Experience The Madness, A Traditional Spanish Fiesta
When it's 39 degrees, that's the way to cool down. [Laughter] Good evening. Yes. Good evening. Yeah. Welcome to Monday, um the 21st of August to be precise. This evening marks the start of a week-long Fiesta here in our village of Potries. But for now suffice to say, this week is going to be full of various types of entertainment. We've got Potries' version of Mardi Gras, normally a foam party, a paint party, various other crazy nights of music, that go on until four or five o'clock in the morning quite often. I don't think I saw the foam party advertised this year. I think we've got the paint party instead. Oh. Oh.
Morning. Zombie is here. Zombie is here. Hey zombie..! Just in time for the Santa Rita, after your mum. Yes indeed. Alison's mum's name is Rita. Hi Rita. Patron saint of lost causes, just like me..! Oh, what are they carrying around with them today..? Saint Rita..! Is that Saint Rita..? That's Saint Rita. Ah from the church. Yes. We're going to wander up. We quite often think they're going to come straight past our house
and then they turn off. Well turn down that way. [Laughter] Hola..! ( Hi ) And that's uh Santa Rita. Saint Rita. So that marks the true start of all of this really, doesn't it..? Yes. As they walk the first, what do
you call it..? An idol..? Effigy..? Into the local church for the first big mass of the week. Good evening and welcome to Tuesday night um so tonight is one of the really big evenings for this Fiesta basically what's going to happen now is half of the village are going to make their way up the hill to the top of the Chapel on the Hill and those that can't make it will wait at the bottom and this is where they bring down two massive statues statues Effigies religious symbols. So we're about two-thirds of the way up and when it's um what is it supposed to be today like 36 or 37 degrees today..? This is unbelievably warm. So according to Google, it's 31º, feels like 34º and it's 9 o'clock at night.
I would say it feels like more than 34º. It looks a lot lighter than it is, because of all of these spotlights that are all on. The spotlights are behind us. It's getting quite dark out here, but it is rediculously hot. Apologies for the sweat dribbles down my face. [Laughter] That must be really attractive.
So it's actually this one here with the, Davina Pastora, the shepherdess, the shepherdess is heavy one. That's the really heavy one. She's got car batteries underneath her skirt. Yeah. I was questioning it, because they did look like they may drop it. Yeah, their faces are a little bit more strained than the others. [Laughter] Now what they've got to do is carry the thing, all the way down the hill, bless them. God you can see how much they're struggling can't you..? Yeah. Bless them. By the way, I don't know if you see they've got the kids with these sticks they put underneath,
just purely to try and give them a break. We've run ahead of the the procession quickly to get to the church. You can probably hear them on their way here. Bless them, they've done a phenomenal job. [Laughter] I mean we were struggling climbing up and down and we're just [Firework] Bang.
The Spanish do love their fireworks. Yeah. And we're just carrying ourselves and well this camera really. I'm sorry, I'm very sweaty and I dread to think how how those poor people are feeling, carrying those. It has been a really difficult year this year even the the locals that don't normally complain that much, are complaining this year about the heat. It's just been relentless hasn't it..? It has. Bless them. Excuse our way of putting it, they are ringing wet. In this heat to be carrying those two Effigies is I can't say it enough, that's a hell of a task.
When Alison said they loved fireworks These are so much louder than anything I've ever heard in the UK It almost hurts. I think that's kind of it for tonight really isn't it.. Yes. It's more just a Procession to really kick off this week and now everyone will go for "Sopar" Yeah. Food. People will be eating in the streets. I think we're going to go and grab a drink somewhere and then, we'll see you guys in the morning. See you in the morning. So after a very late night last night, you might like to have a lay-in, [Laughter] but not during Fiesta week. No. This is Potries. Because, like we say, it's half eight in the morning
and part of the this week is now that they're going to wander around, with the band playing loud music, but just to make sure you don't sleep in, they've got these firecrackers that they chuck outside your house. That really sound like bombs. [Laughter] Oh they're so loud. Two for the price of one. Yeah. Wow. Why do they always make me jump..? My ears are ringing. Hello again. [Laughter] It's... What is it...? Tuesday ..?Wednesday. Yeah, we're losing track of time it's this
whole week is just kind of blending into one. But we've got another procession coming down the road. Well the gist for tonight is we've got this. Then they've got a Mass, then apparently we've got a big firework display. In case you didn't hear me over all the band stuff, yeah I'm pretty sure today is the day for married ladies. Married ladies. Married ladies. So was yesterday the day for young ladies was it..? or
unmarried ladies..?? I don't know if yesterday was the day for young ladies or if that's tomorrow. I'm sure somebody will correct us. Then there is another day for the young men or just men in general I think. It's now half hour later and uh we're planning, or the thought is that we're going to actually walk up to a friend of ours and see the procession come past. Possibly join it. You don't think it's going down to the fireworks do you..? No I don't I think they take the idol down there. I think you might be right on this one.
