Undergraduate Blog / Defining Your Babson

Only in Spain

Two Sundays ago there was a holiday that honors a Saint. I honestly do not know much about this holiday as it is a very minor one. However, the way the Spaniards celebrate in Barcelona is with a parade and carnival-type games and rides for children. When we arrived, we had no idea what was coming.

First of all, we were told the parade began at 7. We rushed to the metro in order to make it to the street in time. To our surprise, when we arrived there were no signs that a parade was going to occur. The streets were not closed off. All we saw was the carnival rides. We asked a police officer and he explained that we were in fact in the right place and that the parade was supposed to start at 7. While we were waiting, we decided to wander around the parade. Two of my friends got cotton candy—it is gigantic here!

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It was adorable seeing all of the little children enjoying the carnival games. This made me really miss my childhood!

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At around 7:30 we realized that this was just a typical “Spain-move.” It is very Spanish to be late to something. Since they run on Spanish time here, the parade did not begin until around 7:45. As we were lined up, we saw people holding firecrackers as they ran down the street in between marching bands. There were also pig-figures. It became scary when the people with the firecrackers started launching them in the direction of the crowds. My friends and I were crouching behind a glass bus stop in order to hide ourselves from the sparks!

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However, this is completely normal here. Parades commonly have fireworks being shot at the audiences. This is so different to me and something that would definitely never be permitted in the U.S. It was one of those nights where we all said “only in Spain would this happen!”