carnival

Most people give little credit to the south of Madrid. It´s the less chic, more "chunga" (rough translation: spanish style ghetto fabulous) side of the community. People who live in Madrid, whether Madrileños or extranjeros, like to take advantage of this stereotype--always beating down on poor old Madrid Sur.

(spanish lesson: perhaps you are amazed and/or disgusted by somebody´s parlicularly chunga behavior, you might say to them "vète a parla!")

But they are all WRONG! Granted...it will never reach the certain charm that its big sister so naturally emanates. But how could it? That´s like telling Fresno to be Nob Hill. But even Fresno has got something to offer, especially for a foreigner.

Like the fact that...the very center of the Iberian peninsula is in Getafe! And that the soccer team is a big deal!! (or so I think...as much as I try, I´ll never be a sportsfan) Or that Parla is the municipality with the number one amount of foreigners in the community of Madird!

OK--but the point is...carnival was only more proof of this. Getafe is known for its tradition of throwing one of the best carnival parties in the area. Vero and her friends go every year, and so obviously I tagged along. There was a tent...a really, really big tent, right in the center of town, filled with tons of people, all dressed up in elaborate costumes and drinking from giant plastic cups (of course, this was a botellon-worthy occasion). Great live music, warmth despite the literally freezing temperatures, lots of friends.

I went as a "punky fairy"--an improvised invention of a costume inspired that Saturday afternoon by a red tutu and a pink wig. Vero did my makeup, and wah-lah, I didn´t even recognize myself. That´s the point, right?

Vero not only did my makeup...she did everyone´s. This was cool, because each in the group had their very own style to be temporarily tattooed on their face. She was a Mexican cadaver—then we had a cat (a real cat, not sexy cat), as well as some vampires (who ended up covering at least half their faces in black lipstick and actually looking quite frightening).

So it was a really fun night. And I took pictures!

It is often tradition for people to dress up in groups. My favorite was a group of camerman with a famous Spanish reporter. I also saw a group of gangsters on a flexing (not really, but I wish) and shooting spree in their little euro hatchback. Later that night at a bar, I could not get enough of the bartenders dressed up as maids, or old maids..something like that. It was hilarious.

THE TENT

mmm..lots of makeup.