We’d planned to go to a club area
called Mariano Roja that Saturday
night, not realising that things don’t get going there until around 4am –
slightly problematic when we wanted to be at the Cathedral for the Easter
Sunday procession at 11. In fairness, we did attempt to find the place at
around 3.30 (or 4.30, as the clocks had just gone forwards), but we didn’t look
very hard before giving up and ending up, as usual, at Badulake.
Getting up the next morning was
not the most fun in the world, particularly when I arrived at the Cathedral to
discover that the procession was only ten minutes long and that we had missed most
of it. Only Ali and I had made it there so far, so we told the others not to
bother. What we did get to see was quite cool – a silent procession carrying
Jesus on the cross, with the sculpture-bearers all dressed in white with their
faces covered. However, I’m not sure it was worth the immense amount of effort
it had taken to drag ourselves out of bed.
After a quick nap to make myself
feel more human, I spent the rest of the day catching up on translations that I
won’t have chance to do over the next couple of weeks whilst my friend Emma and
my parents are here. That evening I stayed in and got some much-needed rest.
On Monday I’d set my alarm with
every intention of getting up and going for a run, but when it went off at 8.30
it was more than I could take, and I eventually got up over an hour later. By
this time the sun was already hot and it no longer seemed like such a good
idea. I’d just sat down to get started on some work when I had a message from
Fernando, telling me he was in the spare room of my flat – and that was the end
of my well-intended work blitz.
We chatted for a while before I
realised I really needed to get into town and print some documents for teaching
before the copy shop closed for siesta at 2. So we both set off and ran my
errands together, including a trip to the supermarket which felt bizarrely like
being an old married couple. After going back to the flat for some lunch, by
which time Giorgos had finally emerged from his deep slumber, we all went to
meet the rest of their friends in town. I was far too thrilled when not only
did we decide to have a Smoöy, but
Vicky and her boyfriend didn’t have loyalty cards so I could use their points.
Then I just had time to stay for a coffee before heading off to teach.
I only had to teach for two hours
that day since Sergio had football training, so I was free by just after seven.
It should have been earlier but Guille had a new game on his iPad he was desperate
to show me, which felt like quite a compliment I couldn’t ignore. When I came
out I rang Alicia and went to meet the girls in Plaza Circular, where a barraca
(bamboo cabin) had been set up for the Fiesta,
selling food and drinks. We stayed for a couple of drinks and snacks before
going our separate ways for the evening.
The next day we met at Lina and
Alicia’s at 9.30 to put flowers in our hair. They had gone to a florist’s the
day before to buy each of us three real flowers to clip in like real Murcianas. Then at 10 we walked down to
the Cathedral, where we knew there was something going on; what we didn’t know
was that it was going to be a Catholic mass. It wasn’t something we’d have gone
to on purpose but I was really glad we got to see it. The entire square was filled
with people, most of them in Murcian dress, coming to hear the ceremony. There was
a huge risen stage directly in front of the Cathedral, where the Bishop and priests
were sitting in front of a life-size sculpture of the Virgin Mary. To the side
of the stage was a group of singers, also in Murcian dress. The crowd listened
in silence for the whole hour, interrupted only by long prayer recitations in
unison and the occasional song by the musicians. At the end, everyone turned to
their neighbours and kissed them or shook their hands, wishing them peace –
even us, who couldn’t have stood out more as non-believers in our shorts and
crop tops.
After popping back to Lina and
Alicia’s flat to grab supplies, we made our way to Plaza Romea, where there was a free concert going on. Then we
decided to move to the park by the university, which was apparently where the
best botellon took place. It was good
advice; the place was so heaving with people, we struggled to find anywhere to
sit. On our way over there we chanced upon the procession carrying the Virgin
across the city, which was a surreal experience. One part of the procession, in
the main square, consisted of girls in traditional dress dancing, whilst the
street beyond was so crowded you could barely move a step in front of you. The Spanish
people’s reaction to the Virgin sculpture was amazing; they were throwing blossoms
from balconies and crying out “Guapa!
Guapa! Viva la Virgen!” It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
When we eventually managed to
make our way through the crowds, we sat and had lunch and a few drinks before
heading to Plaza Circular for the
fireworks display – which was short and not all that spectacular given that
most of the colours were lost in the daylight. When it was over we met one of
Alicia’s friends and went back to the university. By this time the sun was blazing
down and it was gorgeous just to sit, drink and chat for the afternoon. At 5pm
we made our way to Gran Vía, which
had been pedestrianized for the parade.
It turned out the parade didn’t
start for another hour and a half, so Annalisa and I decided to go and sit in
the sun while we waited. After getting evicted from the parade seating one too
many times, we gave up and went to stand on the corner of the street. It wasn’t
long before we got bored of standing and it seemed like a good idea to lie down
and do some sunbathing – which was great until people started coming up to us
to ask if we were ok, check if we had sun cream on and even to have their
photos taken with us. Later on, we met a woman who told us everyone had been
taking pictures of us the whole time we were there. Fame at last!
After the parade we went to Plaza Santo Domingo for some tapas and
an obligatory Smoöy before watching
another set of fireworks and going back to the park opposite the university. The
place was almost deserted already, a complete wasteland of plastic bags and
bottles, like some kind of disaster film. Luckily, it wasn’t long before we
started meeting a lot of interesting people – even someone from Russia, who
thought I was from there – and managed to forget that we were essentially
getting drunk in a rubbish dump.
At some time in the early hours
of the morning we decided to move on to Badulake,
where we stayed until it closed. More to the point, Alicia somehow managed
to get a huge chunk of glass in her foot, which looked like it should be
attended to straight away. We went outside and, after convincing the bouncers
that this was not actually funny (“No es
una broma!!!”) we sterilised it with vodka – just another of its amazing
qualities – and, making sure there was no glass inside the cut, decided to call
it a night.
When I woke up today I had every
intention of being productive, but once again it didn’t quite happen. By the
time I’d showered, got ready and skyped my family, almost half the day was
gone. As I was eating lunch, Giorgos and Fernando appeared and I got chatting
to them. I did manage to make slight progress with my translations whilst
Fernando was helping me, but before I knew it, it was time to go and meet my
friends.
We checked out the barracas on the river front before
sitting down for a drink in Plaza de las
flores. Then we made our way to Santo
Domingo for yet another Smoöy (I
think this is becoming some sort of addiction) and stayed to watch the big
parade at 6. This one was much more impressive than the one of the day before,
which had consisted of endless numbers of people in funny costumes riding bikes
and horse-drawn carts. This one had dancers in elaborate costumes and beautiful
floats made from real flowers whose smell pervaded the square. The floats had
different themes like pirates, artists and Pinocchio, and on top of them were
girls in costumes throwing out fresh flowers to the crowd.
As the parade finished it began
to rain so my friends and I decided to go our separate ways, agreeing to meet
up the next morning. It was disappointing that the weather had changed so
suddenly after we’d had such a burst of summer the day before. It didn’t
matter, though; we’d had the best weather for the Banda de la huerta.
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