SANT JOAN & Door Special

SANT JOAN

Door Special

Today is Sant Joan, this morning everything seems quieter than most days, and that’s probably because people are just now going to get some sleep.

Tuesday was our summer solstice, yet here Sant Joan (St John) is celebrated as the longest day, and traditionally burn fires during the night to keep the appearance of day light. It is also known as the night of fire, for some the night of witchest, hey say it is the furthest day from Christmas. Like other festivities, the origin is somewhat blurry, some say it is pagan, others christian, but it doesn’y really matter; what matters is the party. For the kids it’s about firecrackers, and trying to find the right spot to light ‘m up, for instance a pedestrian tunnel, as there are many here with access to the beach, try keeping your ears covered while walking thru one, cause it can hurt it’s so loud. Those who enjoy dancing will attend a “revetlla” which in the towns may be held under a large carp or a large open space, where food is either provided or brought from home to share, and there’s a band playing for everyone to dance. And you know at somepoint during the night or the early morning you want to make it to the beach, even if you do smell the sulfur from the fireworks, because of the many parties, as most “xiringuitos”, which is what the beach bars are called.

The next town over, where I used to live as a child is Vilassar de Mar, also known as Sant Joan de Vilassar; most towns have a patron saint, so the sanctoral calender will determine when each town gets to celebrate it’s “festa major” (the town’s holiday), so in the case of Vilassar, they will be celebrating many fun events for the next 4 or 5 days. As for Premia de Mar, or Sant Pere de Premia, the “festa major” will start next week on St Peter’s day, which I’m looking forward to, as one of their main events is the desembarkment and pillage of the pirates ...I’ll let you know how that goes.

Naturally, with these festivities comes a spike in energy boosting drugs that help your body  thru the night, and because the goverment here likes to copy everything corporate-america does, they also have much to do with the war on drugs; which is why, if you can, it’s preferable to not do any driving at all. Not that you wouldn’t get pulled over even if you’re walking, put at least you minimize your risks.

So, fortunately for me, I didn’t have to walk to far to get home, as I don’t fancy exposing my body to more than it can take in naturally, around 2am I crawled home without having reached our beach party. On the bright side though I feel just fine this morning; and Wilbur will be grateful too, so we can go out for a walk sooner rather than later. But I do confess to waking up covered in sand wondering “how did I get here” on a few occassions when I was younger.

And I must also point out that the economic crisis was palpable during this festivity, particularly in Premia which has a higher amount of working class people, so while the sound of firecrackers was constant, the fireworks displays was not so much; however we went to have dinner at Carme’s in Cabrils, which is a wealthier town, and just across the street from us must have been the wealthiest of all, as we watched an amazing array light the sky throughout our dinner which was already close to midnight.

Since I did not have the camara with me, I thought I may as well use this blog to show off some of those pictures that I have been storing, just need to figure out wether to show the graffitti or the doors, so let me surprise you. And let me know if you have a favorite.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY-PIE!

Jordi one week old

27 years ago today, at SF General Hospital, and with the help of a beautiful midwife, was the most special day of my life, as I gave birth to my favorite person on this planet.






I was clueless and scared, but Jordi gave me the strength to overcome pretty much any obstacle. My whole life has been a series of bumps and obstacles, feeling like salmon, swimming against currents,  questioning myself, looking back, and what ifs; but Jordi has been my anchor, and later has been also a support. I would go visit him to feel reenergized and loved.


And while we continue to see and talk to each other through the marvels of Skype, being so far from him is not that easy.


So in honor of this day, I have one last series of photos that I have yet to share with you guys, from the month of April, when he was here visiting me.

RODA DE BARA


This is a town south of Barcelona, already in the province of Tarragona, which is popular for fine sand beaches with shallow waters, a area perfect for babies and toddlers, they can play in the water without getting carried away by waves. I used to come to one of these beaches when Jordi was a baby.

We hoped on the train with Wilbur, and Esther, who also stayed a few months with me when I lived in Hermosa Beach, back in the summer of 92, which was during the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, where Esther was supposed to be volunteering, and yet she gave that up to be with us. I don't think she regretted a single moment, we had a great time. Only problem I ever had with her was our musical preferences were wide apart, so she had to wear headphones when it came time to that. As I was saying, Esther picked us up at the train station and we drove to her parents vacation home, that has a salt water pool, although it was still too cold for bathing, we did take in a bit of sun just around it.





Esther has two younger sisters, Laura and Sol.  The following summer, just after Jordi's 9th birthday, he travelled solo to Spain for 6 weeks, and he had spent much of that time with the Urue Family, mostly with Sol, who was just a year older than Jordi, and was a little tomboy back then.

Urue Family in 1998

Jordi and Sol rekindled their friendship in 1998, while we visited Barcelona together for a few weeks, but the two of them had not seen each other since, and it was a bit more difficult this time, because of the impediments that come with adulthood and also because Jordi's Catalan speaking abilities are much less of what they used to be.




Esther and Sol took us to visit the town and a town within the town "El Roc" that is very quaint.










We also visited the little church where Esther was married, shortly after coming back from her visit to the US.













Meanwhile Pol had already started cooking, or rather barbecuing his one of a kind "Arros a la Banda", similar to a Paella, but more local to this area; it translates to : rice on the side. Because the rice would be cooked with the broth from the catch of the day, you would serve the fish on the dish, while the rice remained in the large ceramic dish, and each person would eat from this dish with their own wooden spoon.


According to Jordi, the best meal he had during his entire stay, while a close second was that Fideua that Mari had prepared.