Wine & Water Battles

Spain must be a country where the god of wine feels at home. The country not only produces some of Europe's finest wines, there are also some fiestas that are celebrated with Dionysian extasy. Next week the famous wine battle of Haro takes place. The origins of the fiesta go back to medieval times, when the villages of Haro and Miranda de Ebro used to have some conflicts. At the battle of wine the participants throw thousands of litres of wine at each other.Similar fiestas, but not as bad for your clothes, are the water battles in Vallecas (Madrid, half July) and Vilagarcia de Arousa (Galicia, half of August).

Between Siesta and Fiesta

Fiesta is just one letter away from siesta. Together, these two phenomenons are at the heart of the Spanish culture. I'd like to write about the siesta every now and then, but the main aim of this blog is to talk about the fiesta. What are the most curious Spanish fiestas? Where are the best wine battles? Where do you find the strangest medieval rituals? Which city has the best Easter Processions? Which fiestas were recently forbidden and why? ¡Qúe lo pasen bien!