Carnival in Avilés

Last weekend we celebrated Carnival. Our students tell their exchange partners everything about Carnival in Avilés and our famous "descenso de Galiana". Don't miss their pictures and fancy dresses!


"Carnival is a typical festival here in Spain, in which people get dressed with fancy costumes. It starts on Friday afternoon, when little kids from schools of all over the town go around Avilés in a parade dressed up.

Saturday is the big day, there’s the most famous event which just happens in my town, el Descenso. The “descenso” consists in going down a street, full of foam, until you get to the Town Hall. It is really fun because you get soaked and you do funny stuff with your friends. And one of the best things is a fireman that has a hose and we get wet. After it we go home to have a shower and get ready with our costumes to hang out at night. We meet at 11 at night and we stayed out until 4 o’clock in the morning. It is great because people from all over Asturias come to Avilés that night just to hang out so it is crowded with people.

The next day, Sunday, there is not much to do, just a day to chill out and relax because then on Monday we hang out again at night until 4 o’clock more or less, the only problem is that on Monday there aren´t as many people as there are on Saturday, but we enjoy it too though.

And finally, the last day is Tuesday and to close the festival there is a great costume parade. After the parade people go for a walk with their costumes and then get home not very late because the next day there is school again."

María Sánchez

"Carnival is quite important here, in Avilés, everyone has thought their costume about a month before it starts. Carnival takes five days and it starts on a Friday, in every school children dress up and people in the street sing songs called "charangas". On Saturday there's a parade at the townhall and some other streets are covered by foam and bubbles and people have lots of fun although we think it is a bit dangerous. On Sunday people usually stay at home because of the weather and then on Monday and Tuesday we still hang out dressed up. That's what we do!".

Marta and Javi

"Hi Everybody!!

As you may have read, Carnival in Avilés is CRAZY!! Everybody loves it.

This year I didn't feel like going out too much, it was just that I really needed some time to relax and sleep but anyway I went out.

On Saturday I went down Galiana Street taking part in the famous "DESCENSO". As you see in the picture, everybody gets covered by a lot of foam. Don't forget the cold water... It was FREEZING!!

After that, there was a party until the early morning which was absolutly crazy.

On Sunday I met up my friends at the cinema to see the latest terror film called MAMA. We were all dressed up with fanzy costumes. I was dressed as a rugby player.

On Monday and Tuesday I went out again to see the parades and I had a great time.

Now it is time to get back to school and relax from holiday."

Pablo

"What can you do at Carnival time in Avilés?

First of all we must say that the best of Carnival is that we don´t have lessons for two days, and they usually are just after a weekend so it´s like a four-day holiday.

Anyway, the most typical festivity during Avilés´ carnival is the Galiana´s descent (Descenso de Galiana). Galiana is one of the most famous streets y Avilés because it connects the city center with some residential zones.

Well, in this party you can see almost all the teenagers of the city (13-17 year-old) in this street. We use to wear a kind of cloak which is like if you put on rubbish bags all over your body. Once most of us are in the street, some firemen turn on five or six foam cannons located all over Galiana and the street becomes a complete mess. The bubbles height can sometimes reach one meter!

After that, all the people start to move up and down the street and most of us get lost form our groups, so you are able to meet new people or to realize that some others friends are there too. By the same time more “nice” firemen wet you with hosepipes. Then, some decorated carriages go down the street; they usually belong to some of the best shops and bars in Avilés. It´s usually common to see people going down the street in pirogues too. The music doesn´t stop in the whole time of the festivity.

In the end, when the cannons stop off throwing foam, we all go home very quickly. As we suppose you have realized, we are already in winter, and getting so wet with 5 or 6 Cº isn't good at all if you don´t want to die young. Just one more thing, after having a boiling shower, people use to get dressed in nice costumes and going partying with their friends.

Here we leave some nice pics of El Descenso".

Emilio and Jorge