Yeah. They take the idol from the church, around the village, back to the church and then I think the band may take people down to the fireworks. Everyone just wonders around, back down to the fireworks. Yeah. Okay, so we've got to be quiet for this bit. Yeah, it's a solemn procession today. This is a solemn procession,
we'll show you guys but the whole point is quiet and tranquil. Oh they are actually bringing round the big one. Yeah. Hopefully this is coming out on camera, but now the solemn procession is over, It's like a Mardi Gras. The music level has picked up and we're all off down to see the fireworks. It's now 5:30pm or coming up on 5:30pm on Thursday afternoon. We're heading down to the Town Square for,
I've been calling it Potries' version of the Mardi Gras, but what this actually is is a fancy dress parade. It's the one the younger generations really love here isn't it..? They do. They all just get dressed up in silly costumes, there's a band, but like a really... What do we call it..? Like a funky... What's the word I'm looking for darling..? I don't know. We're off. We are. We are going to take you round. What you'll hear of us talking,
I haven't got a clue, over what noise is about to happen. When it's 39 degrees, that's the way to cool down. [Laughter] Right are we going to take mics off and run walk through or keep them on and run through..? We'll see you on the other side..!
Can we stand here just for a little longer..?!? [Laughter] That was nice. [Laughter] Actually, let me just clean the lens. That's not fair, Barbie has got her own protective box. [Laughter] Well at least the water running down my face is not sweat today. Yeah. [Laughter]
We've made an executive decision. Or wife has made an executive decision. We've actually cut through the crowds and dashed back to our house and Alison is in charge of the hosepipe. stood on the balcony and she's got the hose pipe out. So I'm going to hang out downstairs. Make sure it's on shower and Allison's going to shower the crowd. Well hope you enjoyed that. Yes indeed. As much as we did anyway, Yeah. We did enjoy it this year,
very much- Look we're going to head home now and you probably I won't see us till tomorrow because I'm being blunt tonight it's just a repeat of last night and we've already shown you that so. Just with a different Idol. Yeah. It would be a procession round to collect everybody, take them to Mass. Then there will be a procession around with the idol, then they get taken down and see more fireworks. So for now, we'll leave it at that and we'll see you tomorrow. "¿Hola, como estamos?" Hi, how are we..? "Muy Bien" Very good. Well, welcome to Friday afternoon. Steaming 40º. Yes just coming up on 5:30 what is it..?
40º degrees feels like 42º. It's half past five in the afternoon. Yeah, so very warm, but we're going up, so there's a car park behind where we live, to go and see the Festival of Colours. In short, it's a paint fight. Yeah. So uh, we've got a queue. It all looks very organised. It does. The thing I've got to say though is a bunch of what's that..? six-year-olds
to mid-teens with bags of paint and a hose of water. It's all coming much further this way. What possibly could go wrong..? [Laughter] [Laughter] That was a fun way of wasting half hour. Yeah. And a lot of paint. Right, go and get clean
De-paintimafficated. Ay. And we'll see you when we're clean. Yeah we'll see you either later tonight or possibly tomorrow. Which is Saturday, the big final day of festivities. Hello. Hello. We're clean. We've got all the paint off us and I suppose we owe a bit of an explanation. We said earlier, we weren't going to show tonight because it was more of the same. Apparently not. Yeah. However, we are led to believe by our neighbours, apparently not.
