Week 25 included 24th June, a major holiday in this part of Spain. The week leading up to the day is full of street parties held around town in temporary bars called barracas. It is a good week to stay away if you do not like noise or fireworks.
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Our office sponsors a barraca, put on by the catering company that runs our restaurant and cafeteria:
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We went to the barraca on Sunday night, the first night of the party:
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Two girls from our office:
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All the beer has to go somewhere:
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Not everyone was enjoying the party past midnight:
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Another seasonal phenomenon around here is the chiringuito, a temporary beach bar open from 1st June until mid-September:
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On the eve of San Juan, 23rd June, people gather on the beach (here Postiguet beach in the centre of Alicante) to light fires and party:
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Everywhere, children and adults are lighting fireworks:
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Lit fuse:
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Later in the week my son and I went to a local bar called 4 Estaciones to watch the Spain-Chile game in the round of 16 of the World Cup:
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This little girl is half Spanish and half Scottish. Her Scottish father has lived here since the early 1990s, however, so he has basically gone native:
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The game was close and there was concern that Chile would nick a winning goal against the run of play:
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More concern:
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But finally Spain won 2-1 and went on to win the quarterfinal and semifinal too (as I write this, the final is four days away):
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This year is the centenary of the birth of Miguel Hernández, a Civil War poet who died in Franco’s jails in 1942. He was born in nearby Orihuela and our local university is named after him. To celebrate the centenary, a sculpture has been set up outside a local department store. The sculpture is made of railway ties and other materials:
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The sculpture has excerpts of the poems printed on it, and plays recordings of the poems, read by local luminaries:
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Finally, my cat Taco doing what he does best:
that lonely planet “alicante” is growing closer to completion, nathan.
your joy in showing is our delight in viewing.
thanks again,
b.
Comment by bruce — 8 July 2010 @ 22:47