Lunes de Aguas

Today is Lunes de Aguas- Water Monday. I had never heard of this tradition/celebration until moving to Salamanca in 2009. I had been at the High School for about a week when a group of 13 year old students asked me if I had heard about "Water Monday".  I informed them that I had never heard of it and for them to explain this to me. The explanation went something along the lines of this..

Student 1: it's a day we go to river or country side to eat hornazo (a pastry filled with meats) to celebrate prostitutes.
Me: WHAT?!?!
Student 2: yes, the priest take prostitutes to other side of river and after Holy Week they come back and make big party.
Me: Ok, I really don't believe you all.

Not wanting to ask a teacher upon arriving to my house, I googled "Lunes de Aguas" and this is what I found:
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/fiestas/lunes-aguas.asp

History

The history of Lunes de Aguas is a rather curious story, to say the least, a tradition dating back to medieval times. Along with a prestigious university, Salamanca also had prostitutes who hoping to eventually make it to the royal courts, practiced (so to speak) with the university students. In the 16th century, King Felipe II, who was known as a very serious and devout Catholic, was disgusted with the marginal activities taking place in Spain’s prominent academic hub, therefore ordered the prostitutes be banished from the city during the 40-day abstinence period of Lent.

For 40 days, the girls would be confined to live on the other side of the river Tormes until Lunes de Aguas – the day they could return to the city. Townsfolk would gather to watch how the students set up huge welcoming parties by the riverbanks for the prostitutes, and enthusiastically assist the priest (who was in charge of the girls’ welfare during their exile) in crossing them over the river on flower-decorated boats. The rest of the day would be spent eating, drinking, and celebrating by the river, whose waters gave name to the event. Only the last part of the celebration, however, is the one that continues as tradition today.

Today

Nowadays, friends and family meet at the riverbanks of Salamanca’s Río Tormes and any open space such as public parks or countryside to share what is essentially a huge picnic. It is a time whenSalmantinos relax, have fun, and eat the typical hornazo - a non sweet pastry pie filled with ham, sausage, bacon, cooked egg, and sometimes even chicken – which is sold in shops all over the city. Most businesses also voluntarily close for the day in order to partake in this festivity.

The next day I asked a teacher at school about this and she basically gave me the same explanation.

So today is Lunes de Aguas and I am free for the afternoon. Last year I was not hear for Lunes de Aguas so it is my first time to celebrate it. I have been invited to go with some friends to a small village outside of Salamanca and look forward to visiting http://www.candelario.info/

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A month in my life...

I've decided to try to blog everyday this month; we will see if I can actually do it. Whenever I go back to the USA or even when I visited Puerto Rico, everyone asks me "What is it like living in Spain"? That is a question that is impossible to answer in one sentence. In order to truly answer that question I would need hours to explain what life is like here. Hopefully, by blogging about my everyday experiences this month, people can catch a glimpse into what my life is like here. It is so very different from any other place I've ever lived. Having said that, every place I've lived in has it's own uniqueness. Puerto Rico, Trinidad, USA and now Spain all places I have called home; yet in all I always feel somewhat of a foreigner.

One thing I have learned during my time here, is I feel more comfortable being an American abroad, than an American in the USA. How so? You might ask. Well, in the USA I always felt a little foreign, I mean I didn't grow up there! My first 17 years although raised by American parents, were spent in the Caribbean. There were many things about American culture that I had no idea about until I moved there. In fact, I feel I have learned more about American culture here in Spain than while I lived there. Part of my job requires me to share American culture with my students...it's quite interesting trying to explain things to a group of 12-16 year olds and try to break stereotypes they have seen in films, TV, etc. At the same time, it's interesting how true some of these stereotypes are...