When I heard "Carnaval', I pictured the Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. Something I never knew much about aside from mental images of giant feathered costumes with ornate beading from head to toe, which made Carnival seem like a more opulent and less morbid Halloween. I expected to watch children dressed in bright costumes parade on floats led by their parents while I watched from the side of a crowded sidewalk. ESN (erasmus student network) organizes international student excursions from Murcia, and they were offering a trip to 'Carnaval en Aguilas' for 10euros. Why not take spend the day somewhere new, it's not like I needed to commit to the extent of dressing in full costume. Just 10 euros, a tupperware of spaghetti and a couple hours on the bus later we were in Aguilas, our bus passed by the shoreline and I beheld a magnificent sight: grown men dressed in tights.
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| Abbi and I getting some street food |
After momentary confusion and disbelief I realized this man wasn't a victim of a poorly wagered bet since all of his friends were dressed in neon colored wigs and sailor costumes. Women's costumes to be more descriptive. If there's one obvious rationale for this phenomenon, it's that Carnaval is not to be taken lightly. This isn't the place to be underdressed or unsure of whether or not painting your face and wearing fiber wings will be an eyesore. Every person I saw, aside from our three busloads of half-hearted costume wearers, was donning something outrageous. It was just getting dark when we drove through the streets, with just enough glow to make out some of the painted faces and bright colored clothing.
Our passengers poured out from each of the three buses and created a swarming pool of costume clad tourists in the otherwise vacant lot. In a mass exodus we moved form the lot down the street towards the city center. People spilled into the streets and barricaded the sidewalks until we made it to the shoreline and paused for a group picture. After that, we darted in every direction with no real place to go, attracted by the flashing lights of the carnival rides and the smell of street food.
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| Frightening |
We pulled out some drinks from our bags and prepared for the 15 hour marathon. To say there were a lot of people would be a gross miscalculation, as the night went on, more and more people started swelling up within the narrow streets and outside the shops. There was an alley of street vendors where we promptly found the places that sold potatoes, cheeseburgers and churros. After a refuel, we were back on the streets dancing through the crowd and taking pictures of all the other costumes. A few Happy Meal's made appearance along with a very haunting trio of three masked in dark deserted back alley style black cloaks who thought it was funny to keep lurking behind me- and freaking me out.
The most impressionable aspect of the entire ritual was the energy that I felt just being there. Everyone was laughing, singing, dancing, yes drinking, and genuinely loving life. If only for a day, it was completely acceptable to believe there wasn't a care and the world and to act like there never would be. It's clear to see why Carnival is so popular and celebrated so strongly- I wish I could live every day like this. Of course, then I would be absolutely non productive, it's probably for the best it's only for one day.
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| Hot dogs! |
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| Fries and a few Happy Meals :) |
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| Capitan America |
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| Alguilas at sunset |
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| Patatas |
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| Baked Potato Time |
