Dressed up for Carnaval

When I first arrived in Spain my friends who are from Spain were telling me about all the major events to go to while I was here in Spain. I was told to go to Feria, Semana Santa, and Carnaval. I was curious as to what Carnival was because I never heard of it. When my friends were describing it to me it sounded more like a halloween just in February. Carnaval is celebrated in Cadiz. It is a 10 day celebration of people just celebrating life and excess.

When my friends and I decided to go, I was told we needed costumes. My group decided to go as the thieves from Casa de Papel. Before arriving there I was curious to see if a lot of people would actually dress up. I was also curious to what kind of dressing up would be done. I was very curious as to what this kind of atmosphere would be like. It sounded like it would be all day partying and people just enjoying the moment.

When my friends and I were heading to the train station to head to Cadiz I already knew who was on their way there too. I saw people dressed up in so many costumes. I was excited to get to Cadiz to see the rest of the costumes and be in the fun environment. When we got to Cadiz literally everyone was dressed up. I was surprised to see the different costumes and the creativity.

There were men dressed up as women and there were group costumes. People sitting in the bars dressed up and drinking and singing. People selling wings and other costumes. When it got dark that was when the party began. Everyone was outside, beer fenders were selling alcohol, people were buying others drinks, music was blasting, the streets were packed with people that were hard to move through. As the night went on there were performances from singers and the clubs were open for people to dance all night.

What was interesting to me was that so many people participated in this holiday. I thought it would just be young people but there were families dressed up and older couples with their friends dressed up. It was just a fun experience. I enjoyed seeing all the creative costumes and even seeing men dressed up. In the US this is not a holiday and it was fun to experience a holiday from another country.