I love festivals, especially ones I'm not expecting — like secret ninja festivals. On June 22nd of this year I was hanging out in Cádiz, enjoying the sandy hospitality of Casa Caracol and naïvely imagining that I could ask for a few more nights to enjoy the beach and fried fish. I was sadly mistaken. My hostel, and the entire city, were booked for La Noche de San Juan (the night of Saint John), a festival that celebrates the beginning of summer. My Italian friends looked at me with awe that I hadn’t booked ahead to enjoy a festival featuring bonfires, naked swimming, and sleeping on the beach — it's one of the most popular fiestas in this city. San Juan must have been with me though, because on the morning of the festival (and my forced departure), some wonderful stranger cancelled her reservation. One man's misfortune is another man’s bed!
If you haven’t been to this festival before, its most distinct feature is the burning of Juanillos, massive dolls that are created by each neighborhood that represent city life and personages of the city and country. This year many of the dolls unsurprisingly had the features of much-beleaguered bank heads, as the whole country is engulfed in la crisis economica. Throughout the night, figurines are burned in each neighborhood.
There is also a legend that if you write down all of the things you don’t want in your life, (boyfriends, debt, or American Idol), burn the paper in one of the bonfires, and then jump over seven waves, you will be rid of these bad influences next year. We will see if my tendency to buy hideous sweaters is affected. After a delicious seafood dinner of fish, shrimp, and octopus salad (only 5€ from the hostel's talented chefs), we bought bottles of tinto de verano—a Spanish drink that leaves you with a severe headache and inability to remember what happened the night before—and went to the beach. After a spectacular display of fireworks, groups gathered on the sand, strummed guitars, danced, and lit fires. Although la policia rushed to put out the larger fires, these were promptly restarted when the authorities moved further down the beach.
The beach was beautiful, lit up by stars and fires, and everyone was wearing white and dancing to their own spirit. I walked out to the Castle of San Sebastien and had a peaceful moment to myself. I felt amazed that I could be here for something like this, with no planning whatsoever. Sometimes being unprepared can result in the most interesting experiences (if you can find a bed)...