United Statesian

Suckling pig... crispy, but not dry Dear Citizens of the world! In one of my last posts -- Eating my way through Spain -- I mentioned the fact that Spanish tourism is centred around food. Segovia is no different. The "task" of visiting monuments, sights and museums is purely a way to work up an appetite. Visiting the Disney-like castle...working up an appetite! In Segovia, people most often walk around the centre, check out the aqueduct and tour the castle that locals claim to be the source of inspiration for Disneyland's logo. Then, if you have walked around enough (stopping to sample local delicacies between each monument), you can sit down, unbutton the trousers and dig in. I'm already in the pan and ready to go! Don't worry if you don't speak Spanish...most restaurants decorate their windows with cute versions of your meal... De aproveche! - The United Statesian PS Next week... Fallas I ( Fallas II) in Valencia. A good reason to eat Paella!

Dear Citizens of the world! It's Spring...time for Spanish country weddings! I have been to a few weddings but this one took the cake for length and for... rowdyness. Any celebration in Spain involves food. The wedding was three days of eating, but with a ceremony and white dress somewhere in the middle. The white dress The festivities started with a long dinner, dancing and drinking until the wee hours on Friday. Saturday morning's ceremony was "traditional" but the tossing of rice and rose pedals became a pumelling that had everyone diving for cover. After a snack of rosquilas (the local version of donuts, but with more grease), we headed off to lunch. In between the various courses, the bride and groom were "forced" by their rowdy friends to do all manner of rituals. The groom being paraded around the reception wearing only a diaper.. . After lunch came dancing, drinking, a siesta and then more eating that evening. The grooms friends cutting his t...

Classic vs Modern "McCulture diet " Dear Citizens of the world, In my last post on the fallas of Valencia I talked about the prettier and noisier side of the Fallas Festival. This post is about the satyr and parody that most of the Fallas sculptures do so well. Many are like seeing a 3-D newspaper caricature. Obama was one of the more popular topics. One big difference would be that there is no censorship and there is a lot more nudity and crude racial stereotypes that you would not see in a United Statesian version. Super Obama! ... watch that hand... Critique on the USA, but with a large Coca-cola advert behind it... Caricature on recycling... the first one on the left is recycling silicon ;-) Caricature of a Spanish politician.. . O ne of my favourite...gotta love his smile What's he looking for?... Ahhh... the key ;- ) One of the cruder ones...Usain Bolt? Local traditional clothes -- mothers and their dolls... Hope to see you again soon! The United Statesian

Dear citizens of the world! Fire seems to play a central role in many festivals in Spain -- noise is a given. The Fallas (pronounced FAIyas) of Valencia is a Spring celebration in late March where more than 400 pieces of art (Fallas) are created in the plazas and streets. On the last night, all are burned at midnight; all except the best one which gets a pardon and goes off to a museum. This was my first year going to the festival. We had all afternoon to walk around and look at some of the main "fallas" before watching one burn at midnight. A detail of Charlie... One of the top Fallas statues... hard to believe it is paper... While all this is going on, there is an incredible amount of noise. There are thousands of people -- mostly young children -- setting off loud firecrackers. A terrorist attack could happen just down the street and nobody would notice. I jumped out of my skin more than once. A small kid being "indoctrinated" into the world of BOOM ! The mermaid...

Los Quintos of 2010 getting ready for the changeover by painting designated surfaces Dear citizens of the world, Although it might not seem like it, we are living in times of relative peace. European nations such as Spain and France gave up manditory military service at the end of the 20th century. However, traditions in Spain die hard. Los Quintos are the people who are turning 18 over the coming year. In the past, they would be weighed and measured in the city hall for their military service. Those found to be too short or too fat might be pardoned. In general, most would have to go and the unlucky ones would end up oversees in Western Sahara. The name Quintos comes from 1/5. Spanish Kings in the 15th century ordered that one-fifth of all men " Contribute Blood " by doing military service. They did not beat around the bush when they gave it that name... Los Quintos have changed in name and form in modern times. Now it is often written with a K as Kintos (Email and SMS texti...

Dear citizens of the world, Burn! Burn! Let the village burn! Although it might come as a shock, my Pueblo is not the only pueblo in Spain. Just five kilometers away there is a village called " El Puente del Arzobispo" (The Archbishop's Bridge - An Archbishop that owned the neighboring village ordered a bridge built over the Tajo River to make the pilgrimage to Guadalupe easier and safer.) On the 25th Novermber the village celebrates the " Chozas " festival to honor Santa Catalina . The bonfires are built in the middle of the roads all around the village. When the fire burns down the embers are used to BBQ meats (some call the meat juicy, others might call it fatty, yet others just call them tasty). How did the festival start? The origins are not clear, but most likely, people waiting to cross the river (pre-bridge times) often had to camp out and they would make big bonfires while waiting for dawn when they could forge the river. Here I offer you some pics fr...