Carnaval: Que Bonito Está Mi Cádi

"Qué bonito! Qué bonito! Qué bonito está mi Cádi, qué bonito mi ciudad!  Qué rebosa de alegría cuando llega el Carnaval!!!!"

Mostly all I can say is "whoooooooo, what a ride."  Well, that and "thank God it's over."  For those of you that have never experienced a Carnaval in Cádiz, there's really no way of explaining it or describing what it's like.  It all starts with the Concurso Oficial de agrupaciones, and I was lucky enough to see not only a lot of it on t.v. but also the semi-finals live in el Gran Teatro Falla.  

Then the real party starts:  Saturday night EVERYONE wears a costume and takes the fiesta into the streets...  

(yes thats me on the right. and yes, I made those costumes)

Sunday and Monday the coros tour the city singing from street corners and you wouldn't believe how many places you can buy a liter of beer, and the HUGE parade rolls down the Avenida. 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the agrupaciones sing in various plazas around the city, and the ilegales (unofficial chirigotas) take over el populo, and the botellón is alive and well en la viña (so was levante this year, but at least it didn't rain).

For those of you who experienced Cádi before the ban, this was like going back to the good old days!  Friday and Saturday again more of the same (with Chenoa in plaza san antonio), and Sunday is another day por las calles, burning the bruja on the beach and fireworks over the castle.

And so, I am full of cruzcampo and papas asadas, the streets are full of confetti... and it's back to life as usual.