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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...

Dear citizens of the world, Almond harvest time has come and gone. We spent a couple days in the pueblo , collecting almonds. It is hard work, but I like it -- well, once a year. This is a photo of the almonds while they are still on the tree with both the outer soft shell and the inner hard shell (as seen in the first picture above). Why is collecting them fun? The process starts by laying large nets under the tree, then I get to use a long stick to whack the tree until it gives up all its' almonds. End of fun part... Then the outer shells have to be taken off (sometimes not so easy). There is then a drying-out period and the last leg is to break the hard inner shell to get the "almond meat" out... careful to not crush the almond in the process. Eat and enjoy all year long. The harvest this year has been bad because there was not enough rain. Many almonds are "fruitless." And a violent downpoor at the end of the season stripped some trees of the fruit just be...

Dear citizens of the world, My first post about the annual San Gil fiestas in Torrico was crying out for a second part. Many people asked how the fiestas were in 2009. For the most part, things were tranquil. There is always excess, but improvements have been made -- most noteably, I bought ear plugs. There was lots of music: flamenco to warm up, traditional Spanish songs for the older crowd that turn in at 2:00 am and popular dance music for younger ones. Techno started at about 6:00 am, but I was already sleeping -- thanks to my ear plugs! This years festivities were special for the family because there was a 50th wedding anniverssary. After a short ceremony in the village church we went off to have appetizers in the garage (much nicer than it sounds). There were kilos of Spanish ham, cold cuts, chorizo, chips, olives, cheese and local sweets: Roscos (small dense donuts) and Floretas (Large flakey flower shaped sweets, dripping in honey. This was to warm up the belly. At three in ...

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 ba...