Carnival Fun
The rain has made a comeback today, at an inopportune moment. After last week's sun and moderate temperatures, many were hoping it would last until at least the beginning of this week. In many places there have already been celebrations for a month, but those celebrations culminate this week on Shrove Tuesday. Carnival is here.
Carnival is ancient, and has roots that tap into pagan spring rituals of fertility. It celebrates a time when the old is destroyed to make room for the new. The habit of eating all the butchered meat from the previous fall, along with all the animal fats saved for cooking, is typically attributed to the onset of Lent and its dietary restrictions. But the original purpose of pigging out around this time of year, lies in that, long before industrial cold was developed, it was meteorological cold that preserved the food. With the warming temperatures, the preservation came to nil, and the food would rot if left uneaten much longer.
Another ritual was to dress up as animals or for men and women to exchange clothes. Some of that still remains. People still dress up as animals, though now in industrial costumes. Men and women still dress up as each other, though it's funnier to see the men trying not to break a leg in high heels and how they tremble from the cold in their borrowed miniskirts. An ancient remnant of dressing up in animal skins remains in a parish of Pobra do Brollón, in Lugo. A man, dressed up as a bear, comes into the town as if it had just awoken from hibernation, and covers whoever crosses its path with soot.
Living in Boston, the only knowledge of Carnival I had came from television reports of the crowds in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the licentious (for Americans) celebrations at the New Orleans Mardi Gras. When I first moved here I was surprised that such a thing as Carnival existed. When my parents were young, Franco had abolished and criminalized these celebrations, so they never really celebrated Carnival like it's celebrated now. I can understand that a dictator would find dangerous and unpredictable crowds of people turning the tables on all that is sacred and respected. Because that is what happens during Carnival. It is normal to turn social order around, and have the poor make fun of the rich and powerful with no legal or moral consequence.
That is not always the case, however. In 2014, the Guardia Civil prohibited the use of its uniform by anyone who did not belong to that body of the military (yes, the most common police force in Spain is actually a military body - food for thought). Until then, anyone could use it, or dress up as a Guardia Civil in clothes that resembled the uniform. That gag is now off limits. Another problem now is the Gag Law that has been in force for a couple of years. Last year, in Ourense, four young men were questioned by the Policía Nacional because they were dressed up as the puppeteers who had been incarcerated for allegedly supporting ETA. I wrote about it last February in "Witch Hunt."
This year there is a wealth of controversy to choose from. There's the King's sister and brother-in-law with the fraud they managed, and former bankers Blesa and Rato who will probably never see the inside of a jail cell, even though they've been condemned to six and four years. Someone might poke fun at the late departed mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberà, with her death coming right before she could be brought before a judge. Some of these costumes might be in good taste, others could be ghastly, but they're all part of a tradition of making fun of those who are in power and those who have fallen from favor. The most popular costume this year, though, is foreign, so I doubt the police will have any special instructions regarding it. Though it would be undeniably funny to see a couple of cops chasing after Donald Trump.
Carnival is ancient, and has roots that tap into pagan spring rituals of fertility. It celebrates a time when the old is destroyed to make room for the new. The habit of eating all the butchered meat from the previous fall, along with all the animal fats saved for cooking, is typically attributed to the onset of Lent and its dietary restrictions. But the original purpose of pigging out around this time of year, lies in that, long before industrial cold was developed, it was meteorological cold that preserved the food. With the warming temperatures, the preservation came to nil, and the food would rot if left uneaten much longer.
Another ritual was to dress up as animals or for men and women to exchange clothes. Some of that still remains. People still dress up as animals, though now in industrial costumes. Men and women still dress up as each other, though it's funnier to see the men trying not to break a leg in high heels and how they tremble from the cold in their borrowed miniskirts. An ancient remnant of dressing up in animal skins remains in a parish of Pobra do Brollón, in Lugo. A man, dressed up as a bear, comes into the town as if it had just awoken from hibernation, and covers whoever crosses its path with soot.
Living in Boston, the only knowledge of Carnival I had came from television reports of the crowds in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the licentious (for Americans) celebrations at the New Orleans Mardi Gras. When I first moved here I was surprised that such a thing as Carnival existed. When my parents were young, Franco had abolished and criminalized these celebrations, so they never really celebrated Carnival like it's celebrated now. I can understand that a dictator would find dangerous and unpredictable crowds of people turning the tables on all that is sacred and respected. Because that is what happens during Carnival. It is normal to turn social order around, and have the poor make fun of the rich and powerful with no legal or moral consequence.
That is not always the case, however. In 2014, the Guardia Civil prohibited the use of its uniform by anyone who did not belong to that body of the military (yes, the most common police force in Spain is actually a military body - food for thought). Until then, anyone could use it, or dress up as a Guardia Civil in clothes that resembled the uniform. That gag is now off limits. Another problem now is the Gag Law that has been in force for a couple of years. Last year, in Ourense, four young men were questioned by the Policía Nacional because they were dressed up as the puppeteers who had been incarcerated for allegedly supporting ETA. I wrote about it last February in "Witch Hunt."
This year there is a wealth of controversy to choose from. There's the King's sister and brother-in-law with the fraud they managed, and former bankers Blesa and Rato who will probably never see the inside of a jail cell, even though they've been condemned to six and four years. Someone might poke fun at the late departed mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberà, with her death coming right before she could be brought before a judge. Some of these costumes might be in good taste, others could be ghastly, but they're all part of a tradition of making fun of those who are in power and those who have fallen from favor. The most popular costume this year, though, is foreign, so I doubt the police will have any special instructions regarding it. Though it would be undeniably funny to see a couple of cops chasing after Donald Trump.
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