Sunday, March 9, 2014

Carmen la Nerviosa (Day 1 in Cádiz)

Okay, so here it is. Part of my blog about my weekend in Cádiz with Stephanie for Carnaval.

Friday, February 28th

Stephanie and I took an overnight bus to Cádiz so we arrived around 8 a.m. on Friday and then hopped on another bus to go to Chiclana, where our host lived, which is actually like a half hour outside of Cádiz. Once we arrived to Chiclana, our host and his friend picked us up. I kind of felt bad, because they had only slept for like an hour before picking us up, ha rough night they had. Anyway, they took us to breakfast and then we went to back to our hosts place and met some of the other girls he was hosting. They were two Australian girls and actually a third one joined us later that night. They were all pretty cool and after getting settled in all us girls boarded the bus back to Cádiz so that we could check out the town and to let our host get some sleep. I had found a free walking tour online to do, but once in town, we realized that Carnaval and El Día de Andalucía were well underway, so it was going to be impossible to find where the tour started/if it was even happening because of the holiday.

So we decided to go ahead and just walk around the city on our own. We got an empanada and pastry for lunch and then we split up with the Australian girls to walk around. Just to clarify, they had friends that were studying in Cádiz so they went to hang out with them. We didn't ditch them. Anyway, it was nice walking around. We walked along the coast and then went to the Castillo de Santa Catalina, which is one of two fortifications that are on the coast. After the fort, we sat in a park for quite awhile and just relaxed in the sun because the weather was amazing. It was awesome!
King Momo, the king of Carnival and an important
ship that was in the Cádiz port
(not sure why it's important though, sorry)
Cathedral of Cádiz
Coast of Cádiz
The cathdral from afar
Castillo de Santa Catalina
After chilling out in the park for a little bit, we walked around a little more and took in the city and the celebration that was happening. Carnaval was definitely happening all around us. Children were dressed up, adults were drinking, and the streets were dirty. So here is a picture of that.
Friday night was pretty good. Stephanie and I went back to Chiclana and then went to dinner. We had to order food like three times each though because they were out of almost everything because since it was Carnaval and a holiday, everyone and their dogs were out and about and eating food at this one bar. What I ended up having to order wasn't fantastic, but at least I got food and then we went back to our hosts house. He went out with the Australian girls and partied, but Stephanie and I stayed in and watched the finals for the singing competition that happens every Carnaval. These are probably the most popular things about Carnaval in Cádiz. Groups work all year round to practice and perfect their acts and then there is a competition with quarterfinals, semifinals, etc. leading up to Carnaval and then the finals happen at the start of Carnaval. The finals are broadcasted on television so Stephanie and I watched them. There are five different categories:
  • Chirigotas - These are humorous groups that perform satirical pieces about everything from politics to current events. (These are the most well known and popular)
  • Choirs - These groups of singers may be funny at times, serious at others. They tend to be out and about, entertaining people in the streets accompanied by stringed instruments.
  • Comparsas - These are the most serious singers at the festival. They are known for their more classic musical talents and the more serious content of their songs.
  • Quartets - They don't have to stick to the traditional four - but then, this is the carnival, after all. Time to break the rules! And they are most often accompanied by none other than a kazoo and the beating of sticks.
  • Romanceros - These are the solo acts at that roam the streets to entertain visitors and locals alike. (andalucia.com)
Like I said these songs and this competition is quite popular and it was cool to see them; however, I wish that I could understand more. Even if I did literally understand every word of every song, I think I would still be confused because of all the satirical content in the songs of the chirigotas. For example, there is a song that we heard that was about Teófila Martínez, who is Cádiz' mayor (which we didn't know) and it was making fun of her looks (we didn't know what she looked like). Anyway, the one act that seemed to get the most attention this Carnaval was from the quartet category from a group named Los pepegim. I have posted it below so you can get a feel for what it is. If you skip to 18:08, you will see the most popular part of the bit. The little chant "Carmennnn, Carmen la nerviosaaaa" became the motto for the weekend. I heard people singing it here and there for the rest of the weekend.
And that was the end of day one in Cádiz. I was going to put the whole weekend in one blog, but I think it's best that I split it up. Keep your eye out for Day 2 and 3. :)




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