It's the night before San Juan and I'm finally going out partying!!! FIESTA!!! And apparently discovering another aspect of the fiesta I'd never heard about (or done) before! "Wave jumping"... something about burning bad feelings or memories in bonfires at the beach and jumping waves for good luck? I'll tell you about it tomorrow (if my head is clear enough, lol!)!
For now, short post, had to teach today and then went out to get pictures of Obama in all the Hogueras he's in (so drove all over town!) so no time left! I thought I'd start introducing you to some of the monuments themselves, after all they are the stars of the show! For starters the one in front of City Hall which is "fuera de concurso" i.e. not participating in any of the competitions. The theme is "El Sol y la Luna".
How about these local fishermen hoping for the mermaid's blessing?! ;o)
And I just realised I haven't taken any other pictures of this one except for the few I took the first day when they were finishing setting it up! :o( Will have to correct that tonight, I've got my Mom's small camera so I'll be able to share some "night" shots with you (there's no way I'm taking my DSLR out partying! lol!).
Tomorrow I'll take you on a tour of a few others, prize-winning ones, of various "categories". Last Sunday the people in charge (head comissioners, the Belleza del Fuego etc.) went around visiting all the Hogueras and gave out awards to the best ones in each category. I wouldn't like to be in their shoes comparing apples and oranges and trying to decide which I like best! (plus I don't agree with the big winner) How are the categories defined? Well, like many things, by money! Now it wouldn't be fair to pit a small Hoguera from a neighbourhood with limited financial means to another one in a richer neighbourhood, now would it? Here's how they divide them up (prices for the "big" Hogueras, the children's ones have a lower budget as they're much smaller):
Ok, I'm off to get changed and meet my friends for dinner, wave jumping and all-night dancing! Hasta mañana! :o)
For now, short post, had to teach today and then went out to get pictures of Obama in all the Hogueras he's in (so drove all over town!) so no time left! I thought I'd start introducing you to some of the monuments themselves, after all they are the stars of the show! For starters the one in front of City Hall which is "fuera de concurso" i.e. not participating in any of the competitions. The theme is "El Sol y la Luna".
How about these local fishermen hoping for the mermaid's blessing?! ;o)
And I just realised I haven't taken any other pictures of this one except for the few I took the first day when they were finishing setting it up! :o( Will have to correct that tonight, I've got my Mom's small camera so I'll be able to share some "night" shots with you (there's no way I'm taking my DSLR out partying! lol!).
Tomorrow I'll take you on a tour of a few others, prize-winning ones, of various "categories". Last Sunday the people in charge (head comissioners, the Belleza del Fuego etc.) went around visiting all the Hogueras and gave out awards to the best ones in each category. I wouldn't like to be in their shoes comparing apples and oranges and trying to decide which I like best! (plus I don't agree with the big winner) How are the categories defined? Well, like many things, by money! Now it wouldn't be fair to pit a small Hoguera from a neighbourhood with limited financial means to another one in a richer neighbourhood, now would it? Here's how they divide them up (prices for the "big" Hogueras, the children's ones have a lower budget as they're much smaller):
Special Category > 54122€Talk about some random numbers! My guess is the numbers make more sense (i.e. "round" numbers) in pesetas (from before the Euro, once upon a time!) Hmm... that's a lot of money to go up in smoke! Not to mention all the money participants spend on the Barracas where they get together to eat / drink / dance, and the outfits! It ain't cheap! But for the people participating in the Fiesta it's more than worth it!
First Category 23287 - 47754€
Second Category 15782 - 23286€
Third Category 10926 - 15781€
Fourth Category 8940 - 10925€
Fifth Category 7505 - 8939€
Sixth Category 6843 - 7505€
Ok, I'm off to get changed and meet my friends for dinner, wave jumping and all-night dancing! Hasta mañana! :o)
Sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun! Your pictures have been great, I can't wait to see the night shots.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope you can get pictures of the wave jumping!
ReplyDeleteafraid not! we couldn't get to the water the beach was too crowded! will write about it after my rather late breakfast... ;o)
ReplyDeleteyeah, lots of fun! :o) bed at 6am, up at 1pm... now have to clean house for my sister's guests, work on photos and post, and rest and recuperate for the big night tonight! :p