Oh no, the goodbyes have started. Thank you again Monica, John, Leo, Julia y Juan Carlos for all you have done during my stay. I am sad to go, but will see you all again soon! Besos y Abrazos!

Gracias Luis, for being the best neighborhood frutero ever. Thanks for, all the samples and tastings along the way, picking out the best avocado or the ripest mangoes, and for turning me on to fresh squeezed juice from valenciana oranges!!

Just a few video snippets from the awesome experience of the Holy Week processions!

 For those of you who have been following the blog you will remember that I had a chance to interview Gonzalo who is one of the costaleros that is involved in carrying this imagen of the Virgin Mary during the Palm Sunday processions. It was an incredible sight to see the procession and an even greater delight to catch him during one of the stops she they switched out the crew. You can see he is wearing the traditional costal that is worn by each man.

Today was the start of the Holy Week processions in Spain. I am thrilled that I got a chance to see these in person. The procession, the floats, the music and the reaction of the crowds are something I will never forget. 

In preparation for Holy Week, many of the churches in Spain had smaller processions today that were artistic representations of the Stations of the Cross. I had never seen a "Via Crucis" before and am so glad that I got the chance to see one today.        

My friend Gonzalo is pictured here with the glasses. He is the costalero that I feel so fortunate to have met and interviewed. He will be walking in the processions on Palm Sunday as well.

This is Mónica. She has played a huge role in my work while I have been here and her contributions to the project are immeasurable. She is smart and funny, she loves to laugh and she can even read my mind! We are at the beginning of what I hope will be a long friendship. Today we showed up to work and discovered we were wearing matching outfits, which included Taylor pink pants!

My work this afternoon included interviewing Alejandra, a professional make-up artist and Amaya, who takes classes at a circus school (see the tent in the background?). 
What a great day!

The experience of meeting Gonzalo will go down as one of the highlights of this trip for me! He is, what is known in Spain as, a costalero, the gentlemen who are hidden beneath the religious floats that make their way through the streets during Semana Santa. Every Friday night, for months ahead of Holy Week, these guys train and prepare for the immense task of carrying these pasos (floats). Depending on the size of the paso, there can be anywhere from 30-60 men beneath each one bearing the enormous weight of the statues on their shoulders. When you watch the videos of the rehearsals (called ensayos) you won't see the actual Virgin Mary that will come out during Holy week. In order to simulate the weight that they will need to bear, the have loaded iron planks on top of the structure which are hard to see in the dark. (they don't rehearse until 11:00pm) Gonzalo is in the front left corner (from your point of view) of the grouping. He has an even more specific role as a pata (leg) position since he is responsible for leading the group through turns. The capataz, seen in the maroon sweatshirt will walk ahead of the paso and is responsible for keeping the men heading in the right direction, and offering words of encouragement along the way. The costaleros can be carrying the statues anywhere from 4-14 hours depending on the length of the procession and must work very hard at walking in a smooth and level manner. At the end of the videos I took a picture of what the actual paso looked like last year: with the image of the Virgin Mary in her formal attire, the full canopy and all the candles. I have all my fingers crossed that the weather holds out this year and that I will get the chance to see the actual procession! This was a very cool glimpse into one of the most iconic traditions carried out in Spain!

LOS COSTALEROS!!!

 Paula and Irene (who appear in several recordings on clothing, daily routines and "how to make a salad") wanted a girls' day out before I left. All of their requests were met: espaguetis con salsa boloñesa, helados, chuches de la tienda de caramelos y la clásica "foto salto" en la Plaza Mayor. I am so happy to have had them contribute to the project!

There is just always something fun to see, or to listen to in the Puerta del Sol this time of year!

Gracias Roberto, Sam, Alvaro, Rocio y José Ramón for your collaboration and participation in my project! It was such a pleasure getting to know you and working with you. Hope to see you all again next summer...

Juan Carlos at 
Peluquería Mujer 10 
gave me an awesome interview AND an awesome haircut today.
¡Gracias Juan Carlos!

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If you find yourself on the Cava Baja and are looking for some amazing jamón ibérico stop in at the Julián Becerro jamonería and see my friend Alberto! He gave me a great interview today that ended in an even better tasting!!

AMAZING week of interviews! A chef, a fishmonger, a police officer, a fireman and two small business owners...one of handmade wooden crafts and another an organic grocery store. I have LOVED developing some new and exciting curriculum over here in Madrid. Something tells me this could be the start of something BIG! 

A beautiful day to walk 
by the Palacio Real and 

catch a bit of the changing of the guard too!

Marcos (José Manuel's oldest son) really wanted to be a part of the blog.  Here he is narrating a little from dinner last week :)

Alberto owns a shop in Cercedilla, a small town about 45 minutes north of Madrid in the foothills of the Sierra. He makes beautiful wooden handicrafts that are all painted by hand. He granted me a wonderful interview about his store, the struggles of being a small business owner and then he gifted me a beautiful piece of his work... ¡muy majete!

I am a total sucker for the wrought iron  balconies that are such an important part of  Spanish architecture. ooooh I just love 'em!

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