Only the Wind Knows Where...: Saints here, saints there, saints and fiestas EVERYWHERE.

Huesca to Valencia to Huesca to Zaragoza to Huesca, once again. Phew. What an adventure these past two weeks have been! I´ve undoubtedly taken advantage of my schedule (12 hour work week) and “los días festivos” (holidays), having traveled from here, to there, and back again.

As promised, I´m going to explain why I was able to spend the 7^th-12^th of October in Valencia, for “el Puente del Pilar”. More specifically, I´m going to explain “puentes” considering that we´ve got another one coming up in less than two weeks, and “las fiestas del Pilar”. The breakdown…

Un puente: a bridge. But, in this case, I´m not talking about The Golden Gate, or Henderson Waves (if you have not seen this Signapore wonder, I dare you… GOOGLE IT.) A puente, is simply a metaphorical (and genius) “bridge”. What to do when a Saint Day lands on a Monday, on a Tuesday, on a Friday? You construct a bridge from the weekend, OF COURSE! With a bridge the weekend grows a day, or two, depending on your job. For example, if the Saint Day happens to land on a Tuesday, as in the case of Pilar this year, the weekend bridges into the week: Saturday-Tuesday. It is rare that anything be open on Sunday (besides some restaurants central to the city), but many people who work on weekends did work this last Saturday, receiving a puente of only three days: Sunday-Tuesday. So, PUENTE. Get used to hearing this, because we´ve got another one coming up here at the beginning of November! YAY FOR SAINTS! Although, I am slightly disappointed because I don´t think there is any big festivity or special recognition for Saint Anthony: the saint of lost things. Saint Anthony and I are tight. Not that I tend to lose things… we are just, tight. Hahahaha.

Alright, so, now that we´ve got el puente covered, I´ll share a little about las fiestas del Pilar and SURPRISE, more festivities: “Día de la Communidad Valenciana” (The day of the Valencian Community). Las fiestas del Pilar are mainly celebrated in the city of Zaragoza, although I do believe that everyone in the province of Zaragoza has the entire week off. The rest of the provinces in Aragón—Huesca and Teruel—and other communities only have “el puente del Pilar”.

Although I wasn´t in Zaragoza for most of las fiestas del Pilar, I was able to make it for the last two days. By the time I arrived, from what I understand, the fiesta had calmed down quite a bit. On Saturday, I woke up bright and early and made an hour bus trip down to Zaragoza to meet up with my friend (and auxiliar) Jill. I made my way from Delicias, the bus / train station, toward the city, only to be greeted by bands marching and playing music in the streets and kids with colored overalls of white, pink, green, blue, purple, decorated with signatures and messages written by their friends. Apparently, these “uniforms” designate a “peña” or group of the fiesta. I believe that each group is comprised of friends and family and has their own dress for the fiesta, as well as their own location to enjoy food, drink, and fun.

We had an awesome time, finding one interesting encounter after another: a parade which consisted of a street filled with people, “cabezudos” (big heads) and “La comparsa de gigantes” (troup of giants). And, of course, there was plenty of excellent food, drink, music, and just the right amount of chaos.

Speaking of chaos, I´m on the move again… Ironically enough, the evening I finish this entry I´m headed back to Zaragoza, only to leave tomorrow morning for a new city and adventure: BILBAO. It might not be a saint day today, tomorrow or Monday, but for me it´s fiesta anyway!

Photos from las fiestas: