Carnival in Lechago

I have already written elsewhere about what I consider to be My Spanish Family from my time spent living and working in Zaragoza. Amongst the many times spent with them - from Pilares to Christmas - one stands out in particular. Just before the lockdown hit, when Coronavirus was still generally considered to be a foreign and minor inconvenience, I was invited to spend the weekend with the family of Luis and Raquel in Lechago to celebrate both Luis’ birthday and Carnival.

I had heard much about the concept of “my village” whilst teaching; the most common answer when asking students about their weekend plans was unquestionably: “I am going to my village” (or ‘beellage’, due to the common problem with pronouncing the letter V). As such I had learned that it was quite a normal concept for people in Spain to have one house in the city in which they work and go to school and another in a small village for spending weekends and holidays. I had, however, never been to one of these villages until now.

Lechago is particularly small, even by the standards of these small hamlets. Even when full - rare outside of the summer months - it has a population of perhaps 50 people. As such it was a very close-nit community, one in which doors are left open and people can simply walk in to each others houses.

One especially nice aspect of this community spirit was the existence of ‘clubhouse’ like organisations. A group of households would contribute money and buy a small building - little more than a large living room with an attached kitchen - and shared responsibility for its maintenance. Even in a village of this size there were a few spread around and it was in one of these community houses that the party was starting.

Having been working in the morning I arrived into a stereotypically Spanish scene. In the cobbled street outside the clubhouse, Luis was cooking a huge paella and drinking beer in the glorious sunshine. Family and neighbours mingled around in what was a perfectly tranquil atmosphere; one which made me instantly understand the appeal of having this second world in which to escape from reality.

When it was time to eat, the huge paella dish was taken into the ‘clubhouse’ and placed on the table where we were joined by friends from the village. Whilst the children were given plates full of food, the adults simply sat around the dish and all ate directly from it. Even this way of eating struck me in how it so simply added to the general atmosphere of sociability and amiability.

The end of dinner probably marked the point in which the day transitioned from celebrating Luis’ birthday to the festivities of Carnival. Having already experienced Pilares, I was well aware of how seriously Spanish people - and this family in particular - took these celebrations and unsurprisingly there were costumes involved.

After a quick tour of the village and some more drinks in the ‘clubhouse’ we headed into the village’s only bar (also the only place with WiFi and as such equally popular amongst all ages). Six penguins waddled in and were greeted by pirates, clowns, farm animals and even Jesus Christ himself.

The atmosphere was unrivalled in its friendliness and openness and even despite my limited Spanish - although certainly better than when I had first arrived in Zaragoza - I was quickly made to feel like one of the locals. The conversation and drinks flowed in equally excessive quantities into the early hours until it finally seemed the night was drawing to a close.

Given that this was the only bar in the village I was of course surprised and confused at Luis’ suggestion that we continue the celebrations elsewhere. Consequently, myself, Luis and a few other local Lechagians (Lechagovians?) took the only local taxi to a nearby nightclub. Nightclub is probably a generous description in reality as we found ourselves in what amounted to a large garage like structure with a DJ. That being said, after so many hours of sun and alcohol, it was probably one of the best club experiences I had in Spain.

It was only a couple of weeks after this that I made my hasty exit from Spain with lockdowns being introduced. After being stopped in the streets by the military on my way to the supermarket I appreciated this was not going to blow by quickly, and living in a small room with no outdoor space was not an attractive proposition.

Having booked a flight for the next day I managed to see Luis one last time the night before and we drank into the morning until the military came and closed the bars for what would be the final time for many months. I am still in regular contact with Luis and Raquel and will hopefully be back in Spain to visit them and their family in the coming months.

Posted: 18/06/2021
Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)