Cadiz

Hola!

I’ve decided to save classes for when they start to get more intense and instead talk about flashy, exciting things. Last night was Carnaval de Cadiz. It’s a gigantic carnival (as the only slightly different Spanish spelling would imply) that’s held yearly in Cadiz and I had the pleasure of spending several hours gallivanting about the gaudiness and glitz (oh, the alliteration!).

Having known about the event for weeks, I came up with and created my costume the day of the event (in very characteristically me fashion). My decision was primarily based on the fact that in certain conditions—humidity, lack of conditioner, the aid of a teasing comb, etc—my hair has the potential to be humorously and horrifyingly large. This in mind, I decided to be a sort of glam version of Medusa. I found a strapless, green dress at H&M for 10€, used green and black eyeliner to make snakes coming off my eyes (alas, lacking the make-up expertise of Kelsey), and tousled my hair until it looked downright ‘80’s. Voila!

The bus ride was an entertaining starter to the main attraction. A bus full of Avatars and cowfolk and butterflies and other worldly beings (including, much to my chagrin, another Medusa) all standing and mingling and dancing to music that topped the U.S. charts about two years ago. My suspicions are that this is a rather unsafe manner of conduct on a bus, but we made the hour and a half trips with no casualties (save for me falling into Avatar on a rough turn). We also found about 50 Waldos all traveling on the same bus.

Cadiz was craziness and cold. The initial walk to the main party was bitterly cold, but the body heat of thousands of people made the crowds much warmer. We walked in trailing a group of drumming clowns and from there met a variety of interesting characters. The whole crowd was a collection of colorful Geishas, rowdy conquistadors, scandalous religious figures, and leggy bugs.  I was surprised by the number of American pop culture costumes, like the Jabberwockies from ABDC and the cast of Futurama. A lot of people, like the first group we talked to, didn’t wear recognizable costumes, but random components that made them into things like cow-pig-vampires.

The city itself was full of pastel-colored, official-looking buildings and winding cobble stone streets. They had strung up colored lights with jester faces and “Carnaval de Cadiz” glowing in them. However beautiful the city might be normally, in all the revelry, the streets resembled the floors of a frat house, with rivulets of liquor and urine running through the stone’s cracks and bottles and trash shoved into piles against walls.

For several hours we just wandered around, befriending bumblebees and a clown who opened everyone’s bottles with his teeth. Of course, creeps ran rampant, emboldened by masks and inebriation, but most encounters were short lived because of the mass and constant movement of the crowd.

It was an absolute blast and a half, but by the end of the night, we were ready to head home to our lovely Sevilla and sleep soundly.

Since then, I’ve managed to find my way into some more entertaining situations, but I’ll detail those another time (probably soon so that I don’t forget).

Anyway, I hope you’re all well and still having your own exciting adventures (perhaps in the snow?)

Love,

Natalie

Here's a decent shot of my make-up (as decent as can be with photobooth and a poorly lit room)