CARNIVAL IN SPAIN



CARNIVAL IN SPAIN: HAPINESS, ORIGINALITY AND RYTHYM
Carnival in Spain is known for its amazing costumes and masks; although it is not as impressive as in Venice or Brazil it is surely worth seeing. People of all ages participate and enjoy, even those with little resources. Participants dress up according to their possibilities and imagination and take to the streets to celebrate both night and day; crazy days in which nothing is what it seems and anyone can become into whoever or whatever they have always dreamed about.  In addition, there are parades, troupes, contests for the best costume and street theatres. This celebration ends on Ash Wednesday with the Entierro de la Sardina tradition. The Burial of the Sardine is a parody of a funeral in which the sardine is buried, symbolically marking the farewell to life's pleasures and the arrival of Lent.
Nevertheless, the most celebrated Carnival event in Spain takes place in the southern part; such as Cadiz, and the Canary Islands; Tenerife and Las Palmas De Gran Canaria. They are broadcast on national television, attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world.
Although in our region carnival is not as known as in the southern part, you can find lots of parades and contests. In Castilla-La Mancha Carnival is very widely celebrated in those towns near Ciudad Real; in Alcázar de San Juan, Madridejos or Herencia. We are going to talk about Carnival in Villafranca de los Caballeros , which is close to Madridejos; 1 hour away from Torrijos.



                   
 CARNIVAL IN VILLAFRANCA DE LOS CABALLEROS
There, in Villafranca, Carnival is hold in a very intense way. The weekend previous to the “Ash Wednesday” the party begins. On Saturday morning, people go out to the street, they have lunch with their friends until the sun sets. Then, people go to their houses to change clothes and go out later. Next day, on Sunday, after having spent a funny day with friends; in the morning there is a contest known as “MASCARITAS”, in which people of different ages get costumed and have a good morning; after this, families have lunch together and, later, they go altogether to see the Carnival parade; where there are several prizes: three for local groups and three for foreign groups.
The first prize for local groups this year went to EUPHORIA DANCE, a group of “funky dance” in which I myself got costumed. And the first prize for foreign groups went to LAS HURÍES, a group from Quintanar de la orden. 



CARNIVAL IN SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE
It is, without a doubt, the most “Brazilian” of all the Spanish carnivals, and it is famous all over the world for its originality year after year. For fifteen days, the streets of the city come alive with freedom, extravagance and rhythm.
The gala to elect the Carnival Queen is held on the Wednesday of the first week. In this spectacular competition, all the candidates parade on a square stage wearing the most fantastic costumes, which can weigh more than a hundred kilos!
 Once the queen has been elected, the parade announcing the start of the Carnival takes place on the Friday, where thousands of people and musical groups fill the streets in a multi-colored chain of happiness. Over the three next days, the city organize different carnival groups perform. In fact, lyrics of the songs are not usual since they use social and political themes as their subject, but always with humor!

 






CARNIVAL IN CADIZ
In February, Cadiz becomes a big party. It’s carnival time!
You can hear carnival music in any corner of the city, and the last touches are put to the fancy-dress costumes (in Cadiz they are known as tipos), some of them real works of art. The locals put their hearts and souls into what is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the city, and perhaps the most fun-filled and entertaining of all the Spanish carnivals.
Compared with the spectacular nature of other carnival celebrations, the light-hearted fun and entertainment of the Carnival of Cadiz makes it a unique party which is well worth getting to know.
And there is no lack of other events during this time to ensure that the days of Carnival in Cadiz are complete.
The costume is the real king of the carnival. It is almost obligatory to wear fancy dress, above all on the first Saturday of the carnival.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/default/2011/03/03/00121299138918369924172/Foto/E_110303-074849.jpghttps://i.ytimg.com/vi/pNO1cMz4BkA/maxresdefault.jpgThe whole city is involved. This is a perfect time to get to know it and to enjoy the inventiveness and sense of fun of the people of Cadiz. You can’t lose it!