I'm not even going to try and explain tonight because I don't know if we're understanding this right or not. But it does sound like there's a procession that involves people running around with fireworks and then... Tell you what, we'll show you now. Just not try. We'll show you how close this is to home. Well, it is now half past one on a Saturday afternoon and I'm going to head down to try and intercept the band and follow the procession down to watch this Mascleta. While I'm walking down to catch up with them, I thought I'd quickly explain something so, the Mascleta, is a daytime firework display but it's all about the noise and it is loud. So loud that the local children or the Spanish children are taught from a very early age to open their mouth or I was told potentially bite their nail, a little bit. In order to deal with the volume of this So we're off. [Applause]
I haven't got a clue what's going on now. I've been told by a couple of neighbours just to follow the band. There's just food in the streets. "Hola". Okay. Okay. [Laughter] Food for everyone in the street. And it does seem on face value, to be heading all the way down to the far corner there. This is incredible. [Laughter]
I'm getting waved at by my neighbour, so let's go and join in for some food. So I'm getting offered beers and all kinds of stuff. I'll stick... Anyone that knows me, I have to stick to water, or one beer and I'm under the table.
So what I've got here is uh a mini I think a mini Coca. One second. *In Spanish* This is mini, yes..? Normally they are a little bigger, yes..? I've just checked, Yes, this is mini. Normally they're about twice
this size so. I absolutely love this. Pretty much the whole of the village is here. Having some food, a drink and just chatting. Welcome to Sunday night. Try, start again. Why..? Get the right day. It's Sunday. It's Saturday darling. It's Saturday.
Yeah. [Laughter] Tonight is the last proper day isn't it..? Or the last part of this week's Fiesta. Yeah. We're all currently sort of hanging out here by the church waiting for the idols that they bought down from the Ermita. the Chapel on the Hill on Tuesday night. Monday. Monday..? Tuesday night. I'll just shut up I don't know what day is what. [Laughter] Anyway, for them to come out the church and then to the procession around the village and then us all follow them back up to the chapel and see them get put away. Yeah. So it's all a bit of a stop at the moment.
Oh we're getting an announcement. Basically the rain's picked up, it's got a bit heavier and I think they are concerned about what this is going to mean. Let's listen in. I think they said it's not cancelled but they're going to take a shorter route, via Carrer Major, San Salvador and then directly up to the Ermita. I think so. I got a couple of those things and something about the music. I heard something about music and dances because obviously there are ladies and gentlemen in their valencian costumes and they normally do the traditional dances at the top, but that's not going to be much fun for them if it's tipping it down with rain. No. So we're going to play this one by ear by the looks of
it this evening. Meh, don't we always..? Yeah. I don't know if you can hear me over this, but it.. Yeah Unfortunately they are taking it back in for tonight. Wise move, those cobbles are really slippery. So it's all now officially cancelled, the walk up to the Ermita. So we're doing all the festivities in the church. Good enough for me.
Going to watch a traditional dance, in the church. Right. Got a bit of a sense of DeJa Vu going on. [Laughter] Yeah. Welcome to Sunday night. It's now quarter to eight and this is the end of fiesta week.
There's going to be some entertainment tonight but the reason we're dashing out now is, well as you saw last night, the rain hit and the procession to return the idol things back up to the Chapel on the Hill was cancelled. So we're dashing down to the church now to go and see the idols taken up to the chapel. Yeah. I apologise for my heavy breathing. [Laughter] Yeah. That is really hard work getting up there. I feel so sorry for those people. They must have such a... you can't moan you're not carrying it. That's what I mean. They must have such
a calling, to be so honoured to carry these things, that are so heavy and fight for the right every year [Applause] That's it for another year. Yeah. that's the idols back in the chapel. So really all there is to do now, is go home and sleep for a week. [Laughter] It's been a very very long week. It has. I do love this Ermita. Yeah. It's such a shame that it's only open twice a year, to collect and return the idols at this time of year, for this fiesta.
Look, I think we're going to call it there and once again thanks so much for watching. Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed the fiesta and uh well we'll see you... Visit Potries..!! Yeah sorry [Laughter] Plug for Potries. Visit Potries. Yes. and we'll see you lot next Sunday. See you next week. Take care. Bye.
2023-09-15 02:52
