Sevillanas clásicas

The passion and artistry of Spain, distilled in these gorgeous songs accompanied by the traditional Andalusian dance, the sevillana.

Santa Llucia market

Each December, Barcelonans flock to the big open air Christmas market in the plaza near the main cathedral to stock up on festive holiday decor. Dozens of stalls offer every conceivable size, shape and style of Nativity figurines, including the notorious caganers described in a previous post, and the cagatios (shown above) that, when beaten with sticks, discharge their sweet effluent of Christmas treats. Buyers jostle in the crowded aisles and the air is pungent with fragrant fir boughs, wreaths, and living Christmas trees. Jeweled ornaments, battery-powered climbing Santas, and handmade crafts round out the selections, making this market an irresistible draw during the holiday season. View the slideshow below for more images from the market.

The labyrinth

Today I took the Metro three stops above mine, to the Jardins de Laberint d'Horta, an 18th-century garden high above Barcelona that embraces a Roman-style labyrinth of tall, dense cypress hedges. According to legend, whoever navigates successfully to the statue of Eros at the labyrinth's center will find true love. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs, so true love proved elusive today. But the gardens are romantic nonetheless.

The cost of crime

Both Hannah and I have now been 'initiated.' We've both been robbed in Barcelona.

Two weeks ago on the Metro, Hannah was surrounded by a group of jostling young men. When they got off at the next stop, they had managed to unzip her bag and remove her wallet. What was so frustrating is that Cynthia and I were on the outside of the mob and realized (too late) that something was amiss.

Last night we were at a sushi bar with Blanche. Sitting at the bar, I had suspended my purse, with my coat over it, from the hook beneath the counter, directly in front of me. Big mistake. When I reached for my bag to pay the bill, the coat was on the floor and the bag was gone. Lesson: never lose contact with your bag. Even then, there've been instances of bag straps being cut by blade-wielding thieves.

I called my credit card company as soon as I got home. This morning, I was about to go and buy a new mobile phone - of course, that was in the bag, too - when I realized with a sick shock that the keys to the apartment were missing as well. And, the keys were attached to a tag bearing our address. Another stupid mistake, caught too late. Unwilling to leave the apartment vulnerable to entry, I was forced to call an emergency locksmith, who came and changed the keys. The thieves, however, still have the key to the building.

So: the final cost (we hope) of crime in Barelona (in euros):

Cash taken from Hannah's wallet 75
Hannah's wallet 50
Jane's bag 45
Jane's wallet (20-year-old Gold Pfeil
wallet, no longer available in U.S.) 100
Cash taken from Jane's wallet 50
Contents of Jane's bag 30
New mobile phone 40
Change of lock 220

GRAND TOTAL 610 EUROS (USD $884.50)

Will we be even more careful from now on? You bet - unless the thieves think of something we haven't.

Shitters

Traditional handpainted figurines, quaint custom: two phrases guaranteed to set the acquisitive traveler's feet pointing in the direction of the nearest crafts market in some picturesque Medieval square.

Then, on arrival in the square, the traveler gradually notices that all of the quaint figures are squatting, buttocks bared, over a neat pile of - well, shit.

"Shitters," you see, is the literal translation of "caganers," handpainted Catalan figurines seen during the Christmas season that traditionally look like the little man above.

Perhaps these little figures of fun are not quite the thing for Aunt Ethel back home - unless she happens to be Catalan. Then she will want one for her nativity scene, perhaps making the little man peer mischievously from behind a fake fir tree, but taking care not to place him too close to the center so as to befoul the area surrounding the baby Jesus.

What explains this phenomenon? Or a related Catalan custom in which an animal constructed of a hollow log and covered with a red cloth is beaten with sticks until it "poops" candy and other treats?

It is suggested that the shitting little figure in the creche represents the earth's fertility, but I am skeptical. Isn't fertility usually a springtime theme? And, why choose poop to symbolize fertility? How about a nice, non-scatological symbol, like the egg? Also, modern-day caganers are made up to represent politicians and famous figures (even the Buddha) captured in undignified post-poo crouch with buttocks bared. They are meant to be "honored" by their inclusion in the holy nativity scene. Pardon me, but I wonder if Presidents Bush and Sarkozy are laughing at this.

I guess the caganer is "earthy." I can concede that much.

Meanwhile, if anyone wants a Bush caganer, I can probably hook you up.