Even though I’m one of those who hails from ‘inland’ Spain, whenever I go to Cádiz in February and cross the Carranza Bridge that links Cádiz with the rest of the world, I open the car’s window to let the scent of the sea enter my own particular bubble of space; it’s a smell that seems to invoke the humidity and the freshness of the beach as well as the softness of the light that envelopes everything.
Of course, this is nothing more than a taste of the sensations that I’m expecting to experience today, because today is no ordinary day. No, this is the Sunday of the Coros!!
After the bridge, the Avenida. Four kilometres filled with fancy dressed life forms. Walking, crammed onto the public transport or in cars, the gaditanos (people of Cádiz) and visitors alike make their way, previously dressed in their corresponding ‘tipo’ (fancy-dress to everyone else), in a conga-type convoy that appears to have a life of its own, towards the Puertas de Tierra (Gates of the Earth).
These gates, spectacularly adorned during Carnival week, separate the gaditanos from the bedouins or, in other words, those who, under normal circumstances, live inside the historic centre of Cádiz and those who live on the outside. And, if on every other day of the year and in local minds, these gates act as a frontier between one area and another, during this week they are the city gates of art, originality, joie de vivre and singing commentaries, or coplas; the gates of welcome.
When you cross the Puertas de Tierra it means that you have arrived at the epicentre of the Carnival of Cádiz.
It’s difficult to explain what happens to the casual visitor after this. You get enveloped by a strange sensation of déjà vu, as if you’ve arrived home. Everyone is welcome.
Lose yourself in the streets.
Normally in popular festivals you have to look for entertainment; in Cádiz, it’s freely offered on just about every corner. As you make your way through the streets, discovering dimly lit, intimate corners and small squares, you come across some of the most original and inventive people that you can image. The gaditano is a master at laughing at himself and, mainly because of this, entertainment is assured.
On the corner of two streets, in the entrance to a supermarket or even the entrance to someone’s house, you’ll find a ‘chirigota’ (a group of people who act, sing and generally entertain) in the centre of sea of spectators. They’ll make you forget everything you’ve seen before you arrived with their words, their acting, their comments and their sheer joy of living that seems to be crowned with a determination to have a great time.
A quartet will make you laugh until you cry and, just when you think you’ve seen everything you’ll be astounded by someone who presents you with a condensed version of the complete cultural works of his city.
If all roads lead to Rome, in Cádiz the crowds stream through the streets towards Liberty Square or the market. It’s here where the carnival really gets into its stride. Many ‘coros’ or groups of performers in their ‘bateas’ or temporary areas where the coros offer their artistic wares, populate the square and swirl in endless tangos, belt out couplets and infectious choruses that, encouraged by an enthusiastic public, contribute to an endless cacophony of sound.
It’s here that the fiesta reaches its crescendo; where there are no gatitanos or foreigners. Everyone participates in the construction of unforgettable moments that make this fiesta one of the most unique and original in the world.
Meanwhile, in the Plaza de las Flores, just round the corner, the air is filled with the aroma of gaditano cuisine; fried fish, tortillas de camarones (a kind of small shrimp), las empanadillas (small pasties filled with meat or tuna), los erizos (fried sea urchins), los ostiones (bit like an oyster but restricted to Cádiz) and an enormous gastronomic variety that makes building up your strength ready to involve yourself in a day such as this one, one of life’s great pleasures.
And, while you’re consuming these gastronomic marvels sitting on the steps of the post office, another emblematic building of the carnival city, take time to listen to the many groups that sing their hearts out.
From here there’s more exploration to be done: El Palillero, La Plaza de la Cruz Verde, la Calle de la Palma,… really, it’s all the same as every corner provides you with thousands of opportunities to listen to the coplas of Cádiz and to enjoy every minute of a entirely unique day.
Tired but happy, wearing a ‘tipo’ picked up from some place long forgotten, when I go back over the Carranza Bridge, I think the same every year; that heaven really must be like…. a Sunday of coros.
Written by Carlos Cabrera
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