Loyal readers may remember that San Sebastian celebrates Semana Grande (“great week”) in and around August 15 (the city’s Saint’s day) with a week of concerts, fireworks, cultural events, etc. The two other Basque regional capitals, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bilbao, also have a Semana Grande the weeks before and after San Sebastian's respectively. We had not been to Vitoria-Gasteiz yet, in large part because during the winter it is known as “Siberia-Gasteiz”, so we decided the perfect time to visit would be during their Semana Grande.
Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is an hour bus ride away, is the capital of Alava, another Basque province. (Bilbao is the capital of Bizkaia, San Sebastian is the capital of Gipuzkoa.) We enjoyed exploring the city, which was founded in the middle ages, and partaking in the various traditional Basque foods and activities in the main square. We both participated in a shot-put like contest, only with a bota bag filled with water:
Needless to say, our results were middling. We enjoyed the blind wine-tasting more – much more our speed. We also saw Bertsolari, which is the Basque musical verse tradition. Each participant sings improvised rhymed verses in Euskera and the participants alternate between verses. And we laughed as one of the free concerts included a band that covered a few classic rock favorites, including Eric Clapton and ZZ Top.
Vitoria-Gasteiz had charm and history to spare, so perhaps we’ll be back again.
Back in San Sebastian we were able to enjoy Semana Grande a lot more than last year. Because we were not in school, we stayed up much later to catch the post-fireworks concerts and “toros de fuego.” Most of you have heard of the running of the bulls during the Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, but we’re betting you don’t know about the running of the “fire bulls” in San Sebastian. Each night at 11:30 p.m., a group of "bulls" with firework mechanisms attached run through the streets until the flares go out. This is what the bulls look like, during the day and at night:
Clearly the lawyers in the US would never let this come to pass. But that’s yet another thing we love about living in Spain.
The fireworks were amazing again this year, with last year’s competition champion winning again:
Summer is also rowing season, and during Semana Grande, we witnessed the women’s teams practicing on the river.
All the practice culminates in a grand regatta hosted by San Sebastian in La Concha bay the first two weekends in September, which is also quite festive.
Hasta luego,
Shana & Jeff
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