Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

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Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More Spain is known for its many activities, festivals, and celebrations - some of which, even the Spanish people, would say are “a bit unusual” by any standard. What do you think?

Transcript of Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Page 1: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Spanish Festivals, Sports,

Celebrations & More

Spain is known for its many activities, festivals, and celebrations - some of which, even the Spanish people, would say are “a bit unusual” by any standard.

What do you think?

Page 2: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Valencian Pilota

Valencian pilota is a traditional Spanish sport. The birth place of this game is the Spanish city of Valencia. This game can be played indoors (in a court) or outdoors and is similar to handball. This game needs two teams to play. Each team can have two up to five players. The players stand face to face on opposite sides of a line or net. It is like modern tennis, but with a big difference: in this game, players use their hands as tennis rackets! The players do not need any protection in their hands because the ball is very soft and is made from rags and sheep skin, and weighs only 39 grams (approximately ¾ lb).

Pro: Val-EN-see-yahn Pea-LO-tah

Source & Photo: Spanish-Culture4

Page 3: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Running of the Bulls (Encierros)

Spanish tradition holds that bull-running began in northeastern Spain in the early 14th century. While transporting cattle in order to sell them at the market, men would try to speed the process by hurrying their cattle using tactics of fear and excitement. After years of this practice, the transportation and hurrying began to turn into a competition, as young adults would attempt to race in front of the bulls and make it safely to their pens without being overtaken. When the popularity of this practice increased and was noticed more and more by the expanding population of Spanish cities, a tradition was created and stands to this day.

The “running of the bulls” in Pamplona, Spain are famous world-wide. These nail-biting “encierros” are the cornerstone event of the San Fermin Festival, which is staged every year from July 6-14th. More than 1 million spectators gather from around the world to witness the excitement and volatility that characterizes the running of the bulls.

Every morning runners line the bull run route, ready to sprint alongside and, occasionally in front of, enormous bulls weighing up-wards of 1300 pounds. The festival promises 9 days of unbridled par-tying and plenty of family-friendly activities in Pamplona’s Old Town, known as “Casco Viejo.” Visitors from all over the globe are invited to delve into Pamplona’s rich culture, sample Navarra’s delectable cuisine, and experience one of Spain’s most iconic festivals.

Pro: en-see-AIR-ohs

Source: Spanish-Culture4 Photos: Dreamstime

Page 4: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Bull Fighting Bull fighting has a centuries-long traditional in Spain, but is also seen in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Portugal. A bull fight pits a very large bull (approximately 1300 lbs) against a fighter, or Matador, in an arena, while spectators observe from the stands, as the Matador attempts to subdue the bull. Spanish bull fighting is seen as both a sport and a form of performance art. Bull fighting season runs from March through October in Spain, and many people visit during this season. Each matador has six assistants. Matador wears a special custome-made costume, usually embroidered with silver and golden thread, and taunts the bull with a red cape. The red cape is a matter of tradition, as bulls are actually color blind. They charge moving objects—not colors. The most common type of bull used is the Spanish Fighting Bull (toro bravo), which is a type of cattle native to the Iberian Peninsula.

Since in the 20th century, bullfighting has come under increasing opposition from animal rights activists who are vocal about animal welfare concerns. The province of Catalonia has played a key role in their regional ban of the practice, and Galician and Basque peoples have also expressed opposition to bull fighting. Animal rights activists claim bullfighting is a cruel sport, in which the bull suffers severe stress and fatal injury. A number of animal rights or animal welfare activist groups undertake anti-bullfighting actions in Spain and other countries.

Sources: Spanish-Fiestas.com; Spanish-Culture4

Photo: Spanish-Culture4 Photo: Spanish-Fiestas.com

Page 5: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

Spanish Naming Custom Spanish naming customs are historical traditions for naming children. In Spain, a persons name consists of a given (first) name (simple, e.g., Juan; or composite e.g., Juan Pablo ) followed by two family names and surnames. The first name is usually the father's first surname, and the second the mother's first name. For example, if a man named Eduardo Fernández Garrido marries a woman named María Dolores Martínez Ruiz (note that women do not change their name with marriage) and they have a child named José, their child would most usually be known as José Fernández Martínez.

José = Simple first name

Fernández = Father’s first last name

Martínez = Mother’s maiden last name

Sources: Spanish-Culture4; Wikipedia.com

Photo: Spanish-Culture4

Page 6: Spanish Festivals, Sports, Celebrations & More

La Tamatina

La Tomatina is a huge tomato battle where more than thousands of ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets of Spain. People of all ages attend from all over the world. This is a festival which held on the last Wednesday of August every year in the Spanish town of Bunol. The most popular theory about how the Tomatina started is that in 1945, during a town celebration, some woodland animals were eating all the watermelon so the people at the event threw tomatoes at the animals to shoo them away; one missed and hit a person. Thus began the tomato fight. However, there are many other theories. The following year young people repeated the fight on the same Wednesday and only this time they brought their own tomatoes from home. People enjoyed this so much that has become a tradition. The tomatoes come from Extremadura, where they are less expensive and of inferior

Pro: tahm-ah-TEEN-ah

Source & Photos: Spanish-Fiestas.com; latamatinatours.com