Isn't it such a strange coincidence that a country obsessed by its imperial past would celebrate the exact day of the creation of that empire?
What? No, not really such a coincidence? huh. OK.
There have been loads of festivities. Today there was a parade at 10:30 down the Paseo del Prado (one of the big N-S arteries in Madrid). I might have still been sleeping. BUT according to the news reports (El País), people started booing Zapatero and calling for him to resign. Some people are not happy with the economy in this country.
Also, according to the news. The flags at the parade (these aren't the flags used during the parade, but rather the flags that spectators brought) look kind of sad and pathetic because a lot of people are using the flags that they purchased to celebrate the World Cup. Flags during the World Cup get written on, used as capes, covered in body paint, dropped on the ground...all manner of things that we learned got you put in jail if they happened to Old Glory.
This parade is the second time in 2 days that they have shut down the Paseo del Prado for a parade. (What? I hear you say. Shutting down a major thoroughfare twice in one week sounds like a huge hassle and a waste of time and money? WELCOME TO ESPAÑA!).
I was actually at the parade on Sunday. It was part of the festivities of the Día de Hispanidad, since it was a parade/concert hosted by the Casa de América to celebrate all of Latin America. The parade included representatives from pretty much every country in Latin America, all dressed up in"traditional" costumes. (I put that in quotes because some of the costumes weren't particularly traditional, but rather looked like your normal sequin-y parade costumes, and others looked traditional, but also looked like they might have been a foreigner's take on traditional, which also doesn't count as traditional. Just sayin').
Here is one of my favorite pictures from that parade:
Doesn't he look scary?
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