September 18, 2006: Cascamorras festival

Why are all these people dirty, in the public square?

Tomatina is not the only festival in Spain -- turns out the Spanish are just crazy about wacky festivals and here is another glorious one, Cascamorras.



It's so new that Wikipedia doesn't have an entry on it! There's an official website, but the Spanish is so deep there that even Babelfish doesn't really translate.

I found other sites on it here, and here, the translations are so horrible that I can only piece together what's happening. I'll probably get it wrong, but here goes.

It seems there are two otherwise unnotable towns, Baza and Guadix. They fight over possession of this statue, the "Virgin of Piedad". They've fought over it for five centuries.

Every year, Guadix sends a team of representatives to Baza in an attempt to get the statue. These representatives are the "Cascamorras". People of Baza wait for the Cascamorras with a big bag of dirt, tinted water, and eggs.

The idea is that if the Cascamorras is not perfectly clean, it doesn't gain possession of the statue - so the Baza team tries to dirty the Cascamorras at all costs.

At intervals, there is an opportunity for the Cascamorras to wave the flag, clean off in fountains, and start over.

Every year the Cascamorras fails to capture the statue, and so every year it must return home to Guadix... where, in its shame, it's again smeared with tinted water and eggs and filth.

Unfortunately it's not clear from the photos which section of the festival is shown, and which side is which, etc. Looks like a glorious opportunity to get dirty... and clean... and dirty again.

I think I'll go back to my sty and celebrate by rolling in some slop. Anyone want to hose me down, afterward?

Has anyone else read Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth Adventure series? This reminds me of the book about Aahz's birthday present.

maybe the Sunnis and Shi'as can start throwing dirt and eggs in Baghdad instead of RPGs?

That kiss at the end looks sweet, but ugh! How can they stand to kiss each other when they look like they have dirt literally painted on?!

I read a piece about Spanish festivals where the author proposed that all the festivals, big like Pamploma's running of the bulls, down to little two village festivals like this, were greeted with great enthusiasm, because Spain lives under such a strict social code. Any chance to drink, dance and flirt, are welcomed with gusto.

It's fun to re-read my entries again. In this one I say "so new" to describe an event that's gone on for five centuries. No, it's only new to us.

europeans are so fucking weird.

Continental Europeans are weird. We just chase cheese down hills and snorkel in bogs.