativity set was nothing compared to the monstrous ”Nativity on steroids” of the Burgos Cathedral. In fact, I think my mom’s Nativity contained a Joseph, a Mary, a Baby Jesus, the Three Wise Men, and a couple of camels… it probably had no more than ten pieces. The Nativity set of the Burgos Cathedral, on the other hand, contains over 1,200 pieces. How’d you like to be the guy who has to put that thing up?
All joking aside, it’s not all that uncommon to put up a very large Nativity set here in Spain. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on January 1st, 2010.
Happy New Year to everyone! This is the second New Year that I have spent in Spain and, after ”living” the holiday twice here, I thought I’d write a short post to tell those of you who are less familiar with Spain’s traditions a little about the holiday. Basically, if you’re a Spaniard about to “ring in the New Year in style,” you need two essential items in very large quantities: grapes and fireworks. Let me explain:
Essential item #1 — Grapes: Grapes are used during the final New Year’s Eve countdown right before midnight. As Spaniards are counting down the final twelve seconds of the year, they eat grapes — one grape for each second marked by the clock. As a result, it’s very typical to buy large amounts of grapes right before New Year’s Eve and then sit in front of the TV with your family on December 31st to eat the grapes during the “official countdown,” which is televised live from Madrid.
Essential item #2 — Fireworks: After counting down the final twelve seconds of the old year, Spaniards grab their fireworks, firecrackers, and other miscellaneous, loud pyrotechnic devices and head for the streets. In fact, there are usually so many Spaniards on the streets shooting off fireworks just after midnight that the entire city fills with smoke and sounds like a war zone. To be quite honest, the first time I saw this happening last year I didn’t really know what to think — it appeared to me to be a loud, dangerous pandemonium with fireworks flying everywhere. I still wonder how more people don’t have accidents with all those firecrackers going off everywhere. In any event, along with the grapes, fireworks are a “must” on any Spanish New Year shopping list.
There you have it. Two “essential items” for the New Year in Spain. What are your “New Year Essentials?” Continue reading this post…
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