The "Pueblo" - Torrico
Citizens of the world,
Today, the topic is the Spanish "Pueblo" (Village). El Pueblo is a very important part of Spanish culture - almost everyone has one, but nobody seems to actually live there.
Most Spaniards live in big or medium sized cities, but that was not always the case. Urban areas have expanded greatly over the past two generations, but there is still a strong link to the pueblo.
The average age of some pueblos is over 60 - a few smaller villages have died out completely. However, there are still thousands of Pueblos that survive, in most part, thanks to the strong family and cultural bonds.
When we are not climbing mountains or traveling, we go to Torrico, our pueblo. The main reason is to visit family, but it is also a way to get away from the pollution and stress of the big city, relax, disconnect, and to get your hands dirty in the fields.
El pueblo also survives for practical reasons. For many families the pueblo and the extended family serve as a cheap babysitter for the long summer and winter breaks.
We usually go there to relax and swap travel stories; however, this weekend, end of August / begining of September, the San Gil Fiestas (the big annual bash) will be in full swing for a week.
The population of the pueblo doubles with everyone coming home and then doubles again at night with all the nearby villages that come to party.
An average day might go a bit like this:
An average day might go a bit like this:
The key word is excess!
14:00 Wake up after a fitful sleep (the party never really ends and the clean up crew is excessively noisy).
14:00 to 16:00 Have brunch and complain about stomach pains, from excessive eating, and the excessive heat.
16:00 to 18:00 Sleep siesta if you can find a shady spot or aircon to fight the 38ºC heat.
18:30 Have a snack (eating in excess) to recuperate from the long siesta.
19:00 to 21:00 Hang out at pool, taking dips to avoid the excessive heat and avoiding excessive use of energy
22:00 Eat a long dinner with excessive abandon ... nothing spared
to 02:00 Hanging out, getting dressed up and waiting for the right time to go out. Most people start arriving at 2:00 and the party gets into full swing at 4:00 or 5:00. There is an excessive amount of alcohol, but few get drunk, the music is excessively loud and the food keeps coming at all hours.
7:00 People are excessively tired from all the excess and try to get some rest to attack the next day of partying. Hard core group that arrived at 4:00 am party until 10 or 11 in the morning (when it is excessively hot to continue)...
...do for a few days and repeat each year at the same time...
The United Statesian
18:30 Have a snack (eating in excess) to recuperate from the long siesta.
19:00 to 21:00 Hang out at pool, taking dips to avoid the excessive heat and avoiding excessive use of energy
22:00 Eat a long dinner with excessive abandon ... nothing spared
to 02:00 Hanging out, getting dressed up and waiting for the right time to go out. Most people start arriving at 2:00 and the party gets into full swing at 4:00 or 5:00. There is an excessive amount of alcohol, but few get drunk, the music is excessively loud and the food keeps coming at all hours.
7:00 People are excessively tired from all the excess and try to get some rest to attack the next day of partying. Hard core group that arrived at 4:00 am party until 10 or 11 in the morning (when it is excessively hot to continue)...
...do for a few days and repeat each year at the same time...
The United Statesian
