Tuesday, March 4, 2025
The pre-Lenten Xixón Antroxu 2025 Carnaval festivities would finally come to a close tonight after five fun filled nights of revelry throughout the city.
Today's Shrove Tuesday events would start at 5:00 p.m. at the usual spot, the Paseo de Begoña.
I opted to walk rather than take the bus as physical fitness is always my top priority.
Along the way, a new community garden
had sprouted up unbeknownst to me
I passed the building that houses
all sorts of Left Wing organizations
and causes
They had many new signs up like these . . .
Resistance Is Not Terrorism
In support of Colombia
March 8th is the
Day of the Working Women
Our Union Will Protect You
Don't Cry, Fight
CNT will help you break
the chains of economic bondage
More info on the
Day of the Working Women
As I got closer to the Paseo de Begoña, the mood lightened.
Costumes started appearing
A Spanish flag
Over my many years of living abroad, I have noticed that no country is as into the symbolic imagery of their nation's flag as the USA.
It is rare to see the Spanish flag displayed like this, usually they are only seen on flagpoles outside of government buildings.
The Paseo de Begoña
WHAT THE HELL?
There on this extremely public stage was the body of the Sardine lying in state.
She was the iconic symbol of the Xixón Antroxu 2025 festival and I had been just a few feet away from her at the start of last night's big parade. She had been smiling and full of life as she greeted all of us along the long parade route.
What happened?
I was too stunned for words and just started to walk around the city aimlessly.
Aztec decorations did not help
Nor did beautiful Gijón architecture
I returned to the Paseo de Begoña in hopes that it was all some kind of an ill conceived hoax.
Nope, The Sardine was
deader than a mackerel
The whole city was turning out to be part of her impromptu funeral cortege.
The USA even sent representatives
On the far right is the U.S. Ambassador to Spain who spoke for 15 minutes.
Mostly she informed us about some new U.S policies.
First, all people working in U.S. Embassies and Consulates throughout the world would, from now on, wear orange make-up and dye their hair blonde. Thus, her new look.
The Spanish National Anthem would now be changed to The Star Spangled Banner but would only be played accompanied by a traditional Spanish guitar.
Spanish border security would soon be taken care of by the USA.
Immigrants to Spain would all be sent back to their countries of origin but wealthy foreign tourists was to be embraced and welcomed.
Asturias' patron saint, the Virgen de la Covadonga, would now be known as the Virgin of Massachusetts as it sounded much more worldly.
She assured us that the USA was dumping the stupid renewable energy policies of the Biden presidency in favor of a return to reliance on fossil fuels which would revive Asturias' long dormant coal mining industry.
There were other points as well but these were the ones that I recalled.
The crowd at 5:00 p.m. enjoyed this spoof tremendously.
The whole show was repeated in its entirety at 6:00 p.m. as the news of the Sardine's death spread and mourners flocked to the Paseo de Begoña.
They guffawed too.
Then, in the distance, the sound of drums beating could be heard.
The drum lines, a.k.a., Charangas, were on the march for the fifth straight night.
In they danced . . .
. . . The Purple Gang . . .
. . . The Rainbow Coalition
Where did Don Quixote come from?
The Devils were solid as always
Dancing Mutant Ninja Turtles
were loved by all the kids
Lots of Gingers in this Charanga
Happy to lead her
Lion King Charanga
Happy to be dancing again
I loved their colorful outfits
How did he sneak in behind me?
The Zebras were crowd pleasers
again tonight
These kids were awesome leading
their adult Aztec Charanga counterparts
Artsy fans added to the festivities
She happily represented the
Willy Wonka Chocolate Company
Kind of a Musketeers feel with
this upbeat Charanga
A well costumed Amazon Charanga,
one of my personal favorites
Finally, all of the competing Charangas
were in the Jardines de Begoña
So was a ton of confetti
Besides paying tribute to The Sardine and making fun of Heir Trump's foreign policies, there was one more reason for this gathering of the Charangas, the prizes.
During last night's parade, judges had evaluated each of the Charangas and now their final rankings would be announced that involved rather large monetary awards.
Here are the judges picks as the Top Three Charangas . . .
#3 The Red Devils Charanga
#2 The Amazon Charanga
And, the Award for the Best Charanga of Xixón Antroxu 2025 goes to . . .
#1 The Madagascar Zebras Charanga!
I had no argument with any of these top choices but could easily have seen the top two in reverse order.
Only one thing left to do now, start
The Sardine's Funeral Cortege to her
final resting place, The Plaza del Marqués
The Pallbearers included . . .
. . . The USA's Ambassador to Spain!
Their were lots of mourners followed
by all 14 drum beating and dancing
Charangas
Entering the Plaza del Marqués
The Sardines Final Resting Place
Of course, a Xixón dignitary
spoke some fine words about her
With his eulogy completed, Xixón Antroux 2025 was officially over but dinner and drinks would still be served throughout the city all night.
This past five days of celebration had been a lot of fun for everyone in Gijón, me included.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the official start of the austere 40 day Lenten season.
Now, what do I give up for Lent this year?
