When the ghosts come out…and the goblins creep…

That was the first line of my favorite Halloween song in elementry school. We would sing it every single year, loud and proud at our annual Halloween parade in our gym. (Go Willard Owls!). Why am I telling you this? Well, even though it is March, Coruña has officially turned into Halloweentown…or better yet….Carnival town!! Actually its not fair to Spain to compare Carnival to Halloween…but its the closest holiday I can think of! And well since I missed Halloween this year, its my opprotunity to somewhat celebrate it! Anyway, every year on Carnival….or Mardi Gras….or simply fat Tuesday, everyone gets dressed up in their favorite costumes and parades (and parties) around the town. However, unlike I initially thought, Carnival starts the weekend before the actual date. All around the city since last Saturday I have seen kids dressed up as bats, cats, mice, witches, ghosts, clowns and pirates and going to school/neighbourhood parties. I actually saw 2 five year old brothers get on the bus today with mouse masks on…they were absolutely adorable! And for months now, the stores have been filled with Carnival costumes, which basically consist of anything you find in the States 2 months before Halloween. Some adults even dress up the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday before and then of course go all out for Tuesday…now that is devotion! I can´t wait to pick out a costume…any suggestions??

While Carnival is quite big in Coruña, the largest festival is in Cadiz, Spain which is on the southern coast. In Cadiz, the entire weekend is filled with parades, parties, cultural events, carnival foods, colorful and exotic costumes and lots of fun!  Carnival is the last big celebration before the 40 days of lent. So basically everyone gets out all of their partying and craziness before a somber and reflective 40 days. While I will not make it to Cadiz this year, I am traveling to Barcelona with Kelsey and Amanda (the one in England) from Friday thru Monday. Apparently there is a big parade on Saturday in Barcelona to celebrate Carnival, so I am extremly pumped to see all the glamour and glitz! But don´t worry I will be back to celebrate Carnival in La Coruña on Tuesday! I am quite excited and thrilled to experience carnival in two very different cities…so obviously my next blog will consist of photos and stories about Nora´s first carnival!!

Dato Divertido: Since most of my fun facts are about food, and this entry is about Carnival…why not combine the two?! My favorite carnival food is called ¨Oreja de Carnival¨-direct translation Ear of Carnival. Apparently the dessert is shaped like an ear. Anyway, the dessert consists of fried dough, almond or lemon flavoring and powdered sugar. Yum! I have so far had two orejas de carnivals and they were both absolutely delicious!!!

¡Hasta luego!

These pictures are courtsey of google images…I wish I was the photographer!

Yum! Kinda shaped like an ear?

Lots of people at the cadiz parade!

Some cool Carnival spirited people in Cadiz!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “When the ghosts come out…and the goblins creep…”

1. tu madre says:

   March 2, 2011 at 5:04 pm

   I see a very strong resemblance to the Philadelphia Mummers! Is there a ‘strut’ involved too?

2. nmmari12 says:

   March 2, 2011 at 5:45 pm

   Perhaps…we will have to wait and see!

3. Kelsey says:

   March 8, 2011 at 9:54 am

   I love all of the different names for Carnival!! And very cool pictures!!!