The fifth dance rehearsal found ourselves and our German friends on the seventh of December, just before nine p.m., shivering in the streets of a local industrial estate. About half of the others involved arrived in dribs and dabs over the next half an hour. We started the session spread across both sides of the road in a long line.
Occasional lorries trundled past and we re-grouped two or three times. A local police car drew up. We foreigners all looked at one another with raised eyebrows. Someone had a friendly laughing chat with the officers, they drove off, and we continued. The teacher, (Isabel, who has visibly aged over the last month), had changed the routine a little. Cue much arguing and shouting by the members.
She suddenly lost patience and in a torrent of Spanish told us that she has taught children, adolescents and adults. That we must all come every week, that we must listen to what she says, that we must arrive on time .The practice ended abruptly - we think she's got her work cut out.
The 2nd lunch/meeting.
We met in the same restaurant as previously. It happened to be my husband's birthday. The food was a little slow in coming but we were kept entertained by flowing alcohol and the Spanish doing what they do best - enjoying themselves. They sang. Keeping time by clapping, foot tapping or ringing spoons on glasses. Around eighty people singing, shouting, conducting and laughing. One or two were using mobile phones at the same time which is even more of an obsession here than it is in the UK!
If you're English it's hard to imagine the volume of noise. They all sang, ' Happy Birthday' to my husband in Spanish. The food arrived - it was great, the wine was good, there was another 'drag act' at the end.
Well, nothing's perfect is it? It was a birthday that neither of us will forget.
The second dress fitting.
I've been tightly pinned into bright green and silver lurex. It feels as I would imagine an 18th. century corset would. I hope I don't put on any weight! The dress-maker is insistent that my hair will be off my forehead, where my skin has never seen the light of day and is very wrinkled. She assures me that the make-up will make me look wonderful. I can hear the cement being mixed as I write. The husband has had his green lurex waistcoat fitted - the phrase 'Garden Gnome' springs to mind.
Dance Rehearsal 7.
This finds us at 9p.m. in the car park of the local Aldi's supermarket. People are still shopping. No problem as the others don't arrive until around 9.30and the remaining shoppers drive around us. It's still pretty much a shambles. Occasionally people are in time. An older lady has a row with the teacher and stomps off into the night taking her daughter with her. There's only about a month's worth of rehearsals left. We increasingly feel as though we are in some TV reality show, where obviously incompetent people are set an obviously impossible task! Never mind my husband's still saying that "It's an experience." The teacher's added a final move - a bow to the crowd after which we will wait for the applause. We think that optimism is a strong Spanish trait.
The End game.
It's nearing the end of January and the first parade is on the eleventh of February. There is a hold up with something vital arriving at the dressmakers.( I'm not sure quite what, my Spanish isn't up to the local accent at times). We still don't have our costumes and we think that some of the dance moves will be very difficult to execute when we finally have them.
The last rehearsal it was windy and cold so we forsook Aldi's car park for an enormous subterranean garage. Different to the previous one we followed the others by car at speed. Around twenty retired people careering around the back streets, with the husband muttering behind the wheel. When we arrived someone had to go and get the key to the garage and a C/D player. We shivered in the streets watching various members trying to park and wondering whether cars or pedestrians were going to be hit first. We finally started around 9.40 p.m.. The garage light is on a timer and this went off every six minutes.We are told that when it's the carnival this is where we will get changed, have our make-up applied and wait to sally forth at the appropriate hour. It's dirty and when the light is on it's fluorescent. We will apparently need to clean up the garage afterwards. The make-up will take about fifteen minutes per person - we are twenty six. Once I'm in, The Dress, I don't think I'll be able to take it off, (it's very large!). Not too worry I'm sure that it will be an experience..
As a dance troupe we still have a strong resemblance to the Moldovian Ballet that we once saw in Aguilas.. One person's arm is up, one is mid-way, another's at their side. One woman is twirling, one has finished, one hasn't started etc etc..
We were asked to collect our head-dresses from the shop because they were taking up so much room.
(Photos of the dress-makers workshop below).
I now have a head-dress and a muddy coloured body stocking. In the past we have noticed many of the women in their early twenties not wearing much more. I do hope the dress-maker gets a move on.
The pace is hotting up in Aguilas. There are posters on walls, shop windows are decorated, the radio is advertising it as being of 'National Tourist Interest'. The photo shows the window of the local bakers decorated for the carnival.
We were all interviewed for a local TV station. We had to wait two hours, (in what resembled someone's front room), because the Ariel had blown off the roof earlier. "Were the dance moves difficult?" asked the presenter. "No" the participant replied with a smile and shrug of her shoulders - if only. The microphone was tossed around the room like a hot potatoe and eventually thrust into the hands of our German friend and then on to myself. We'd said, how friendly the group were and how much we were enjoying it all, leaving my poor husband with nothing to say except, "I don't speak much Spanish," before passing the mike on.
I've managed to sprain my ankle. Could anyone let us know the name of the 'Reality Show' that I'm now convinced we are secretly taking part in?
Thanks for reading. My next blog, (at the beginning of March), will hopefully contain photos of our triumphant four evenings of being part of the Aguilas carnival.
If you have any comments I would love to receive them at :www.writerinaguilas@gmail.com
See you at the beginning of March when it will all be over!, Cathy
