My Apologies and A Little Pilar

            I know, I know. I've been slacking. Not one blog post in 19 days? Was I really too busy to sit down and write? No. Did I not have anything to write about? I had plenty. What could possibly be my excuse? My excuse is that I don’t have an excuse. This month I just haven’t felt like writing. I didn’t want to sit down at my computer and write about fiestas or trips or getting lost. Sorry Kim. I was enjoying being in Spain, without over analyzing it. And okay, I may have been a little lazy too. So to make it up to you, the next couple of posts will be catching you up to date on all that’s been happening. Starting….. NOW!

            October 7^th, 2012 Las Fiestas del Pilar began. In order to understand what I’m talking about, let’s start with some history. It is said that The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint James after the death of Christ in Zaragoza. She appeared in the highest pillar of the church and told him to that he should have a basilica constructed in her honor. And so it was. This apparition of the Virgin Mary was come to be known as the Virgin of the Pillar or la Virgin del Pilar and this was the first miracle of Pilar. Each year on the 12^th of October the Spanish people celebrated the Virgin del Pilar who came to be known as the patron saint of all Hispanic people. Several more miracles are associated with the basilica and the virgin. One of these happened during the Spanish civil war. Two bombs were dropped on the basilica, but neither exploded. Throughout the years, growing each year and more so after each miracle, the traditionally one day celebration has turned into ten days of fiestas. This year I got to witness and be a part of the fiestas. It was something I’ll never forget.

            Approximately a month into my stay in Zaragoza, the city had started feeling like home. I had gotten used to the Spanish city, people, and even the smell (mostly). People started asking me for directions and I could generally point them in the correct direction. All was well. In the weeks leading up to the fiestas, we talked a lot about the history and what we could expect from them. I knew there would be lots of people, but nothing I had been told prepared me for what I saw. My normal calm walk along the river to Pilar to meet my friends turned into crowd weaving and wasted “saldo” (minutes on my cell phone). I arrived to the opening speech late, just as everyone was leaving and the only way I can think to describe it is to say: It was like trying to get to Cinderella’s castle in Magic Kingdom right after the fireworks have ended and everyone else is headed the other direction. It was chaos. The fiestas ended up being very fun, but that first night my impression was that of someone who has just become familiar with something only to have it change completely. It’s like when you get used to Facebook and then all the sudden, it changes. This city that I had come to love was suddenly a completely different place. Streets that I walk on everyday seemed like different planet. As the initial shock wore off, I began to enjoy myself and the feel of the crowds and not going to lie, seeing this everyday during the free concerts was pretty awesome.