CRASH



Crash is the first book of Nicole William´s trilogy which are: Crash, Clash and Crush.

One day, Luce was sunbathing at the lake - beach and she fell in love with one guy who arrived with some more and started playing American soccer, Jude, that was the guy, glanced at her only once  so, Luce started to sunbathe to have his attention, finally they started to talk. Another day Jude went to Luce´s home and they talked outside and then he had dinner with Luce´s family. The police arrested Jude and his friends and Luce didn´t know anything  more about Jude. 
When Luce started the lessons she discovered that Jude studied  there, they talked and some hours later Luce gained the fame as a slut for being Jude´s  friend, but he stopped those hearsay. Jude offered Luce as a princess of the annual dance and she came  back him offering him to play for  the high school soccer team. They started to be a couple and everybody was in shock because Jude never had girlfrends. They discovered that Jude´s father was the murder of Luce´s brother and they blame the other. So, they splitted up their relathionship. 
Finally, Jude said sorry to Luce in her graduation and she didn´t know anything else about Jude for the rest of the summer. When Luce started at the university she went to a party to other university and she discovered that he was studying  there because of her, they solved their differences and they talked and they started to be a couple again.

A MONSTER CALLS



A MONSTER CALLS-Patrick Ness
“Stories are the wildest things of all. Stories chase and bite and hunt.” 
Book information
English title: A monster calls.
Spanish title: Un monstruo viene a verme.
 Author: Patrick Ness
Nº Pages: 204/213
Editorial: Nube de tinta /Walker Books
Approx. price: 14.95€/ 9.99£
ISBN:  978-84-15594-19-2/978-1-4063-3934-5
Set in: United States,Nowadays


Connor opens his eyes.
Darkness to be seen.
Hard ground and sand to be felt.
A monster to be terrified of.
The same feeling, the same fear, the same nightmare he’s been having long before his mother even started her treatments.



 He wakes up in his bed -00.07 on the digital clock- heavy-breathing and covered in sweat just to find out something is outside the bedroom window: a monster. But it isn´t the monster he was expecting to find, it´s not the monster of his nightmare. The monster standing in the backyard has branches gathered into a great and terrible face, shimmering into a mouth and nose and even eyes, watching him. The rest of the body is more and more branches twisted around others mixed with needle-like leaves and pointy ends. Connor isn´t afraid of this monster, but he would be as he wants the most dangerous thing from him. He wants the truth.


Personal Opinion:
I know this can´t be said to be a review as it doesn´t give you enough information to figure out what the plot of the book is but in my defense I have to say that´s better if you don´t know more than that information. Personally, when I ordered my copy of “A monster calls” the only thing I knew about it was the information the back cover offered – which is way less than the one I offer you in this review- and that was enough to convince me to buy it.
I strongly think the less you know about it, the more you’ll enjoy it and get surprised about this boy and all the things he has to deal with. In one single book, Patrick has created an unusual dramatic, fantasy story which involves loss, hope, a wise voice and monsters-the ones that live under our beds and the ones that live within us.



 













Other facts about the book:
-“A monster calls” will be adapted to the big screen by Focus Features. It´s a collaboration between Spain and USA as the director is J.A.Bayona and the screenplay is being written by Patrick Ness. The confirmed actor and actresses are Lewis MacDougall ,Liam Neeson, Sigourney Weaver  and Felicity Jones. The release date is expected to be October 14th of 2016.
-The original idea of “A monster calls” by the writer Siobhan Dowd was turned into a novel by Patrick Ness – who dedicated her the novel- as she died from cancer at the age of 47. She wrote four books, two of them were published after her death. In 2009 she became the first author ever posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal.
 -The book has lots of different covers and editions but this one´s my favorite:
This edition of Walker Book (the info is above) (www.walker.co.uk)  has drawings by Jim Kay-who won the Kate Greenaway Medal for them- that are just so well done and beautiful that I couldn´t resist to talk about them.(This and the Spanish copies are the ones I own).
More editions of the book:




 











Celia  M.G