La Aventura de mis Sueños: OKTOBERFEST! ..... In Spain?

That's right people. While the real event happens in Germany a few hundred miles from where I live, I was still able to experience the fun, excitement and nature of this German tradition. Only with a Spanish flare. For an entire week there was an event called Oktoberfest happening in Plaza del Rei (about 3 blocks from my piso). On the last night, some friends talked me into checking it out, and I am so glad that I did. That night was also a big Soccer match in Vigo. They had played the game on a big screen in the tent earlier in the night, so when I arrived there were tons of people decked out in baby blue and white (Vigo's team colors). I found my friends sitting at a table close to the middle. There were people dressed up in german outfits all over the place.

Now you may be thinking to yourself that since this is an Oktoberfest event, that the people that were participating in this event were all adults. 18 or 21 + years old. That was definitely not the case. And while I know that some of you may not entirely understand this and think that this is something that is "wrong" or "bad", this is an aspect of the Spanish culture that I really admire. The entire population of the people in the tents ranged from probably 2 years old to mid 80's. Everyone was sitting around tables, having a beer, socializing and spending time with their families and friends. There were college aged kids chugging pints in the corner while a group of kids were running through the crowds of people. I loved that this type of event could be enjoyed by people of all ages and that a person's age isn't a big deal.

After sitting around the table for a few minutes listening to music (which is almost all american pop music you hear on the radio back home, with one or two spanish songs thrown in every now and then), a tall man in a lederhosen outfit climbs up onto the stage in the middle of the tent. He introduces himself, and then began to sing. The songs that he sang ranged from tradition favorites of the Spanish community to 80's rock-n-roll, to gangham style. The funny part of it was when a song in English came up he had no idea what the words were and just said random words he knew in spanish to the entire song. The crowd loved him! Apparently he's a local "celebrity" and does this type of thing a lot. There were moms and dads hopping on tables to dance while he was singing, everyone was joining in the songs and he even pulled a group of kids on stage to help him as backup singers.

I don't have too many photos that turned out spectacular from this night, but I still wanted to share this experience. I was home by 1am (my earliest night out in Spain) and had an amazing time.

When in Spain - Do as the Spaniards do.... Oktoberfest =)