As if we didn’t have enough of Carnaval in Cadiz we wanted to check out the festivities right here in our very own village.  2 weeks ago, Moron de la Frontera hosted their own Carnaval and it was so fun to see all the celebrations and costumes up close and personal.

Some friends drove over to our place to park and we walked about 20 minutes to the center of town.  We were hoping to catch the parade, which we heard started at 6:30 PM and when we arrived at the pedestrian-only part of town people were just starting to gather.  Joe and I are quickly learning that things do not EVER start on time in Spain.  The roads weren’t marked off as they are in the U.S. when there is a parade so we weren’t sure exactly where to stand.  We got a prime spot of sidewalk in front of the ayuntamiento or town hall, which ended up being right in the middle of the action.  Almost too in the middle.

This is a picture of the ayuntamiento, after the parade was over and the streets were clearing.

The crowds of people standing in a very unorganized fashion waiting for the main parade to begin.

Americans’ idea of a parade is nothing like the Spaniards’ idea of a parade.  Here there are no neat barricades placed along the sides of the road, denoting the parade’s route.  There are no cheerful volunteers wearing matching t-shirts telling you exactly where to unpack your foldout chairs.  Here there are groups of people standing on every street corner, spilling out into the middle of the road watching every direction attempting at a guess about where the parade will start.  Our little group guessed wrong because we were standing at the very corner where two parade lines converged.  8 adults, 2 pre-teens and a baby carriage had to maneuver through the already intoxicated and very loud body of people to find a better, less claustrophobic, less dangerous area to view the parade.  It’s also essential to state that Carnaval parades do not consist of floats like we know them.  There is no painstaking preparation in someone’s backyard but merely a group of friends who decide what crazy costume they are going to adorn and then walking together in a big lump.

We have some clowns.

Parrots

Matadors, complete with a bull made from a grocery shopping cart.

A chicken coop.

A family of bumper cars (this was hilarious).

And some ghosts who apparently were looking for the Tanatorio Farm.  Must be an inside joke among the locals.

It felt a little like Mardi Gras with elaborate costumes minus the beads.  There was no mistaking the noise and energy in our little town.  We had a blast and all went home with confetti in our hair.