Highlight Reel 1: La Noche de San Juan

So, I've been a slacker the past few weeks as far as blogging (actually I was studying for exams so I guess I've actually been responsible for a change).  So, since I have a lot to catch up on, I'm just going to start a series of posts that I'll refer to as the "highlight reel" of my Spain experience.

El Primero:

La Noche de San Juan (June 23rd, 2012)


Spaniards like to party. I think that's pretty common knowledge. And being predominantly catholic with over 10,000 saints to name holidays for, they never run out of excuses to have a fiesta. Thus we have La Noche de San Juan - a festival in Gijon to celebrate the end of school and the summer solstice.

It involves some of this:

And this:

A street performer after the Dixebra concert. And that is

a joint in his mouth. My friend, Alex, finally learned

to recognize the smell if weed that night.

And this:

The party really starts around midnight when they light the 3-tiered bonfire. There's the parade of celtic dancers  and bagpipes (Asturias has a lot of Celtic background), fireworks, and as soon as the fireworks end, a series of firecrackers ignite the big fire.

I went with some kids in our group of students and met up with some others as well as a kid from England who is teaching English in Gijon as well as our professor. We all wandered around the beach for a while so see all the little bonfires and check out the site where the giant bonfire would be lit.

Before....

When the fireworks went off, me and one of the girls in our group, Bettymaya decided to go right to the edge of the water to get a closer look. Of course, the aerials started bursting directly above us and I've never been so terrified in my life. They are HUGE up close and I'm still amazed my hair didn't catch fire. As soon as we turned around and walked back to the 3-tierred pile of wood, the bonfire burst into flames. It was kind of amazing. 

After...

There are a few traditions linked with La Noche de San Juan such as taking a midnight swim, jumping over a bonfire, and burning a lover's name. People also burn things they want to get rid of or cleanse themselves of or else they will burn their hopes and dreams in hopes that they'll come true. A lot of students burn their textbooks and homework.

Goodbye emotional baggage!

Me and some friends put our items in a water bottle and threw it into the fire. Mine was a list of bad habits and regrets that I'd like to let go of. It was pretty liberating. I also burned my broken headphones.

The fire burned on throughout the night and every once in a while, some logs would fall and create a massive wall of embers.

There was an Asturian band playing a little ways down the boardwalk and me, Alex, and Crystal went to check them out. They were an awesome group with some celtic influence called Dixebra. Alex immediately bought their shirt and I bought one of their songs when i got home. While we were there, I jumped off a wall and knocked into a guy who was drinking with his buddies. When I apologized, he looked me up and down and said, "No pasa nada, Princesa" (which pretty much means "no worries, princess") and it's become a running joke with us.

We ended the night with a group hug - that may or may not have included some drunken antics - and a walk down the beach, finished with some Turkish Kebap. Completely beautiful night.