Hola!
El miércoles era el Día Nacional de la "Hispanidad," o, "Columbus
Day" as we prefer to call it on our end of history. All of Spain had a
holiday today, and though many things remained open in much of Madrid
(ah modernity), most businesses (including schools) were closed today in
honor of the "discovery" of the American Continent four hundred years
ago.
I awoke that morning to the sounds of helicopters,
and still hear them circling overhead (it's ten pm). When I looked out
my window, I saw two parachuters brandishing Spanish flags gently
descending upon Retiro park, and I knew I was missing the festivities
already.
The
tradition here is to have a tremendous military parade, which the King
himself and the Royal Family attend annually. The parade through the
capital city is meant to exhibit the elegant force of the Spanish
military. I must admit, it did quite an excellent job. I'm not one for
the military, and honestly I found a number of the marches and stances
of the soldiers somewhat goofy, but it is a type of theatre in itself,
and therefore I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, there were THOUSANDS of
people, so I was unable to see most of what was going on, but I managed
to steal a few photos. The best part were the military planes that flew
in formation over the crouds of applauding spectators. Apparently
there is also a tradition of walking a green goat in the front of the
parade. My coworkers tried to explain it to me, but much of it was lost
in translation. Apparently there is a slang term here linking military
people, (or fascists, as the two were so closely linked in Spain's 20th
Century history) to goats. I also missed that one, but it's apparently
quite comical. Anyway, despite the level of intense military patriotism,
I must admit, I did quite enjoy the display of raw power, and recognize
that I will probably (hopefully) never be so close to a moving tank
again in my life.
Welcome to the hoards of people on my doorstep:
...And the tanks!
...And more hoards of people...
These kids have the right idea...
I don't know if I'm witty enough to come up with a caption for this one...
Look out overhead! You have to forgive the floating black dots, my camera is incredibly dirty inside, and I need to take it in to get the dust cleaned out. I don't have photoshop, so please just forgive me!
And the foot soldiers! Apparently these guys were deployed in Sahara. They got a lot of applause.
More soldiers!
Hooray!
Cavalry!
...And the civic soldiers doing their duty as well.
Well, that wraps up the Columbus Day adventures. There were a number of museums open as well, but the lines were prohibitive. I'm sure Colón (as they call him over here) would be proud.
Hasta la Próxima!
