Carnaval

The best way I have found to describe Carnaval in Cadiz is it is Mardi Gras in New Orleans meets Halloween with a splash of Spanish flair. It is basically the biggest outdoor party in Spain and everyone is there. If you know anyone who is studying abroad in Spain this semester, they were in Cadiz. My friends studying in Madrid and Sevilla made the trip to Cadiz for Carnaval. 18 of my group and I took a bus that left from Plaza de los Toros (where the bullfighting stadium is) in Córdoba at 7 and arrived in Cadiz at 10pm. The same bus was to pick us up in Cadiz at 6:30am and take us back to Córdoba.

When we got there, the party was in full swing. When I say it is an outdoor party, I mean it is an outdoor party. Everyone is in the streets, not in bars or discotecas, but crowding the streets of Cadiz. Everyone is dressed up in costumes too. The Spanish don’t do costumes for Carnaval like we Americans do costumes for Halloween. They go all out. Military men don’t just wear jackets, they wear camoflage jackets and pants, as well as the military boots and hats and they paint their entire faces. There were people dressed up in full chicken and cow costumes. There were people dressed up as pirates who had big cardboard cd’s hanging from the front of them, and it took me a while to get that they were pirated cds. There were people dressed up as 110km/hr signs, because a law went into effect this Monday lowering the speed limit from 120 to 110. There was also an absurd amount of men dressed as nuns, and just men dressed as women in general. There were legos, tetris pieces, sims, and the pink ladies. I also saw a group of bishops who had signs that said “busco niños” on their backs (“I look for children”). There was one man dressed as the pope who hung out on his balcony waving to people, as if he was in the Vatican or something. Every single costume you can imagine, these people were wearing it, and more.

It was basically one large botellon*in the streets of Cadiz. There were people drinking and having a good time everywhere. There was no place to go, because the party was everywhere. Half the fun was the people watching. The negative of this whole party in the streets philosophy was that the streets were dirty. There was trash everywhere. Also, since no one was indoors, there were no bathrooms, and there was a lot of ahem peeing along the walls of the streets.

It was a crazy, crazy night. One of my friends described it as “the biggest party he has ever had the honor of attending.” It was definitely an experience that I’m glad I had. You can’t come to Spain in the spring and not go to Cadiz for Carnaval, but I have no intention of ever returning. It was too nuts and dirty for me to have a second Carnaval experience, but I’m glad I went. It was probably the best people watching I will ever experience in my entire life. You cannot imagine the insaneness of thousands of Spaniards and international people roaming and partying in the streets of a Spanish city in full costume.

*Botellon: It is essentially where the jovenes (young people) drink in small groups in the streets/in parks/on the steps of famous historical monuments on the weekends before they go out. It mainly stems from two things: 1. Many young Spanish people live with their families until their 30s (this is fairly common) 2. Spanish is in an economic crisis (20% unemployment) and buying alcohol in bars is expensive, especially if you don’t have a job. So, they go and buy a little bit of alcohol from mercardos (markets) and hangout outside and drink. It’s basically “pre-gaming” but outdoors. Disclaimer: I’m not giving you my opinion on the whole idea; I’m just describing it. It happens and Cadiz Carnaval was basically a very, very large one of these that covered the entire city.