Castelles

 A castell is known as a human tower built during festivals found all over Catalunya.

This is what I experienced today during the festival in memory of Santa Eulalia. Santa Eulalia is the martyr of Barcelona and died as a young girl by being put in a barrel with glass and pushed down a hill. Not so pleasant, right? Earlier this week, when my urban studies class took a field trip through Barrio Gótico, our teacher pointed out the small street, down which Santa Eulalia had been tossed. Nowadays, the people of Barcelona remember Sta. Eulalia in this festival, which takes place in Plaça Jaume I. 

I've got to admit, I felt pretty cultured today while standing in a massive crowd, cheering on the castells. The best part was watching the little children who climb to the very top and their radiant smiles once they reached it. If it had been me up there, at that age, I would have peed myself and consequently the rest of the tower. There were multiple groups of castells, each representing a certain area, or neighborhood, of Barcelona. It was impressive to watch these people climb on one another. You could tell how important each move they made was. There was a certain spot to dig their foot into while climbing one's back and a specific way to curve their arms and slide down the remaining tower when it was over. 

After the festival, Anjali, Colleen and I grabbed some pizza for a late lunch. Then, we returned back home to attend to schoolwork...blech! However, an evening of homework turned into time spent with an old friend. Colleen and I sat in the living room until the sun went down, chatting about everything...high school, prom, Barcelona, our plans for spring break, and the much feared graduation.  Once Mercedes returned home, we sat around with her and watched the Goyas. The Goyas are the equivalent of our Oscars. It was fun to see the spanish actresses all dolled up in their fanciest gowns!

I'll leave you with the progression of how the castells are built...

Y pues, nada...necesito dormir, entonces...buenas noches!