Costa Blanca Apartments for Sale

Ah, Europe; The Old World, the land so intricately tied into the American psyche as being near-synonymous with “culture.” The fashions of Paris, the nostalgic charm of the British cities, the fine breweries of Germany: each of them dreamed, each of them considered by many to be the pinnacle of the refined gentleman or lady.

Then you have Spain. Do not be mistaken, Spanish society is surely as polished and dignified as the rest of the land in many respects.However, it also happens to host some of the most bizarre and unusual celebrations this side of the Burning Man festival. Of course such spectacles as the Tomatina Tomato Fight and he famed Running of the Bulls are widely known as examples of the sort of things those delightful Spaniards do to pass the time, but could a people who managed to create these memorable events really have stopped there?

One must feel sorry for the mother who worries over their offspring during the aforementioned Running, desiring the practice stopped, begging that some kind person please, “think of the children!” However, if she truly worries so much, it should have been a simple matter for her to seek supernatural protection for her child in their infancy, in the quite frightening–yet oddly amusing–El Colacho festival which dates back to the seventeenth century. All that is needed is for the bundle of joy to be laid upon the ground while a helpful gentleman garbs himself in the likeness of a devil and leaps, yes, leaps, over the burbling infant to ward evil spirits away. Is it any wonder that the Spanish feel so brave battling the barrelling bovines; they have come prepared since their wee childhood.

Further protection can be obtained if someone happened to have neglectful parents who refused to allow people to jump over their babies. All a healthy young man or woman has to do to protect themselves from illness in Spain is to not eat well and exercise regularly, but leap through roaring flames in Granada’s Hogueras event held in December. That must really come in handy for folks like the denizens of El Puig, who eschew mundane ammunitions like the humble tomato in favor of something stronger during their festival of San Pedro Nolasco. Protection from illness would surely be a godsend in the Battle of the Dead Rat.

Unfortunately for the local animal population, the Spanish do not seem to have seen fit to try and extend their protective events to their tarred-and-feathered friends. Rats may be contested as a creature worthy of protecting, and long has the treatment of the bull been a matter of debate, but there has been a decent history of other unfortunate creatures in Spanish history.

Fortunately for goats across the country, the government managed to outlaw tossing them from a bell tower in Manganeses de la Polverosa, though it’s questionable how enforced the law is. At least Billy can be comforted that the government does not condone his brief experiment in flight.

Speaking of flight, the quail at least was meant for the act, though it likely does not overly-appreciate being catapulted through the air. Chances are it doesn’t worry about it too long, as the Spanish don’t waste the opportunity and catch up on their marksmanship practice.

Whatever eyebrows that might be raised or stomachs that might be upset in the rest of the world for these and other roaring good times in the land of the fiery dancer and guitar virtuoso, the Spanish can nevertheless be admired for going further and farther than most peoples of the world in their search for a good time with their fellow man.