It´s fiesta time in Alcalá this week. In this, our World Heritage Site, there´s many, many games for kids, some sports, some charity events and even some decent music, including the famous group, La Oreja de Van Gogh and pop star-turned-crooner, Sergio Dalma in free concerts on the spare, rocky ground behind the Archbishop´s Palace. There´s even some street theatre and some local classical music groups.
As for the rest?
- Pinchada de globos (balloon-bursting)
- Gigantes y cabezudos (big-headed, giant carnival figures)
- Ofrenda floral al Cristo de las Peñas (floral offering to the Christ of the Clubs)
- XXV Elección de Míster Damo (male beauty contest)
- Presentación pública de las damas de honor de las ferias (female beauty contest)
- Chocolate con bizcochos (hot chocolate and cake)
- Gran Torneo Multitudinario de Mus (card-playing tournament)
- Baile del vermouth y sangría para todos (vermouth, sangría and dancing for everybody)
- Comilona de sandías (watermelon-eating contest)
- Comilona de flanes (flan-eating contest)
- Puzzle gigante (giant jigsaw puzzle)
- Actuación de la Tuna de Alcalá de Henares (university roving band)
- Charangas (roving brass bands)
- Corridas de toros (bullfights)
- Juego de dardos (darts)
- V Certamen Internacional de lanzamiento de huesos de aceituna (olive pit-throwing competition)
- Carrera de Triciclos (tricycle race)
- Competición de Air Guitar (air guitar contest)
- Concurso de Pulsos (arm-wrestling contest)
There´s also a few strange ones:
- Con un par de huevos (with a pair of balls)
- El arrastrafurgoneta (the van-puller)
- La alpargata voladora (the flying sandal)
- Concurso de sillas (chair competition)
Pretty poster for poxy blood-sport
Perhaps aptly there´s also a play, “La Cena de los Idiotas,” or Dinner of Fools.
No wonder Alcalá lost the bid to be the European City of Culture in 2016 to San Sebastián.
About Mo
[...] to show that I´m not always as crabbit about mindless mirth as I was in my last post, here are some pics of my favourite, [...]